Creation, Separation, and Suffering

The Bible
As Holy Scripture of the Christian religion, the Bible is made up of the Old Testament and the New
Testament. But the books of the Old Testament also constitute the Tanakh (also called the Hebrew Bible),
the sacred canon of an older religion known as Judaism. In fact, these books reveal the common heritage
of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. We will read selections from Genesis (from the Old Testament) and
Gospel of Mark (from the New Testament).
Genesis is about beginningsof the world, of human race, of the people of Israel, and of a sense of
separation from God and from fellow human beings. Below, we will read about Adam and Eve, Cains
murder of his brother, and the Tower of Babel. In these stories, humans share some of Gods qualities but
harbour the wish to go beyond their given limitations. For Adam and Eve, such a wish results in a fall
from grace, later interpreted by Christians as the original sin. But their choice can equally be read as an
exercise of free will to pursue knowledge and independence.
Of the 39 books of the Old Testament, the earliest were written around 1100BCE, and the latest in
150 BCE. Most of them, however, were compiled in the 6th century BCE, the time of massive exiles after
Judah, the southern Jewish Kingdom, collapsed. Historians see such compilations as a response to the
need for a record of Jewish history and religion.
The selection is extracted from the New International Version, chosen for its use of the
modern idiom. [Notes to go into the introduction in Chinese: The selected text is taken
from , a recent scholarly translation by a non-Christian who tries
to capture the literary grace of the Hebrew original. The translator inserts notes in the
main text to explain the original expressions and historical background, sometimes giving
his own interpretations.]

The Gospel of Mark is one of the four long narratives (i.e., the Four Gospels) in the New Testament
about the teachings and ministry of Jesus. Of the four, Mark is generally seen as the earliest. It begins
with Jesus as a grown man travelling tirelessly in northern Palestine to heal and teach (1:1-10:52). The
action-packed narrative then slows down to a dramatic portrayal of his passion (i.e., suffering) in
Jerusalem, in the last week of his life (11:1-16:20).
The Gospel of Mark is attributed to John Mark, a follower of Peter (one of Jesus Twelve Apostles).
Historians believe it was completed in the city of Rome around 70 CE, four decades after Jesuss
crucifixion. The urgency to write about Jesus as Christ, the Son of God (1:1) might have to do with the
shock suffered by the Jewish people in 70 CE. A major revolt against Roman rule was bloodily
suppressed, their sacred temple in Jerusalem burnt down to the ground. The Jews were driven out of
Palestine, and there arose the feeling of a need to establish a new religion instead of renewing the old
Judaic faith (see Mark 3:22). Mark himself was preaching in Rome, anticipatingperhaps realistically
a new faith based on a covenant that would reach out beyond the Jews, the Chosen people (and
therefore the new testament).
For the Christians, Jesus is the Son of God, the Savior whose crucifixion and resurrection redeem
all humanity from the original sin resulting from the Fall of Adam and Eve. The paradise and eternal
life lost then will be accessible as the Kingdom of God. For the historians, Jesus is an actual figure who
lived from 6-4 BCE to about 30 CE. Mark opens by proclaiming to be the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the
Son of God (1:1). As the story unfolds, Jesus is also the son of man who mixes with people of all
walks of life, displays human feelings and emotions, and experiences suffering and abuse. He is in
constant conflicts with two Jewish groups, the Sadducees (priests who controlled Jerusalem and the
Temple) and the Pharisees (interpreters and strict adherents of Judaic scriptures and laws). Jesus seems to
have a different understanding of Jewish laws and scriptures, and preaches a kind of love that differs from
that between Platos lovers and among Aristotles true friends.
The text is taken from
Testament in modern English
the original Greek word order
in Chinese: The text is taken

the New Revised Standard Version. It renders the New

and inclusive language, with a conscious effort to adhere to
and syntax where possible. [Notes to go into the introduction
from , a recent

translation with scholarly footnotes on the historical background and nuances of the
original expressions.]

Julie Chiu