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Title: Mark As Story: An Introduction to the Narrative of a Gospel by Donald M. Michie ISBN: 0-8006-1614-6 Publisher: Augsburg Fortress Pub Pub. Date: 01 January, 1982 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.25 (4 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Great insights into the narrative, TERRIBLE view of Christ
Comment: Mark as Story has some value in terms of leading the reader through the plot of the Gospel of Mark, but contains a huge amount of biases and poor theology. For the reader that can sort through this, the book is quite valuable. For instance, the authors take LARGE efforts to promote a feminist reading of the text in various places. They somehow find (through poor exegesis) that Jesus' teachings contain the agenda to break down all patriarchal structures and as a logical conclusion - the family (if you don't want "fathers" in the Kingdom of God on earth, then how do you have brothers and sisters?). This flies in the face of 1000's of other texts. While people may disagree about gender teachings in the Bible, the authors certainly have not dealt with issues from 1 Tim. 2; 1 Cor. 11, 14, and Eph. 5 on marriage and headship. My guess is that this is more prevalent in the 2nd edition since the female author was not in the first edition. I mean no disrespect to her, but the biases are sad and unsubstantiated. The passage they quote cannot stand because in the other Gospels the omission of "father" is not there (in the passage about giving up homes, etc. and receiving a hundred fold in this life and eternal life, etc). You'll have to see the book to understand what I mean.
What is astounding is that the authors take many large footnotes to explain the fact that women had a prominent role in the church despite a lack of evidence in Mark. This is not to say that Mark does not speak about female disciples, but their point is that you must look at the other Gospels to find more support of this. HOWEVER, they refuse to look at other gospels when it is inconvenient to their theology, and MOST SUPRISINGLY, they emphatically state that "Jesus is not God" in a multitude of places because they feel Mark does not reference this idea enough and they refuse to consider other Gospels to present a Biblical theology or more balanced view of Christ (nor will they interact with Church history, or councils on the deity and humanity of Christ). I understand they want to take Mark at face value and ignore other Gospels, but then why do they look to other Gospels when it serves their agenda, but ignore other Gospels when trying to paint a picture of the main character - Jesus? My complaint is thus: How can you have all these footnotes for proving your view of women's role in the early Church, and YET OMIT THE FACT THAT JESUS' DEITY IS ALL OVER THE OTHER GOSPELS AND THE OTHER NEW TESTAMENT WRITINGS??? All I'm asking for is a simple footnote as they pound their liberal theology stating, "While WE see no evidence for Christ's deity in this Gospel, it is possible for some to deduce this from a. a study of "the Son of Man" in this Gospel and the Old Testament b. a careful look at Matthew, Luke, and John's Gospel, c. the rest of the New Testament proclaims the fact of Jesus being God in the flesh from Colossians 1 and 2, John 1, Hebrews 1, the virgin birth, ETC. d. the title "Son of God" in Mark may indicate Jesus' deity, e. the "I am" statements in Mark indicate deity, f. a consideration of what happened at the Transfiguration. The authors also ignore the Old Testaments quotes throughout the Gospels (i.e. Isa. 7 and 9- A CHILD WILL BE BORN, A SON WILL BE GIVEN...and HE shall be called....MIGHTY GOD).
I only ask for this FOOTNOTE because this is a fair request in light of the focus on the person and work of Christ in the Bible, and because if they want to spend so much time developing a feminist agenda they need to balance this with the focus of the Gospel - Jesus. Mark was not written to promote 21st century, postmodern, relativistic, pluralistic, feminist ideas. It was written to proclaim Jesus. Since the authors take more time promoting their agendas than giving a fair portrayal of Jesus, I ask them to revise the book and keep their exegesis and exposition fair and balanced. It is obvious from their footnotes that they have not interacted with hardly any evangelical theologians, and all their sources are highly liberal. They need to interact with other scholars, not a part of their camps, to present a balanced and fair view. I suggest they read some Carson, Moo, Schreiner, O'Brien, Fee, Grudem, or Morris.
See The Gospel According to Mark (Pillar New Testament Commentary Series) by James R., Jr. Edwards, The Gospel of Mark: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary by Ben, III Witherington, The Gospel According to Mark by William L. Lane, Mark: A Commentary on His Apology for the Cross by Robert H. Gundry, Word Biblical Commentary on Mark 8:27-16:20 by Craig A. Evans
So, again, overall the book takes the reader through the Gospel in an exciting way and reveals tons of structures and thematic devices that may not be readily apparent without more study. But, the Christology in the book is blasphemous and is far from the orthodox faith of Christians for 2000 years. Their assumptions and presuppositions are glaring and reflect poor study and scholarship.
Rating: 4
Summary: Understanding Mark on its own terms
Comment: I have a confession to make. Mark was probably my least favorite of the Gospels. It seemed so disjointed at times. The author seemed to race from one event to the other, with seemingly little connection between events or tales. His descriptions and details seemed scant, with the other Gospels filling in the blanks. And there lies part of my problem in trying to figure the book of Mark out - my reliance on the other Gospels to help me interpret it, instead of reading Mark as though I was hearing everything about the life, death, and resurrection of the Messiah for the first time.
The authors of "Mark as Story" try to impress upon the reader the importance of understanding Mark on its own terms as a narrative. They offer four guidelines in this approach: (1) read Mark as a story rather than history, (2) read Mark independently from the other Gospels, (3) avoid reading modern cultural assumptions into the story, and (4) avoid reading modern theologies about Jesus back into Mark's story. With these guidelines in mind, the authors discuss the various elements of Mark, known in biblical studies as "narrative criticism" where tone, style, setting, plot, characters, etc. are analyzed. Sound like a college course in Literature? Perhaps. And thus this particular book may not be to everyone's liking. As for me, I can truly say that I have a much greater appreciation for the Gospel of Mark having read it as a work of literature in its own right. - Ronni
Rating: 5
Summary: An excellent and fresh approach to the Gospel of Mark
Comment: This fairly brief book provides a fresh and exciting approach to the Gospel of Mark. By respecting the integrity of Mark and encouraging the reader to attend to the details and style of this Gospel, the reader is allowed to experience anew the Gospel and find within its story the astounding character of Jesus.
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Title: Synopsis of the Four Gospels : Completely Revised on the Basis of the Greek Text of the Nestle Aland (English-only text) by Kurt Aland, K. Aland ISBN: 0826705006 Publisher: United Bible Societies Pub. Date: 01 June, 1982 List Price(USD): $18.99 |
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Title: What Is Narrative Criticism (Guides to Biblical Scholarship. New Testament Series) by Mark Allan Powell ISBN: 0800604733 Publisher: Augsburg Fortress Publishers Pub. Date: 01 February, 1991 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: Fortress Introduction to the Gospels by Mark Allan Powell ISBN: 0800630750 Publisher: Augsburg Fortress Publishers Pub. Date: 01 November, 1997 List Price(USD): $17.00 |
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Title: The Gospel of Matthew (Sacra Pagina Series, Vol 1) by Daniel J. Harrington ISBN: 0814658032 Publisher: Liturgical Press Pub. Date: 01 September, 1991 List Price(USD): $39.95 |
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Title: The Modern Preacher and the Ancient Text: Interpreting and Preaching Biblical Literature by Sidney Greidanus ISBN: 0802803601 Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company Pub. Date: 01 December, 1988 List Price(USD): $24.00 |
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