Body and Character in Luke and Acts ─ The Subversion of Physiognomy in Early Christianity

Early Christianity developed in a world where moral significance was often judged based upon physical appearance alone. Exploring the manifestations of this ancient “science” of physiognomy, Parsons rightly shows how Greco-Roman society, and by consequence the author of Luke and Acts, was steeped in this tradition. Luke, however, employs these principles in his writings in order to subvert the paradigm. Using as examples the bent woman (Luke 13), Zacchaeus (Luke 18), the lame man (Acts 3-4), and the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8), Parsons shows that the Christian community—both early and present-day—is established only in the image of Jesus Christ.

Mikeal C. Parsons is the Kidd L. and Buna Hitchcock Macon Chair in Religion at Baylor University. He is the author of numerous books including most recentlyLuke: A Handbook on the Greek Text and Acts: A Handbook on the Greek Text, and the editor ofThe Acts of the Apostles: Four Centuries of Baptist Interpretation. Parsons lives in Waco, Texas.