In seeking to develop a hermeneutic for doing ethics on a narrative base, Via here focuses on Mark's ethics and suggests ways in which they interrelate with other significant motifs in the Gospel: eschatology, revelation, faith, and the messianic secret. Via maintains that the middle of Mark's plot presents the paradoxical position of the disciple who is placed in the overlapping of the kingdom of God and the age of hardness of heart. Here is a bold attempt to integrate several agendas in interpretation--iterary criticism, biblical studies, constructive theological ethics--so as to draw out the implications of Mark's narrative for faith and conduct in the real world. Dan O. Via is Professor Emeritus at The Divinity School, Duke University. He is also author of 'The Parables, ' 'Self-Deception and Wholeness in Paul and Matthew, ' and 'What Is New Testament Theology?'