# Secret Gospel of Mark



## WrittenFromUtopia (Jul 12, 2005)

> The Secret Gospel of Mark refers to a previously unsuspected gospel mentioned in a letter that presents itself as written by Clement of Alexandria. The writer quoted two excerpts from a Gospel of Mark that do not appear in the canonic gospel. If Clement's reference is accepted, then there was a version of the Gospel of Mark being circulated privately in 2nd century Alexandria, kept from the Christian community at large. One excerpt quoted in Clement's letter is similar to the biblical story of the raising of Lazarus.
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> No reference to a Secret Mark is to be found in any other surviving public Christian text. Though no variant of any gospel is recorded in any canon list, although an alternative gospel of Matthew was known, as the Gospel of the Hebrews, to Irenaeus, Jerome and others, many of whom indicated that it may have been simply the hebrew original. The authenticity of the letter itself, the very existence of a secret gospel (literally "apocryphon), and whatever association this work may have had with the author of Mark, are all the subject of ongoing controversy, not the least reason for which is due to potential implications for Jesus' sexuality, which many Christians would find seriously offensive.
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> ...



Was Clement out of his mind? Is this a hoax? Does anyone on here know about this? It is pretty disturbing. Here's the text from the alleged letter:



> From the letters of the most holy Clement, the author of the Stromateis. To Theodore.
> 
> You did well in silencing the unspeakable teachings of the Carpocratians. For these are the "wandering stars" referred to in the prophecy, who wander from the narrow road of the commandments into a boundless abyss of the carnal and bodily sins. For, priding themselves in knowledge, as they say, "of the deep things of Satan," they do not know that they are casting themselves away into "the nether world of the darkness" of falsity, and, boasting that they are free, they have become slaves of servile desires. Such men are to be opposed in all ways and altogether. For, even if they should say something true, one who loves the truth should not, even so, agree with them. For not all true things are the truth, nor should that truth which merely seems true according to human opinions be preferred to the true truth, that according to the faith.
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> ...



Links:
http://www-user.uni-bremen.de/~wie/Secret/secmark_home.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_Gospel_of_Mark


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## turmeric (Jul 12, 2005)

What do we know about Clement of Alexandria? Did he hang out with Origen? I doubt there was ever a "secret gospel" written by Mark. It's possible there were notes and outtakes but I don't think they were Gnostic as these quotes seem to be. Peter wouln't have had any truck with that. Also, the Holy Spirit didn't see fit to include it in the canon.


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## Contra_Mundum (Jul 12, 2005)

There isn't two grains of truth there to rub together... Sounds like pure apocrypha to me.


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## turmeric (Jul 12, 2005)

I typed "Carpocrates" into my magic Google search and was linked to much secret and antinomian knowledge about self-deification. Oy vey!


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## WrittenFromUtopia (Jul 13, 2005)

Was Clement (of Alexandria) a Gnostic?


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## Puritanhead (Jul 13, 2005)

bah humbug


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## JonathanHunt (Jul 13, 2005)

I would say 'hoax' based simply upon the lack of evidence that Peter was EVER in Rome, as the text seems to imply...

JH


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## LawrenceU (Jul 13, 2005)

It's as real as the 'Lost Years of Jesus'.


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## New wine skin (Jul 13, 2005)

This specific secret gospel letter sounds like a sham, but just suppose that such a letter was found and could be dated as early 4th or 5th century, it would be a huge leap to say such letter was "the" letter referenced in a previously unknown letter of an early church father discoverd 1600 years later. With all the anti-gnostic lit we have from the early fathers, I am surprised that we don't find more ancient heresy lit today. 

: Maybe in 1000 years someone will dig up video tape of Binny Hinn and link him to the WCF ?????


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## JKLeoPCA (Jul 13, 2005)

I think i'll file this one next to those gold plates I got from Joseph Smith. Now if I could just find those reading glasses.


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## biblelighthouse (Jul 13, 2005)

> _Originally posted by New wine skin_
> : Maybe in 1000 years someone will dig up video tape of Binny Hinn and link him to the WCF ?????


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Jul 13, 2005)

Shhhhh, everybody! It's a *secret*!


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## D. Paul (Aug 4, 2005)

> _Originally posted by WrittenFromUtopia_
> Was Clement (of Alexandria) a Gnostic?



So...was he? I purchased _Lightfoot's_ The Apostolic Fathers for the purpose of accurate history. So again, was he?

Ooops. Sorry. The distinction was made Clement (of Alexandria)

[Edited on 8-4-2005 by D. Paul]


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