What is the Secret Gospel of Mark?

Response

In the late 1950s, a scholar from Columbia University named Morton Smith asserted that he had uncovered a portion of a letter attributed to Clement of Alexandria. This letter was reportedly transcribed into the empty pages at the conclusion of a seventeenth-century edition of the letters of Ignatius. Morton’s personal transcription and translation of these excerpts—released years later—are the sole versions accessible. The original document from which he allegedly transcribed the text has vanished. It was solely viewed by Smith and conceivably two others. According to Smith, his discovery consisted of a mention by Clement of a “secret” gospel of Mark: an ostensibly expanded rendition of the canonical Gospel of Mark.

Smith contends that Clement referenced this Secret Gospel of Mark twice. One instance involves Jesus reviving a young man, who subsequently spends the night with Jesus in a state of undress. The other suggests that Jesus turned down the young man’s family. Clement purportedly cited these narratives to instruct the recipient of the letter, Theodore, to repudiate the legitimacy of the Secret Gospel of Mark. By doing so, as per Smith, Clement asserts that Mark elaborated on his gospel and that only a limited number of individuals were intended to uncover the mysteries within this revised edition.

Unsurprisingly, nearly every aspect concerning the Secret Gospel of Mark is contested by scholars. The passages quoted by Smith are solely present in the text he transcribed from a manuscript discovered inscribed at the end of a distinct seventeenth-century work. Unlike authentic Scripture, which boasts exceptional traceability, these excerpts lack any substantiation. If authentic, these fragments would represent the sole surviving copies of Clement’s letters.

Furthermore, the absence of any mention of the Secret Gospel of Mark in any other ancient literary source is highly incriminating. Unlike other disputed works like the Apocryphal Acts and the Infancy Gospels, which were referenced in numerous ancient texts, the Secret Gospel of Mark remains conspicuously absent.

Early church fathers wrote to refute heresy. Scholars have also raised doubts about Smith’s assertions due to anachronisms in the text, inconsistencies with Clement’s other writings, and discrepancies in the handwriting seen in Smith’s images.

In essence, scholarly agreement strongly suggests that the Secret Gospel of Mark is a work of fiction, possibly never actually existing. The ongoing debate revolves around whether Morton Smith invented the entire text to make a groundbreaking discovery. Not all scholars subscribe to this theory. Nevertheless, the overall context of Smith’s claims fosters lingering suspicion that the text was forged to advance his professional, ethical, and personal objectives.