ENGL 340
Prof. G. Steinberg

Response Paper:  The Gospels

For the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and John, choose one of the following areas as the focus of your response paper:

1. Choose one or two brief episodes (called pericopes) from the reading assigned for today and focus your response paper on those one or two stories.  Pay close attention to the details.  What do the details tell us about the concerns, interests, perspective, temperament, slant, style, and/or audience of the Gospel writer?  For the Gospels of Matthew and John, how do the stories you've chosen compare to similar stories in the other Gospel(s) we've read?
2. Choose one or two episodes or images from the reading assigned for today.  What role does typology play in these episodes or images?  How do the episodes or images you've chosen relate to the ancient Hebrew writings of the Old Testament?  How are they similar to episodes or images in the Old Testament?  Why would the Gospel writer want to echo or imitate the Old Testament episode or image?  How has the Gospel writer changed the Old Testament episode or image?  Why would the Gospel writer want to make the change(s)?  Which part(s) of the Old Testament does the Gospel writer seem to echo or imitate most?

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