This blog supplements and updates The Two Gospels of Mark: Performance and Text. I assume that Mark wrote a performed play and a narrative text. I also assume that the reader has read the book.
Read MoreThe Joseph of Arimathea scene in the Gospel of Mark, revisited
Summary When I wrote my book, The Two Gospels of Mark: Performance and Text, I assumed that the received text of the Joseph of Arimathea scene in the Gospel of Mark (Mk 15:42-46) preserved the performance of Mark’s play. I assumed that the audience heard …
Read MoreDramatic enactment of the Gospel of Mark by actor Max McLean
A YouTube search yields several dramatic readings of the Gospel of Mark, including an excellent one by actor David Suchet. But the dramatic enactment of the Gospel of Mark by actor Max McLean is in a class of its own. McLean dramatizes dialogue, of course. …
Read MoreThe fig tree episode in the Gospel of Mark is an editorial overwrite
Summary The episode of the cursing of the fig tree in the Gospel of Mark is not good theater. It follows the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and brackets the Temple Incident (TI). The fig-tree episode should have some relationship to either the triumph or to …
Read MoreReview of Caesar’s Messiah, by Joseph Atwill
Introduction Caesar’s Messiah presents a tissue of preposterous theories. Fortunately, Robert M. Price has detangled Joseph Atwill’s theories and addressed them one by one in a review of Caesar’s Messiah (the 2005 edition). Price uses the words “mad,” “ludicrous,” and “perverse and gratuitous interpretations of …
Read MoreThe origin of Saint Veronica: Berenice, Judean princess
Summary In this post I speculate that the origin of the early Christian saint Veronica was the real-life Berenice, Judean princess and mistress/fiancée to Titus Flavius Vespasianus. I suggest that in the 80s CE, after Titus’s death, Berenice became a member of the Roman congregation …
Read MoreReview of R.G. Price’s Deciphering the Gospels Proves Jesus Never Existed
In his 2018 book, Deciphering the Gospels Proves Jesus Never Existed, R.G. Price falls into the trap that is ever-present for independent scholars: not having sufficiently ‘read around’ the topic. Price erroneously bases his argument on and takes for granted the integrity of the received …
Read MoreWhat was the origin of Mark’s congregation?
This post presents my thoughts about the pre-Markan history of the Roman congregation. It’s entirely top-of-my-head speculation, but of interest—I hope—because I’ve spent several years immersed in the Gospel of Mark and its adjacent texts. My thoughts on the origin of Mark’s congregation are consistent …
Read MoreReconstruction of the Pilate scene in the Gospel of Mark
Executive Summary In the Pilate scene in the Gospel of Mark, Mark invoked a name, “Pilate,” that had meaning to the audience of his play. We can assume that Mark expected the audience (in Rome 90-95 CE) to bring their knowledge of Pilate, that he …
Read MoreMark 13:14 is not by Mark
In my book, The Two Gospels of Mark: Performance and Text, I excluded Mark 13:14 from my proposed original Olivet Discourse. In the book, I did not have room to explain why. Here I give the reasons I think Mark 13:14 is not by Mark. …
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