logo
episode-header-image
Feb 2025
56m 11s

Why Should We Think Mark Was the First G...

Bart Ehrman
About this episode

Knowing when something was written helps to better understand answers to other questions - like why it was written, and how it relates to other texts from that time. Unfortunately, ancient authors rarely wrote the date at the top of the page when they started writing, which makes working out when something was written a somewhat challenging process. Today, Dr. Bart Ehrman is going to guide us through how biblical scholars tackle this challenging process, and look at why it is that the Gospel of Mark is understood to be the first gospel.

Up next
Aug 19
Why are the Gospels so Late?
The first gospel recording Jesus life wasn’t written until approximately 30 years after his death. Dr. Bart Ehrman is here to tell us why it took so long for pen to be put to paper, and how this impacts their use as historical documents. 
39m 20s
Aug 12
Are the Gospels Filled with Fiction?
If the accounts of Jesus’ life found in the four gospels contain contradictions, how can we know what the historical Jesus actually said and did? Dr. Bart Ehrman explains how scholars sort historical truth from theological fiction! 
39m 25s
Aug 5
What's the Point of John's Gospel?
As an historian, I’m pretty much always interested in ancient writing. Give me a document written a few thousand years ago, and I’ll be entertained for hours. My guest today is similarly minded, except his passion for the Gospel of John has sustained him for the last decade. Toda ... Show More
36m 48s
Recommended Episodes
Jul 2024
#77 Bart Ehrman - What is the Gospel of Judas?
Bart Ehrman is a New Testament scholar focusing on textual criticism of the New Testament, the historical Jesus, and the origins and development of early Christianity. He was one of the first people in the world to see the rediscovered manuscript of the Gospel of Judas, when he w ... Show More
1h 50m
Aug 1
How Do I Know the Bible Is True? (Open Forum)
It’s very common for people, even those who want to live the Christian life, to feel they have to check their brains at the door if they’re going to believe. Often, we hear this basic approach to the Bible: the gospels were written down after years of legends, so we don’t really ... Show More
48m 51s
Sep 2024
The Ladder Doesn’t Matter
Friends, why was the story of Jesus with the little children, versions of which appear in the three synoptic Gospels, so vividly remembered by the first Christians? I think they intuited that it got very close to the heart of Jesus’ teaching. The way Mark sets up his account of t ... Show More
14m 39s
Apr 2023
Messianic Checkpoint: The Gospel of John (2023)
You've made it to the first Messianic Checkpoint! Jeff Cavins joins Fr. Mike to introduce the Gospel of John. They discuss the structure of this Gospel and what makes it so different from the other three Gospels. We learn that the Gospel of John doesn't just tell us what ... Show More
21m 32s
Nov 2020
What is the Gospel?
The gospel is one unchanging message, but there are many different ways to remember and retain it. In this episode, the FTG team breaks down the core elements of the gospel message in easy-to-understand ways. From the philosophical question of, "What is the Meaning of Life?"  to ... Show More
53m 4s
Oct 2024
The Song of Creation
If you live in North America or Europe, the question almost everyone has in mind when they read Genesis 1 is “How?” They ask, “How did it happen? How long did it take?”  But how questions aren’t as important as why questions. What you really need to know about this world is why d ... Show More
33m 25s
Oct 2024
Are the New Testament Eyewitness Accounts Reliable? Part 1
In this episode of the Cold-Case Christianity Podcast, J. Warner reviews the evidence for the reliability of the New Testament eyewitness accounts. What are the criteria we use to determine if eyewitnesses are reliable? Do the authors of the New Testament Gospels measure up? J. W ... Show More
27m 59s
Jun 29
The Apocryphal Gospels
If you've heard of the mysterious and often controversial Apocryphal Gospels, you may have been told that they weren't important, or useful; that they 'didn't make the cut' to be included in the Canonical Bible. Not at all, these early Christian texts were hugely significant and ... Show More
38m 8s
Dec 2024
#92 Bart Ehrman - The Dark Side of Christmas
Bart Ehrman is a New Testament scholar focusing on textual criticism of the New Testament, the historical Jesus, and the origins and development of early Christianity. Get Bart Ehrman's new course, The Dark Side of Christmas (affiliate link). 
1h 1m
Mar 2025
Everyday Disciples - S1:E3
EVERYDAY DISCIPLES S1:E3 Following the way of Jesus in everything, everywhere, every day. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” - Mark 1:17 SHOW NOTES Welcome to the Everyday Disciples podcast, where we talk about what it means to follow ... Show More
1h 20m