Kingdom of Power Power of Kingdom: The Opposing World Views of Mark and Chariton

Description: Marks Gospel is much maligned for its redundancy and stylistic sloppiness. But is this indignity justified? The answer to this question hangs not only on the genre of this work but also on the life setting of its target audience. Rather than unwitting slip-ups of an inept writer Marks narrative repetitions and temporal dislocations are better understood as rhetorical strategies for a didactive oral performance. There is method to Marks madness and the method maps his meaning. In recent decades some scholars have become enamored with what they see as a generic affinity between Marks Gospel and fictive literature particularly ancient romance novels. Could this be the method behind Marks madness? This book offers readers an exciting and profitable journey into two story worlds that likely share a common historical-cultural setting: Marks Gospel and Charitons passion of love. Analyzing these works from the vantage point of narrative sequence Starner identifies two contrasting worldviews: for Chariton the world is controlled by the goddess Aphrodite who serves as a powerbroker distributing political economic and sociological power to agents who use that power for self-serving ends; for Mark the world is governed by an All-Powerful God who shockingly operates from a posture of powerlessness inviting (not coercing) humans to accept his lordship and urging them to adopt the self-sacrificial service-oriented program of living that finds its quintessential expression in the historical Jesus of the Gospels. Endorsements: This book offers an intriguing study of some notable narrative techniques in Marks Gospel. In contrast to modern speculations of how Mark should have written Starners observations are grounded in ancient narration patterns. While noting parallels with Charitons style Starner is also careful to highlight some distinctive elements in Marks account. --Craig Keener Professor of New Testament Palmer Theological Seminary It is sometimes said that the Gospel of Mark is a clumsy concatenation of stories thrown together willy-nilly. In Kingdom of Power Power of Kingdom Rob Starner offers an alternative take: Mark uses the apparent disruptions in sequence repetitions and gaps in information to leverage the responses of his readers. Starners argument is crisp compelling and critically important--a must read for anyone who wishes to understand both Mark and the current state of literary scholarship in biblical studies. Mark like Starner is anything but clumsy. --Jerry Camery-Hoggatt Professor of New Testament and Narrative Theology Vanguard University About the Contributor(s): Rob Starner is Professor of Greek and New Testament at Southwestern AG University in Waxahachie Texas.