Marcion and Luke-acts: A Defining Struggle

Building on recent scholarship that argues for a second-century date for the book of
Acts ,
Marcion and Luke-Acts
explores the probable context for the authorship not only of
Acts
but also of the canonical
Gospel of Luke . Tyson proposes that both
Acts
and the final version of
Luke
were published at the time when Marcion of Pontus was beginning to proclaim his version of the Christian gospel, in the years 120-125 C.E. He suggests that although the author was subject to various influences, a prominent motivation was the need to provide the church with writings that would serve in its fight against Marcionite Christianity. Tyson positions the controversy with Marcion as a defining struggle over the very meaning of the Christian message and the author of
Luke-Acts
as a major participant in that contest. Tyson concludes that the author of
Acts
made use of an earlier version of the
Gospel of Luke
and produced canonical
Luke
by adding, among other things, birth accounts and postresurrection narratives of Jesus.