I have often been puzzled by how defenders of the Christian faith attack me and my views by taking the biographical route, pointing out the course of my faith journey, identifying a flaw in it, and then drawing the conclusion that if I had not thought X or been convinced by Y then I would have seen the truth and not been led astray. The way this narrative usually works is this:  “If Ehrman had not been raised a fundamentalist he would have realized… x, y, and z … and he then never would have left the faith”  OR “If Ehrman had not held X view he would not have been so easily swayed when he realized it was wrong” OR “The problem is that Ehrman appears to have thought Y and that’s not at all what true evangelicals think” and so on and on. The reason I find this puzzling is that people get their notions of how I was raised or what I thought from things I’ve written and said and in most [...]

In view of our coming fund raiser for Ukraine on Sunday (Fundraiser for Ukraine. Lecture on "Who Killed Jesus? And Why?" | The Bart Ehrman Blog) a long-time blog member and one of my blog advisors, Doug Wadeson, has provided this moving and informative recollection of his times there. ******************** We are all distressed by the events in Ukraine.  My wife and I feel a particular connection to this situation as we have visited Ukraine a number of times and still have friends there.  A missionary friend ran a language college in Simferopol, Crimea although his ultimate goal was to teach Christian values to people raised in officially atheistic communism.  Each year he sponsored a symposium bringing together Ukrainians, Russians, Americans and Europeans in an east-meets-west sort of multidisciplinary meeting where we each presented a paper for discussion and debate, on any number of subjects, but with a particular worldview in mind, usually Christian or atheist.  As a medical doctor I offered to participate.  He also arranged for me to speak at various medical facilities [...]

Several people have informed me that they will not be able to attend the Ukraine Fundraiser on Sunday March 20, 4:00-5:30 Eastern Time, LIVE but would like to make the donation and receive a RECORDING,  so: Anyone who registers for the event, whether they come to it live or not, will be sent the recording to have for posterity.  The recording will also include the Q&A that follows the lecture. You can make your donation on the blog Home page (scroll to bottom), and you can register & get the Zoom link here. Remember, this is 100% a fundraiser for CARE, which is doing heroic work to help Ukrainians who have had to flee their country, so give what you can. I am personally matching donations up to $10,000.  

There are blog members who would love to come to the lecture I'm giving as a fundraiser for Ukraine on Sunday, but simply can't afford the donation (for the information about the event itself, see below).  And so this post is for TWO groups of people. If you yourself can afford to come and would like to donate a "ticket" or several tickets to the event for someone or someones who cannot, please click here to do so. If you can NOT afford the donation amount but would like to come to the lecture click here to register and on the Donation Amount, simply enter $0 or the amount you are able to give.   The blog is not meant to be exclusive but to be open to all.  Many thanks to all for being on it and supporting our causes. Note: for those who wish to donate, but can't attend the lecture live, we will be recording the the talk and will make that available to all donors. Here now is the original announcement again. [...]

Most of us are feeling depressed, frustrated, anxious, stressed, fearful, and helpless in the face of what is happening in Ukraine.  Even though there is nothing we as individuals can do to halt the Russian advance and is horrific consequences, we can at least do something to help those in the throes of the humanitarian crisis. I would like to do a fundraiser to provide funds for one of the great charities dealing with the situation, one that the blog has always supported..  We will send all the money we raise directly to Care International.  They are doing fantastic work in the crisis and desperately need the funding. Our event will be on Sunday March 20, 4:00-5:30 Eastern Time.  It will be a Zoom lecture that I give on "Who Killed Jesus?  And Why?"   It will involve a 45  minute lecture and a 45 minute Q&A.  We are asking all attendees for a minimum donation of $45 dollars. If you choose to come, please consider giving more -- as much as you can and wish.  [...]

Two years ago and then last year I was scheduled to do give lectures on a tour in Italy, starting in Rome and going to Naples, Pompeii (!), and Sorrento.  I was eager to do it -- great places!   But alas, it was cancelled both times.   BUT, it's back on, as I've announced.  AND there is still some room for travelers.  Interested?  My topic is the relationship of Christianity and traditional Roman religions and cultures in the early centuries CE:  “Christians and Pagans.” The tour company, Thalassa, is terrific; it will be a small and intimate group and we will have tons of time to talk, discuss, and hang out together.   They are now accepting registrations for the trip.  Below is a poster for it, with a link for more information.  Here is part of what I say about my lectures. When Christianity arrived on the world stage in the first century AD, Rome and the Empire it founded were predominantly “pagan” – filled with a large number of polytheistic religions worshiping the Greek [...]

Please remember our fundraiser for Doctors Without Borders (MUCH in need of support just now in particular!).  It's your chance to ask me questions and my chance to desperately think of answers.    ALSO: I will have a one-one-one after the event with the highest bidder!  And bids are due TONIGHT.   See details here: https://ehrmanblog.org/ask-bart-anything-blog-event-march-6/    

On Sunday March 6, 4:00 - 5:15 EST we are holding a blog event which will be a two-way affair: I will have the pleasure of trying to answer questions participants have and participants will have the pleasure of stumping me with questions I can't answer.  And a good time will be had by all! This will be a fundraiser for Doctors Without Borders.  Donations are voluntary but encouraged for this great cause. To learn more, keep reading; to register and get the link: go here:  Register here for the ABA The format: I will take live questions through chat.  The questions can be on ANY topic that anyone is interested in.  If it is something I don’t know anything about (Kant's second critique or quantum mechanics) or that I would rather not talk about (that little incident when I was 16….) I’ll just say so.  I will get through as many questions as I can, answering easy ones briefly and taking as long as I need to deal with more complicated ones.  My only [...]

I have been discussing various ways that Paul understands the importance of the death and resurrection of Jesus for salvation, and have focused on the judicial and participationist models – mainly because these are the two that Paul most frequently appeals to (without calling them the judicial and participationist models!).  I need to clarify a few points before moving on to speak of yet other models that Paul appears to use. First, over the years when I've discussed these models in a public forum, people have asked me about my personal views of these models.   Several have asked how I could possibly believe such a thing.  And one has asked what right I have to talk about “sin” if I’m not a Christian and so do not believe in sin.  So let me clear: I’m not affirming or denying anything Paul says in any of his writings.  I’m simply describing what it is he says.  Some people have trouble understanding the difference between description and prescription, but there’s a big difference. I remember back when [...]