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 by itself. McLean dramatizes the dialogue. He uses the stage and all of the actor’s craft to keep…
Think-Blog
The 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 Jesus’s actions in the Temple. But instead, Jesus explains to…
Review of Caesar’s Messiah, by Joseph Atwill
Introduction Caesar’s Messiah presents a tissue of preposterous theories. Robert M. Price uses the words “mad,” “ludicrous,” and “perverse and gratuitous interpretations of the text” in his review of Caesar’s Messiah (the 2005 edition). Curious, I read the entire Caesar’s Messiah (2011 revised edition, the only one available as an e-book). Here, I endorse Price’s…
The 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 of Mark and Flavia Domitilla. I suggest that for many…
Review 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 versions of the Pauline letters and Acts, and also the…
What was the origin of Mark’s congregation?
This post presents my thoughts about the origin 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 with the picture I paint in The Two Gospels of Mark:…
Introduction to the blog
This blog updates, supplements, and builds outward from my 2019 book, The Two Gospels of Mark: Performance and Text.
Reconstruction 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 was hard or even cruel. But the Passover Privilege presents…
Mark 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. But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken…
Is “Andrew” in the Gospel of Mark the name of the author?
Introduction When I wrote the book, The Two Gospels of Mark: Performance and Text, I concluded that the character “Andrew” (Greek: “Andreas”) was never on stage in the performance of the Gospel of Mark. “Andrew” is not necessary to the action, he does nothing individual, he does not receive a nickname like his ‘brother’, and…