Subversive Symmetry: Exploring the Fantastic in Mark 6:45-56

An analysis of Mark 6: 45-56 (Jesus’ sea-walk), this work argues that, given the complexities which challenge the reader in Mark 6:45-56, traditional historical-critical approaches lack the terminology and conceptual categories necessary to provide an adequate elucidation of the passage in all its fantastic array. The second part of the book proposes a theoretical framework for scholars to examine the Gospel of Mark using tools and terms often associated with fantasy literature, and suggests that this gospel, and in particular Mark 6: 45-65, is best viewed as an illustration of ancient fantastic fiction. The final two chapters of the book show how the tools of fantasy scholars can be applied to the gospel, using Mark 6:45-65 as a case in point.