In The Gospel of Matthew, we have an unusually clear picture of how a gospel writer shapes his portrayal of Jesus’ life and teachings according to the writer’s particular beliefs, audience, and purpose. There are several very important examples of how Matthew is doing this in the “Introduction to The Gospel of Matthew” in your textbook. (Please read this Introduction carefully!)   Matthew is trying to make the case that Jesus represents the true and authentic line of Moses, the prophets, and Israel as a whole – over and against the other Jewish sects/groups of the time (Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, etc.).  This is why Matthew repeatedly inserts sections of scripture from the Hebrew Bible (called “Old Testament” by Christians) – to show that Jesus is the fulfillment of those ancient scriptures (even if Matthew sometimes makes a complete mess of things in the process.  For example:  Read Matthew 21:6-7 to see that Matthew has Jesus riding on both a colt and a donkey at the same time in his slightly misbegotten attempt to have Jesus fulfilling a passage found in Zechariah.)

In our Discussion Forum for Matthew, we are going to consider the Sermon on the Mount. This Sermon is one of the most beloved and well-known messages of Jesus. Our textbook says, “The famous Sermon on the Mount (chapters 5 – 7) sets forth a Christian interpretation of the Jewish Law.” But really, this statement is not quite accurate because Jesus was a Jew who was often speaking to largely Jewish audiences – and there WAS no Christianity and that time. Therefore, Jesus’ re-interpretation of Jewish Law was Jesus’ own interpretation – not a Christian interpretation (see 5:21 – 48 for examples).  And it is worth noting that sometimes Jesus’ teachings are not the same as Christian Church teachings. For example: Many churches take a very hard stand against homosexuality as being against Christian principles. However, Jesus never spoke about or against homosexuality, but he did speak constantly of love and compassion for ALL people – most especially marginalized people.

Jesus paid no attention to social or religious boundaries, he violated Jewish purity laws, and he demonstrated over and over that the compassionate spirit of God’s law is far more important than the letter of religious laws (especially given that religious laws are sometimes cruel and exclusionary).  Clearly, Jesus was opposed to hypocrites of every size, shape, and color and he called his followers to live according to higher standards.

Writing Prompts:

Please read Chapters 5 – 7 very carefully, and then do the following:

1. Write a summary (including chapter and verse) of how Jesus says we should live and how we should not live.  What things are necessary and what things are not necessary?
2. What are some of Jesus’ main points (including chapter and verse) about religious hypocrisy?

How to write your MOVIE ANALYSIS

Please note that this is NOT a review; please do not simply retell the movie’s plot.  Use the following structure to write your analysis. You do not need to answer ALL the following questions; choose the most relevant ones.

Paragraph 1: Name of movie, date produced, key actors, and any other (if relevant) factors about production.

Paragraph 2: Brief summary of plot (no more than 1 paragraph; limit yourself to 5-7 sentences).  Focus on a few relevant details; do not provide a “this, then this, then this . . .” summary.

Paragraph 3: Connect to the historical content of this class.  Find at least 2 outside sources that corroborate the historical context of this movie.  Do not use IMDB (or similar sites) as a source; instead, use legitimate historical information to help you determine how factual this movie actually is You may reference the primary sources we use in class; that is, in fact, a VERY good idea (yes, that is a strong hint).

Paragraph 4: Recommendation. Based on your experience with this movie, would you recommend it to a future student?  Did this movie help you understand this era in history?  Did it present a different view of a historical event?  Did it personalize history for you?  If the movie is old (and many of this list were made prior to the 1990s), did that alter your view of it?  Older films do not offer many special effects; did this encourage a more careful look or listen to the plot? Or, did the lack of realism detract from the plot or dialogue?

Suggested movies — if there are multiple versions, choose any, but avoid cartoon or Disney versions. If you would like to view a movie not on this list, please see me.  I have selected FEATURE films, not documentaries, for you to analyze, since I am asking you to make connections to the factual narrative we have been developing in this class. . In other words, you may not review a documentary. 

• Frankenstein
• All Quiet on the Western Front
• Bridge of Spies
• Les Miserables 
• Movies based on the novels of Charles Dickens or Jane Austen
• Anna Karenina
• War and Peace
• Moulin Rouge (1950s version)
• Fiddler on the Roof
• Mrs. Brown
• The Madness of King George III
• Age of Innocence
• Chariots of Fire
• 55 Days to Peking
• Zulu
• The African Queen
• Passage to India
• Gandhi
• Out of Africa
• Gallipoli
• Stalin (with Robert Duvall)
• Reds
• Animal Farm
• Das Boot
• Cross of Iron
• Schindler’s List 
• Boy in the Striped Pajamas
• The White Rose or Sophie Scholl: the final days (both deal with the same topic)
• The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
• I am David
• The Italian
• Life is Beautiful
• Sarajevo
• Goodbye, Lenin
• Saving Private Ryan (but be careful . . . don’t make your analysis all about America!)

