Was a secret, more provocative version of a gospel hidden from the public for 2,000 years? In 1958, scholar Morton Smith announced a shocking discovery: a letter from the ancient church father Clement of Alexandria containing a fragment of the Secret Gospel of Mark. This wasn't the gospel you know; it described a mysterious initiation and a story with a homoerotic subtext that threatened to rewrite our understanding of the historical Jesus. But then, the manuscript vanished.

Was this one of the most important lost gospels ever found, or was it the most brilliant and audacious biblical forgery of the 20th century? Join us as we unpack the furious academic and theological debate that still rages today. We'll investigate the prime suspect: Morton Smith himself, a man who may have had the motive to orchestrate the perfect hoax just to expose the biases of his peers.

We dive deep into the controversy, exploring how accusations were fueled by homophobia and why the entire debate is now seen as a "queer archive" of scholarly desire and fear. With even top scholars like Bart Ehrman on the fence, this story is more than a simple whodunit. It's a gripping mystery about a suppressed text that forces us to ask: how much of history is determined not by evidence, but by what we want to believe?

If you love a good historical controversy that challenges everything, you've found your next obsession. Follow our podcast, share this episode, and join the debate over the most controversial Christian text that might have ever existed.


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