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Mark
The Academy of Parish Clergy 2020 Reference Book of the Year 2020 Association of Catholic Publishers first place award in Scripture 2020 Catholic Press Association third place award for best new religious book series This reading of Mark's Gospel engages this ancient text from the perspective of contemporary feminist concerns to expose and resist all forms of domination that prevent the full flourishing of all humans and all creation. Accordingly, it foregrounds the Gospel's constructions of gender in intersectionality with the visions, structures, practices, and personnel of Roman imperial power. This reading embraces a rich tradition of feminist scholarship on the Gospel, as well as masculinity studies, particularly pervasive hegemonic masculinity. Its politically engaged discussion of Mark's Gospel provides a resource for clergy, students, and laity concerned with contemporary constructions of gender, power, and a world in which all might experience fullness of life.
584 pages, Hardcover
Published October 31, 2019
4 people want to read
About the author
Warren Carter
48 books11 followersWarren Carter is Professor of New Testament at Brite Divinity School. He came to Brite in 2007 after teaching for 17 years at Saint Paul School of Theology in Kansas City. His scholarly work has focused on the gospels of Matthew and John, and he has focused on the issue of the ways in which early Christians negotiated the Roman empire. In addition to numerous scholarly articles, he is the author of ten books including Matthew and the Margins (Orbis Books), Matthew and Empire (Trinity Press International/Continuum), The Roman Empire and the New Testament (Abingdon), John and Empire (T&T Clark/Continuum), and What Does Revelation Reveal? (Abingdon). He has also contributed to numerous church resources and publications such as contributing 15 studies on Matthew in The Pastors Bible Study Vol 1 (Abingdon). He is a frequent speaker at scholarly and ecclesial conferences.
Degrees
Ph.D., Princeton Theological Seminary, 1991
Th.M., Melbourne College of Divinity, 1986
B.D., Melbourne College of Divinity, 1985
B.A., Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, 1976
Degrees
Ph.D., Princeton Theological Seminary, 1991
Th.M., Melbourne College of Divinity, 1986
B.D., Melbourne College of Divinity, 1985
B.A., Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, 1976
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 27, 2019
Commentaries on the Gospel of Mark are many, and yet there is always room for more, especially if they look at the Gospel from a different vantage point. One vantage point that might be considered would be a feminist perspective. Such is the case here in Warren Carter's contribution to the Wisdom Commentary series from Liturgical Press (a Michael Glazier book). According to the series General Editor Barbara Reid, this series of commentaries is the first to "offer detailed feminist interpretation of every book of the Bible." That these commentaries are written from a feminist perspective doesn't mean that they must be written by women. In the case of the commentary on Mark, the author is in fact male. While authors might be male, they are called upon to not only focus on texts that refer to women but to make use of a feminist lens and interact with feminist scholarship. That is the case here with Carter's commentary.
So, what qualifies men to take up this task? Barbara Reid notes that "men who choose to identify with and partner with feminist women in the work of deconstructing systems of domination and building structures of equality are rightly regarded as feminists" (p. xxiv). It is this question of domination and equality that marks the commentary.
While this is written by a male ally of feminist scholars and engages with them throughout, Carter makes use as well as the broader arena of gender studies. More specifically, to understand Jesus and his context, he makes much use of the emerging discipline of masculinity studies. Here he engages with the concept of "hegemonic masculinity." it is here that perhaps Carter makes the greatest contribution. Carter writes that Feminist scholarship has dealt with structures of patriarchy and androcentricity, whether in the text or in largely male-dominated scholarship, but he notes that "much feminist work on Mark has largely bypassed attention to male characters and to the Gospel's constructions of masculinities." While this is understandable, it has serious implications. Most importantly, this neglect "leaves male presence and power in this Gospel narrative untroubled and normative" (p. xlix).
Because the central figures in the Gospel are male, starting with Jesus, the question is how the Gospel portrays Jesus and his closest followers. Carter seeks to address this question in conversation with Feminist scholars, and with attention given to the women who are present in the story. Carter places Marks's story of Jesus in the broader Roman imperial context, which privileges male dominance. Here there is a hierarchy of manliness that starts at the top with the imperial elites, who are the manliest, on down to the least manly men and many women -- those who live at the bottom of the economic/social ladder.
