Creating Jesus: Why Mark’s Gospel Was Forgotten?

Dr. James Tabor is a retired Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte where he taught Christian origins and ancient Judaism for thirty-three years, serving as Chair of the Department for a decade. His Ph.D. is from the University of Chicago. He previously taught at the University of Notre Dame and at the College of William and Mary.

Dr. Tabor now devotes himself full-time to research, archaeological field work, and publishing. He combines his work on ancient texts with extensive field work in archaeology in Israel and Jordan. Since 2008 he has been co-director of the acclaimed Mt Zion excavation in Jerusalem and been involved in a half dozen other archaeological projects in the Holy Land over the past thirty years.

In the early 1990s he was involved in the release of the unpublished Dead Sea Scrolls and was one of the first scholars to examine and publish several very important ones. In 1995 he testified before the US Congress on the Waco tragedy, drawing upon his expertise in understanding ancient Biblical apocalyptic ideas.

Things Unutterable (1985), A Noble Death (1992) Why Waco: Cults and the Battle for Religious Freedom in America (1995) and The Jesus Dynasty: A New Historical Investigation of Jesus, His Royal Family, and the Birth of Christianity (Simon & Schuster, 2006). In 2012 he published two books: The Jesus Discovery: The New Archaeological Find that Reveals the Birth of Christianity (Simon & Schuster) and Paul and Jesus: How the Apostle Transformed Christianity (Simon & Schuster): Paul’s Ascent to Paradise (Genesis2000, 2020). His latest book is forthcoming: The Lost Mary: From the Jewish Mother of Jesus to the Virgin Mother of God (Knopf 2024).

This Gospel of Mark course will provide an in-depth study of one of the four biblical Gospels in the New Testament. It will offer insights into the life and teachings of Jesus Christ as well as the early Christian community. The course will also examine the literary, historical, and theological context of the Gospel of Mark and its significance in the development of Christianity. Additionally, it will provide a deeper understanding of the Bible and its impact on religious and cultural history.

Scholars have put forward a variety of perspectives on the Gospel of Mark. Some argue that it is the earliest of the four Gospels, written around the year 70 CE, and that it served as a source for the other Synoptic Gospels (Matthew and Luke). Others suggest that it was written later, around the year 80-90 CE. Many scholars see the Gospel of Mark as a product of the early Christian community, written to address the needs and concerns of that community. They argue that the author of Mark chose certain events and teachings of Jesus to emphasize and that these choices reveal something about the community's beliefs and practices.

Overall, scholars have a wide range of perspectives on the Gospel of Mark, but they all agree that it is an important text for understanding the life and teachings of Jesus and the early Christian community. To learn more about the Gospel of Mark from one of the lead experts in the field, Dr. James D. Tabor, then register now!

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Creating Jesus: Why Mark’s Gospel Was Forgotten?$39.95

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