A new book by an ex-Christadelphian, Nicholas P. Lunn, is on the ending of the Gospel of Mark (Mk 16:9-20). Dr. Lunn is a translation consultant with Wycliffe and a Baptist. The paperback edition is available on Amazon and also Kindle.
Craig Evans’ review on the cover says,
“Nicholas Lunn has thoroughly shaken my views concerning the ending of the Gospel of Mark,”
and,
“As in the case of most gospel scholars, I have for my whole career held that Mark 16:9-20, the so-called ‘Long Ending,’ was not original. But in his well-researched and carefully argued book, Lunn succeeds in showing just how flimsy that position really is,”
and,
“I will not be surprised if Lunn reverses scholarly opinion on this important question”.
The book is substantial and technical and requires a knowledge of Greek, Textual Criticism and Linguistics. Maybe the book will only interest those with a passion for textual criticism, since it is unlikely that Christadelphians (e.g. me) doubt the ‘long ending’ of Mark in the first place.
A much shorter popular treatment of the issue is provided by H. A. Whittaker in his book ‘He is Risen Indeed’ (Detroit, 1969; pp 104-117), a book not noted in Lunn’s bibliography, but one which he read in his Christadelphian days, and which we can recommend here as enough to settle the question for the average reader (those with a passion for textual criticism should, of course, have Lunn on their bookshelf). Whittaker’s own views were, in turn, formed by Dean Burgon’s treatment in ‘The Last Twelve Verses of Mark’, a text available on the Internet.
For a positive appraisal of Lunn, readers can see here. This review will in turn direct readers to a negative ‘book notice’ in the Australian Biblical Review. It is difficult to overturn a consensus in scholarship; it requires far more than a good solid case to do so; and since Dean Burgon failed in his day, it is unlikely, sadly, that Lunn will succeed in this day.
Review of “The Early Earth” by John Whitcomb (1972)