Markus Vinzent's claim about Marcion

[Kunigunde Kreuzerin]

Anyhoo, what's the point of the OP?

The OP is not particularly informative or well introduced. It arose from a discussion between Ulan and me. I picked it up a little later.

Ulan linked to Prof. Vinzent’s blog and wrote: "But he (Vinzent) sees Marcion at the base of many gospels".

I found it really interesting at first and invested time in understanding his argument. I was really mad at Vinzey because he had prepared his data so sloppily and I got the impression that he hadn't even read the texts (especially not GPeter). He made really pointless claims that were patently false.

[rgprice]

Sorry, it was late at night. I didn't read all the way through or notice the necromancy... However, I agree that the case for Marcion's priority is not good. However, of course, I'm now out on a limb myself and don't consider any known Gospel to be the first narrative and am forced to work at trying to reconstruct hypothetical Gospels. I'm sure this will draw as much or more ire.

[Peter Kirby]

Tomorrow I will encourage a few female scholars to put forward the thesis that Mary Magdalene wrote the first gospel. We will prove this and reconstruct her oppressed gospel. I expect a similar “success” of this thesis, if not an even bigger one.

Isn't it obvious, though? Mark 14:9 is Mary's self-insert.

And truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole word, what she has done will be told in memory of her.

Compare 2 Cor 12:2, the one caught up to the third heaven, for not giving the name of the author herself directly.

[Secret Alias]

I think the best argument regarding female authorship of Christianity is that no man would conceive it impossible to completely abstain from sex. It was a torment that only a woman could inflict on men. Set an impossible bar. Offer to "pluck out" the eye that offends the man. For women to abstain from sex is easy. Marriage.

[Kunigunde Kreuzerin]

Tomorrow I will encourage a few female scholars to put forward the thesis that Mary Magdalene wrote the first gospel. We will prove this and reconstruct her oppressed gospel. I expect a similar “success” of this thesis, if not an even bigger one.

Isn't it obvious, though? Mark 14:9 is Mary's self-insert.

And truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole word, what she has done will be told in memory of her.

Compare 2 Cor 12:2, the one caught up to the third heaven, for not giving the name of the author herself directly.

Exactly! And just think, what a typical Markan irony at the end: "They said nothing to no one" ... Of course, because Mary wrote! Great inside joke

I think the best argument regarding female authorship of Christianity is that no man would conceive it impossible to completely abstain from sex.

Well, I think the fact that the only person who won a verbal battle with Jesus in the Gospel is the Syrophoenician woman seems to be a stronger argument. Only a woman could have written that!

[Kunigunde Kreuzerin]

However, of course, I'm now out on a limb myself and don't consider any known Gospel to be the first narrative and am forced to work at trying to reconstruct hypothetical Gospels.

I would really like to stop you from doing that. That's way too hypothetical.

Many scholars attempted to reconstruct the pre-Markan Passion account from Mark and John. Many scholars have tried to reconstruct Q and to decide which sayings really came from the historical Jesus. These people have done a huge amount of work, but I don't think anyone cares much about it today.

[rgprice]

Tomorrow I will encourage a few female scholars to put forward the thesis that Mary Magdalene wrote the first gospel. We will prove this and reconstruct her oppressed gospel. I expect a similar “success” of this thesis, if not an even bigger one.

Isn't it obvious, though? Mark 14:9 is Mary's self-insert.

And truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole word, what she has done will be told in memory of her.

Compare 2 Cor 12:2, the one caught up to the third heaven, for not giving the name of the author herself directly.

These are actually good points. But we also have to consider a potential author like "Marcus", whom Irenaeus tells us was a "flatterer of women". So there are two potentials. One is that the writer was a woman. The other is that the writer was someone whose ministry catered to women. I think that the case is strong that it is one or the other.

However, a point in favor of the first Gospel having been written by a woman is its anonymity. Perhaps is was anonymous precisely because it was by a woman and thus she knew not to put her name to it. But then again, anonymous works of this kind aren't all that uncommon.

[Peter Kirby]

Tomorrow I will encourage a few female scholars to put forward the thesis that Mary Magdalene wrote the first gospel. We will prove this and reconstruct her oppressed gospel. I expect a similar “success” of this thesis, if not an even bigger one.

Isn't it obvious, though? Mark 14:9 is Mary's self-insert.

And truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole word, what she has done will be told in memory of her.

Compare 2 Cor 12:2, the one caught up to the third heaven, for not giving the name of the author herself directly.

These are actually good points. But we also have to consider a potential author like "Marcus", whom Irenaeus tells us was a "flatterer of women". So there are tow potentials. One is that the writer was a woman. The other is that the writer was someone whose ministry catered to women. I think that the case is strong that it is one or the other.

However, a point in favor of the first Gospel having been written by a woman is its anonymity. Perhaps is was anonymous precisely because it was by a woman and thus she knew not to put her name to it. But then again, anonymous works of this kind aren't all that uncommon.

There's something in here about Mark being formerly named Mary, or vice-versa, and I'd buy a beer for anyone who got that published.

[rgprice]

Tomorrow I will encourage a few female scholars to put forward the thesis that Mary Magdalene wrote the first gospel. We will prove this and reconstruct her oppressed gospel. I expect a similar “success” of this thesis, if not an even bigger one.

Isn't it obvious, though? Mark 14:9 is Mary's self-insert.

And truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole word, what she has done will be told in memory of her.

Compare 2 Cor 12:2, the one caught up to the third heaven, for not giving the name of the author herself directly.

These are actually good points. But we also have to consider a potential author like "Marcus", whom Irenaeus tells us was a "flatterer of women". So there are tow potentials. One is that the writer was a woman. The other is that the writer was someone whose ministry catered to women. I think that the case is strong that it is one or the other.

However, a point in favor of the first Gospel having been written by a woman is its anonymity. Perhaps is was anonymous precisely because it was by a woman and thus she knew not to put her name to it. But then again, anonymous works of this kind aren't all that uncommon.

There's something in here about Mark being formerly named Mary, or vice-versa, and I'd buy a beer for anyone who got that published.

OMG you'll be the darling of the LGBTQIA+verse if you publish a book arguing that the writer of the first Christian Gospel was transgender...

[Peter Kirby]

Thomas 114

(1) Simon Peter said to them: “Let Mary go away from us, for women are not worthy of life.”
(2) Jesus said: “Look, I will draw her in so as to make her male, so that she too may become a living male spirit, similar to you.”
(3) (But I say to you): “Every woman who makes herself male will enter the kingdom of heaven.”