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.
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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