BDEhrman, Author at The Bart Ehrman Blog - Page 116 of 203

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.

Do We Know Why Jesus Went to Jerusalem?

Browsing through my blog posts I came across this one from exactly six years ago today. Amazingly, I still agree with it! It deals with an unusually important question, one that, in a sense, involves a decision that changed the entire history of our world. QUESTION Just what did the historical Jesus think he was doing that last week in Jerusalem? It looks to me like he was working as hard as he could to get himself killed. If that's what he was doing, then why was he doing it? RESPONSE Interesting question! There have been scholars, of course, who have argued that this is precisely what Jesus was doing, that he went to Jerusalem in order to be crucified. It is interesting that those who take that view cover as wide a range of ideology and theology as you could possibly imagine. Conservative Christian thinkers (from protestant fundamentalists to Roman Catholic theologians to … well, take your pick) have long thought that the point of the Jerusalem trip was in fact the [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:41:07-04:00May 19th, 2018|Historical Jesus, Reader’s Questions|

The Tricks of Writing for a General Audience

Yesterday I mentioned how hard it is for academics to learn how to write for a general audience. In graduate school we are trained to write for fellow scholars – learning the jargon and mastering the background knowledge that everyone in the field shares. That’s because scholarly writing is a kind of short hand for insiders. If you had to explain every term, every concept, every assumption then what you could say in an article for insiders would literally require a book. And so you learn which assumptions, perspectives, ideas, terms, and knowledge are widely shared by those for whom you are writing. Some of us are fortunate enough to teach in PhD programs, and we can see how a student starts to acquire this kind of information and insight into what can and needs to be assumed by their scholarly audience, and what cannot. It is very, very easy to read a piece by someone and know whether they are an “insider” or not. In fact, it is very easy to read an article [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:41:07-04:00May 18th, 2018|Book Discussions, Reflections and Ruminations|

How a Book Gets Written

Once I decide what I want to write the next book on, the fun begins. Or rather, the work begins. I’m not sure I’d classify any part of the whole process as “fun.” There are certainly enjoyable elements, but I think what drives me is wanting to have the very best end product possible. Having *done* a book is fun; doing the book is less fun. If I had to label it as anything I guess I’d say it’s intense. The work goes through a number of distinct stages, each of them challenging in different ways and requiring different skills. I think that’s why it’s so hard to write a good book and why so few authors are able to pull it off. There are various skill-sets required, not one. And if you’re deficient in any of them, the book simply isn’t going to be very good. Even before you start you have to decide what is the heart and soul of what you want to accomplish in your book. That involves knowing what your [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:41:07-04:00May 17th, 2018|Book Discussions, Reflections and Ruminations|

Back in Business!

Many apologies to all for the hiatus on the blog. I wish I had a sob-story to tell to justify it (well, not really), but as I indicated yesterday, it was rather a bit of good fortune with a downside. Every year for nineteen years now my wife Sarah and I have come to the beach with our friend Dale Martin, the New Testament scholar who introduced us just six years before that (he taught at the time at Duke; he moved on to Yale; he just retired this past year). We are very boring at the beach. We rent the same house (right on the beach; we often see dolphins from the deck). We all bring our books and work all day (I get up at 6:30 and have at it!), then take a five mile walk on the beach; come home to do drinks and dinner; go to bed, and repeat every day for two weeks. For us it's fantastic. We all get tons done. No distractions. No departmental or student obligations or [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:41:07-04:00May 16th, 2018|Public Forum|

How I Write a Trade Book for a General Audience

I am at a good place in my progress toward writing my book on the afterlife, and thought I could devote a few posts to explaining the whole process. This is in response to questions I sometimes get from blog members who would like to know what steps I actually take in going from the idea of a book to the final product. First off: how do I decide what books to write? Different scholars have different ways of making this kind of (very big) decision. In my case it is a little complicated by the fact that I write three kinds of books. I write scholarly books for academic colleagues in my fields of research; I write textbooks for college students; and I write trade books for general audiences. The process is slightly different for each one, so for my purposes here I’ll stick to how I go about writing trade books. Depending on how you count, this will be my fifteenth trade book. My first was Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium, [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:41:07-04:00May 16th, 2018|Book Discussions, Reflections and Ruminations|

