What does the so-called Secret Gospel of Mark and modern day Shroud of Turin have in common? Breaking new ground in both sindonology (the study of the Shroud) and New Testament studies, this book explores the mystery behind the lost gospel and the mysterious story of a figure wrapped in linen that it describes. When this controversial text is reinserted back into the biblical storyline, it ties together a number of complex themes that ultimately serve to reveal the burial/resurrection shroud of Jesus.
Secret Mark may thus be the missing link in a long line of evidence pointing toward the Shroud of Turin's first century origin and the fallacy of the cloth and its image being a medieval forgery. Paradoxically, critical scholarship's own methods bring to light one of the central relics of Christian faith that may well be the only material artifact of the historical Jesus. Only by reading non-canonical, apocryphal scripture can the Shroud be more readily perceived in the symbolic codes of the New Testament gospel.
This "director's cut" of the Gospel of Mark is sure to fascinate and enthrall anyone interested in the historical Jesus and the origins of Christianity – both believers and non-believers alike.