Religion

The goal for next week is to better understand how Christians try to follow Jesus, a task which is often called "Christian discipleship." You've already done 1 of the readings, the Gospel of Mark, and the other is a short article that can be found in the resources section along with the Gospel of Mark reading. Please answer the following questions to prepare for class.

Re: Mark's Gospel

1. We read the whole Gospel so that we can think about it as a short story. Every story has a narrator of some sort. Write a short paragraph (3-4 sentences is fine) about what you can figure out about the narrator of the story. For example, you might talk about whether the narrator gives us information that the characters themselves do not have, or you might say something about which characters the narrator presents in a positive or negative light.

2. The Gospel of Mark is famous for its minor characters who show up briefly and then aren't heard from again. Pick one of those minor characters and write 2-3 sentences about what their role seems to be in the story.

3. Every good story has a moment (or sometimes multiple moments) where the story changes directions. Make a 2-3 sentence argument about where you think the central turning point is in this story. As long as you support your choice with a reasonable argument you will receive credit... there are multiple options here that work.

Re: Rolheiser's article on discipleship

4. Rolheiser's basic argument in this article is that Christian discipleship has 4 key elements. Provide a brief explanation of what each element involves in your own words (1-2 sentences per element, 4-8 sentences total).