Secret of the Savior

The Myth of the Messiah in Mark

Sid Martin

This book solves the greatest mystery of all time: where did the story of Jesus really come from? The Gospel of Mark is the earliest account of Jesus. What if the Gospel is a myth of the messiah? This view would change everything. What is the “secret of the savior”? It is that God is the savior. Jesus is a symbol of salvation and stands for the process of God saving us. Jesus is identified with a series of savior figures from Joshua to David to the Teacher of Righteousness—who founded the Essenes, the ancient Jewish sect who wrote the Dead Sea Scroll—to Rabbi Johanan Ben Zakkai, the founder of Rabbinic Judaism, and many others. The Gospel of Mark is ultimately an ingenious myth about the history of salvation in Israel. Secret of the Savior unearths the hidden history buried beneath the surface in this world-changing gospel.

University Press of America

Pages: 296 • Trim: 6⅜ x 9¼

978-0-7618-6145-4 • Hardback • August 2013 • $78.00 • (£60.00)

Subjects: Religion / Biblical Criticism & Interpretation / New Testament, Religion / Biblical Studies / New Testament / Jesus, the Gospels & Acts, Religion / Christianity / Protestant, Religion / Christian Theology / Christology, Religion / Christian Theology / Soteriology, History / Pre-Modern

Secret of the Savior

The Myth of the Messiah in Mark

Hardback

Summary

This book solves the greatest mystery of all time: where did the story of Jesus really come from? The Gospel of Mark is the earliest account of Jesus. What if the Gospel is a myth of the messiah? This view would change everything. What is the “secret of the savior”? It is that God is the savior. Jesus is a symbol of salvation and stands for the process of God saving us. Jesus is identified with a series of savior figures from Joshua to David to the Teacher of Righteousness—who founded the Essenes, the ancient Jewish sect who wrote the Dead Sea Scroll—to Rabbi Johanan Ben Zakkai, the founder of Rabbinic Judaism, and many others. The Gospel of Mark is ultimately an ingenious myth about the history of salvation in Israel. Secret of the Savior unearths the hidden history buried beneath the surface in this world-changing gospel.

Details

University Press of America

Pages: 296 • Trim: 6⅜ x 9¼

978-0-7618-6145-4 • Hardback • August 2013 • $78.00 • (£60.00)

Subjects: Religion / Biblical Criticism & Interpretation / New Testament, Religion / Biblical Studies / New Testament / Jesus, the Gospels & Acts, Religion / Christianity / Protestant, Religion / Christian Theology / Christology, Religion / Christian Theology / Soteriology, History / Pre-Modern

Author

Sid Martin is a religious researcher with a master of theological studies degree in Biblical studies from Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He is also a practicing attorney who specializes in legal research and writing.

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Myth of the Messiah: An Epic of Salvation
PART ONE: THE RISE
Chapter One: My Son, the Beloved
Chapter Two: Glories of a Shepherd King
Chapter Three: The Teacher of Righteousness Arises
Chapter Four: Mystery of the Kingdom Revealed
Chapter Five: Exile to the Land of Damascus
Chapter Six: An Appeal to the People
Chapter Seven: The Saints Assemble
Chapter Eight: Sectarian Strife
Chapter Nine: Last Stand of the Essenes
PART TWO: THE FALL
Chapter Ten: Beginning Again
Chapter Eleven: A Split in the Ranks
Chapter Twelve: The Year of the Four Emperors
Chapter Thirteen: Besieging the City
Chapter Fourteen: A Lull in the Fighting
Chapter Fifteen: Fall of the Temple
Chapter Sixteen: Massacre of Martyrs
Chapter Seventeen: The City Surrenders
Chapter Eighteen: Judea Capta
Conclusion: The Gospel According to Myth
Appendix: Ears to Hear: Myth and History in Mark
Bibliography
Subject Index

Secret of the Savior

The Myth of the Messiah in Mark

Sid Martin

Secret of the Savior

The Myth of the Messiah in Mark

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