The shortest of the four canonical gospels, most biblical scholars regard Mark as the oldest and a primary source for much of the material contained in Luke and Matthew. For a long time Christians tended to ignore Mark in favor of the longer, more detailed texts of Matthew and Luke. After it was identified as the oldest and thus presumably most historically accurate, Mark has gained in popularity.

This 53-week email course introduces the origins of Mark, it's authorship and audience, and then proceeds through the text verse by verse to explain the historical background, how it's been used theologically, problems with the text, contradictions, and so forth. This analysis of and commentary on Mark's gospel provides a basic introduction to the scholarship on the text without any theological or religious presuppositions which tend to taint most commentaries.

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