[AJPS 20.1 (2017), 7-18] A Lukan Paradigm of Witness: Community as a Form of Witness Part I by Lora Angeline B. Embudo Introduction This paper on a Lukan paradigm of witness is divided into two parts. Part I will first present a survey on modern scholarship. Following the survey, there will be a discussion of the limitations of previous studies, the features of this current study and some socio- theological approaches to Acts. Part I will also include a presentation of the thesis and methodology of this study. The last section of Part I will introduce an analysis of Luke‟s concept of witness, which will be continued in Part II. Part II begins with exegetical analyses of two passages in Acts that demonstrate the parallel nature of the individual‟s witness and the community witness. Following this, the sociology of conversion approach and a socio-theological case will be discussed. Finally, my conclusions in this study will be presented. The Community as an Element of Luke‟s Paradigm of Witness: A Survey of Modern Scholarship In the ascendancy of Lukan scholarship, little was said about the community‟s witness in relation to the mission of the Church. The majority of the studies on “witness,” which in Lukan definition is the proclamation and attestation of the Christian faith, 1 have been on apostolic preaching (e.g. C. H. Dodd) and philological developments 1 Allison A. Trites presents a strong case for the Lukan concept of witness as proclamation and attestation (as in law-court procedure). She also points to Luke‟s forensic use of “witness” in congruence with Deuteronomy 15:19. Lexical analysis of the term “witness” conducted by the present author reasonably agrees with Trites‟ definition. For a fuller discussion see A. A. Trites, The New Testament Concept of Witness, Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series vol. 31 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004) 128-145.