The Secret Gospel of Mark After All? Solving the Secret Mark Dilemma, By James Bean

 

The Secret Gospel of Mark After All? Solving the Secret Mark Dilemma, By James Bean

Photograph of page two of "Clement's letter to Theodore". Not only Morton Smith but other scholars also saw this now lost, destroyed or hidden Mar Saba library manuscript. See background information about the Secret Gospel of Mark in the Wikipedia entry linked below.

How to reconcile verses of Secret Mark that seem to fit nicely into the regular Gospel of Mark and are rather intriguing, this despite the fact that the story of the now inaccessible Clement document seems rather suspect (according to most scholars)? I wonder if perhaps there could be some middle ground with Secret Mark. It sounds a bit both-sides-ish (a "Marcion" type position that goes half way, unsatisfying to Gnostics and Orthodox alike!), but perhaps there's some ancient origin of the verses of Secret Mark after all, even though Morton Smith placed (or found) them in a problematic document attributed to Clement of Alexandria. I wonder if Smith discovered the verses somewhere, maybe in a "heretical" book and saw them as legitimate, but for whatever reason decided they would never be taken seriously unless given a better venue, so he created a document attributed to an early church father to serve as a more effective means of sharing the verses? 

Another possibility is, that Smith was honest in his reporting about the Clement letter, and it was the work of a scribe copying manuscripts long ago that placed these verses of Secret Mark into a forged letter attributed to Clement. Why would some monk who lived many centuries ago do such a thing? The verses might have originated in a gospel deemed by his tradition to be from a heretical source. I will say this. I have seen Orthodox authors in the Philokalia, a collection of mystical writings, quote saints that fell out of favor, were eventually declared to be heretics. Certain Syriac Christian writers have resorted to this maneuver as well. Some mystics valued these kinds of not-so-orthodox passages and wished to quote them anyway, so they gave the sources new names, invented fake names or attributed the quotes to someone more palatable like "Saint Neilos" as a way to get away with quoting material that otherwise would have been off-limits!

For background on Secret Mark, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_Gospel_of_Mark

Mandaean Gnostic Studies: Ginza Rabba: The Divine Call, and, The Ascension of the Soul

A Divine Voice Calls Out to All Souls in the Cosmos Summoning Them to Awakening. Also, a section on the the Ascension of the Soul (the Soul is Not Interested in Being Detained in the Lower Planes). Below is from the Ginza Rabba, Mandaean Gnostic Scriptures.

Manda ’d Hayyi is Calling [Gnosis of the Life (God)] is Calling

’Bshumayhon 'd Hayyi rabbi

In the name of the Great Hayyi [In the Name of the Great Life]

He stands beyond the limits of the cosmos.

He calls from beyond furthest reaches of the universe.

Chosen believers, listen: Manda 'd Hayyi [Gnosis of the Life] is calling you.

There are witnesses to bear witness to you.

Manda 'd Hayyi said, "Hayyi knows that I have called. I have called

you, humanity of the earth.

"I called them to worship Hayyi, but they occupied themselves with

the material world.

"I called them to care for their souls, but they were preoccupied by

their bodies."

The Soul Within Me Yearns

For Hayyi [Life (God)]

’Bshumayhon 'd Hayyi rabbi

In the name of the Great Hayyi [In the Name of the Great Life]

The soul within me yearns for Hayyi.

The soul within me demands Hayyi.

My goal is to reach the Place of Life.

I am flying, advancing until I reach the first guardian.

The servants of the first guardian came to meet me.

They said, “Let us take this man with us as our captive.

He might serve as a companion to us.”

They asked me, “Hail, companion;

Where did you come from? Where do you go?”

I came from the earth, I am going to Hayyi,

and my path is to the Place of Life.

They said, “This is the Place of Life;

here it is, so where are you going now?”

I said to myself, “I am not one of them.

If I stayed with them, I would endure every torment.

This is not what my soul desires and wants.

The soul within me yearns for Hayyi.

The soul within me demands Hayyi.

My goal is to reach the Place of Life.”

I am flying, advancing until I reach the second guardian.

