Takoma Park Presbyterian Church
Adult Education
Spring, 2000
Mary G. Hynes
This syllabus is designed to guide our study of the Gospel of Mark
until Easter. We will begin with an introduction to Mark by Rev. Dr. Sharon
Ringe, Professor of New Testament at Wesley Theological Seminary. Please
make sure that you read the Gospel of Mark in its entirety (it is a really
short gospel) in anticipation of her lecture. If you are interested in
further introductory information, I have made some suggestions below. The
materials are all available from me.
For each class other than the introductory class, I have divided the
reading into the primary text, the secondary texts, and material for
thought. The primary text is the material from Mark. I suggest the New
Revised Standard Version but any text will do. Dr. Ringe required us to use
Rhoads, Dewey and Michie's translation in Mark as Story for her course in
Mark because it best captures the flavor of Mark's Greek.
The secondary texts are general exegeses on the primary text. Clifton
Black's Mark in the Journey Through the Bible series is a very readable,
solid, Methodist adult education text. We have ten copies of this text
available. Pheme Perkins' "Mark" in Volume VIII of the New Interpreter's
Bible is a standard exigetical resource for mainline reformed Protestant
clergy and seminarians. I can make this resource available to anyone who is
interested in using it as a commentary. Ched Myers' Binding the Strong Man
is a political reading of Mark and is generally recognized as one of the
most scholarly and thorough exegesis in print. We have five copies of this
text available. A more popular version of this text is Myers' Say to This
Mountain (Orbis: N.Y.) (1996), chapters of which I have suggested throughout
the syllabus.
The material for thought reflects contemporary exegesis of more
discrete pericopes and themes from a variety of different perspectives
(e.g., Hebrew Bible influences, feminist readings, Third World perspectives,
contemporary scholarship, etc.). Many of these readings are from articles
or essays in scholarly journals or other publications. Other readings are
chapters from different commentaries and anthologies about Mark. Some of
this reading is fairly dense. Some is more popular. Please let me know
which texts, if any, you are interested in and I will make sure to have them
available for you.
The readings are all suggested. You can do as much or as little as
you are inclined to do and still, hopefully, benefit from the class. If you
are interested in doing any of the readings in the material for thought
section, please let me know the week before so I can have enough copies to
hand out. I don't need to teach every class, although I am happy to start
the ball rolling. I look forward to exploring Mark with you.
For more information concerning this class, contact the Church Office at
301-270-5550.
January 23:
Introduction to the Gospel of Mark
Guest Lecturer Rev. Dr. Sharon Ringe, Wesley Theological Seminary
Reading:
The Gospel of Mark in its entirety.
The Ideology and Social Strategy of Mark's Community in
Myers, Ched, Binding the Strong Man, (Orbis: N.Y.) (1988) pp. 413-448.
Tolbert, Mary Ann, "Mark," in The Women's Bible
Commentary, Newsom and Ringe eds, (Westminster: Louisville) (1992) pp. 263 - 274.
Perkins, Pheme, "The Gospel of Mark," in The New
Interpreter's Bible, Vol. VIII, (Abingdon Press: Nashville) (1995) pp. 509 - 521.
January 30:
Primary text:
Secondary texts:
Black, Clifton, Journey Through the Bible: Mark, (United
Methodist Pub.: Nashville) (1994) pp. 3-11
Myers, pp. 91 - 152
Perkins, 509 - 547
Material for thought:
Marcus, Joel, The Way of the Lord: Christological
Exegesis of the Old Testament in the Gospel of Mark,
(Westminster: Louisville) (1992) pp. 12 - 77
Gibson, Jeffrey, "Jesus' Wilderness Temptation According
to Mark," Journal for the Study of the New Testament, Vol.
53, p. 3-34 (1994).
Gutierrez, Gustavo, "Mark 1:14 - 15," in Review and
Expositor, Vol. 88 p. 427 (1991)
Card, Kathleene, "John the Baptist According to Mark"
(Wesley Theological Seminary, December 1999)
February 6:
Primary text:
Secondary texts:
Black, pp. 12-19
Myers, pp. 152-168
Perkins, pp. 547 - 567
Material for thought:
Ringe, Jesus, Liberation, and the Biblical Jubilee,
(Fortress Press: Philadelphia) (1985), pp. 16 - 32, 65 - 74.
Neufeld, Dietmar, "Eating, Ecstasy and Exorcism," Biblical
Theology Bulletin, Vol. 26. No. 4. p. 152 (1996)
Myers, Ched, Say to This Mountain, (Orbis: N.Y.) (1996)
pp. 13 - 21.
Byung - Mu, "Jesus and the Minjung in the Gospel of Mark,"
in Voices from the Margin, Sugirtharajah ed. (Orbis: N.Y.) (1995) pp. 85 - 104.
February 13:
Primary text:
Secondary texts:
Black, pp. 20-27
Myers, pp. 169 - 189
Perkins, pp. 567 - 581
Material for thought:
McInery, William, "An Unresolved Question in the Gospel of
Mark: Who is this Whom Even the Wind and Sea Obey?" in
Perspectives in Religious Studies, Vol. 23 p. 255 (1996)
Tolbert, Mary Ann, Sowing the Gospel, (Fortress Press:
Minneapolis) (1989) pp. 127 - 75.
Malbon, Elizabeth, "Echoes and Foreboding in Mark 4 - 8,"
in Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 112 No. 2 (1993) pp. 211 - 230.
February 20:
Primary text:
Secondary texts:
Black, pp. 27-35
Myers, pp. 186 - 210
Perkins, 581 - 593
Material for thought:
Juel, Donald, "Plundering Satan's House," in Word and
World, Vol. 17, No. 3 (1997) pp. 278 - 281.
