Review of Geoffrey S. Smith and Brent C. Landau, The Secret Gospel of Mark: A Controversial Scholar, a Scandalous Gospel of Jesus and the Fierce Debate over Its Authenticity By Carole Cusack

https://www.academia.edu/164423238/Review_of_Geoffrey_S_Smith_and_Brent_C_Landau_The_Secret_Gospel_of_Mark_A_Controversial_Scholar_a_Scandalous_Gospel_of_Jesus_and_the_Fierce_Debate_over_Its_Authenticity?email_work_card=title This supremely readable book examines the Biblical Studies cause célèbre of Morton Smith’s discovery of a previously unknown letter of Clement of Alexandria that mentioned a Secret Gospel of Mark at Mar Saba monastery near Jerusalem in 1958. The scandal was that the quotation from this gospel had homoerotic overtones; Smith was gay and some believed that he had forged the text, while others (Smith included) insisted it was genuine. The letter disappeared (though Smith had photographed it) and on 29 December 1060 Smith presented his findings to the Society of Biblical Literature. Smith published the material as Clement of Alexandria and a Secret Gospel of Mark (Harvard University Press, 1973). ...