c. 70-100 C.E.
Our fragments of the Secret Gospel of Mark are quoted in a letter from Clement, head of the Alexandrian catechetical school around 200 C.E., to a follower named Theodore. Clement tells of two different versions of the Gospel written by Mark—our familiar, canonical Mark; and an expanded, "secret" Mark, containing additional information to be read only to an inner circle of initiates. Apparently, a group of rogue Christians led by Carpocrates had further expanded Secret Mark to accomodate their own heretical practices.
The quoted passages tell of the "mystery of the kingdom of God," which in context seems to refer to baptism. The idea that Jesus practiced baptism (other than his own) is conspicuously absent from the synoptic gospels, though it is implicitly stated in the Gospel of John. Apparently, the methods and purpose for Jesus's baptism ritual were considered privileged information by the apostles, and thus was a subject carefully avoided by the early gospel writers. This gives Jesus's words in Mark 4:11 (and several other passages) a new, clearer meaning—specifically, that his followers must be baptized to gain entrance to the Kingdom.
Although Clement states otherwise, it is likely that Secret Mark was written first, and the esoteric passages later removed to form canonical Mark, leaving some strange rifts in the Markan text. For example, Mark 10:46 reads "And they come into Jericho. And when he was leaving Jericho..." Not only is the stop in Jericho entirely pointless to the narrative, the subject shifts from plural to singular. According to Clement, Secret Mark has a passage between these sentences.
The longer pericope from Secret Mark is a parallel of John's Lazarus story, not found anywhere in the synoptics. It appears to be told as a continuation of the lesson in Mark 10:17-22, where a young rich man is loved by Jesus but will not make the sacrifices necessary to follow him. In the secret passage, another young rich man returns his love and reaps the rewards, including the symbolic ressurection.
Finally, the most conclusive evidence for Secret Markan priority is the mention of the required baptismal dress—only a linen cloth. Until now, the presence of the scantily-clad young man in Mark 14:51-52 had always been a bizarre mystery. With the information gleaned from Secret Mark, it is obvious that the youth was being baptized, and that whoever edited the secret gospel to create our canonical Mark failed to completely extract him from the text.
As much as admirers of Houdini were convinced he could dematerialize. Trick gear shows otherwise
HARRY HOUDINI, whose real name was Eric Weiss, was the son of a rabbi, and arguably a messiah-like 'superman' who inspired immigrants yearning for freedom and success. Houdini was beloved by all who knew him. Toward the end of his career, with his hair beginning to show touches of gray, he devoted his time to entertaining sick children in hospital. He may have been murdered by friend turned foe Sir Arthur Conan Doyle of Sherlock Holmes fame. Sir Arthur was a spiritualist, close friends with several mediums, and convinced that Houdini could dematerialize. And Houdini thought Sir Arthur was a nut and said so -- which is a credit to Houdini's craft, in the sense that it is, after all, just illusion. The author of the enormously popular Sherlock Holmes stories was a practitioner of the occult, and who knows, he may very well have seen ghosts in the presence of these mediums, hence his strong reaction to Houdini's debunking efforts. Doubtful, however, that any "Watchers" (in Purgatory?) could be produced at will, or that they could ring a bell or do other spectacular tricks. Sir Arthur was too smart a man to fall for spiritualism unless his occultic experiences produced tangible results; and they very likely did. Houdini's medical records from a Detroit hospital where he was treated after allegedly being punched in the stomach, rupturing his appendix, are highly suspect in light of the marked indication for the appendix on the medical chart on the "left" side. Any legitimate health care professional would have readily known the appendix is found only on the right side. No autoposy was ever performed, and, Houdini's body was placed in one of his trick caskets made of bronze, placed on a train and whisked to New York before the family knew what had happened to the famed magician's body. Houdini may have been poisoned. Was Houdini a forerunner of anything or anyone? Arguably, histoty often appears to be constructed as art.
TANATA: Things (often) Are Not As They Appear
- Randall Carter Gray
- Signal Mountain, Tennessee, United States
- student of Coptic and Judaic studies, gentleman (amateur) scholar