Technology Challenge at the Beach

Dear Blog Members, Many apologies for taking a few days off from posting on the blog. It’s not been intentional! I’ve been at the beach for a few days (poor soul....) and the Internet is down. I can get email, but no access to the web. So even though I’ve been writing posts, I can’t get them up to the blog. I hope to have the problem resolved soon — hopefully today! - Bart

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:41:07-04:00May 15th, 2018|Public Forum|

My Life! An Interview with Frank Statio on “The State of Things”

On March 5 I had a radio interview at the local NPR station with Frank Stasio, host of "The State of Things." Most of the interview had to do with my religious journey from Christian fundamentalist to atheist; by the end we got to the ostensible reason for my being there, my then new book "The Triumph of Christianity: How A Forbidden Religion Swept the World." Frank is one of the very best interviewers anywhere, extremely good, as you'll hear. He really knows how to get to the heart of an issue and to keep it interesting. Enjoy! Please adjust gear icon for 720p High-Definition:

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:41:06-04:00May 13th, 2018|Book Discussions, Public Forum, Video Media|

Does Paul Condemn Slavery? The Case of Philemon and Onesimus.

I received an interesting question this week about Paul’s letter to Philemon. And hey, how often do you get a question about Philemon?!? This is the shortest of Paul’s letter (it’s a one-pager) where he is writing to his convert Philemon, a rich slave owner, asking him to receive back into his good graces his run-away slave Onesimus. So what was *that* all about? Here is the question and my response. QUESTION: A question on an atheist discussion group, “Why did Paul send Onesimus back?” got me thinking. From your writing about Greco Roman notions of dominance as status, it seems that the simple manumission of a slave was not a de facto improvement in status, because a man with no wealth, power, or influence was about as low on the ladder as one can be, save for a similarly situated woman. A trusted slave of a wealthy, powerful individual would have more status than a “free” Onesimus. Would it be unreasonable to suggest that Paul was hoping for an improved station in life [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:41:07-04:00May 11th, 2018|Paul and His Letters|

A Different First-Century Mark? An Interesting Piece of Sleuth Work
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A Different First-Century Mark? An Interesting Piece of Sleuth Work

New Testament Manuscripts

A Different First-Century Mark? An Interesting Piece of Sleuth Work

One of the many pleasures of doing this blog is that there are some highly trained scholars who are members who interact with the posts on occasion. One of them is Brent Nongbri, whom I first knew when he was a graduate student at Yale (PhD 2008) and who for several years was an Honorary Research Fellow at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. One of his fields of expertise is papyrology, the study of ancient papyrus manuscripts. He's also the author of Before Religion: A History of a Modern Concept and God's Library: The Archaeology of the Earliest Christian Manuscripts, among others. Brent was interested in my posts on the alleged first-century copy of the Gospel of Mark, and contacted me to let me know about an article he wrote on a related matter -- yet *another* manuscript fragment allegedly connected with Mark and also allegedly from the first century, one that almost none of the rest of us scholars have heard about. He had himself posted about it, and he has given me permission [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:41:06-04:00May 10th, 2018|New Testament Manuscripts|

Why Would It Matter If There Were a First-Century Copy of Mark?

After making my post yesterday about the bogus apologetic claims being made about the existence of a copy of Mark from the first century, I remembered I had posted on the matter some years ago on the blog. I looked it up, and found a set of reflections on a closely related topic: what difference *would* a first century copy of Mark make, if it doesn't make the difference these breathless apologists are making? Here is what I said at the time, at the beginning of 2015 (I've edited the post slightly here for its new context). ******************************************************************************************* I personally think that there are no shenanigans going on when Dan Wallace and Craig Evans tell us that a fragment of the Gospel of Mark has been found and that it can, with reasonable certainty, be dated to the late first century. I’m not saying that I know they are right. Far from it. In fact, one of the most disconcerting things about this claim is that they are not making the papyrus available so real [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:41:06-04:00May 9th, 2018|New Testament Manuscripts|

