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John Mark
JOHN MARK, the gospel novel written by Christopher Epting, came to life in Jerusalem. While on a sabbatical there at St. George’s College, he felt inspired to enter more deeply into the biblical story by focusing his mind and heart on the very first gospel ever to be written, the one attributed to St. Mark. But who was this Saint? And how did he come to create a literary masterpiece that would open the door for others, for Matthew, Luke and John, to follow?
Christopher Epting decided to find out, not only by doing research into the history and theology behind the gospel, but by prayerfully imagining himself within the gospel. Following the Gospel of Mark verse-by-verse, he began to trace the story as if he were in the person of John Mark, the person who lived and wrote in the shadow of Jesus himself.
The gift of this experience is a novel that will allow us to follow in the footsteps of Christopher Epting’s journey. Like him, we can read these words and wake up in a miraculous moment in history when a Teacher appeared unlike any the world had ever known. We can encounter the people and places of his story on a firsthand basis. We can walk the hills and enter the villages with him, engaging his life in a way that will bring our own life to a deeper level of faith and understanding.
JOHN MARK is a new way to encounter an old story. For those who are regular Bible readers, it will be a wonderful addition to a library. For those who are new to the Bible or who have struggled to make sense of it, JOHN MARK, is an accessible, welcoming and enriching adventure in becoming part of the greatest story ever told by the author who told it first.
Christopher Epting decided to find out, not only by doing research into the history and theology behind the gospel, but by prayerfully imagining himself within the gospel. Following the Gospel of Mark verse-by-verse, he began to trace the story as if he were in the person of John Mark, the person who lived and wrote in the shadow of Jesus himself.
The gift of this experience is a novel that will allow us to follow in the footsteps of Christopher Epting’s journey. Like him, we can read these words and wake up in a miraculous moment in history when a Teacher appeared unlike any the world had ever known. We can encounter the people and places of his story on a firsthand basis. We can walk the hills and enter the villages with him, engaging his life in a way that will bring our own life to a deeper level of faith and understanding.
JOHN MARK is a new way to encounter an old story. For those who are regular Bible readers, it will be a wonderful addition to a library. For those who are new to the Bible or who have struggled to make sense of it, JOHN MARK, is an accessible, welcoming and enriching adventure in becoming part of the greatest story ever told by the author who told it first.
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
3 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 15, 2013
A delightful telling of the Gospel of Mark in contemporary language and with additions from contemporary biblical historical studies. It is labeled as fiction and a novel and it reads like one, but you definitely get a sense of the sacred and the reverence of this story.
April 12, 2013
Bishop Epting describes his book as a "Gospel novel", an "extended meditation". It's a fictionalized first-hand account, narrated by the evangelist we know as Mark, yet follows the Gospel account very closely. I consider it a really well done story which weaves historical fact, conjecture, and theology into an inspiring character portrait of Jesus of Nazareth. About the only slightly annoying bit was about a half a dozen or so typographical errors.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews