How Ancient Narratives Persuade

Acts in Its Literary Context

Eric Clouston

• Publisher: Fortress Academic
• Year: 2020
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781978797222
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Ancient & Classical Literary Criticism

The Acts of the Apostles includes persuasive speeches, but the whole story should also be seen as an act of persuasion. In How Ancient Narratives Persuade: Acts in Its Literary Context, Eric Clouston takes a fresh approach to interpreting Acts, treating it as a persuasive narrative. Comparison with other Greek narratives allows Clouston to show how events and characters––and how they are described as worthy of trust, empathy, or respect, as well as their speeches and narrator asides––all have different persuasive effects. His examination of the persuasive effects of narrative in Acts leads at last to conclusions about the purpose of the work directed to a readership unconvinced by the figure of Paul.

Table of contents

• Contents
• Preface and Acknowledgments
• Figures and Tables
• Abbreviations
• Chapter One Why Study the Persuasiveness of Narrative?
• Chapter Two How to Identify the Persuasive Features of a Narrative
• Chapter Three Narrative Persuasion in Philo’s Embassy to Gaius
• Chapter Four Narrative Persuasion in Josephus’s Jewish War
• Chapter Five Narrative Persuasion in Joseph and Aseneth
• Chapter Six Narrative Persuasion in the Letter of Aristeas
• Chapter Seven Basic Literary Analysis of Acts
• Chapter Eight Narrative Persuasion in Acts
• Chapter Nine Case Study The Cornelius Episode, Acts 10:1–11:18
• Chapter Ten Comparison Between the Five Texts
• Chapter Eleven Revisiting the Purpose of Acts
• Chapter Twelve Conclusions
• Appendix A
• Appendix B
• Appendix C
• Appendix D
• Appendix E
• Bibliography
• Index
• About the Author