BDEhrman, Author at The Bart Ehrman Blog

About BDEhrman

Ehrman is the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he has served as the director of graduate studies and chair of the Department of Religious Studies.

He Said It But He Didn’t Mean It. An Intriguing Interpretation of Jesus’ Teachings

Did early church leaders take Jesus seriously when he said that it was impossible to serve God if one was interested in mammon, or when he praised those who left literally everything (spouses, children, homes, jobs) to follow him, or when he said that it was “easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven”? Only a very few one-time rich Christians took him at his word and acted accordingly. Most did not. In one of the great interpretive ironies of history, most devout readers of the Gospels admitted Jesus said it but insisted he could not have meant it. This approach to these passages makes sense. If the affluent members of the church gave all their wealth away, who would support them? And how would funds continue to fill the church coffers to help the poor and, well, pay the pastors? But it is interesting to see how church fathers got around the problem. In our day we (those of [...]

BDEhrman2026-11-07T15:24:41-05:00November 14th, 2026|Public Forum|

Questions About the Trinity, the Incarnation, and the Star of Bethlehem

Here are some more of the many intriguing queries I have recently received from inquiring minds inside the heads of Blog readers! QUESTION: On Friday evening, I was at Wheaton College for a presentation by Ayaan Hirsi Ali (famous Muslim apostate and public intellectual) and Darrel Bock of Dallas Theological Seminary. He quoted a verse, Matthew 28:19, “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” I thought of you because I thought I learned on this blog that the only reference to the trinity in the NT was in one of the John epistles. Is this usage here not sufficiently trinitarian to scholars? RESPONSE: Ah, right. Matthew 28:19 certainly does name the Father, Son, and Spirit, but that's not the doctrine of the Trinity. The doctrine is not that the three exist; it is about how they specifically relate to each other. The orthodox view that developed by the end of the fourth century consists of several affirmations: That the three -- [...]

BDEhrman2026-11-07T08:36:13-05:00November 12th, 2026|Reader’s Questions|

Critical Scholars Who Keep the Faith: Guest Post by Dale Allison

I frequently get asked how any highly-informed scholar of the Bible – knowing about biblical contradictions, historical mistakes, false claims, forged writings, and so on – could STILL be a committed Christian. I usually respond that it certainly is possible and that most critical scholars of the New Testament are in fact Christians. Some people then tell me they don’t believe it (they think scholars like that must just be fakin’ it) or that it just doesn’t make sense. So, I’ve asked a few top-level biblical scholars to explain how they themselves do it. How do they manage it, inside their own heads, and how would they explain it to themselves and possibly others. The first to respond to my request was Dale Allison, Richard J. Dearborn Professor of New Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary. Dale is widely recognized as one of the top New Testament scholars in the world, highly erudite, widely published, very influential in the field and among lay-readers, and as knowledgeable as they come. Here is how he explains how it [...]

BDEhrman2026-11-06T13:55:30-05:00November 11th, 2026|Reflections and Ruminations|

Advice About Money From a Different Universe
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Advice About Money From a Different Universe

Historical Jesus

Advice About Money From a Different Universe

It should be dead easy to realize that guidelines for how to live and behave from one time and place may have almost no relevance to those living at other times elsewhere. For ancient sailors it may have made perfect sense that “Thou shalt not sail after dark” – when there were no such things as, say, navigation lights and radar. But to enforce it as a rule today? Or take actual legislation, such as requiring execution for witches or for disobedient children in the Hebrew Bible. Or think of standard mores, such as how partners are to engage with each other in a pederastic relationship, as in ancient Athens. But for some reason, whereas virtually everyone agrees there are problems in these kinds of cases, many don’t see there can be equivalent problems when it comes to following the teachings of Jesus. Hey, he’s always relevant, right? He certainly can be relevant today for people who want to follow him. But even they would be well-served to consider the radical differences between his “then [...]

