In the Christian faith, the four gospels are the most important, as they directly address the life of Jesus -peace be upon him-. And the Gospel of Mark is a bit special, since scholars say it was the oldest of the four and was taken as a main source for two other gospels (Luke and Mathew).
An author’s identity is directly correlated to the credibility of his words. Yet, we only see shocking facts when we search this topic.
It’s shocking because this isn’t simple academic research about a random old book, but a question about the authority and credibility of a Gospel, which naturally reflects the Authenticity and credibility of Christianity itself.
Here we will learn the following:
Who wrote the Gospel of Mark?
If you want to summarize it, we only know that we don’t know who wrote the Gospel of Mark, and we are pretty sure that we can’t be sure of anything!
That is the fact of the matter and what does that say about authority and credibility? No Authority, and no credibility!
For those who have questions about who wrote the Gospel of Mark, the resources provided are extremely limited, making it pretty hard to be near impossible for us to know anything for a fact.
1. The writer of the Gospel of Mark never said his name, we don’t even know if it was Mark
When the book was written, there was no name on it, it just said (the Gospel) just like the rest of the canonical as well as lost or Apocrypha “Gospels”!
Nothing in the Gospel of Mark ever mentions anything regarding who wrote it!
So, if we were to ask: who wrote the Gospel of Mark in the bible?
The bible doesn’t say a name!
2. We don’t know who “Mark” is exactly
No one knows who added the name “Mark” and so no one knows for certain who this Mark is!
Which is pretty shocking to know: the writer for such a major source is in fact unknown!
Christians can speculate, and even refer to some quotes and traditions regarding the author and when he wrote, but none of it is certain or factual.
Furthermore, evidence contradicts tradition when it comes to the sequence and timing of writing, which increases the doubt regarding such traditions.
3. The Christian tradition regarding the Gospels only started from 150 BC onwards
The first reference to talk about this topic is the book “Against heresies” from the second century!
Long before 150 BC, the church fathers and traditions never mentioned names for the Gospels or talked about an author. No earlier Christian really knew or talked about the writer of the Gospel of Mark.
4. The Christian tradition is extremely poor in quality as evident
The problem with Tradition isn’t only in continuity but also that it is extremely limited when in the second century we can only count 4 sources for the tradition, and the status of them is extremely poor in quality and credibility: Two of which are lost and only quotes from the fourth century, and one’s date is a matter of dispute.
They are also contradicting with each other and most importantly these traditions never state the evidence or bases for its information.
So, the Critical Question still remains open for speculation!
5. The Author Himself Never Mentioned the Source of His Information
The last and most shocking fact is that the author didn’t mention anything to his references at all! This puts a big question mark on any information we can depend on!
We know he was not an eyewitness, he never said that he was documenting what an eye witness said, and he never said that he was being inspired by God!
Christians believe he was “inspired” by God, and some try to link him to (Peter) but that link was never stated or proven, let alone saying that the book itself is his testimony!
This is the most shocking fact of all as it clearly reflects on the authority and credibility of the entire book.
The case is very similar if we were talking about who wrote the Gospels of Mark and Luke? Or who wrote the books of Mark and John?
Scholars Opinion of the Author of the Gospel of Mark:
If you want to summarize it, we only know that we don’t know, and we are pretty sure that we can’t be sure of anything!
That is the fact of the matter and what does that say about authority and credibility? No Authority, and no credibility!
What can be more shocking than that when it comes to one of the top important books in Christianity?!
How can the “Gospel Truth” ever be held as “Truth” when we don’t know who came up with it, or based on what?!
If the Gospel can’t be proven as the authenticated source of Christian beliefs? So, how can it ever be credible or authoritative enough to be the basis of the Christian belief?!
Who wrote the Gospel of Mark according to the Catholic?
Catholics believe Mark, the Evangelist, wrote the Gospel of Mark but that belief remains ill-founded.
This Mark is still a highly anonymous figure with unclear links to Peter. Let alone saying that what he wrote was taken from Peter. Everything else regarding him is engulfed in doubt due to the undisputed lack of evidence.
Catholics highly appreciate Peter as the head of the apostles and a direct eyewitness to the life of Jesus, peace be upon him, and they claim that their church reflects his authority. This makes having a gospel with the authority of Peter to be the most important, but unfortunately both links are very weak.
Do Muslims believe in the Gospel?
Yes, Muslims believe in “the Gospel”, but the Islamic belief is quite different from the Christian belief. Muslims believe in the Gospel of (Jesus), not Mark, Luke or John, etc…
Muslims believe that (the Gospel) is a divinely revealed book given to Jesus -peace be upon him- to guide the Israelites who Jesus was sent to.
This book obviously doesn’t exist today and modern Christians don’t believe in it.
Muslims believe that “the Noble Quran” is the last book revealed by Allah (God), it acknowledges the books that were sent before it and it has superior authority over them.
Allah says: “We have revealed to you the Book with the truth, as a confirmation of previous Scriptures and a supreme authority on them..”
وَأَنزَلْنَآ إِلَيْكَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ بِٱلْحَقِّ مُصَدِّقًۭا لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ مِنَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ وَمُهَيْمِنًا عَلَيْهِ ۖ
Qur’an
So, Muslims only need to follow it even though they believe in all books revealed to previous prophets, and the issues in preservation of such books don’t have any influence on the Islamic faith.
Read this article: Do Muslims believe in the Bible?
Is the Quran similar to the Gospel of Mark?
No! In terms of preservation, credibility and authority, the Quran is far superior to the Gospel of Mark, Luke, John or Mathew.
Muslims have a plethora of “Chains of Narration” connecting the Quran to Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.
These chains don’t have any gaps or anonymity, and people in it were and are still being rigorously tested for both accuracy and integrity.
So, Muslims know for a fact that the Quran was verbally revealed from God to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel and know how exactly he was as all details of his life are documented.
In this regard, the Quran is clearly superior not only to the Gospel of Mark, but one can say, to all religious books in general.
Also, Prophet Mohamed clearly stated he is a prophet of God, and that the Quran is His literal words. which also sets it apart from the Gospel of Mark that doesn’t state anything about its source.
Finally, the Quran isn’t only making a claim but also providing much evidence for it, one of which is the fact that it states its own preservation.
Why is The Quran The Greatest Miracle?
Allah (God) says in the Quran: “Indeed, it is We who sent down the message, and indeed, We will be its guardian.”
إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا ٱلذِّكْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُۥ لَحَـٰفِظُونَ ٩
Quran
The Quranic preservation sets it apart from all other books which could never be known when it was revealed!
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