Hi Paul!Paul the Uncertain wrote: ↑Tue Oct 09, 2018 10:28 am Greetings, @Stefan Kristensen
I don't think it's that simple to reverse engineer the never stated intention of Mark, beyond the self-evident, to attract and hold an audience for his work. Had he not succeeded in that, we wouldn't be discussing his work, and Luke would have copied from somebody else.
Often, the purpose of speaking about the future is to influence behavior in the present and future. Whether or not the prophecy "comes true" is secondary, as is whether its fulfillment is plain, ironic or not at all.To my knowledge there is no evidence that the prophetic predictions of Scripture were generally considered as anything other than predictions of actual, real events to come.
For example, God insists that Jonah proclaim a calamity to come, which doesn't come after all. Why? Because the divine purpose was achieved by the prophecy itself: behavior changed in the present. Jonah is put out about it, too.
Forecasts are predictions of actual, real events to come. Prophecy isn't necessarily forecasting, although it can take that form, but needn't achieve any forecasting objectives to succeed.
Harry Potter fulfills prophecy. Sells pretty well, so it must make some sense to somebody. Come to think of it, Mark sells well, too.It makes no sense at all to write a 'fictional' or symbolic story of somebody who fulfils prophecy. Prophecy is history.
Of course I agree that the narrator is a character within the work, and not necessarily the voice of the author.Apparantly the 'narrator' has heard of Scripture! But then why is it only here in the beginning that he expresses it?
There's quite a bit of Jewish Bible quoting and allusion throughout Mark. It seems the the main character is a full-time Jewish preacher, as are several of his antagonists - and among the amateur ranks, even drunken Herod manages a bit of Esther.
I wrote that "generally" prophecies were regarded as real, future events to come, and I wrote "the prophetic predictions of Scripture" and so not just any ol' "speaking about the future". You bring up Jonah, which might be an exception, because I can't think of any work that treats the prophecies of God in Scripture as 'maybe-events'. And Harry Potter is not fulfilling prophecies of Scripture (I haven't read the books, but I go out on a limb here).
Regarding the wonderful story of Jonah I don't think I agree that it was necessarily the purpose of God to make Nineveh convert and/or humiliate the poor prophet. I think it is a story about the dread of being a prophet and about God's anger being reversed by remorse and repentance. Which is also the way it was understood by the gospel writers, I believe (Matt 12:41/Luke 11:32).
Yes, there are extremely many quotes and allusions to Scriptures throughout gMark. But none whatsoever from the narrator. Only 1:2-3.