Problems

NT1210 Fall 2005 Students: Choose one of these four problems. Email me your completed work by Monday, Dec. 12.

Being Home | At the end of the story of the Gerasene demoniac, Jesus tells the man to, "Go to your home and to your people and tell them what the Lord has done for you" (Mark 5:19). Imagine you are that man. Write a journal from your first days back among your neighbors. Reflect on what has happened to you and how you will tell people what the Lord has done for you.

Who Killed Jesus? | One of the points of controversy at the release of The Passion of the Christ was the question of who was responsible for Jesus' death. Bring your hymnal or songbook (or the songs on your mp3 player) into conversation with the passion narratives in Matthew, Mark and Luke. What do the hymns or songs you sing or listen to say about who killed Jesus, and how does their report jive with reports in the gospels?

Perspectives in a Parable | Choose one of the story parables and tell it from the perspective of its characters. You might capture the internal dialogue of those involved (or uninvolved) with the man in the ditch, for instance (Luke 10:25-37), or tell the parable of the Prodigal Son from the perspective of one (or more) of its three main characters (Luke 15). What do those called "sheep" and those called "goats" think about the judgment they encounter (Matthew 25:31-46)? Choose any parable you like and retell it from the perspective of being inside it.

Praying and the Project | NT1210 Students: Use one of the suggestions for praying scripture. Pray through a text related to your final project, and write a reflection on what happened as you did that. Find resources for praying scripture here.

NT1210 Fall 2005 Students: don't do this problem. You have had enough experience in letter writing already!

Letter-Writing | Write a letter to a character in Matthew's gospel. Research what you know about the character from the gospel, then interact with that person in a letter. Here's a sample.