It has often been suggested that Luke's two volumes were written as an
apology for Christianity, to demonstrate to the Roman authorities that
the new faith was not a dangerous and subversive innovation, a threat to
the Pax Romana and to Roman rule. This book reviews the development of
the 'traditional perspective', then raises some questions, e.g. if Luke
was writing an apologia pro ecclesia, why does he include so much
material politically damaging to the Christian cause? Is it possible
that the approach has been made from the wrong angle, that Luke was
writing an apologia not pro ecclesia but pro imperio, to assure his
fellow Christians that Church and Empire need not fear or suspect each
other? This conclusion is then supported by an investigation of the text
of Luke-Acts, particularly the trials of Jesus and Paul. This
challenging volume will be of interest to students and scholars of the
New Testament and to ecclesiastical and Roman historians.