This Tragic Gospel suggests that the "Gospel" of John intended to supplant the first three gospels and succeeded in gaining undue influence on the early churches. This study focuses on the tragic moment when Jesus prays for deliverance from his impending death in the garden of Gethsemane. Ruprecht contends that John rewrote this scene in order to convey a very different dramatic meaning from the one reflected in Mark's gospel. In John's version, not only did Jesus not pray to be spared, he actually mocked this prayer, embracing his imminent demise with godlike confidence. Ruprecht believes that this dramatic reinterpretation undermined the tragedy of Jesus's death as Mark imagined it and so paved the way for the development of a kind of Christianity that focused far less on compassion in the face of human suffering. John's Jesus offers the faithful food so that they will never hunger, water so that they will never thirst, and the promise of a world in which no faithful person ever sheds a tear. Mark's Christians do suffer, but they witness to suffering and death differently...with compassion. Mark's Christ suffers, like all Christians after him, but he embodies a tragic hope in the promise of a faith shored up by love and compassion.

It is generally agreed that Mark's Gospel was the first to have been written and that the Markan narrative created a literary form that inspired Matthew, Luke, and to a lesser extent, John to follow suit with the writing of their own gospels. But where did Mark go to find a framework that would shape his story? This question has been debated for more than two centuries. Several theories have been propounded but none without sufficient evidence to gain broad acceptance. It is the thesis of this book that Mark drew on the Greek tragedy, the most suitable literary genre of his time, to organize the oral and written traditions that he had collected. The Greek tragic genre had been created with the works of the great masters of the Fifth Century BC, and later, had been codified by Aristotle. The extraordinary points of congruence between the form of the Gospel and the canons of Greek drama are carefully explored in the Liberated Gospel. The compelling conclusion is that there is a relation of dependency whereas Mark used the form of Greek tragedy as a template without compromising the integrity of the story. As the title of the book suggests, the use of ancient tragedy by Mark served also another purpose. The Gospel was being written at a time during the early history of the church when its Judaistic faction attempted to impose the requirements of the Mosaic law on Gentile believers (as attested by Galatians and the Council of Jerusalem). By telling the very Jewish but universally relevant story of Jesus in the mode of the supreme Gentile literary genre of antiquity, Mark was proclaiming the manifesto that the gospel of Christ was not the exclusive property of a narrow ethnic group but that it belonged to all humanity.

"The Fourth Evangelist understood the elements of Greek drama and employed them to construct the Gospel's plot. Scholars of literary criticism in the Bible and students of drama alike will find in this text a detailed, compelling, and interdisciplinary study that will answer questions left open by prevailing theories and launch avenues of research that have yet to be explored."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Scholars have long debated the genre of the Gospels and many opinions have been put forward, such as biography, history, epic, or comedy. However, do the Gospels actually reflect these ancient genres? This book addresses this question and arrives at the conclusion that the Gospel of Mark was written as an ancient form of tragedy. Why would this matter to ancient or modern readers? Tragedy addresses the fundamental question of humanity's suffering and offers a philosophical perspective that orients the reader towards personal and societal growth. The Gospel of Mark fits within the tradition of tragic writings and speaks to the same challenges that all humanity faces: life is full of trouble and suffering, so how are we supposed to think about these things? The answer is to be found in Jesus, who is both divine and human, and who suffers as a result of engaging in conflict with the religious and political traditions of his time.

Offers wisdom and guidance for Christians to strengthen their faith, discussing how God speaks to individuals, how Jesus' death on the cross paid for sins, who the Holy Spirit is, and more.

Cancer. Suicide. The death of a child. As much as we wish we could avoid tragedies like these, eventually they will strike your church community. When they do, pastors must be ready to offer help by communicating the life-changing message of the gospel in a way that offers hope, truth, and encouragement during these difficult circumstances. Those asked to preach in the midst of tragedy know the anxiety of trying to say appropriate things from God’s Word that will comfort and strengthen God’s people when emotions and faith are stretched thin. This indispensable resource helps pastors prepare sermons in the face of tragedies by providing suggestions for how to approach different kinds of tragedy, as well as insight into how to handle the theological challenges of human suffering. Each topic provides a specific description of the context of the tragedy, the key concerns that need to be addressed in the message, and an outline of the approach taken in the sample sermon that follows. Topics addressed include: abortion; abuse; responding to national and community tragedies; the death of a child; death due to cancer and prolonged sickness; death due to drunk driving; drug abuse; and suicide. Bryan Chapell, author of Christ-Centered Preaching, has gathered together messages from some of today’s most trusted Christian leaders including: John Piper, Tim Keller, Michael Horton, Jack Collins, Dan Doriani, Jerram Barrs, Mike Khandjian, Robert Rayburn, Wilson Benton, Bob Flayhart, and George Robertson. Each chapter provides you with the resources you need to communicate the life-giving hope of the gospel in the midst of tragedy. In addition, the appendices provide further suggestions of biblical texts for addressing various subjects as well as guidance for conducting funerals.

Archbishop Alban Goodier, S.J. fills in the many blanks in the historical narratives about the Passion of Jesus Christ with a riveting account based on history, culture and his own deep spiritual insights. He brings to life and unifies the many observations, emotions and subtle and not-so-subtle actions that revolve around the person of God the Son as he faces his most tragic and triumphant moment. The author’s unique approach intersperses Scripture accounts with the commentary of an incisive narrator who sifts and judges from the span of hundreds of years. He draws from the obvious as well as the obscure, and finds supernatural meaning in the most mundane actions that surround the suffering Christ. In the hands of this writer, the Lord’s few words, accompanied by the author’s commentary, challenge contemporary believers as much as they did those who first followed in the footsteps of Christ and his apostles. The author was born in 1869 in Lancashire, northern England and educated at the prominent Catholic college, Stonyhurst, which has been the source of many English Catholic politicians, intellectuals and business people. After a degree from the University of London, he was ordained a Jesuit in 1903. He served as archbishop of Bombay from 1919 to 1926 and returned to England to write and serve as a chaplain until his death in 1939.