Thomas Christensen

My research is grounded in the interpretation of the New Testament, with particular emphasis on the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. I work on questions related to early “Christian” identity, narrative theology, and the shaping of the early Jesus movement within the tensions between Jewish and Greco-Roman cultural frameworks.

In earlier work, I have examined how the motif of Israel functions as an identity-forming element in Luke–Acts, especially in relation to questions of continuity, belonging, and self-understanding. My current PhD project, “The Memory of Paul in Acts and the Development of Early Christian Identity,” analyzes the Acts of the Apostles as an identity-forming memory narrative in which Paul plays a key role.

The project combines narratological analysis with social memory theory and investigates how Paul is portrayed as a central figure of memory and identity in Acts. I analyze how the author’s selection and shaping of Pauline traditions function as a pragmatic resource for forming and stabilizing early Christian self-understanding during a formative period marked by transition and conflict.