Choose one of the following:

Prompt:

Assignment 5a: How does the Gospel of Luke represent both Roman and Jewish power? What kind of place does Jesus occupy as a member of, or a rebel against, each system? What does this Gospel illuminate about Jewish attitudes to Rome?

Assignment 5b: Watch Mel Gibson’s Passion of the Christ. How is Roman power and Jewish identity constructed in the film and how does this compare to our texts?

Assignment 5C: Watch Monty Python's Life of Brian, and think back on our discussions of comedy and satire. What, precisely, do you believe this movie parodies? Is its target Jesus and the Bible, or someone/something else? How does this movie produce humor by taking on such a solemn and sacrosanct subject, and to what end does it do so? In what ways might this movie illuminate our understanding of identity; imperialism/colonialism; cultural, racial, and religious prejudice – both ancient and modern?

Instructions:

This should be 2 pages, double spaced, 1 inch margins, 12 size font.