Justice, Righteousness, and Wealth Ethics

Anton Deik argues that the wealth ethics of the Acts of the Apostles articulate a radical vision of justice/righteousness (δικαιοσύνη). This vision not only fulfils but also surpasses the demands of the Deuteronomic law while fundamentally reshaping Graeco-Roman conceptions of justice.

It is widely recognised that the wealth ethics of the Acts of the Apostles echo both Graeco-Roman philosophy and Greek Deuteronomy. Yet a central question remains unresolved: What is the significance of these echoes? While scholarship commonly explains Luke’s depiction of early Christian communal life through the lenses of Graeco-Roman friendship or utopia, Anton Deik advances a third proposal: the wealth ethics of Acts articulate a vision of justice/righteousness (δικαιοσύνη). This vision not only fulfils but also surpasses the demands of justice and righteous living in the Deuteronomic law, while partly fulfilling yet fundamentally subverting Graeco-Roman conceptions of justice. Using a text-centred, comparative, diachronic intertextual approach, the author offers a comprehensive examination of passages in Acts concerning communal sharing, wealth distribution, greed, care for the vulnerable, almsgiving, proportional giving, damage to wealth, and work ethics. Special attention is given to Luke’s δικαιοσύνη language and to Acts’s conceptual and lexical correlations with Greek Deuteronomy and with four major Graeco-Roman philosophical traditions: Pythagoreanism, Platonism, Aristotelianism, and Stoicism. Although the thesis proffered in this study contributes primarily to scholarly discussions concerning Acts’s wealth ethics, it has significant implications (1) for understanding the composition of Luke’s text; (2) for assessing his level of education; (3) for wider δικαιοσύνη studies within NT research; (4) for the question of Luke and the Mosaic law; and (5) for the new perspective on Acts and Graeco-Roman culture.

Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 Previous research
1.2 Vocabulary
1.3 Method and hermeneutical posture
1.4 Outline
Chapter 2: Justice and wealth ethics in Greek Deuteronomy
2.1 Deuteronomy and justice
2.2 Need elimination, work ethics, and personal and collective responsibilities (with reference to Deut 2:7)
2.3 Need elimination and distributive justice (Deut 8; Exod 16)
2.4 Need elimination, promised land, and the Shema (with reference to Deut 8:9)
2.5 Discourse on δικαιοσύνη and ὁσιότης (Deut 9:1-11:32)
2.6 Wealth ethics in the Deuteronomic Code (Deut 14:22[21]-16:17)
2.7 Conclusion
Chapter 3: Justice and wealth ethics in Acts
3.1 Worshipping God in ὁσιότης and δικαιοσύνη (Luke 1:74-75)
3.2 Luke's summaries (Acts 2:42-47; 4:32-35)
3.3 Barnabas, Ananias, and Sapphira (Acts 4:36-5:11)
3.4 Immigrant widows: preferential attention to 'the least of the least' (Acts 6:1-7)
3.5 Almsgiving and justice: Tabitha (Acts 9:36), Cornelius (10:2, 4, 31), and Jesus's admonition of the Pharisees (Luke 11:41-42)
3.6 The Antiochene collection and proportional giving (Acts 11:27-30)
3.7 Damage to wealth in Philippi and Ephesus (Acts 16:16-24; 19:18-41)
3.8 The exemplary work ethics of Paul (Acts 20:33-35)
3.9 Conclusion
Chapter 4: Justice and wealth ethics in Graeco-Roman philosophy
4.1 Pythagoreanism
4.2 Platonism
4.3 Aristotelianism
4.4 Stoicism
4.5 Conclusion
Chapter 5: Summary and implications
5.1 Summary
5.2 Implications

• By (author) Anton Deik