BDEhrman2026-11-07T17:40:48-05:00November 10th, 2026|Historical Jesus|

Outdated Religion and Modern Life

Can Jesus’ teachings on wealth and what to do with it have any relevance for a world that does not share his underlying assumptions/views/beliefs about religion and economics? That question is not relevant only for the uber-rich in our world (name your names; some of them, of course, claim to be ardent followers of Jesus), or just to those living fairly extravagant lives, or even to those who have more than enough to live comfortably. Just about everyone I come in contact with even below that level – and probably, though not certainly, everyone you do as well -- has and buys things they actually don’t need or much need. In this post I deal with the religious issues and in the next the economic. It is not difficult to figure out the key difference between Jesus’ religious views and those widely shared among his followers today of relevance to his teachings on wealth, but it’s surprising we don’t read/hear more about it (at least I don’t). As was long known by scholars, [...]

BDEhrman2026-11-05T10:04:18-05:00November 8th, 2026|Historical Jesus|

Changing Times and the Question of Relevance

If you knew for a fact that the world was going to end on March 1, how would that affect your behavior? It’s worth thinking about. Not only because, well, hey: maybe it will! But also because that kind of thinking can help us decide how we should behave even if the world takes a lickin’ but keeps on tickin’. When I had my birthday three weeks ago, I did a little thought experiment. How would I change my life, if at all, if I knew for a fact I had only one more year to live, or five years, or ten years, or twenty? How would knowing that affect what I do with myself before then, what I prioritize, whom I see and spend time with, and what of the stuff I normally do doesn’t actually matter that much. For me it was an interesting mental exercise: The answer differed depending on the timeline. If I had one year I would definitely make some immediate adjustments (and I realized which ones); if five, some [...]

BDEhrman2026-10-29T14:50:06-04:00November 7th, 2026|Historical Jesus|

Expecting the End? Was Mark Written in Aramaic? And Was a Key Verse Added to John?

I've received some heavy-duty questions recently, on diverse but interesting issues. Don't some Christians today seem to share Jesus' view of the coming end? Was the Gospel of Mark composed in Aramaic rather than Greek? And did a scribe insert what is now John 16:15 into the Gospel, so that it originally didn't have it? Here we go! ****************************** QUESTION: Recently I’ve been talking to my grandma, who is a Seventh Day Adventist, and it seems like their views of the afterlife are quite similar to the one of the historical Jesus. Are you at all familiar with their beliefs? Am I correct in my interpretation? RESPONSE: Seventh Day Adventists emerged out of the "Great Disappointment" of 1844, when William Miller, a self-taught biblical "scholar" -- and his followers -- a huge group across America -- had predicted (to the day) when Jesus would return, based on biblical prophecy, especially the book of Daniel. It didn't happen. Huge disappointment. Some folk had sold the farm, literally. Some morphed into other groups either [...]

BDEhrman2026-10-29T14:36:28-04:00November 5th, 2026|Reader’s Questions|

The (Ir)relevance of Biblical Moral Teachings

Last week I was visiting Wittenberg University in Springfield Ohio to give a lecture and was given a tour of the impressive rare book room in the bowels of their library. Before my hosts and I were brought in we were instructed to wash our hands carefully, and informed that current protocol is NOT to wear gloves when touching ancient books. Whoa? Really? News to me. Back when I was particularly interested in ancient books and manuscripts in my graduate days and early career, it was definitely gloves, to keep any oil / dirt / whatever on the fingers from contaminating the page. That’s still obviously the problem, but rather than separating the human skin from animal skin (vellum/parchment) with latex, it apparently is better simply to wash the hands well. That’s because the gloves too easily rip the paper. New day; new policy; makes better sense. Rules, regulations, laws, and good advice all change over time, depending on new knowledge, experience, changes in thinking, historical developments, different cultural assumptions, and lots of [...]

