On each of the past couple of Sunday afternoons I have given two Zoom lectures, recorded for my undergraduate course on the New Testament, and invited all of you to come. After the second lecture we had about 30 minutes of Q&A, all very lively. Both times went well and a good time was reportedly had by all. But what do reporters know?
I’m going to do it again this Sunday, and you are welcome to come. There would be no charge per se, but I would like to ask for a (completely voluntary) donation to the blog.
This will be Sunday, Feb. 7. I will again give two lectures), one at 1:00 and the other at 2:15. Each lecture will take about 40-45 minutes. The topics this time:
- “The Ending of the Gospel of Mark and Jesus the Unknown Savior” This lecture introduces students to the problem that we do not have the original copy of Mark’s Gospel. It appears that the final twelve verses were not originally in the account, so that it ends before anyone sees Jesus raised from the dead. How does that affect the Gospel story? (Answer: rather significantly!)
- “The Synoptic Problem and Its Significance for Interpretation.” This lecture considers the intriguing literary relationships of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, which tell many of the same stories, often in the same sequence, and even in the same words. How do you explain that, unless someone was copying someone else? But who was copying whom? And how would we know? Even more important, why would it matter? (Spoiler alert: it does!)
So, are you interested? Feel free to join us. My suggested donation is a minimum $10 to listen to one of them and $15 to listen to both (there is no maximum donation ?). After the second lecture I will take questions from three attendees for 30 minutes (which will not be included on the recording I send to the students). Which three? The three largest donors for the lecture(s) over $100. Everyone else, of course, is free to listen in. (To make things fair: if you bid a larger amount and are disappointed about not being one of the three, you are under no obligation: make your donation any amount you choose!)
All the donations will go directly to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina.
In case you wondered, I have no plans to make these lectures generally available. The recordings will be for my class only.
If you want to attend, all you need do is respond by clicking this link: Register for my Sunday Lectures
Everyone who responds by 11:00 am on Sunday morning will received a Zoom link by noon.
If you have any questions about how it will work, let me know.
What are the chances of getting the course syllabus as well?
I’ll post it! It’ll probably be about a week, since I have others queued up just now.
Which time zone will the lectures be held in?
SORRY! EST. I need to start indicating that…
My interest in early Christianity came late in life, too late to give up my first chosen career. Having access to your writings, your textbook (and the more important recommended readings after each chapter), as well as this blog have allowed me to spend some really enjoyable evenings studying–not in a scholarly sense but I can say actively studying–and truly enriching my life. Joseph Campbell said that a dog may not reflect on such things as these, and that’s fine, but it’s a dog’s life. All I can say is thank you.
I joined this blog… JUST a little too late. Hopefully not the last one though. I have been completely enthralled with your work for a while now, Dr. Ehrman, and finally found my way here.
OK: another one this week!
Fabulous!