The servants of the second guardian came to meet me.

They said, “Let us take this man with us as our captive.

He might serve as a companion to us.”

They asked him, “Hail, companion;

Where did you come from? Where do you go?”

I came from the earth, I am going to Hayyi,

and my path is to the Place of Life.

They said, “This is the Place of Life;

here it is, so where are you going now?”

I said to myself, “I am not one of them.

If I stayed with them, I would endure every torment.

This is not what my soul desires and wants.

The soul within me yearns for Hayyi.

The soul within me demands Hayyi.

My goal is to reach the Place of Life.”

I am flying, advancing until I reach the third guardian.

The servants of the third guardian came to meet me.

They said, “Let us take this man with us as our captive.

He might serve as a companion to us.”

They asked him, “Hail, companion;

Where did you come from? Where do you go?”

I came from the earth, I am going to Hayyi,

and my path is to the Place of Life.

They said, “This is the Place of Life;

here it is, so where are you going now?”

I said to myself, “I am not one of them.

If I stayed with them, I would endure every torment.

This is not what my soul desires and wants.

The soul within me yearns for Hayyi.

The soul within me demands Hayyi.

My goal is to reach the Place of Life.”

I am flying, advancing until I reach the fourth guardian.

The servants of the fourth guardian came to meet me.

They said, “Let us take this man with us as our captive.

He might serve as a companion to us.”

They asked him, “Hail, companion;

Where did you come from? Where do you go?”

I came from the earth, I am going to Hayyi,

and my path is to the Place of Life.

They said, “This is the Place of Life;

here it is, so where are you going now?”

I said to myself, “I am not one of them.

If I stayed with them, I would endure every torment.

This is not what my soul desires and wants.

The soul within me yearns for Hayyi.

The soul within me demands Hayyi.

My goal is to reach the Place of Life.”

I am flying, advancing until I reach the fifth guardian.

The servants of the fifth guardian came to meet me.

They said, “Let us take this man with us as our captive.

He might serve as a companion to us.”

They asked him, “Hail, companion;

Where did you come from? Where do you go?”

I came from the earth, I am going to Hayyi,

and my path is to the Place of Life.

They said, “This is the Place of Life;

here it is, so where are you going now?”

I said to myself, “I am not one of them.

If I stayed with them, I would endure every torment.

This is not what my soul desires and wants.

The soul within me yearns for Hayyi.

The soul within me demands Hayyi.

My goal is to reach the Place of Life.”

I am flying, advancing until I reach the sixth guardian.

The servants of the sixth guardian came to meet me.

They said, “Let us take this man with us as our captive.

He might serve as a companion to us.”

They asked him, “Hail, companion;

Where did you come from? Where do you go?”

I came from the earth, I am going to Hayyi,

and my path is to the Place of Life.

They said, “This is the Place of Life;

here it is, so where are you going now?”

I said to myself, “I am not one of them.

If I stayed with them, I would endure every torment.

This is not what my soul desires and wants.

The soul within me yearns for Hayyi.

The soul within me demands Hayyi.

My goal is to reach the Place of Life.”

I am flying, advancing until I reach the seventh guardian.

The servants of the seventh guardian came to meet me.

They said, “Let us take this man with us as our captive.

He might serve as a companion to us.”

They asked him, “Hail, companion;

Where did you come from? Where do you go?”

I came from the earth, I am going to Hayyi,

and my path is to the Place of Life.

They said, “This is the Place of Life;

here it is, so where are you going now?”

I said to myself, “I am not one of them.

If I stayed with them, I would endure every torment.

This is not what my soul desires and wants.

The soul within me yearns for Hayyi.

The soul within me demands Hayyi.

My goal is to reach the Place of Life.”

I am flying, advancing until I reach the House of Life [Eighth Plane].

The righteous came forward to meet me.

In thanks, I bow down and praise Hayyi.

They clothed me in radiance, covered me with light,

and numbered me among the righteous.

Soul, you must raise your lamps

to shine among the lamps of light.

The word of truth has come to you.

It came to the faithful and the righteous.

’u Hayyi zaken