BDEhrman2026-10-29T14:22:03-04:00November 4th, 2026|Reflections and Ruminations|

A Modern Scholar Who Also Argues Jesus Did Not Die on the Cross
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A Modern Scholar Who Also Argues Jesus Did Not Die on the Cross

Historical Jesus

A Modern Scholar Who Also Argues Jesus Did Not Die on the Cross

In my previous post I mentioned a modern forgery that claimed Jesus never actually died on the cross. Some of those who read that will probably have immediately thought of a modern scholar who with great sensational flair and vigor argued precisely that: Hugh Schonfield in his once (and in some circles still) popular book The Passover Plot. I discuss that as well, but only briefly, in my book Forged (HarperOne, 2011). Here is what I say there – with an opening paragraph that sets it up by mentioning several other accounts with very interesting but completely fabricated claims. ****************************** There are lots of modern apocrypha that try to report on what Jesus and those associated with him really did. There is, for example, a book called The Confession of Pontius Pilate, which tells the story of Pilate going in exile to Vienna where he feels deep remorse for what he did to Jesus and eventually commits suicide. Among other things, this account refers to a story in which Mary Magdalene presents the [...]

BDEhrman2026-10-26T17:00:44-04:00November 3rd, 2026|Historical Jesus|

Did Jesus Survive His Crucifixion? Depends Which Gospel You Read….

Is it possible Jesus never actually died, but survived the crucifixion -- and that's why his followers could claim they saw him afterward? Because they really did? I've been discussing a couple of the Gospels that have been forged in modern time either as hoaxes, or money-makers, or (usually) both. Here is one that deals with a question of Jesus faked death -- an issue people occasionally ask me about still today. This discussion is taken from the final chapter of my book Forged (Harper, 2011), slightly edited here. ****************************** Unlike some other modern forged Gospels, a particularly interesting one, called The Crucifixion of Jesus, by an Eye-Witness, deals not with Jesus’ adult life but with its ending and aftermath. The account comes in the form of a letter written, in Latin, seven years after Jesus’ crucifixion, from a leader of the mysterious Jewish sect of the Essenes in Jerusalem to another Essene leader who lived in Alexandria, Egypt. All elements of the supernatural are completely stripped away from the account’s description of [...]

BDEhrman2026-10-26T17:11:43-04:00November 1st, 2026|Public Forum|

Ghosts in the Bible? Check Out This New Blog by Travis Proctor

How appropriate for today, October 31!! My one-time PhD student Travis Proctor, now teaching at Wittenberg University, and familiar to many of you because of the courses he’s taught for the Biblical Studies Academy, has started a very interesting new blog focusing on ghosts, spirits, hauntings, demons, and so on in the Bible. You may be interested in it! If so, check it out here: The Haunted Bible I’ve asked Travis for a blog post to describe it, along with a sample post -- and here it is, an introduction to The Haunted Bible and an example of what kinds of posts you’ll find on it, this one on the odd and spirit-like portrayal of God in the Garden of Eden. Here ‘tis. ****************************** Why does God lie to Adam and Eve? (Introducing The Haunted Bible) Travis Proctor Introducing The Haunted Bible Did ancient Jews and Christians believe in ghosts? Based on biblical literature, scholars have often assumed the answer to be ‘no.’ We do not find extensive recommendations [...]

BDEhrman2026-10-28T09:10:37-04:00October 31st, 2026|Public Forum|

Did Jesus Go to India and Tibet?

Among the questions I randomly get asked on occasion is if it’s true that Jesus went to India as a child or young man to consult with the Brahmins, or to Nepal to consult with Buddhists. I suppose the best answer would be: “It depends which Gospel you read.” If you read the New Testament Gospels – or in fact any writing of the New Testament, early Christianity, or Christianity down to modernity – the answer is, uh, no. So where do these ideas come from? Modern Gospel forgeries (see my previous post). Here’s one of the most (in)famous, as I talk about it in my book Forged (HarperCollins 2011). ****************************** One of the most widely disseminated modern Gospel forgeries is called The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ.[1] From this account we learn that Jesus went to India during his formative teen years, the “lost years” before his public ministry, and there learned the secrets of the East. The book made a big splash when it appeared in English in 1926; but as [...]