In this story, Jesus is a nonelite provincial male, and yet through his rhetorical power, he appears on the scene with power, attracting followers and crowds. The story moves forward with Jesus exercising power not normally given to nonelite males. In other words, he demonstrates manliness. But, as he moves from Galilee toward Jerusalem, the story turns and he takes on a less manly role as one who suffers and dies.
In commenting on the opening of the Gospel, Carter notes that Mark introduces Jesus to us as "the most powerful man." He sets Jesus against the great male leaders of the age, that is the emperors. In other words, Mark assumes Jesus to fulfill the manly role -- as a hegemonic male. He is portrayed at least until we reach the final stages of the story as the most dominant male in the room. While the Gospel may decenter male dominance at points, it doesn't portray Jesus as a modern feminist.
As this is a commentary, I won't go into detail as to what it covers. One would assume that a person interested in this volume is interested in engaging with recent scholarship focused on the Gospel of Mark. That is what we have here. A strong, scholarly, commentary on a familiar text of Scripture that draws on feminist and gender studies, to both deconstruct the context and interpret the text in ways that should be useful not only for scholars but also clergy and others who wish to dive deep into the Gospel.
In his afterword, he addresses once again the perspective he takes regarding this Gospel and his participation in this series. He writes: "My personal commitments to justice for all align with the commitments of this series to advocate for the full flourishing of humans and all creation, and specifically to be an ally in the work of redressing the particular inequities that women experience" (p. 455).
So, what qualifies men to take up this task? Barbara Reid notes that "men who choose to identify with and partner with feminist women in the work of deconstructing systems of domination and building structures of equality are rightly regarded as feminists" (p. xxiv). It is this question of domination and equality that marks the commentary.
While this is written by a male ally of feminist scholars and engages with them throughout, Carter makes use as well as the broader arena of gender studies. More specifically, to understand Jesus and his context, he makes much use of the emerging discipline of masculinity studies. Here he engages with the concept of "hegemonic masculinity." it is here that perhaps Carter makes the greatest contribution. Carter writes that Feminist scholarship has dealt with structures of patriarchy and androcentricity, whether in the text or in largely male-dominated scholarship, but he notes that "much feminist work on Mark has largely bypassed attention to male characters and to the Gospel's constructions of masculinities." While this is understandable, it has serious implications. Most importantly, this neglect "leaves male presence and power in this Gospel narrative untroubled and normative" (p. xlix).
Because the central figures in the Gospel are male, starting with Jesus, the question is how the Gospel portrays Jesus and his closest followers. Carter seeks to address this question in conversation with Feminist scholars, and with attention given to the women who are present in the story. Carter places Marks's story of Jesus in the broader Roman imperial context, which privileges male dominance. Here there is a hierarchy of manliness that starts at the top with the imperial elites, who are the manliest, on down to the least manly men and many women -- those who live at the bottom of the economic/social ladder.
In this story, Jesus is a nonelite provincial male, and yet through his rhetorical power, he appears on the scene with power, attracting followers and crowds. The story moves forward with Jesus exercising power not normally given to nonelite males. In other words, he demonstrates manliness. But, as he moves from Galilee toward Jerusalem, the story turns and he takes on a less manly role as one who suffers and dies.
In commenting on the opening of the Gospel, Carter notes that Mark introduces Jesus to us as "the most powerful man." He sets Jesus against the great male leaders of the age, that is the emperors. In other words, Mark assumes Jesus to fulfill the manly role -- as a hegemonic male. He is portrayed at least until we reach the final stages of the story as the most dominant male in the room. While the Gospel may decenter male dominance at points, it doesn't portray Jesus as a modern feminist.
As this is a commentary, I won't go into detail as to what it covers. One would assume that a person interested in this volume is interested in engaging with recent scholarship focused on the Gospel of Mark. That is what we have here. A strong, scholarly, commentary on a familiar text of Scripture that draws on feminist and gender studies, to both deconstruct the context and interpret the text in ways that should be useful not only for scholars but also clergy and others who wish to dive deep into the Gospel.
In his afterword, he addresses once again the perspective he takes regarding this Gospel and his participation in this series. He writes: "My personal commitments to justice for all align with the commitments of this series to advocate for the full flourishing of humans and all creation, and specifically to be an ally in the work of redressing the particular inequities that women experience" (p. 455).
Displaying 1 of 1 review