Gospel of Luke Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==={{anchor|Authorship}}Luke–Acts: unity, authorship and date=== {{see also|Authorship of Luke–Acts}} [[File:Codex Macedoniensis, subscriptio to Luke.jpg|thumb|right|200px|''Subscriptio'' to the Gospel of Luke in Codex Macedoniensis 034 (Gregory-Aland), 9th century]] The gospel of Luke and the [[Acts of the Apostles]] make up a two-volume work which scholars call [[Luke–Acts]].{{sfn|Burkett|2002|p=195}} Together they account for 27.5% of the [[New Testament]], the largest contribution by a single author, providing the framework for both the Church's liturgical calendar and the historical outline into which later generations have fitted their idea of the story of Jesus.{{sfn|Boring|2012|p=556}} The author is not named in either volume.{{sfn|Burkett|2002|p=196}} According to a Church tradition, first attested by [[Irenaeus]] ({{c.|130|202}} AD), he was the [[Luke the Evangelist|Luke]] named as a companion of [[Apostle Paul|Paul]] in three of the Pauline letters, but "a critical consensus emphasizes the countless contradictions between the account in Acts and the authentic Pauline letters."{{sfn|Theissen|Merz|1998|p=32}} An example can be seen by comparing Acts' accounts of Paul's conversion (Acts 9:1–31,<ref>{{bibleverse|Acts|9:1–31}}</ref> Acts 22:6–21,<ref>{{bibleverse|Acts|22:6–21}}</ref> and Acts 26:9–23)<ref>{{bibleverse|Acts|26:9–23}}</ref> with Paul's own statement that he remained unknown to Christians in Judea after that event (Galatians 1:17–24).<ref>{{bibleverse|Galatians|1:17–24}}</ref>{{sfn|Perkins|1998|p=253}} The author of the Gospel of Luke clearly admired Paul, but his theology was significantly different from Paul's on key points and he does not (in Acts) represent Paul's views accurately.{{sfn|Boring|2012|p=590}} He was educated, a man of means, probably urban, and someone who respected manual work, although not a worker himself; this is significant, because more high-brow writers of the time looked down on the artisans and small business-people who made up the early church of Paul and were presumably Luke's audience.{{sfn|Green|1997|p=35}} The eclipse of the traditional attribution to Luke the companion of Paul has meant that an early date for the gospel is now rarely put forward.{{sfn|Theissen|Merz|1998|p=32}} Most scholars date the composition of the combined work to around 80–90 AD, although some others suggest 90–110,{{sfn|Charlesworth|2008|p=42}} and there is textual evidence (the conflicts between Western and Alexandrian manuscript families) that Luke–Acts was still being substantially revised well into the 2nd century.{{sfn|Perkins|2009|pp=250–53}} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page