The authorship of the Gospel of Mark is critiqued by many individuals, especially atheists because, most scholars believe Mark is the earliest gospel written and the one which is closely related to the historical Jesus. Disproving Mark’s authorship of the Gospel would undermine the rest of The …show more content…
This is supported by the fact that their is a reference to the “destruction of the temple in Jerusalem which took place in 70 CE”(Schweizer, Eduard,The Good News According to Mark). Moreover this gives the impression that the Gospel of Mark was written sometime during the war between Rome and the Jews (66-74). Those who support an earlier date like conservative scholars rely to a great degree upon a fragment of papyrus from Qumran. In a cave sealed in 68 CE was a piece of a text which is claimed to be an earlier version of Mark, this gives the impression that the Gospel of Mark was written before the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. Moreover there are those who argue for a later date, they believe that Mark was able to include the prophecy about the destruction of the temple because it had already happened. Though there is evidence to support each argument, most scholars support the notion that the Gospel of Mark was written between the war between Rome and the Jews. The fragment from papyrus is not enough to support an early date for Mark, as this fragment contains only a single word. Due to the way the destruction of the temple shapes Mark’s story, it can be said that the Gospel of Mark was written a year before or after 70 CE, which is supported by most