Week 10 DiscussionCOLLAPSEOverall Rating:

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“Counter-Reform and Mannerism” Please respond to the following, using sources under the Explore heading as the basis of your response:

• Explain whether you prefer the representation of the Last Supper by Tintoretto, Veronese, or Leonardo da Vinci. Identify 2 key differences between the Mannerist and Renaissance artistic styles. When it comes to art, which is the most important: artistic freedom, right of the patron, or appropriate subject matter. Provide a rationale for your response.

Explore

Counter-Reform and Mannerism

• Chapter 20 (pp. 665-681), Mannerist art; (see also p. 591 in Chapter 17); review Week 10 Music folder
• Tintoretto’s Last Supper at http://www.wga.hu/html_m/t/tintoret/5_1580s/3lastsup.html (click on the image to enlarge); also at Fig. 20.9 on p. 674
• Tintoretto’s Last Supper, video, at http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/jacopo-tintorettos-last-supper.html
• Chapter 14 (p. 491), Leonardo’s Last Supper (Fig. 14.25)
• Leonardo’s Last Supper at http://www.philvaz.com/apologetics/LeonardoLastSupper.htm
• Chapter 20 (pp. 678-680 with Fig. 20.16), “Last Supper” painting and Inquisition trial of the artist Veronese
• Trial of Veronese at http://members.efn.org/~acd/Veronese.html

* Please use your own words: If you ever need to know if you are not using enough of your own words, Strayer has made available to students free software called Grammarly.com. It is the same software that each professor uses weekly. It detects quotes and information from sites like Course Hero, Wikiliks, the Internet , and copying and pasting more than one sentence per paragraph  You also have free access to Grammarly.com. Please call Tech support to help you set it up. 1-877-642-2999  (8:00a.m.–10:00p.m. EST)

Week 10 Discussion Question Template

Hello Awesome classmates and Dr. C Here is my main discussion post for Week 9…

This part is easy:

•   Let’s say I am going to give you the painting of your choice. Explain if you would like a painting of the Last Supper by  _____________ and why?

Tintoretto,  worth  14.25 Million Dollars

Veronese,   worth  14.35 Million Dollars

Leonardo da Vinci.  worth  14.5 Million Dollars

Oh I can handle this part too:

Identify 2 key differences between the Mannerist and Renaissance artistic styles. 

Finally:

• Veronese and the Inquisition court considered three things:. 

What is Artistic Freedom?  Please define

What is the Right of the Patron? Please define

What is Appropriate subject Matter? Please define

Which do you see as the most important today and why? Give a modern day example?

* Please use your own words: If you ever need to know if you are not using enough of your own words, Strayer has made available to students free software called Grammarly.com. It is the same software that each professor uses weekly. It detects quotes and information from sites like Course Hero, Wikiliks, the Internet , and copying and pasting more than one sentence per paragraph  You also have free access to Grammarly.com. Please call Tech support to help you set it up. 1-877-642-2999  (8:00a.m.–10:00p.m. EST)

Utilize simple hypothesis testing procedures and standard statistical diagnostic tests to evaluate the appropriateness of linear regression models’ specification, goodness of fit, and to test for significances of estimated coefficients of the models

For the applied assignment, please submit a 5-6 slide PPT (NOT including title page and references page) that includes the following parts:

PART 1: Create a context: Introduce a real-world business situation or an imagined business scenario that may benefit from the “math” presented in the prior two weeks (Weeks 7 and 8 – see the objective stated in bold above). While creating the context, ask yourself: What business use cases may benefit from the quantitative methods offered last week and this week? Pick one. You can use Google or other search tools, or your own workplace experience, to create the context. Once you decide on the context, describe it clearly in your PPT presentation. Be sure to deliver all relevant information for the audience (in this case your instructor) to help him/her understand the context fully.

Part 2: Show with examples  how  the “math” or quantitative methodology introduced in the prior two weeks relate to the business use case  you introduced. (e.g., does the math/methodology help to resolve a business problem?) Be specific in your description of how you can use the quantitative information in connection with the business case (your context) you described. Give examples. Use technical terminology when necessary.

Part 3: Reflect on your learning by answering these questions: What changes have you observed  in your own learning or knowledge of math/quantitative methods as a result of the topics introduced in Weeks 7 and 8 of this course? What  did you find most valuable or useful for your MBA education and/or your current/future career. (As you articulate your thoughts for Part 3, be original: Do not repeat the business context or situation you described in Parts 1 and 2. Think beyond that context).