St Mark vs Big Brother

And the origin story of the 'Memory Hole'

On Saturday 10th May, I’ll be performing God, the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) in Cambridge. Why not come and say hello? More details here.

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The Feast of St Mark falls on 25^th April.

It is an interesting quirk that we celebrate Mark, the author of the Gospel of Mark, in the season of Easter since his account of the resurrection of Jesus is very brief indeed.

The other gospels record encounters with the Risen Christ. John gives us Thomas in the Upper Room, Jesus on the beach and the miraculous catch of fish in John. Matthew gives us the Great Commission. Luke gives us an intriguing story about the couple who meet Jesus on the road to Emmaus.

Mark, however, ends his gospel with the women at the tomb being told that Christ is risen and that they should inform the disciples to meet Jesus in Galilee. The end.

We are left with questions. Will the disciples go? Will Peter be able to face Jesus having denied him as predicted? And will we, the reader, follow wherever Christ leads us?

We like to think we invented the idea of cliffhangers, curiosity gaps and narrative hooks but these techniques are thousands of years old. In fact, we should lean into questions, including the question about ‘the alternative ending of Mark’. We will come to that in a moment.

Mark’s Modus Operandi

I love Mark’s writing style. He tells us the identity of Jesus at the very beginning of his gospel, front-loading the story with a truth that we will breathlessly unravel in the following chapters. Mark’s concise account of the life of Christ jump-cuts from story to story almost to the point of being a highlights reel.

Then it all clatters to halt. The final verse reads:

Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid. (Mark 16:8)

And that’s it. No long, drawn-out Lord of the Rings ending with very loose ends slowly being plaited together like the beard of a dwarf. It’s over.

But is it over? Most Bibles have twelve more verses after Mark 16:8. They might be in italics. They are probably introduced with words like:

The earliest manuscripts and some other ancient witnesses do not have verses 9–20.

What are we to make of this alternative ending?

It’s a good question. And questions are good.

The Refreshing Reality of the Alternative Ending

I have heard a very convincing case using historical, textual and linguistic arguments that these verses are part of the original text. In the moment, they all sound plausible. But these arguments all fade away when you immerse yourself in Mark’s original gospel and then read these final verses which have a totally different tone.

The very fact that we can even ask the question about this alternative ending, however, is one of the unexpected reasons why I’m proud to be a Christian who believes wholeheartedly in the testimony of scripture. We have nothing to hide.

Our Bibles, translated into our native English language (thanks Wycliffe and Tyndale!), include these contested verses which are interesting to read and consistent with New Testament accounts of the early church. They are probably not part of the original text of Mark. And yet, there they are. On the page of your Bible for all to see.

The Bible has stood up to scrutiny for centuries. The popular conspiracy theories of Dan Brown are great fun, but mostly nonsense. Meanwhile, academics have been trying to undermine the foundations of scripture for over a century.

But the Bible just won’t go away. In fact, a Canadian clinical psychologist, Jordan Peterson, partially made his name making long YouTube videos about the early chapters of Genesis. And he wasn’t, and still isn’t, a Christian believer. He remains haunted by the Bible.

Known Unknowns

The fact that the unknowns are known is a strength. It is a stark contrast to the lies with which we are routinely presented. Books are print and reprinted, statements issued and reissued, to reassure us that what is being said now is what has been said all along. The past is ‘memory holed’. It never happened.

The phrase ‘memory hole’ comes from 1984 by George Orwell in his description of Winston Smith’s workplace. Smith’s job was to rewrite the news:

When one knew that any document was due for destruction, or even when one saw a scrap of waste paper lying about, it was an automatic action to lift the flap of the nearest memory hole and drop it in, whereupon it would be whirled away on a current of warm air to the enormous furnaces which were hidden somewhere in the recesses of the building.

Orwell describes Winston’s job in which he must:

…rewrite a paragraph of Big Brother's speech, in such a way as to make him predict the thing that had actually happened…. Winston's job was to rectify the original figures by making them agree with the later ones…

When he has finished:

… he crumpled up the original message and any notes that he himself had made, and dropped them into the memory hole to be devoured by the flames.

Voila! History has been rewritten. The lie is complete. Questions are, therefore, not necessary. Or allowed.

Christianity doesn’t do this. Or, at least, it shouldn’t. You can ask as many questions of God and the Bible as you want. You will find answers, and probably more and better questions.

God loves questions. His first words after the fall of man are a question: “Where are you?” Jesus, being in his very nature God, also loves questions, asking hundreds across all four gospels.

Let’s finish with the central question of Mark’s gospel, the ultimate question asked by Jesus: “who do you say I am?” (Mark 8:29) Peter replies that Jesus is the Messiah.

But what does that mean? And why does Jesus tell him not to tell anyone else? Great question! I don’t know! More to talk about. More to know. More to consider.

Why not spend St Mark’s Day, 25^th April, asking and answering that question that Jesus poses: who do you say I am?

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The Wycliffe Papers will be here next week, launching on Thursday 1st May. That’s next. Some stories are already up and I’m so excited about all the lovely jokes to share with you over the coming weeks and months. And there’ll be a paid members area from Day 1. Why not go and have a look around? And then share it!

537th wife of Solomon struggling to get “quality time with husband”.