New Testament and the Christ Questions

Note that these questions are very explicitly asking you to compare the Christ stories and texts to other stories and texts studied this semester. The questions do not ask you to espouse your particular religious views.  Certainly it may be difficult to avoid mentioning those views, but discussing the merits of your particular cultural/religious beliefs is not something I want to do in our secular, state funded classroom. Further, neither you nor I want me grading your religious beliefs.  Trust me on that one.  So, if you feel you cannot think objectively about these questions and texts, please do not turn this set of questions in.

(Honors Students: Answer any three of the following questions:)

1)  Compare Christ and Socrates

2)  In what ways does the Christ story fit the description of an epic? Use:  The Epic Structure

3) In what ways would Christ be considered an Epic Hero?  Use: Epic Heroes

4) Define the criteria of a tragedy and tragic hero and explain in what ways the Christ story and Christ character does or does not fit them. Use: Tragic Heroism

5) Compare and contrast the philosophical concepts of The Allegory of the Cave and The Sermon on the Mount.

6) Like the Romans, American culture tends to recycle, reproduce or remix pre-existing aesthetic forms. In contemporary films and literature, we see images or references to the Christ story rehashed and remixed into an allegory. The Lord of the Flies is an example with which many of you may be familiar. Simon is the representative of innocence and commitment to moral goodness: he is ceremonially killed for preaching a self-monitored responsibility to internal/Godly truth opposed to rule of Man, and when he dies the phosphorescent diatoms form a holy halo, confirming his Christ-like status.  Find a contemporary film which rehashes the “allegory of Jesus.” Describe the elements of the Jesus story, citing our text, and how they’re used in the film.