A Sitz for the Gospel of Mark? A Critical Reaction to Bauckham’s Theory on the Universality of the Gospels
Author(s): Ernest van Eck (University of Pretoria)
Published in: HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies, Vol. 56, No. 4 (2000)
DOI: 10.4102/hts.v56i4.1802
Abstract
Richard Bauckham challenged the scholarly consensus that each Gospel was written for a particular believing community, proposing instead that the Gospels were composed for open circulation among all the churches. Van Eck tests that thesis against the case of Mark: he first surveys the proposals for the Gospel’s place of origin — Rome, Syria, Galilee — and the theological intentions attributed to it, then weighs whether the universality hypothesis can account for the evidence. Note: this article responds to Bauckham’s argument about the Gospels’ intended audience, not to his later thesis on eyewitness testimony.
