look, I AM learning stuff!

So we have an assignment in my New Testament class involving each of the four Gospels. We are studying each one in turn, and as we finish each, we are to write a creed from the point of view of the specific Gospel writer. So, we just finished Mark, and I wrote a Markan Creed. Later this evening I'll post it to Musings. (I want to actually turn it in first.)

See, although we often confabulate (here meaning "reduce multiple stories into one") the Gospel stories all together, especially when it comes to Christmas or the Passion, the four Gospels are all actually very different, written in different times and places, with different foci and messages.

The wise men and the shepherds cannot be found in the same Gospel. (Mark has no nativity scene at all, and John, well... John's different.)

It makes sense that in our collective memory (sounds Borgish, no?) we would combine all the stories into one. After all, it's all about the same person, right? But (academically speaking here, the faith/devotional side is another boat) it's kind of like the musical "Into the Woods," where Sondheim combines several fairy tales (the ones that take place, at least partially, in forests) and has the characters interact and trade partners (the princes especially all fall in love with each others' princesses) and so on. Our collective memory has combined all the details into one story and it's a good story, and I'm not meaning to rag on anyone's faith. But it can be useful (and not just for academics) to step back and say, "wait, what's really in Mark's Gospel over Matthew's? Why IS John so, well... different...?"

So check Musings today after 6 and you'll see my version of a creed written by one of Mark's (if that's really his name) followers/listeners. (Because Mark's Gospel especially was written to be read aloud.)