If someone said Henry VIII never existed…

what evidence could you point to, to show that he did?

• To give evidence for the reliability of Mark’s gospel

• To evaluate whether the Mark’s gospel we have today is reliable.

Is Mark’s Gospel reliable?Can we trust it to give us a true picture of Jesus?

1. Using a double page of your book, write the 4 column headings (2 headings on each page)2. Divide each column into 3 equal rows3. Match the information to what part of your table it should go in4. Summarise the information onto your own table5. Evaluate whether each piece of evidence makes Mark reliable or not. **Which type of evidence convinces you most about the reliability of Mark’s gospel ?

A. Are Mark’s Sources reliable?

B. Is Mark himself as reliable as an author?

C. Does non-Christian evidence show Mark to be reliable?

D. Do we have the original version of Mark’s gospel, or has it been changed over time?

Yes

No

Comparing the Yes and the No, does this evidence suggest Mark is reliable or not? Explain.

A. Are Mark’s Sources reliable?

YES:Primary sources ?

(eyewitnesses still alive at the time he is writing, so he would be found out if changed things. Also he himself is an eyewitness to some events, and has especially good knowledge of Peter’s point of view

Secondary sources very early documents, so accurate version of stories written down, and well known to all Christians (so he can’t alter them) (collections of sayings, Passion narratives, Q source, UR Markus

NO: eyewitnesses could still have altered their accounts by the time he wrote or the secondary sources were written – but then there would be different versions of the same story – there aren’t

C. Does non-Christian evidence agree with what Mark is saying- Tacitus- Suetonius- Pliny

1. Using a double page of your book, write the 4 column headings (2 headings at the top of each page)

2. Divide each column into 3 rows3. ON your table, complete the different sections4. Explain whether each type of evidence supports Mark as

being a reliable writer & why**Which type of evidence is the most convincing to you personally why Mark’s gospel is reliable?

B. Is Mark himself as an author reliable? YES- Originally a local Jew from

Jerusalem who knew the disciples and may have been present at some events (Last Supper, Garden)

- Knew the stories in original Aramaic (original version) and translated them himself into Greek

- Travelling companion of Peter (1st hand eyewitness)

NO: wrote in Rome, AD70, some clumsy Greek translation, maybe NOT an eyewitness himself?

D. Have we still got the original version of Mark’s gospel, or has it been tampered with?

Even if Mark’s gospel was trustworthy and accurate at the time of writing….

How do we know if Mark’s gospel wasn’t changed by later Christians ?

Maybe the real version of the

gospel has been lost in time?

Maybe stories about Jesus got exaggerated and added on later?

What is the earliest copy we have?

How well does that compare to

other ancient writings?

How accurate are later copies of Mark’s

gospel? Are any differences important?

Do we or don’t we have a copy very close

to Mark’s original?

How many early copies to we have, to check for different versions? How does this compare with other ancient writings?• There are many early copies of the NT, so any changes to any

of the versions would be quickly spotted

• These copies were made unusually soon after the gospel was first written (30-300 yrs later)

• These copies have a 99.5% accuracy to each other – the 0.5% difference are mostly due to grammar and spelling differences.

• None of these differences actually make any difference to what Christians would believe.

• The first Christians were warned by the Apostles to be wary of “different” gospels. So early Christians made sure their copies were really “Mark’s version”

Is Mark’s gospel reliable?• Explain why St Mark’s Gospel can be trusted as a source of

information about Jesus? (3 marks)

• Direct inspiration from God, / eyewitness information /oral tradition / possible present at Gethsemane / use of Aramaic / written accounts / with Paul and Barnabas