Christology in Mark's Gospel: Four Views

Description

Gain Insights on Mark's Christology from Today's Leading Scholars The Gospel of Mark, widely assumed to be the earliest narrative of Jesus's life and the least explicit in terms of Christology, has long served as a worktable for the discovery of Christian origins and developing theologies. The past ten years of scholarship have seen an unprecedented shift toward an early, high Christology, the notion that very early in the history of the Jesus movement his followers worshipped him as God. Other studies have challenged this view, arguing that Mark's story is incomplete, intentionally ambiguous, or presents Jesus in entirely human terms. Christology in Mark's Gospel: Four Views brings together key voices in conversation in order to offer a clear entry point into early Christians' understanding of Jesus's identity: Sandra Huebenthal (Suspended Christology), Larry W. Hurtado (Mark's Presentation of Jesus; with rejoinder by Chris Keith), J. R. Daniel Kirk (Narrative Christology of a Suffering King), and Adam Winn (Jesus as the YHWH of Israel in the Gospel of Mark). Each author offers a robust presentation of their position, followed by lively interaction with the other contributors and one "last-word" rejoinder. The significance of this discussion is contextualized by the general editor Anthony Le Donne's introduction and summarized in the conclusion. The CriticalPoints Series offers rigorous and nuanced engagement between today's best scholars for advancing the scholarship of tomorrow. Like its older sibling, the CounterPoints Series, it provides a forum for comparison and critique of different positions, focusing on critical issues in today's Christian scholarship: in biblical studies, in theology, and in philosophy.

J. R. Daniel Kirk is the Pastoral Director for San Francisco at the Newbigin House of Studies. He is the author of multiple books including A Man Attested by God: The Human Jesus in the Synoptic Gospel. He blogs at Storied Theology blog. Adam Winn (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) is assistant professor at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor College of Christian Studies. He is the author of Reading Mark's Christology Under Caesar and The Purpose of Mark's Gospel and editor of An Introduction to Empire in the New Testament. Sandra Hubenthal is Professor of Exegesis and Biblical Theology at the University of Passau in Germany. She is the author of The Gospel of Mark as a Collective Memory. Larry W. Hurtado is Professor (Emeritus) of New Testament Language, Literature & Theology at the University of Edinburgh. He is author of numerous books including Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity. He is an active blogger on the New Testament and Early Christianity.