A common name Mark in the NT and Egypt

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andrewcriddle
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Joined: Sat Oct 05, 2013 12:36 am

A common name Mark in the NT and Egypt

Post by andrewcriddle »

I have been reading John also called Mark by Dean Furlong about the diverse and confusing traditions concerning Mark in early Christianity. I don't accept his thesis about possible identity of John Mark and John the Evangelist, but the different stories about Mark cannot really be reconciled. Pseudo-Hippolytus has three separate individuals called Mark. Mark was a common name in the ancient world and prima-facie it is plausible that more than one prominent early Christian was called Mark.

I am going to make a series of claims about what may be going on. I will try and provide justification in response to challenges. It would help if it was clear which claim or claims were being disputed.

A/ There is enough overlap among the different NT references to Mark to make it highly likely they refer to the same individual. This does not mean that all references are historical merely that they are claims, true or false, about the same individual.

B/ The early 2nd century tradition that Mark wrote the 2nd Gospel originally referred to NT Mark.

C/ There was an early tradition, mid 2nd century ? Hegesippus ???, of Mark bringing Christianity to Alexandria in the reign of Claudius and dying for his faith c 63 CE. This Mark was not originally identified with any of the NT accounts of Mark.

D/ Later, maybe beginning in the early 3rd century there were attempts to identify Egyptian Mark with a NT account of Mark. The problem is that it is difficult to do so without separating the NT references to Mark. E.G. The Mark in Eusebius who is sent by Peter from Rome to Egypt early in the reign of Claudius and dies (or at least is replaced as church leader) in 62 CE cannot really be the same person as John Mark the companion of Barnabas and Paul. While the John Mark in the Acts of Barnabas who begins preaching in Egypt after Barnabas is killed in Cyprus cannot really be the same person as Mark the associate of Paul and Peter in Rome.

E/ The tradition that someone called Mark was proto-Evangelist and proto-Martyr for Egyptian Christianity is probably historical. However, this Mark, possibly an emissary of James of Jerusalem, should not be identified with any NT figure.

Andrew Criddle
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Re: A common name Mark in the NT and Egypt

Post by Secret Alias »

Sounds reasonable
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