Die Freude im Lukasevangelium

The Gospel of Luke promises »great joy,« a theme which recurs more often in the Gospel of Luke than in any other early Christian writings. Many intratextual references show that the author was pursuing a definite concept. Anke Inselmann analyzes how the understanding of joy develops in the course of the narrative and how it is defined. Based on an historical-critical and literary analysis, she incorporates ancient psychology and modern theories of emotion into the exegesis. The author shows that it is the intention of the Gospel of Luke to give instructions on how to control emotions by using various models. In doing so, the author of the Gospel tries to attain a joy which is constant, cognitively controlled and which is associated directly with the consequences of an action. This joy is not reserved for wise philosophers only; it is also ascribed to the simple people of the Christian community. With this, Luke promotes an attractive Christianity which is characterized by joy.