While biblical scholars have recognized the importance of advances in literary criticism to biblical hermeneutics, reader-oriented interpretation of the Gospels have generally failed to take into consideration the variety of approaches within the theory. In his new study of approaches to the Gospel of Mark, W. Randolph Tate challenges the ways in which reader-oriented theories have been applied as if there were one theory. In Reading Mark from the Outside, Tate explores the array of possibilities reader-oriented literary criticism can open for the reading of biblical narratives. Focusing on the work of well-known reader-oriented literary critics, Umberto Eco and Wolfgang Iser, Tate analyzes their theories and compares their interpretation of Mark's Gospel. Exploring the many ways in which reader and text interact to create meaning, Tate offers challenging insights into the relevance of Mark's Gospel. Of particular interest to biblical and literary scholars, Reading Mark from the Outside offers critical implications for biblical hermeneutics.