DCHindley

Wieland Willker posted a message on textualcriticism@yahoogroups.com as follows:

Timo S. Paananen has written a [Masters] thesis on Secret Mark (I think it is in Finnish).

He has started translating the chapters on his blog. It starts in June, about here:

http://salainenevankelista.blogspot....tion-from.html

Check the blog out. Much to read!

I took a look at what has been translated into English so far and it is very interesting. The author appears to be a bit skeptical of the hoax theory, but he is interpreting Carlson's thesis as a form of modern "conspiracy theory" so his scepticism may not really signify what he thinks of the authenticity of the letter.

Here is the table of contents (already translated chapters are in red):

A Conspiracy of the Secret Evangelist: Recent Debate Concerning Clement of Alexandria's Letter to Theodore

1 Introduction
(A censured portion with some biographical information)
1.1 Clement's letter to Theodore: Discovery story
1.2 A history of scholarship of the letter
1.3 Some methodological considerations

2 Clement's letter to Theodore: Physical dimension
2.1 A history of the MS
2.2 Paper and ink
2.3 Is the book of Isaac Voss an anomaly in the monastery?
2.4 Stephen Carlson's handwriting analysis
2.5 An analysis of Stephen Carlson's handwriting analysis
2.6 Conclusion of the chapter

3 Clement's letter to Theodore: Subject matter
3.1 The vocabulary of Clement's letter
3.2 An unnecessary sphragis of Clement and other oddities
3.3 Weird things in the Secret Gospel of Mark
3.4 The expertise and suspicious behaviour of Morton Smith
3.5 The irony of Bart D. Ehrman - a novel by James H. Hunter

4 Clement's letter to Theodore: A conspiracy theory
4.1 Prelude to the clues the hoaxer hid
4.2 The triune confession of the hoaxer
4.3 How a conspiracy theory is built
4.4 How Stephen Carlson builds a conspiracy theory
4.5 A conventional critique of Stephen Carlson's conspiracy theory arguments

5 Conclusions and challenges for the future
5.1 Stephen C. Carlson and the signs of the times
5.2 Conclusions and the possibilities for further inquiry

Appendix 1
The letter gamma of Morton Smith in 1958 and the letter gamma in Clement's letter: First six appearances

Appendix 2
Reductio ad absurdum: An alternative hiding place of the name 'Morton' in Clement's letter

Sources and resources
Internet sources
Bibliography

DCH