Luke´s notions of "Spirits": A Study Of Luke’ s Notions of Πνεῦμα against the Qumran and Stoic Background Traditions
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English Abstract
The present dissertation develops the concept of the ‘spirit’ in the Gospel of Luke against the background of the Jewish and Stoic πνεῦμα ideas. While there are many studies on the ‘Holy Spirit’ in the New Testament, only a few have dealt with the spirit concept in a particular gospel, especially the Gospel of Luke. Furthermore, there are even fewer works that deal with the negative concept of ‘spirits’ (e.g. the unclean spirit) in the gospels. While the Jewish background of spirit conceptions is intermittently covered, there are almost no studies available that also consider spirit conceptions in Greek philosophy and the natural sciences.
The present work focuses on the πνεῦμα notion in Luke’s double work, particularly in the Gospel of Luke, and continues the research on two essential points: On the one hand, the Stoic πνεῦμα concept in particular, which is intended to broaden the horizon towards a holistic understanding of Greek philosophy. On the other hand, the ‘spirit’ concept is not one-sidedly limited to the ‘Holy Spirit,’ but rather an overall concept is developed that also includes the negative dimensions (such as unclean spirits).
The concordance findings show that in the Gospel of Luke there are seventeen mentions of πνεῦμα which are directly related to the positive conception of ‘spirits.’ The positive concept of ‘spirits’ in Luke contains a pronounced interest in the ‘Holy Spirit’ and its variants. However, if one looks at the negative term of ‘spirits,’ the result is surprising: Luke puts together a variety of associations, which he then relates to the terms of impurity, evil, and the lemma ‘demon.’ In order to understand Luke's overarching notion of the ‘spirit,’ taking into account both the positive and negative notions of ‘spirits,’ this research also examines the possible associations with disease and sin, as well as the possible dualistic confrontation between these two opposing terms.
The present work aims to place the Lucan concept of ‘spirit’ within the horizon of Greek and Jewish thought. The proximity of the Third Evangelist to the Greek style of thought and writing has long been discussed in research, but has been focused particularly on historiography. It is only in recent times that a unilateral classification as a 'Gentile Christian' has been doubted and the Jewish character of Luke has also been recognized. The twofold connection between tradition and history is concretized in the present work by the overview-like presentation of the Stoic πνεῦμα concept as well as the spirit concept in Qumran, since both source areas seem to be particularly informative for Luke. In the next step an overview of the πνεῦμα occurrences in the Lucan double work is given. Afterwards, three specific sections of the Gospel of Luke will be analyzed by way of example. Two of these sections focus on the negative term ‘spirit,’ while the remaining section concentrates on the positive term. These three sections are analyzed on three levels: a phenomenological level, which considers the semantic level; a narratological level, which deals with the narration of the Gospel of Luke in its own narratological right; and a traditional-historical level, which looks at the historical background of the use of the term.
The analysis of the Gospel of Luke then offers a strategic insight into one's own understanding of the Gospel of Luke in its positive and negative connotations. When it comes to the positive concept of ‘spirit,’ the result is clear that ‘the Spirit’ should be seen as the main character who transcends the prophetic line and renews God's intervention and action in human affairs. Concerning the negative aspect of ‘spirits,’ Luke sees in them the opposite force that causes illness and suffering to people, and therefore the necessity that they are set free. Interestingly, when compared to the background traditions of Stoicism, the Gospel of Luke shows some analogy with remarkable developments in the sense that it exchanges the guardian ‘demon’ for that of the ‘Holy Spirit.’ However, when it comes to the Jewish Qumran community, the aspect of ‘spirits’ that inflict disease is retained, while the Qumran community can attribute possession and disease to moral failure and sin, Luke removes the notion of sin as the cause of the affliction that affects humanity. Likewise, Luke holds fast to the dualistic idea of a conflict between the ‘Holy Spirit’ in Jesus and the unclean and evil ‘spirits,’ in ‘Beelzebul’ or ‘Satan,’ in this eschatological conflict.
The present work would like to clarify the often sweeping insight that the Gospel of Luke ascribes a special significance to the (Holy) Spirit to the effect that it elaborates a comprehensive spirit notion revealing a dualistic idea which can be understood in greater depth against the background of Stoic and early Jewish concepts of spirit, particularly those of Qumran.