I am almost certain that Luke, who wrote the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts, was not Jewish.
There is a lot of debate about this. Luke was certainly not a resident of Palestine or Galilee. He was also clearly familiar with certain aspects of Greek and Hellenistic society. I think though the case can be made strongly that he was a Hellenized Jew from the Diaspora.
Spong for example argues that one element of the Lukan gospel not prominent in the other gospels is a set of links between Jesus (not John the Baptist) and Elijah. Someone who did not identify with Jewish belief in any way would not take pains to establish such a parallel.
The question of Jesus' education is a startling one. The arguments he poses in debate are subtle and reflect a strong background in both Jewish scripture and classical Greek education. So, it seems to me that he was "bred" for a career in the priesthood, but was so upset by what he saw that he abandoned that path. Vocation mattered little to him.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2003-08-20 05:24 am (UTC)There is a lot of debate about this. Luke was certainly not a resident of Palestine or Galilee. He was also clearly familiar with certain aspects of Greek and Hellenistic society. I think though the case can be made strongly that he was a Hellenized Jew from the Diaspora.
Spong for example argues that one element of the Lukan gospel not prominent in the other gospels is a set of links between Jesus (not John the Baptist) and Elijah. Someone who did not identify with Jewish belief in any way would not take pains to establish such a parallel.
The question of Jesus' education is a startling one. The arguments he poses in debate are subtle and reflect a strong background in both Jewish scripture and classical Greek education. So, it seems to me that he was "bred" for a career in the priesthood, but was so upset by what he saw that he abandoned that path. Vocation mattered little to him.
Thank you for your thoughts!