How does Marks Gospel affect people today?

GCSE Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)

Question 2. Understanding

Depending on the way that you interpret the Bible would change what you learn from Marks gospel.

For many people today, living out discipleship today is giving money to CAFOD and other such charities and going to Church. They do not think that they need to give up their whole lives to be a disciple. To an extent, they are right. Or maybe people today do not consider themselves disciples and are content to live as they are.

However there are also a lot of people who followed their vocation and took some very extreme sacrifices in the name of God and following the instruction of Marks Gospel. People such as priests are willing to give up all they own for living as a disciple by taking the vows of poverty, giving up their possessions and chastity, giving up the hope of having a family.

Martin Luther King directly followed the teachings of Marks Gospel because he “Carried Cross” meaning he stood up for what he believed in even though he knew he was going to get persecuted for them and he “Forgot Self” because he risked his life and the life of his family to tell people about what he believed in.

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Mother Teresa is also a good example of a person who “Forgot Self” because she did not think about her comforts or the way that she may have been accustomed to living, she went out there and lived with the people healing them and doing what she had learnt that God wanted her to do. She also did not question her vocation. She had been already working in the name of God when she felt that she was not doing enough so she dedicated her life completely to being a disciple, without question, just as the Apostles that Jesus chose, she did not ask questions or worry about what she was leaving behind.

However, Marks Gospel has affected Sister Elisha from our school in a different way. She felt that God wanted her to live a life of nun hood but to teach religion to people rather than to live in a nunnery. She has still taken the vows of poverty, obedience and chastity but she learnt from Marks Gospel that Jesus wanted people to go out and teach, like in the story of “the Commission” where Jesus tells his disciples to teach people the Good News but not do it for money or for their benefit and she does exactly that.

Maximillian Kolbe made the ultimate “Forget Self” sacrifice, because he let himself be killed so that another man could live and his children would have a father. He also did not question what God wanted him to do. There was no guarantee that the soldiers would not have killed the man he died to save the next day, but he had the faith to do what he thought was right.

People who give to charities today are taking from Marks Gospel that you must give up your money for those who need it more. Of course if they were doing exactly as Jesus said then they would give everything to these charities but that is unrealistic but what they have taken from the Bible is that you should give to those less fortunate even if it is not convenient for you. My parents have a set amount taken from their account each month and put into Our Lady of the Visitation Church to help them out. Sometimes it would be nice to spend that money on our house, or ourselves but that money goes there, without question, not depending on how we feel in that month.