Always observing the established techniques of New Testament analysis, especially redaction criticism, Professor Esler makes extensive use of sociology and anthropology to examine the author of Luke-Acts' theology as a response to social and political pressures on the Christian community for whom he was writing. Various themes such as table-fellowship, the law, the temple, poverty and riches, and politics are examined to determine how they have been influenced by the social and political background of Luke's audience. This book offers a New Testament paradigm and warrant for those interested in generating a theology attuned to the social and political realities affecting contemporary Christian congregations.
Professor Philip Esler is Principal, and Professor of Biblical Interpretation, at St Mary's University College, Twickenham, London, which will soon become the first Catholic university in the UK since the Reformation. He was raised in Sydney, Australia, and worked there as a solicitor and barrister for eleven years (with three years out from 1981-84 doing a New Testament doctorate in Oxford). In 1992 he moved to the University of St Andrews to take up a career as a biblical critic. He served as Chief Executive of the UK's Arts and Humanities Research Council from 2005-09. He is well known for his social-scientific interpretation of biblical texts and is one of the founding members of the Context Group, which specialises in such an approach. He has also published in the areas of New Testament theology and the Bible and the visual arts. During the course of his career he has authored six books, co-authored two and edited four, while publishing some 20 journal articles and 40 essays. He has a Doctor of Divinity degree from Oxford University and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He is married with three adult children.
