Luke-Acts and Rhetoric of History : An Investigation of Early Christian Historiography

"In the wake of overwhelming scholarly interest, over the past fifty years, in Lukan theology, the author describes how Luke-Acts merits consideration on the grounds of ancient historiography. In a close exegetical analysis, she describes the author of Luke-Acts arguing a 'case' (rhetoric) for his version of the events of Christian origins (history). As old as Homer, yet capturing many modern approaches as well, certain conventions of historiography can be broadly subsumed under the category of rhetoric. This present work is, in large part, a study of those conventions, precise definitions of which have long proved elusive to scholars of Graeco-Roman historiography. Like ancient philosophy, ancient history is, after all, a literary art of exposing, not arguing truth. According to Quintilian, history is written ad narrandum non ad probandum. Diodorus Siculus testifies to this similarity in his description of history as philosophy by example. Arguing by means of proofs is, at least in theory, contrary to exposing truth and as such the duty of other professions, such as politics, drama and law. By definition, historiography, like philosophy, eschews rhetoric."Rothschild, Clare K. is the author of 'Luke-Acts and Rhetoric of History : An Investigation of Early Christian Historiography', published 2004 under ISBN 9783161482038 and ISBN 3161482034.