The history and legacy of Mark is revisited in African tradition and contested in Western historiography in this thorough account of the saint's life and influence. Largely regarded as a shadow figure in biblical texts, the author of the gospel has a rich and varied story in "African memory." Pulling from Latin, Arabic, and both ancient and modern Coptic sources, Oden challenges the Western notion that Paul was the only father of modern Christianity and posits that Mark's influence in African Christianity has been largely ignored by the Western canon at the expense of the whole Christian church. Oden (After Modernity... What?) writes a well-crafted, convincing analysis of Mark's life, work, and contribution. While the tone of this book may be more oriented toward clergy and lay people than scholars, his project to recover Mark's prominence for Western believers is fascinating. A fresh and unusual perspective on early Church history, this text will surely interest both believers and church historians alike. (Aug.)
"I trust that this book by Thomas Oden will remind believers that their African spiritual ancestors include Abraham, Jesus, Mark, and thousands of others. Rejoice, believers from the continent of Africa, that you have a spiritual history that dates back to creation. I trust this book will stimulate African scholars to continue research into the African memory of Mark."
"Oden has stumbled upon a fascinating African church tradition and has presented it in an accessible way. . . . It desires to stir a passion within the reader to expore African Christianity more and to read further."
"Anyone who enjoys learning about narratives of redemptive history across the globe will benefit from it."
"The African Memory of Mark is a timely reassessment of Mark, Gospel writer and propagator of the message of Christ to Africa. It rehabilitates a neglected tradition and deserves serious consideration by everyone who has been influenced by the historicist understanding of Mark's life and work."
"Oden has organized a fascinating collection of traditions on Mark. For any reader interested in the history of the evangelization of Africa or the life of Mark the Evangelist, this book would be a valuable resource. Oden has made a good case for the African memory of Mark and helped a new generation of Christian ministers and scholars in the Global South to find their place in early Christianity."
"The African Memory of Mark honors the way the Coptic Church has been the faithful, preeminent carrier of the Markan tradition in the church, and does that by weaving the different genres of sources into a narrative whole. Oden is not unaware of standard depictions of Mark and the Gospel that bears his name in which the African note is rather marginal—where it is acknowledged at all—but he challenges established scholarship by marshaling the evidence and refocusing it on the continuity of the Coptic memory of Mark. Whether or not the reader agrees with the argument of the book, Oden has raised the bar of scrutiny and challenged many of the unstated assumptions of conventional scholarship. From critic and fan alike, Oden deserves credit."
"[T]his reader is grateful to Oden for retelling the theologically profound African story of Mark and opening scholars to a neglected aspect of the reception history of the Gospel of Mark."
"The African Memory of Mark honors the way the Coptic Church has been the faithful, preeminent carrier of the Markan tradition in the church, and does that by weaving the different genres of sources into a narrative whole. Oden is not unaware of standard depictions of Mark and the Gospel that bears his name in which the African note is rather marginal--where it is acknowledged at all--but he challenges established scholarship by marshaling the evidence and refocusing it on the continuity of the Coptic memory of Mark. Whether or not the reader agrees with the argument of the book, Oden has raised the bar of scrutiny and challenged many of the unstated assumptions of conventional scholarship. From critic and fan alike, Oden deserves credit."
--Lamin Sanneh, D. Willis James Professor of Missions World Christianity, Yale University
"The African Memory of Mark is a timely reassessment of Mark, Gospel writer and propagator of the message of Christ to Africa. It rehabilitates a neglected tradition and deserves serious consideration by everyone who has been influenced by the historicist understanding of Mark's life and work."
--Tite Tiénou, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
"[T]his reader is grateful to Oden for retelling the theologically profound African story of Mark and opening scholars to a neglected aspect of the reception history of the Gospel of Mark."
--Michael Kok, Relegere, Vol. 2, No. 1 (2012)
"A fresh and unusual perspective on early Church history, this text will surely interest both believers and church historians alike."
--Publishers Weekly, July 11, 2011
"Anyone who enjoys learning about narratives of redemptive history across the globe will benefit from it."
--Matthew M. Whitehead, Bible Study Magazine, September October 2011
"I trust that this book by Thomas Oden will remind believers that their African spiritual ancestors include Abraham, Jesus, Mark, and thousands of others. Rejoice, believers from the continent of Africa, that you have a spiritual history that dates back to creation. I trust this book will stimulate African scholars to continue research into the African memory of Mark."
--James Plueddemann, Trinity Journal, Spring 2014
"Oden has organized a fascinating collection of traditions on Mark. For any reader interested in the history of the evangelization of Africa or the life of Mark the Evangelist, this book would be a valuable resource. Oden has made a good case for the African memory of Mark and helped a new generation of Christian ministers and scholars in the Global South to find their place in early Christianity."
--Stephen O. Presley, Southwestern Journal of Theology, Fall 2014
"Oden has stumbled upon a fascinating African church tradition and has presented it in an accessible way. . . . It desires to stir a passion within the reader to expore African Christianity more and to read further."
--Christopher A. Beetham, Themelios 37.1
"The African Memory of Mark is a timely reassessment of Mark, Gospel writer and propagator of the message of Christ to Africa. It rehabilitates a neglected tradition and deserves serious consideration by everyone who has been influenced by the historicist understanding of Mark's life and work."
