Mark's Gospel: An Actological Reading

by Malcolm Torry

Overview

This might look like an ordinary commentary on Mark's Gospel, but it isn't one. It understands reality as Action, actions, change, diversity, movement, and the dynamic, rather than as Being, beings, the unchanging, the unitary, rest, and the static, and it reads Mark's Gospel in the light of that distinctive understanding of reality. It is all about action, change, and diversity, and it understands God, Jesus, and ourselves as action, change, and diversity. The initial chapter introduces the action-based understanding of reality as action in changing patterns—an actology, rather than an ontology. Then follows a section-by-section close study of the Gospel. The result is a unique and somewhat unexpected reading of the text and a distinctive theology to match.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781666736830
Publisher:	Resource Publications (CA)
Publication date:	05/19/2022
Series:	Actological Explorations
Pages:	324
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.68(d)

About the Author

Malcolm Torry is a priest in the Church of England who for thirty-four years served in full-time posts in South London parishes, and since 1984 he has been heavily engaged in the global Basic Income debate. He has published numerous books, chapters, and articles on Basic Income, and also on religious and faith-based organizations; and in 2020 he published his first book of philosophy, Actology.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“In his reading of Mark’s Gospel, Malcolm Torry uses the lens of ‘actology,’ understanding reality as ‘patterns of action’ rather than ‘states of being.’ He offers personal reflections on each Gospel section, showing how in Jesus ‘we find patterns of action that are God’ and enabling the reader to ‘discover Jesus,’ and therefore God, in the patterns of action recorded in the Gospel. The book is . . . refreshingly distinctive, stimulating, and uplifting.”

—David Atkinson, honorary assistant bishop, Diocese of Southwark



“One of the most striking aspects of Mark’s Gospel is its dynamic tempo. We are led through the story of Christ’s Galilean ministry, passion, and resurrection with pace and passion. This ‘actological’ reading draws our attention once again to the vibrant urgency of Christ’s life and the acts of God in history.”

—Simon Oliver, Durham University

Editorial Reviews

In his reading of Mark’s Gospel, Malcolm Torry uses the lens of ‘actology,’ understanding reality as ‘patterns of action’ rather than ‘states of being.’ He offers personal reflections on each Gospel section, showing how in Jesus ‘we find patterns of action that are God’ and enabling the reader to ‘discover Jesus,’ and therefore God, in the patterns of action recorded in the Gospel. The book is . . . refreshingly distinctive, stimulating, and uplifting.”

—David Atkinson, honorary assistant bishop, Diocese of Southwark



“One of the most striking aspects of Mark’s Gospel is its dynamic tempo. We are led through the story of Christ’s Galilean ministry, passion, and resurrection with pace and passion. This ‘actological’ reading draws our attention once again to the vibrant urgency of Christ’s life and the acts of God in history.”

—Simon Oliver, Durham University

From the Publisher