The Historical Tell: Patterns of Eyewitness Testimony in the Gospel of Luke and Acts

$14.99

Luuk van de Weghe

The Historical Tell demonstrates that five patterns in Luke’s Gospel are not only best explained by Luke’s claim being true, but that these patterns fit together to form a corroborative evidence case.

Description

Many are familiar with the concept of a poker player’s tell: the nervous tick, the slight change in behavior, the pattern of very subtle, largely unintentional cues that give away the truth of a poker player’s hand. The Historical Tell looks at similar patterns in Luke’s Gospel—at the rich historical details that would be very difficult for Luke the Evangelist to fake and very easy for him to overlook and get wrong.

Bolstering the case for Luke’s reliability, The Historical Tell investigates the significant claim Luke makes at the outset: that he relied on eyewitness testimony (Luke 1.1–4). It demonstrates that five patterns in Luke’s Gospel are not only best explained by Luke’s claim being true, but that these patterns fit together to form a corroborative evidence case. We do not need to take Luke’s claim about eyewitnesses at face value; we do not need to simply take the church at its word. But by following the evidence, we can gain new confidence in the claims Luke makes and in the eyewitnesses whose voices echo even today.

The Historical Tell is a short book and yet it packs a strong punch. Luuk van de Weghe relies upon some classic arguments, but arranges them in a unique fashion, and adds some new insights as to why there is eyewitness testimony behind Luke and Acts.

– Sean McDowell

In this fresh and engaging treatment of Luke/Acts, Luuk van de Weghe contributes meaningfully to our understandings of biblical historiography regarding the histories of early Christianity and Jesus of Nazareth.

– Paul N. Anderson

Luuk van de Weghe’s discoveries bolster the case for the reliability of the New Testament from several unique investigative angles. If you’re interested in an engaging evidential approach to the case for Jesus, The Historical Tell will inspire and encourage you. I highly recommend it.

– J. Warner Wallace

About the Author

Luuk van de Weghe (PhD, University of Aberdeen) is a New Testament scholar whose research has been published in preeminent peer-reviewed journals in biblical studies, including New Testament Studies, Tyndale Bulletin, and Bulletin for Biblical Research. He is the author of The Historical Tell: Patterns of Eyewitness Testimony in the Gospel of Luke and Acts (2023) and For People Like Us: God’s Search for the Lost of Luke 15 (2023). He lives near Seattle with his wife and five daughters. For more information on his writings and research, see www.luukvandeweghe.com.