Jesus called up each of His disciples individually before calling them as a group to meet on a hill. Mark, ch. 1, vv. 1-20 tells of how He called up the four fishermen: “Jesus said to them” (Simon and Andrew) “‘Come with me and I will teach you to catch people’”. He then saw James and John further on and called them up too. It is thought that they must have known Jesus before, as they agreed to leave many things behind to follow Him. It is also thought that His voice must have exerted some kind of influence over them.
Matthew ch. 3, vv. 13-15 tells of their meeting on the hill, and the job that Jesus offered to His disciples. It would entail being with Him (and thus helping Him with His work), preaching to others and driving out demons. They had all been perfectly ordinary Jewish citizens before, so this would have been a major change of lifestyle. To become an Apostle would have entailed giving up their job, their everyday routines and worldly pleasures as well as anything wrong in their lives and, in some cases, their families.
Life as an Apostle would have consisted of long hours of hard work. It would have involved a lot of travelling and exhaustion. Whilst travelling, as part of their work, they would have preached the Word of God. They would also have exorcised evil spirits from people and would have healed the sick. Their main role, of course, would have been to aid Jesus.
The Apostles’ lives would also have presented considerable hazards and danger. Some would have been presented by the Romans, who may have wanted to arrest them, and also by the Jewish leaders, who might even have wanted to murder them for preaching their controversial views –especially those about the failings of the Temple and priesthood system. There was also the threat of contracting an illness whilst travelling. There were threats posed by exhaustion and stress, both from working with mentally disturbed people and from being ridiculed by many of those they met. And, of course, there was the possibility of becoming ill through contact with animals and the sick people they healed.
However, the work they did was also very rewarding. As well as the certainty of being saved, they would have led exciting lives and enjoyed the unique experience of sharing them with a divine Master. Ultimately, they themselves were to be filled with the knowledge of the Holy Spirit.
The work of the Apostles showed their total devotion to Jesus, which is something many Christians could learn from. The fact that, in spite of the hardship they suffered, most of them remained loyal is a comfort to many. However, the biggest comfort and teaching to Christians could come from knowing that the Apostles were in no way perfect. They were ordinary human beings who gave up everything they had for what they believed, but who also failed in many occasions. They often let Jesus down, sometimes in very large ways, but still Jesus forgave them and continued to work on them and with them, as He knew, of course, that this was bound to happen. He predicted, for example, that Simon Peter would betray Him (Mark ch. 14, vv. 30 and 31). Another occasion was when all the Apostles fell asleep in Gethsemane when they had being asked to stand guard (Mark ch. 14, vv. 37-42).
To conclude, the Gospel of Mark is a rich source of guidance for Christians. By attempting to model their own discipleship on the Apostles’, they can draw, not only guidance in learning what is expected of them as disciples, but also comfort in knowing that it is possible for them to achieve this and that they will be forgiven if sometimes cannot succeed.
2) Explain how this teaching about discipleship might affect the life of a Christian today.
In this part of my coursework essay I hope to explain how my answer to question one might affect a Christian today by explaining their duties, things which they might give up or must not give up, hardships they might face, rewards they might receive, ways in which a Christian may change his/her own life and the ones of Christian in other countries. I also hope to clarify how the teachings might be taken by different Christians, and how this might make them different from other Christians.
For somebody to call themselves Christian, they must understand faith and baptism, be familiar with the history of his/her religion and try to conduct his/her live in accordance with the guidelines of the Bible, especially the New Testament. It will involve prayer, charity work, thoughtful use of money, marriage (or celibacy), treating others with respect, reading and studying the Scriptures and conferring with God. Depending on how seriously Christians take their religion, it may also involve certain precepts or prohibitions.
According to their level of commitment to Christianity, Christians could be classified in one of the following general types:
Nominal Christians believe in God, but the teachings of the Bible do not have much effect on their lives. They still attend church, but only for events such as marriages, baptisms and funerals. For them, religion does not have much effect in their lifestyle.
Liberal Christians have adapted the teachings to suit the present era. They do not take the Bible literally, but use it as an influence in their lives. They have a relaxed view to issues such as abortion or sexuality, and will not have a problem, for example, with members of the clergy being homosexual.
To some other Christians, the teachings mean more than to nominal Christians, but they are still not taken literally. These Christians, sometimes called ‘middle of the road’ Christians, are quite committed. This category includes most Anglicans, Catholics, Methodists and Orthodox Christians. They attend church most Sundays, give some money to charity and pray regularly. They will have various views on abortion, contraception or homosexuality. They might have a tolerant attitude to these controversial subjects but try to disassociate themselves from them.
For the Evangelical Christians, religion plays a main role in life. There are two types of Evangelicals, Pentecostals, who are very focused on the Holy Spirit and hold very up-beat services, with lot of singing involved, and Conservatives, who have quieter services, involving a lot of prayer and readings. For Born-again Christians religion has a great impact on their lives. Many have converted form other denominations. Some have chosen to be re-baptised and many have made special commitments to Jesus. They abstain from sex before marriage and campaign against abortion and homosexuality. The teachings in the Bible are taken literally. Evangelical Christians will pray a lot, give 10% of their income to the Church (a special sort of donation known as a ‘tithe’) and will attend church meetings three or four times a week. Cliff Richard, a devout Christian, donates a third of his earnings to charity and has remained celibate.
For Christians who live in certain countries, life is a lot harder than for those living in England, so, although they may wish to live by the teachings of the Bible, it is not always possible for them to do so. For example, in communist countries (China, Cuba, North Korea and North Vietnam), the government does not allow religion. In China it is against the law to own a Bible or go to Church, and those who do can by law be sent to a mental institution. In other countries, some Christians simply ‘disappear’.
Some Muslim countries, such as Pakistan, do not allow Christians to use schools, hospitals or other state-funded services, and Christians are given meagre jobs. In Qatar it is illegal to hold Christian services. However, Afghanistan has now made Christianity legal (following the introduction of a government instituted by the international community), and Iraq and Iran allow it too. In Iran, the deputy prime minister is a Catholic.
In conclusion, the teachings about discipleship will affect your lifestyle differently depending on your commitment, and, sometimes, where you live, as you may have to keep your faith secret.
3) “Children cannot be disciples, therefore they cannot be Christians either.” Do you agree with this statement? Give reasons for your answer showing you have considered both sides of the argument.
Although I understand the concern of the parents in transmitting their beliefs to their child at an early age, I do not agree that children should be force-fed religion until they are old enough to fully understand what is involved. However, there are valid points to be made for each side of the argument. These are the main reasons why I am against children being considered fully Christian during their early childhood:
Firstly, making them learn rules and principles in a parrot-like fashion before they are mature enough to grasp their meanings is a form of brainwashing, as small children will believe most of what they are told by their elders.
Early Christians baptised only adults, which means they did not consider children to be fully Christian.
True religion should be a form of personal commitment that should be made out of your own free will. It is better to wait until a child is old enough to have the capability to do so.
However, as I said earlier, there are also valid reasons why children could be considered Christians: Children can be welcomed and participate in helping in the Christian community to which the parents belong, and they may enjoy doing so, by helping with charity work or doing small tasks in church that can make they feel special. It is also a great comfort to many small children to pray to God, as they can feel more secure and relieve some of their anxieties.
So, although I agree that some good can be drawn by introducing children to Christianity, I feel it is wrong to expect from them the level of commitment that being fully Christian means. This is why I think that baptism and confirmation should be left until the child is old enough to make his/her own decision about religious life, whereas I find no wrong in letting children draw good from finding comfort in praying or enjoy making themselves useful by helping out at church.
