Explain what a study of St.Mark’s Gospel can tell Christians about the nature of discipleship.

Of course, discipleship had it's costs, but rewards as well. The disciples had to leave their lives and families if they wanted to be with Jesus (1:14-20). Levi even had to give up all his riches, and his nice lifestyle (1:13-17).

Jesus also spoke of the many rewards for the disciples, and those who had faith. He said,

'Anyone who leaves home, brothers, sisters, mother, fathers, children or fields for me and for the gospel will receive a hundred times more brothers, sisters etc...and persecutions as well...he will receive eternal life...many who now are last will be first' (10:17-31).

This sums up all of the costs of discipleship, but what you will gain as well. The disciples had to be willing to put all of this into practice, and dedicate their lives to learning and telling people about God's word.

Many of these ideas are still used today. We can look at the way Jesus taught the disciples to live, and apply it to our own lives.

RE Coursework - Part 2

Discipleship

Question - Explain how this teaching about discipleship

might affect the life of a Christian today.

We can see how Jesus' teaching affects people today. Many people still use the ideas of discipleship in their everyday lives, following the examples set by Jesus and his disciples in the Gospel.

In the calling of the first four disciples (1:16-20), we see that the fishermen leave their old lives behind immediately to follow Jesus. They have to sacrifice things for him. Today, the fishermen can be compared to priests, nuns, monks etc, who leave their homes and lives to follow God. They have to make huge sacrifices, like leaving their families, and giving up comforts, to be closer to God.

But, in doing this, they also leave their old sins behind, to lead better lives.

Some people, like Mother Teresa and Oscar Romero, go out to other parts of the world to preach and help people. They are like 'modern disciples', and dedicate their whole lives to doing God's god work. They live their lives in accordance with Jesus' teachings, just like the disciples did. They also, at times, probably failed like the disciples. When Jesus tells his disciples to preach to the whole world (16:14-18), he is asking them to take over his mission and do God's work. This is what people like Mother Teresa and Oscar Romero are doing.

Monks and nuns also follow Jesus' teaching. In the story of the rich young man (10:17-29), Jesus tells the man,

'You only need one thing. Go and sell all you have to the poor...then come and

follow me.'

He is saying that you do not need material comforts to be happy, just your faith. Monks and nuns do this. They give up possessions and money for the poor, and lead a very plain lifestyle, relying entirely on their faith. They also take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. This is a good example of where they use the qualities needed for discipleship - service, humility and generosity. They give up everything they own except for a few essential belongings, for the poor. They have to learn to accept instructions from others, and put their life in the hands of the other nuns, trusting other people to make their decisions for them.

It isn't just monks, nuns or priests that can follow the example of discipleship, however. We can use the ideas in our everyday lives.

The gospel affects people differently. Some are affected in such a strong way that they spend their whole life helping others, whether they become doctors or nurses, or, like Mother Teresa, travel the world to help people in third world countries.

Others are affected less by Jesus' teachings, or don't go to such a great length to follow God. They live 'normal' lives, but still use the basic ideas of discipleship to follow God. They may set time aside regularly to pray, go to church weekly, or do some kind of voluntary work, helping others.

They also use Christian values in their relationships with other people - forgiving, not judging anyone and listening when someone needs a shoulder to cry on.

Many people, who weren't affected by the gospel before, often begin to live their lives in a more Christian way. They leave their old life behind, not literally, but forget their sins and start again, as better people. Jesus tells his disciples to do this (8:34-38),

'Forget self, carry his cross and follow me.'

This can be interpreted differently. It could mean to leave your old sins behind, and risk prejudice to follow God.

In more extreme cases, it could mean leave your old life to go away and help people, risking persecution, and even death.

This shows that Jesus' teachings really are for everyone and, in today's world, can be used by everyone, in whatever situation they are in.

Some people, however, are not affected b the teaching at all. They may still be Christians, because they were baptised that way by their parents, but do not actually lead their lives by Christian teachings.

Often, families will even go to church, because they are used to going out of habit, but not out of religion. They see it more as a family thing, going to church together every Sunday. They may also just celebrate Easter and Christmas, only going to church on special occasions. To them, religion isn't an important of their life, and they often only see times like Christmas as a chance for a family get-together.

RE Coursework - Part 3

Discipleship

Question - Peter is a good role model for Christians despite his

despite his faults. Do you agree?

In your answer, show more than one point of view.

Mark's gospel is only one point of view, so it is hard to fully understand Peter's character. If we look at other gospels, we see a bigger picture of him, and see that he is actually a good Christian.

However, from looking at Mark's gospel, Peter comes across as quite a coward, and not always loyal to Jesus.

The first example we see of this is when he rebukes Jesus (8:31-33). He acts selfish, and misunderstands what Jesus is trying to say. This does show that Peter loves him, though; he does not want to hear Jesus talking of his suffering and death.

Earlier in the story, Peter has recognised Jesus as the Messiah. When the other disciples wouldn't speak out, he had the courage to. Jesus is obviously disappointed when he realises that Peter still doesn't fully understand.

We can see from the start that Peter is special. He is one of the first to be called by Jesus, and then later give the name Peter (he was originally called Simon).

Jesus seems to immediately choose him as a close friend, and relies on him through hard times.

When they are praying in Gethsemane, Jesus finds that the disciples can't even stay awake for him (14:32-42). He says,

'Simon, are you asleep? Weren't you able to stay awake even for one hour?'

He asks Peter this, even thought there are others there too. Jesus obviously sees Peter as important, and trusts him. When Peter lets him down, he becomes irritated.

Later, when Jesus s arrested, all the disciples leave him and run away. They are with him until the end, but become scared, and back out when he really needs them.

When Peter denies Jesus, we see a good example of the times when he failed, and was wrong (14:66-77). He denies him three times, then, when the cock crows, realises that he has just betrayed Jesus.

We see how much he regrets it, though, because he breaks down and cries.

When Jesus rises again, Peter and the disciples do not believe the women who have seen him. This shows that Peter still doesn't have complete faith and, again, Jesus is angry.

Despite all this, I think that Peter was a good role model. He made lots of mistakes, but learned from them, and gradually became a better Christian. He is an example that we, too, can do this. He was an ordinary person, who made just as many mistakes, and we can relate to him easily.