Rumors of Resistance: Status Reversals and Hidden Transcripts in the Gospel of Luke
James C. Scott’s discussion of “hidden transcripts” of defiance or resistance among subordinate groups has been taken up by scholars who claim to detect elements of defiant transcripts in biblical texts. In Rumors of Resistance, Amanda C. Miller uses Scott’s theory to explain tensions within the narrative of the Gospel of Luke, between more accommodationist narratives and poetic or parabolic passages that announce a dramatic eschatological reversal. Miller concludes that Luke’s audience would have been challenged to resist the dominant values of Roman imperial culture even as the narrative framework of Luke partially obscures that “transcript.”
- Format Paperback
- ISBN 9781451469356
- eBook ISBN 9781451484274
- Pages 240
- Emerging Scholars category Bible
- Dimensions 6 x 9
- Publication Date April 1, 2014
Contents
Contents:
Preface
Introduction
1. Hidden Transcripts, Models of Empire, and the Gospel of Luke
2. The Context of Luke and His Reading Communities
3. Mary, the Magnificat, and the Powers That Be
4. The Nazareth Proclamation: Nuancing Resistance
5. The Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man: Reversal Now or Later
Conclusion
Bibliography
Preface
Introduction
1. Hidden Transcripts, Models of Empire, and the Gospel of Luke
2. The Context of Luke and His Reading Communities
3. Mary, the Magnificat, and the Powers That Be
4. The Nazareth Proclamation: Nuancing Resistance
5. The Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man: Reversal Now or Later
Conclusion
Bibliography
Endorsements
“Amanda C. Miller’s insightful study, Rumors of Resistance, exposes the inadequacy of a ‘one-dynamic-fits-all’ approach to the question of Luke’s engagement with the Roman empire. Instead, using James Scott’s work, she examines several key passages to highlight multivalent negotiation, tensions, and ambiguities in the Lucan material that involve both accommodation and eschatological reversals. This is an important and welcome contribution to our understanding of Luke’s Gospel.”
—Warren Carter
Brite Divinity School
"Amanda C. Miller’s new book, Rumors of Resistance: Status Reversals and Hidden Transcripts in the Gospel of Luke, deftly employs multi-disciplinary approaches to cast new light on the intriguing status-reversal texts in Luke’s narrative. Miller’s perceptive social-rhetorical-literary analysis will be of great interest to readers of Luke’s Gospel; her work also offers helpful perspective on the emergence of Christian communities within the Roman imperial context, the fruitfulness of social-scientific models in literary and historical study of early Christian literature, and ethical analysis of topics—such as poverty and wealth, power and resistance—that figure centrally in Luke’s narrative and also matter for contemporary social, economic, religious, and political life."
—John T. Carroll
Union Presbyterian Seminary
"Amanda C. Miller resists the tendency to view a complex work like the Gospel of Luke through a single interpretive lens, to answer a simplistic question like whether the author was pro-Roman or anti-Roman. Instead, she applies an array of methodological tools to discover a complex story of Jesus in the third gospel, written for a diverse community, challenging all members to act more justly in a dangerous context."
—Mark McEntire
Belmont University
"In Rumors of Resistance, Dr. Amanda C. Miller brings together thorough and current scholarship with a passion for the church that lives in the world around it with an eye for how to shape itself from the inside out, from the bottom up, and from a deep understanding of the witness of the Lukan voice. By joining models from other disciplines with a deep look at the clarity of the text under the text, Miller demonstrates the willingness to stand in the tension to hear more than one level of communication from the biblical text. Scholarly readers as well as students of the Bible will find this lively voice and integrative study helpful in hearing ancient voices today."
—Judy Skeen
Belmont University
"Amanda C. Miller’s innovative study is one with significant ethical implications, as it directly engages themes of wealth and poverty, the dynamics of empire, and strategies for faithful resistance to oppressive social differentials of power and status. She negotiates conflicting contributions the Gospel of Luke has made to reflection on such matters, shedding light on contradictions heretofore unaccounted for."
—Frances Taylor Gench
Union Presbyterian Seminary
"Miller’s work is a fresh breath into Lukan studies. She illustrates that the Gospel of Luke's focus on resistance to the imperial status quo was a complex and nuanced task. With the adept use of socio-rhetorical models, close readings of the texts, and careful exegesis, she dissects the status reversal themes in Luke so that one realizes all the original elite and non-elite followers of Jesus were challenged about their relationships to Rome and each other."
—David M. May
Central Baptist Theological Seminary
—Warren Carter
Brite Divinity School
"Amanda C. Miller’s new book, Rumors of Resistance: Status Reversals and Hidden Transcripts in the Gospel of Luke, deftly employs multi-disciplinary approaches to cast new light on the intriguing status-reversal texts in Luke’s narrative. Miller’s perceptive social-rhetorical-literary analysis will be of great interest to readers of Luke’s Gospel; her work also offers helpful perspective on the emergence of Christian communities within the Roman imperial context, the fruitfulness of social-scientific models in literary and historical study of early Christian literature, and ethical analysis of topics—such as poverty and wealth, power and resistance—that figure centrally in Luke’s narrative and also matter for contemporary social, economic, religious, and political life."
—John T. Carroll
Union Presbyterian Seminary
"Amanda C. Miller resists the tendency to view a complex work like the Gospel of Luke through a single interpretive lens, to answer a simplistic question like whether the author was pro-Roman or anti-Roman. Instead, she applies an array of methodological tools to discover a complex story of Jesus in the third gospel, written for a diverse community, challenging all members to act more justly in a dangerous context."
—Mark McEntire
Belmont University
"In Rumors of Resistance, Dr. Amanda C. Miller brings together thorough and current scholarship with a passion for the church that lives in the world around it with an eye for how to shape itself from the inside out, from the bottom up, and from a deep understanding of the witness of the Lukan voice. By joining models from other disciplines with a deep look at the clarity of the text under the text, Miller demonstrates the willingness to stand in the tension to hear more than one level of communication from the biblical text. Scholarly readers as well as students of the Bible will find this lively voice and integrative study helpful in hearing ancient voices today."
—Judy Skeen
Belmont University
"Amanda C. Miller’s innovative study is one with significant ethical implications, as it directly engages themes of wealth and poverty, the dynamics of empire, and strategies for faithful resistance to oppressive social differentials of power and status. She negotiates conflicting contributions the Gospel of Luke has made to reflection on such matters, shedding light on contradictions heretofore unaccounted for."
—Frances Taylor Gench
Union Presbyterian Seminary
"Miller’s work is a fresh breath into Lukan studies. She illustrates that the Gospel of Luke's focus on resistance to the imperial status quo was a complex and nuanced task. With the adept use of socio-rhetorical models, close readings of the texts, and careful exegesis, she dissects the status reversal themes in Luke so that one realizes all the original elite and non-elite followers of Jesus were challenged about their relationships to Rome and each other."
—David M. May
Central Baptist Theological Seminary