THE OBBINK AFFAIR

Academic scholars are under pressure to publish articles. Unfortunately, this pressure can become too great, and academics can be tempted to cooperate with traders in illegal antiquities, making scholars complicit in theft.

Jona Lendering

UNROLLING HISTORY WHEN SCHOLARSHIP TURNS CRIMINAL The Obbink Affair, named after papyrologist Dirk Obbink, actually consists of wo different affairs, which we will call FirstCentury Mark and Sappho. The story combines many different elements from previous papyrological controversies. As such, it is the culmination of this series. FIRST-CENTURY MARK In February 2012, the American researcher Daniel Wallace announced that he had access to a fragment of the Gospel of Mark from the late first century AD. There was no need to doubt its authenticity, because this fragment had been discovered by disassembling a cartonnage, i.e. the papier-mâché part of a mummy. This discovery was at once spectacular and scandalous. The spectacular aspect was that First-Century Mark rebutted the claims of Jesus Mythicists, who claim that the manuscripts of the gospels are…

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Ancient History (Digital) - 1 Issue, AH 49

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