Bogus Christian Apologetics and a First-Century Fragment of Mark

One reason I get so frustrated with conservative evangelical Christian apologists is that they often aren’t honest and straightforward, but insist instead on making completely bogus claims that surely they actually know are bogus. I can’t think they’re actually dumb enough to believe them. But they hope to pull the wool over the eyes of the members of their audience – most of whom don’t realize that rhetorical tricks being pulled on them. Why not just look at the evidence, give a fair evaluation of it, and then draw a conclusion? Do you really want to defend your views with subterfuge? Why not be above board? Here is an example, from a question and link someone recently sent me about the so-called first-century fragment of the Gospel of Mark. I call it “so-called” because no one has produced this fragment, shown it to scholars, or to anyone else so far as I know, let alone published it to let everyone in the world see it for themselves. I think the whole thing is a hoax, [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:41:06-04:00May 8th, 2018|New Testament Manuscripts, Reader’s Questions|

Seeing Capernaum and the “Jesus Boat”: A Blast From the Past

I will be going to Israel with a tour group in October, and browsing through the blog I see that I made a number of posts from Israel last time I was there. Here's an interesting one from five years ago today about the town of Capernaum and an intriguing archaeological discovery made there in relatively recent times. *************************************************************************************** I am typing just now on the third floor of the Scots Hotel in Tiberias, in a room with a glorious view of the Sea of Galilee. In the distance, across are the sea, are clearly visible the Golan Heights, where we spent a day or so, having lunch yesterday just 40 miles from Damascus. All may not be quiet on the Western Front (well, in this case, the Eastern Front) but we are safe and sound, and feel more secure than typically we do even in New York City (!). Yesterday there were two highlights to our trip, for me. Capernaum has always been one of my favorite spots in Israel. It is [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:41:06-04:00May 6th, 2018|Historical Jesus, Public Forum|

Are Christians Intolerant?

It’s a big question whether Christianity on the whole should be seen as “tolerant”– that is, does it accept the validity of other faith traditions or not? My sense is that some Christians do, many don’t, and most probably don’t think about it much. It is a particularly interesting question to ask with respect to Christianity in the *ancient* world. The reason is that when Christians were being persecuted in the second, third, and early fourth centuries, their leaders / writers pled for religious tolerance: everyone could have their own religion and no one should be persecuted for their religious choices. But when Christianity became the religion of the emperors, Christian leaders / writers (some of them) changed their tune. Not only did they argue that Christianity was the only right religion and that everyone should follow it; they urged that anyone who didn’t follow it should be persecuted. Or even prosecuted. Not every Christian or Christian leader/writer thought that, of course. Probably (?) the vast majority did not. But some did. And some of [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:41:06-04:00May 4th, 2018|History of Christianity (100-300CE)|

When Christianity Became the “Official” Religion of Rome

I have been discussing when Christianity became the state religion of the Roman Empire. It was not under Constantine, or even one of his sons who succeeded him on the throne. It was only at the end of the fourth century, during the reign of Theodosius. Here is what I say in my book about that new situation some seven decades after the conversion of Constantine. *************************************************************** When Julian was killed in a poorly-conceived and even more poorly-executed battle with the Persians on June 26, 361, he was succeeded by Jovian, one of his military commanders. Jovian, and every Roman emperor who followed him, were Christian. Many of these successors were quite vehement in the public affirmation of their Christian commitments and their resistance to traditional pagan religions. Arguably the most forceful in his views was Theodosius I, also known as “the Great,” who ruled from 379-95 CE, and who was responsible for making Christianity, for all intents and purposes, the official state religion of the Roman Empire. Theodosius was ... The rest of this [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:40:51-04:00May 2nd, 2018|Constantine, Fourth-Century Christianity, History of Christianity (100-300CE), Spread of Christianity|

Making Rome Pagan Again

After Constantine converted to Christianity, every Roman emperor, for all time, was Christian – with one brief exception: his nephew Julian, most frequently referred to as Julian the Apostate, who ruled for nineteen months in 361-63 CE. This short reign was highly significant: Julian tried to turn the empire back to the ways and worship of paganism. He is called “the Apostate” because he started out as Christian but then opted to worship the traditional gods of Rome. And he tried to enforce this view on his Empire. