Paul the Reluctant Witness: Power and Weakness in Luke's Portrayal

Description: In this stimulating analysis Shipp provides the reader with an introduction and critique of literary-rhetorical analysis as well as an in-depth treatment of the triple account of Pauls Damascus Road experience in Acts. Luke used the repetition of the Damascus narrative as a literary device identifying Pauline disobedience and resistance and the transformation of these characteristics. With the first Damascus narrative Luke provided the reader with a paradigmatic image of resistance transformed. . . . Luke used the Damascus narratives and these themes to bracket the Paulusbild fashioning the trial narrative into an extended period of transformation of Pauline resistance. Beginning in 19:21 Paul resisted the leading of the Holy Spirit and his appointed location of witness. He was an intentionally forceful actor resisting God. God bound this intentionally forceful actor in chains. In this opening scene of the Paulusbild Luke included the second Damascus narrative (21:33--22:24a). The themes emphasized in the narrative were those of Saul intentionally resisting gospel expansion and Gods subsequent overcoming of Saul. Saul was physically restored through Ananias but not fully transformed. He is not yet an empowered and intentionally forceful witness. At the end of the Paulusbild as Paul is headed to Rome Luke included the final Damascus narrative (25:23--26:32). Paul was headed to Rome but not in the freedom intended by God. He remained in chains because of his own actions. Thus his character was one of tension. The Damascus narrative that Luke included demonstrates Sauls intentionally forceful resistance to the gospel. However the vacating of power and overcoming of Saul is suppressed and the theme of the transformation of resistance to empowered witness is emphasized. Nonetheless the character of Saul in the speech does not match the character of Paul in the narrative. Tension remains but the projected direction of transformation is evident. Paul is headed to Rome. The vision of grace has effected a transformation in Saul but not yet in Paul. If the trajectory of transformation continues then Paul should once again be an intentionally forceful empowered witness for the gospel when he arrives in Rome. --from Chapter 5 Endorsements: Paul the Reluctant Witness is a new and exciting investigation into one of the most familiar and yet frequently misunderstood narratives in all of Acts--Lukes trilogy of accounts commonly known as the Damascus Road. By exploring the rhetorical horizons of the three accounts Shipp methodically exposes Lukes characterization of Saul/Paul. The unfolding portrait of Paul brings power and vigor into an understanding of this character throughout the narrative in Acts explains Lukes unusual employment of a Saul/Paul dual characterization and reveals beautifully Lukes overall narrative strategy with this character and the plot of Acts. A fresh look at a time-worn narrative that plows through the massive literature on Acts and invites renewed reflection on a Lukan character we think we all know so well. --Dr. Gerald L. Stevens Professor of New Testament and Greek New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary About the Contributor(s): Blake Shipp Ph.D. is currently the Pastor of New Henleyfield Baptist Church in Carriere Mississippi.