Images of Judaism in Luke-Acts

Insights into the positive and negative portrayals of Jewish life in the Lukan texts.

In Images of Judaism in Luke-Acts, Joseph B. Tyson addresses the ways in which Jewish people and religious customs are presented in the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. These texts present a wealth of material about Jewish institutions and practices. But these images of Jews and Judaism were shaped by theological and historical concerns of communities that increasingly saw themselves as separate from the Jewish synagogues. Probing questions about the roots of modern anti-Semitism in relationship to the New Testament, Tyson concludes that there is a deep and complex ambivalence in Luke-Acts, making the texts both profoundly pro-Jewish and anti-Jewish. He maintains that an appreciation of this fact is essential for understanding Luke-Acts and in assessing its role in fostering the development of Christian attitudes toward Jews.