Friday, August 5, 2011

Roger Viklund Does It Again: Are There Signs that 'Secret Mark' Influenced the Gospel of Baal Shem Tov?

I never cease to be impressed by Roger Viklund's work with respect to 'Secret Mark.' His lasting legacy will always be to have debunked Carlson's claims about a 'forger's tremor' in the Mar Saba 65 manuscript (Carlson was just using low resolution images of the photos rather than the actual photos themselves). Now Viklund comes up with an interesting argument for authenticity along with a special guest blogger. The pertinent passage in the Shem Tov gospel is the following:

“He left and went out to Bethany and (spent the night) there and there he was explaining to them the Kingdom of God.”

Is this a close enough parallel to Secret Mark to prove authenticity? Was Morton Smith aware of Shem-Tob’s Hebrew Matthew? Why not read the article and decide for yourselves? Viklund's articles are always well researched and always interesting.


Email stephan.h.huller@gmail.com with comments or questions.


 
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