Luke, A Revolution in Values – Part 1

Class Date: September 21, 2022

The New Testament was written primarily by second generation Christian writers who were cited with establishing apostolic authority. The main criteria for deciding which books to choose was that of being an eyewitness to Jesus and if its teachings were orthodox. The Apostle Paul had a major impact on the orthodox teachings of the early church. Half of the New Testament consists of letters from Paul.

There are four canonical gospels in the New Testament. The gospels also had an enormous impact on the formation of the Christian church. Each gospel tells the story of Jesus in it’s own way, however it is important to understand that all four have the same basic perspective on who Jesus is, and what his life, death, and resurrection mean for us.

In this series, we are going to look at sections of the gospel of Luke. Luke contains many details of how Jesus transforms the values and ethics of individuals and indeed the entire social order. My thesis is that Luke in particular had a major impact on the history of western civilization and the values we take for granted. This class will focus more about American history and institutions than those in Europe, however, in a general sense, the values of western Europe and North America have many similarities.

This class concludes by examining Luke’s version of the birth of Jesus. One very important thing in the story as Luke tells it is the power of Caesar and the awesome power he has over the population. Caesar Augustus ushered in the “Pax Romana”. As such, he was entitled to be referred to as the “Lord of Lords”, the “Prince of Peace”, and the “Savior” of the Roman empire. Luke has a different idea as to who these titles rightfully belong to and who is really in charge. Those designations belong to the Christ child instead. This series will explore how this new perspective influences the institutions that develop in the places where Christianity held sway as the spiritual foundation for values and ethics.