Does the New Testament Imitate Homer?: Four Cases from the Acts of the Apostlesdiv In this provocative challenge to prevailing views of New Testament sources, Dennis R. MacDonald argues that the origins of passages in the book of Acts are to be found not in early Christian legends but in the epics of Homer. MacDonald focuses on four passages in the book of Acts, examines their potential parallels in the Iliad, and concludes that the author of Acts composed them using famous scenes in Homer’s work as a model. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 37
... told Jewish believers in Jerusalem : " The Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it did upon us at the beginning . " 3 This event demonstrated to the church in Jerusalem that " the gentiles received the word of God . " 4 When Peter sought ...
... told Cornelius to summon Peter , and he did so . When Peter arrived , he preached , and Cornelius converted and was baptized . Here we have a simple conversion story , much like Philip's conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch in 8 : 26-40 ...
... told him that " now [ vûv ] you can take the wide - laned city of the Trojans " ; but the king thought " that he would take the city of Priam that very day [ nμati kεivo ] . " Agamemnon's careless exegesis of Zeus's perniciously ambigu ...
... told his pagan readers that “ according to you Zeus is jealous and hides the dream in a plan to destroy humankind . ” 27 The Acts of Andrew seems to have contrasted a dream given by the Christian God with the lying dream of Zeus.28 ...
... told Agamemnon that Zeus pitied him , even though the gods actually intended to punish him . Similarly , in the Thebaid Laius lies : “ Out of pity the sire of the gods himself sends me to you from on high " ( motif 2.3 ) .45 Laius then told ...
Contents
1 | |
17 | |
Pauls Farewell at Miletus and Iliad | 67 |
The Selection of Matthias and Iliad | 103 |
Peters Escape from Prison and Iliad | 121 |
Conclusion | 146 |
Greek and Latin Parallels | 153 |
List of Abbreviations | 167 |
Notes | 171 |
Bibliography | 209 |
Index | 221 |