Bible (King James Ver.)

Topic: Focusing on the Gospel of Mark (from the Bible), consider how figures, stories or characters from an older tradition or culture are used in a new and different historical context. What is the afterlife of these old stories? How are these old stories, figures or characters transformed? Instructions: "Because you only have a few pages, choose a few representative passages to read closely rather than trying to survey an entire text. Remember to be specific in your analysis and clear in stating your conclusions" What I have so far: In the Old Testament of the Bible, Exodus outlines the Ten Commandments imposed on followers of God, by God himself. It also defines Sabbath as a day of rest and no work. Years later, the gospel of Mark describes the story of Jesus and his teachings. He is described to be the son of God, with the superhuman ability to heal people. As he spreads the word of God, however, it is evident that he does not define the Ten Commandments as they were originally written, and he also disobeys Sabbath. Is Jesus altering the old laws or making up his own? Upon close inspection, we can see that he is merely updating them to make them more approachable. The Ten Commandments as described in Exodus chapter 20 (p. 89) is as follows: 1. thou shalt have no other gods before me 2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth 3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain 4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy 5. Honour thy father and thy mother 6. Thou shalt not kill 7. Thou shalt not commit adultery 8. Thou shalt not steal 9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour 10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house...thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's There is a repetition of the words “not”, “no” and “nor” throughout (“thou shalt not”, “thou shalt have no”, etc.). In the gospel of Mark, as Jesus is asked to state the Commandments, he tells the Pharisees his understanding of the law: “thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart (…) this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is non other commandment greater than these”. At first glance, it seems that Jesus has completely altered the law. It is evident, however, that what he has actually done is he has altered them from what is not possible to what is possible. By loving “the Lord (…) with all thy heart”, it addresses the first three Commandments of having “no other gods”, not worshipping anyone else, and not to “take the name of the Lord thy God in vain”. Jesus' second commandment, “love thy neighbor as thyself” summarizes what is written in the last five of the original. What about the Sabbath? Eoxodus chapter 20 verse 10 describes it as such: “…the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates” However in chapter 2 of St. Mark, Jesus “…went through the corn fields on the Sabbath day; and his disciples began (…) to pluck the ears of corn”. When the Pharisees ask why he does not obey Sabbath, he replies, “the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath”. Although obeying Sabbath is important, exceptions must be made to fit certain situations. ------------------------------------- Please feel free to change anything/everything. Sorry, what I've written above is just an outline (not even), but the general idea is there I think.. If you don't have the King James Bible, I think the citations above are more than sufficient. I also don't mind at all if you alter the thesis entirely. The course is also NOT a religion course so it does not have to be particularly sensitive in that aspect. Thank you so much for your time.