BDEhrman2026-10-25T18:30:40-04:00October 29th, 2026|Public Forum|

The Best Forgery Story of Modern Times (IMHO)

When people today tell me, or want to know if, Jesus travelled to India in his youth to learn the “wisdom of the East” or to Egypt to learn how to do “magic,” or any other rather exorbitant claim for a lower-class peasant born and raised in a small rural Jewish village, I tell them that the idea comes from one of the modern-day (usually 19th century) Gospel forgeries. Sometimes my informant/questioner tells me they don’t believe the book they read about it (or heard about it) was forged but was an authentic account of Jesus hidden by the authorities (usually “the Vatican”), afraid of the truth being revealed. I simply sigh. I’ve written about a few of the most important of these modern forgeries in my book Forged, which is mainly not about them, but about ancient Christian writings produced in the name of a famous person by someone who was, well, someone else – that is, what we would today called forgeries. Some such books are found in the New Testament (1 Timothy, [...]

BDEhrman2026-10-25T18:30:30-04:00October 28th, 2026|Forgery in Antiquity, Religion in the News|

Did Mark Make Up the Idea Jesus Was a Carpenter?
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Did Mark Make Up the Idea Jesus Was a Carpenter?

Canonical Gospels, Historical Jesus

Did Mark Make Up the Idea Jesus Was a Carpenter?

If Jesus was not a carpenter – I have my doubts – can we think of a reason Mark may have wanted to say he was (Mark 6:3).? I’ve never seen this discussed before, but I can indeed imagine a reason. Recall the setting. In the opening chapters of Mark, Jesus has been preaching, healing, casting out demons, doing other miracles, and gathering crowds. Then in chapter six we come to this: 6 He left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. 2 On the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. 4 Then Jesus said to them, “Prophets are not without honor, [...]

BDEhrman2026-10-22T08:30:05-04:00October 27th, 2026|Canonical Gospels, Historical Jesus|

Casting Doubt on Jesus as the Carpenter…

As a late teenager deeply committed to Christianity and invested in debate – making arguments, evaluating evidence, convincing skeptical judges – I was naturally drawn to Christian “apologetics,” the attempt to demonstrate the truth claims of Christianity based not on faith but on proof. And so, like others in that boat at the time, and like many still today (often still using the same arguments we did), I had at my ready disposal numerous “proofs” for the existence of God, the fulfillment of prophecy, the divine nature of Christ, his (actual, physical, historical) resurrection from the dead, and the full inspiration of Scripture. One of my favorite go-to guides for persuasive logic was a book by Josh McDowell, Evidence that Demands a Verdict. Later I became equally interested in his Christologically-focused (but still apologetic), More than a Carpenter. These days I am obviously no longer arguing for the truth claims of Christianity, and even more – as I head further down the slippery slope that leads to perdition (as we used to say) [...]

BDEhrman2026-10-21T20:44:21-04:00October 25th, 2026|Historical Jesus, Public Forum|

What’s Wrong with Being a Carpenter??

In my previous post I tried to show why the evidence that Jesus was a carpenter before beginning his public ministry is thin at best. It is found only in Mark 6:3 (“isn’t this the carpenter?”), which is changed in Matthew (to “son of the carpenter”) and Luke (to “son of Joseph”). John doesn’t have the passage and doesn’t say anything about Jesus being a carpenter, nor do any of the other books of the New Testament, nor any other early Christian writing at all, apart from those that are getting it from Mark. This raises three questions that may seem different (since they are) but are actually related: (1) Why did Matthew and Luke, and then later scribes of Mark, change it? (2) Is it true historically? (3) If not, can we think of a reason Mark may have invented it? I’ll take them in order. This will take three posts. Why Did Matthew, Luke, and Later Scribes Change It? With the change, Jesus is no longer said to be a carpenter. Later [...]

BDEhrman2026-10-21T20:17:26-04:00October 24th, 2026|Canonical Gospels, Historical Jesus, New Testament Manuscripts|

Was Jesus a Carpenter? The Surprisingly Thin Evidence.