Swartley, Willard, "The Role of Women in Mark's Gospel: A
Narrative Analysis," in Biblical Theology Bulletin, Vol. 27, No. 1 (1977) pp. 16 - 22.
Berrigan, Philip, "Exorcising the Demons," in The Other
Side, Vol. 30 (S - O 1994) p. 16 ff.
Myers, Ched, Say to This Mountain, pp. 53 - 71.
February 27:
Primary text:
Secondary texts:
Black, pp. 36 - 43
Myers, pp. 211- 231
Perkins, 593 - 604
Material for thought:
Myers, Ched, Say to This Mountain, pp. 71 - 78.
Wefald, Eric, "The Separate Gentile Mission in Mark," in
Journal for the Study of the New Testament, Vol. 60 (1995) pp. 3 - 26.
Matera, F.J., "The Incomprehension of the Disciples and
Peter's Confession," in Biblica Vol. 70 (1989) pp. 153 - 172.
March 5:
Primary text:
Secondary texts:
Black, pp. 44 - 51
Myers, 211 - 231
Perkins, 604 - 613
Material for thought:
Kinukawa, "The Syrophoenician Woman: Mark 7.24-30" in
Voices from the Margin, Sugirtharajah ed. (Orbis: N.Y.) (1995) pp. 138 - 155.
Fiorenza, Elisabeth, "Reading the Bible as Equals," in
Search of a Round Table, Kanyoro, M. ed., (WCC Publ: Geneva) (1997) pp. 57 - 70.
Gundry-Volf, Spirit, Mercy and the Other, in Theology
Today, Vol. 51 (1994 - 1995) pp. 508 - 523.
March 12:
Primary text:
Secondary texts:
Black, 52-59
Myers, 235 - 264
Perkins, 613 - 641
Material for thought:
Marcus, The Way of the Lord, Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 The
Transfigured Son of God and The Suffering Son of Man, pp. 80 - 110.
Murphy-O'Connor, "What Really Happened at the
Transfiguration," in Bible Review, Vol. 3 no. 3 (Fall, 1987) pp. 9 ff.
Howard, Keir, "New Testament Exorcism and its Significance
Today," in Expository Times, Vol. 96 (1984-85) pp. 105 - 109.
March 19:
Primary text:
Secondary texts:
Black, 60 - 68
Myers, 264 - 288
Perkins, 641 -656
Material for thought:
Soares - Prabhu, "Anti-Greed and Anti-Pride: Mark: 10:17-27 and
10:35 - 45 in Light of Tribal Values," in Voices from the Margin at 117 - 137.
Bailey, James, "Experiencing the Kingdom as a Little
Child: A Rereading of Mark 10: 13-16," in Word and World,
Vol. 15, No. 1 (1995) p. 58 - 67.
Barr, Steve, "The Eye of the Needle -- Power and Money in
the New Community: A Look at Mark 10:17-31," in Andover
Newton Review, Vol. 1, No. 2 (Winter 1990) pp. 31 - 43.
Nwoka, A.O., "Mark 10:13-16: Jesus' Attitude To Children
and Its Modern Challenges," in Africa Theological Journal,
Vol. 14 (1985 - 86) pp. 100 - 109.
March 26:
Primary text:
Secondary texts:
Black, 69 - 77
Myers, 290 - 323
Perkins, 656 - 683
Material for thought:
Marcus, The Way of the Lord, Chapter 6, The Rejected and
Vindicated Stone and Chapter 7, David's Son and David's
Lord, pp. 111 - 151
Oakman, Douglas, "Cursing Fig Trees and Robbers' Dens," in
Semeia, Vol. 64 (1993) pp. 253 - 269.
DeMoor, Johannes, "The Targumic Background of Mark 12: 1-
12," in Journal for the Study of Judaism, Vol. 29 (1998)
pp. 63 - 80.
Jensen, Darcy, "The Widow's Mite," in Word and World, Vol.
17, No. 3 (1997) pp. 282 - 288.
Button, Gail, "From the Fig Tree Learn This Day," (Wesley
Theological Seminary, December, 1999)
April 2:
Primary text:
Secondary texts:
Black, 78 - 85
Myers, 324 - 353
Perkins, 683 - 696
Material for thought:
Collins, Yarbro, "The Apocalyptic Rhetoric of Mark 13," in
Biblical Research, Vol. 41 (1996) pp. 5 - 36.
Tolbert, Mary Ann, "When Resistance Becomes Repression:
Mark 13: 9 - 27," in Reading from this Place, Segovia and
Tolbert eds, (Fortress Press: Minn.) (1995) pp. 331 - 346.
April 9:
Primary text:
Secondary Texts:
Black, 86 - 93
Myers, 354 - 382
Perkins, 695 - 716
Material for thought:
Sugirtharajah, R.S., "For You Always Have the Poor with
You," in Asia Journal of Theology, Vol. 4, No. 1 (1990)
pp. 102 - 107.
Smith, Karen, "Mark 14: 32- 42," in Review and Expositor,
Vol. 88 (1991) pp. 433 - 437.
Murray, Joan, "The Prophet and the Woman Who Shatters and
Heals," in Journal of Religion and Health, Vol. 36, No. 2
(Summer 1997) pp. 165 - 171.
April 16:
Primary text:
Secondary texts:
Black, 94 - 109
Myers, 383 - 409
Perkins, 716 - 733
Material for thought:
Marcus, Way of the Lord, Chapter 8, pp. 153 - 196.
Myers, Ched, "Who Will Roll Away the Stone?" in Sojourners
Vol. 23 (April, 1994) pp. 20 - 23.
Hynes, "Psalms of Lament and the Markan Passion
Narrative," (Wesley Theological Seminary: Washington) (1999)