World Upside Down: Reading Acts in the Graeco-Roman Age

311 Pages·2009·2.06 MB·English

by  C. Kavin Rowe

World Upside Down
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World Upside Down
Reading Acts in the Graeco-RomanAge
c. kavin rowe
1
2009
3
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Rowe,ChristopherKavin,1974–
Worldupsidedown:readingActsintheGraeco-Romanage/KavinRowe.
p.cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindexes.
ISBN978-0-19-537787-3
1. Bible.N.T.Acts—Criticism,interpretation,etc. I. Title.
BS2625.52.R692009
226.60067—dc22 2008054873
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Acknowledgments
Becausevirtuallyeveryaspectofabook’sproductioninvolves
substantialcontributionfromothers,writingabookissynonymous
withtheaccumulationofpersonaldebts.Thisisastrueofthe
provisionofthedaily(ornightly)spaceneededforresearch,reading,
andreflectionasitisoftheincrediblytime-consuminglaborof
formatting,checkingofreferences,andcreationofindices.Inmy
particularcase,therequiredsustenancefordailylifeissuchthat
Ihavefartoomanypeopletothank.Therefore,otherthanmy
parents(TomandBettyRowe),whoaremorethanonecouldhopefor
inlovingparentsandwhomIwouldespeciallyliketohonorand
thank,andmyparents-in-law(JoeandPamPonzi),forwhomthe
sameapplies,Ishallsimplylistthoseonthelocalscenewhobytheir
activehelp,conversation,encouragement,friendship,orsheerstam-
inaincarehaveallowedthewritingofthisbook:RichardHays,Moody
Smith,GregJones,DouglasCampbell,JoelMarcus,SusanEastman,
StanleyHauerwas,PaulGriffiths,RandyMaddox,Stephen
Chapman,EllenDavis,GrantWacker,WarrenSmith,Geoffrey
Wainwright,ReinhardHuetter,AllenVerhey,DavidToole,Laceye
Warner,AllanPoole,BetsyPoole,MargaretFrothingham,
SamanthaFisher,theTonnfamily,JeffandSusanMcSwain,Rachel
Campbell,CarriePothoven,CherylBlake,SteveLarson,ChipDenton,
MeganWright,PamHolland,GiniOsborne,RichandDickJarman,
T.J.Lang,ScottRyan,AnneWeston,DianeDecker,andlastbutinno
viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
wiseleast,SusanE.Bond.Thesearepeople—someofwhomdon’tevenknow
it—who make our daily lives possible. Beyond this, my debt to friends and
colleaguesacrosstheglobeexpandsexponentially.
No matter how well supported, daily life while teaching does not always
grantthetimeneededtowrite.Tothatend,myprofoundthanksareduetotwo
organizationsandtheirofficersthatcreatedanextendedtimeformetothink
and write: the Lilly Endowment (for a Faculty Fellowship), and the Louisville
Institute(foraChristianFaithandLifegrant).
MyeditoratOxford,CynthiaRead,hasbeenexemplary,ashastheproduc-
tionstaff.Withoutthem,ofcourse,therewouldbenobooktoread.Portionsof
chapter 2 were previously published as ‘‘The Book of Acts and the Cultural
Explication of the Identity of God,’’ in The Word Leaps the Gap: Essays on
Scripture and Theology in Honor of Richard B. Hays, edited by J. Ross Wagner
et al. (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2008). These portions are reprinted by
permissionofthepublisher,allrightsreserved.
Finally,Iknowofnowaytothankmywifeandson,sincetheyareinavery
realsensemydailylife,andsoIsimplydedicatethebooktothemasagesture
towardthekindofdeephopeand—perhapsaboveall—sillinessthatgoesinto
therichnessofourlifetogether.
Contents
1. Reading Acts, 3
The Project, 3
The Premises, 7
Acts and the Ancient World, 8
Acts and the Reader, 10
Acts and Interpretation, 11
Acts and Modern Vocabulary, 12
The Hope, 15
2. Collision: Explicating Divine Identity, 17
Acts 14: Paul and Barnabas—Hermes and Zeus, 18
Acts 16: Power at Philippi, 24
Acts 17: Athens, 27
Acts 19: Ephesus, 41
Conclusion, 49
3. Dikaios: Rejecting Statecraft, 53
Roman Officials, 56
Gallio, 57
Claudius Lysias, 62
Felix, 71
Festus and Herod Agrippa II, 79
Conclusion, 87