Was Jesus a carpenter? Nearly everyone assumes he was – not just the two billion Christians but also the other billions who have ever thought or heard about it. And they have done so for 2000 years. As it turns out, the evidence for it is very thin. I just came to think seriously about this recently. I’ve been doing a lot of reading and reflecting on what it would be like to grow up and live in a place like Nazareth, a small rural village of maybe fifty small houses that together accommodated maybe 400-500 people altogether. Archaeologists have uncovered no indications of any wealth there (e.g., nice kitchen ware, mosaics, large residences, etc); no public buildings (synagogue, school, town hall, or whatever), and have concluded that it was – like so many other rural villages – an agricultural community. Everyone would have had their own plots of land large enough to grow what they needed and nearly everyone would have “made a living” by working their plots. Some people may have [...]

BDEhrman2026-10-21T20:01:37-04:00October 22nd, 2026|Canonical Gospels, Historical Jesus, New Testament Manuscripts|

Supernatural “History.” Church Fathers. Atonement. Gospel Sources. All Sorts of Questions!

I continue to receive great questions from folk and continue to try to answer them. Here is a wide range on key issues for anyone interested in the informed study of the New Testament. ****************************** QUESTION: Do critical scholars agree that miracles and the supernatural are outside the purview of the historical process? If so, can you present the evidence to that effect? Is this what is taught in post grad history schools outside evangelical institutions? RESPONSE It doesn't take much evidence. Read any historical account of, say, WWII, the Civil War, the French Revolution; the presidency of George Washington, JFK, Obama; the voyages of Christopher Columbus, the Industrial Revolution, the rise of Capitalism; the ... pick any historical topic. In every case there were people who said prayers of relevance for the persons, events, etc; some of these people at the end of the person’s life or at the end of the episode concluded that God must have been on their side (since what they hoped had happened did happen). You [...]

BDEhrman2026-10-21T19:48:52-04:00October 21st, 2026|Reader’s Questions|

An Even Stranger View of Eternity in the Book of Revelation
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An Even Stranger View of Eternity in the Book of Revelation

Revelation of John

An Even Stranger View of Eternity in the Book of Revelation

In my previous post I pointed out that there seems to be an irony in the teachings of Jesus about the coming Kingdom of God. On one hand, it seems like it should be a completely utopian place where there are no longer any enemies of God or animosity and strife among humans, a return to the glory days (maybe literally only days) of the Garden of Eden. On the other hand, Jesus will be the “king” and his twelve disciples will be “co-rulers” in this kingdom. But why will they need a king and rulers? There is only now peace, harmony, love, and an eternal ecstatic existence without sin, suffering, pain, or misery caused by illegal or illicit activity, right? So what are the rulers going to be doing exactly? This same irony is found in even more pronounced terms in the final book of the New Testament, the book of Revelation. In my book Armageddon I argue at some length that the values and priorities of Jesus are almost completely missing from this [...]

BDEhrman2026-10-13T11:27:22-04:00October 20th, 2026|Revelation of John|

The Irony of Jesus as the King of the Coming Kingdom

Jesus believed there would be levels of reward in the coming Kingdom of God, as I began to show in my previous post. Could there be any problems, though? Any unruliness? Any need for discipline and judgment for people who did something illicit or harmful? Could or would people sin in the Kingdom of God? These are tricky questions that Jesus never addresses directly in the canonical Gospels. I never even thought about them or realized they could be problems until, well, something like two weeks ago. My assumption since I became a sentient human being has always been that the afterlife for the saved would be perfect in every way, that there would be no pain, misery, suffering of any kind, no harm done to anyone, no sin or disobedience. A realm of perfection. This indeed is what most people think about heaven today. But as I’ve repeatedly emphasized, Jesus had a different understanding than his modern day followers about the “Kingdom of God.” For him it was not to entail a [...]

BDEhrman2026-10-07T22:20:21-04:00October 18th, 2026|Historical Jesus|

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