“Secret Mark”: Introduction

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In 1973, when Morton Smith presented to the world the Clement letter and an unknown “secret” gospel of Mark, was he revealing an amazing Biblical manuscript discovery or attempting a risky scholarly stunt? With the help of the experts, our four-part treatment sets the scene of the find at Mar Saba monastery in the Judean Desert (“Secret Mark”: An Amazing Discovery), presents the case for forgery (“Secret Mark”: Morton Smith—Forger), examines the textual tradition that could indicate authenticity (“Secret Mark”: Was Morton Smith a Great Thespian and I a Complete Fool?) and offers BAR’s unique editorial assessment to sum up the evidence (“Secret Mark”: Restoring a Dead Scholar’s Reputation.)

In 973, when Morton Smith presented to the world the Clement letter and an unknown “secret” gospel of Mark, was he revealing an amazing Biblical manuscript discovery or attempting a risky scholarly stunt? With the help of the experts, our four-part treatment sets the scene of the find at Mar Saba monastery in the Judean Desert (“Secret Mark”: An Amazing Discovery), presents the case for forgery (“Secret Mark”: Morton Smith—Forger), examines the textual tradition that could indicate authenticity (“Secret Mark”: Was Morton Smith a Great Thespian and I a Complete Fool?) and offers BAR’s unique editorial assessment to sum […]