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Mark S. Goodacre

Professor in the Department of Religious Studies
Religious Studies
Box 90964, Durham, NC 27708-0964
Gray Bldg / Box 90964, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708-0964
Office hours Please email goodacre@duke.edu or call 919-660-3503.  

Overview


Mark Goodacre is Professor of Religious Studies at Duke University. He specializes in the New Testament and Christian Origins. He earned his MA, M.Phil and DPhil at the University of Oxford. He has been at Duke since 2005.

His research interests include the Gospels and the Historical Jesus. Goodacre is the author of four books including The Case Against Q: Studies in Markan Priority and the Synoptic Problem (Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 2002) and Thomas and the Gospels: The Case for Thomas's Familiarity with the Synoptics (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2012). He is well known for creating web resources on New Testament and Christian origins, including his podcast, the NT Pod. Goodacre has acted as consultant for several TV and radio programs including The Passion (BBC / HBO, 2008) and Finding Jesus (CNN, 2015-17). Goodacre is currently working on a book on John's knowledge of the Synoptic Gospels.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Professor in the Department of Religious Studies · 2013 - Present Religious Studies, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

In the News


Published June 22, 2020
A Comforting Voice on the New Testament
Published February 23, 2017
The Historical Jesus: Separating Fact from Fiction
Published June 21, 2016
'Jesus's Wife' papyrus is likely a fake, professor now says

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Recent Publications


A World without Mark: an Experiment in Erasure History

Journal Article Biblical Interpretation · January 1, 2022 Erasure History is a subset of the discipline of counter-factual history, an exploration in imagining history without a work that scholars see as pivotal. Erasing Mark's gospel provides a fruitful thought experiment about the key role it plays in current s ... Full text Cite

How Empty Was the Tomb?

Journal Article Journal for the Study of the New Testament · September 1, 2021 Although the term ‘empty tomb’ is endemic in contemporary literature, it is never used in the earliest Christian materials. The term makes little sense in the light of first-century Jerusalem tombs, which always housed multiple people. One absent body woul ... Full text Cite
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Education, Training & Certifications


University of Oxford (United Kingdom) · 1994 D.Phil.
University of Oxford (United Kingdom) · 1990 M.Phil.
University of Oxford (United Kingdom) · 1988 B.A.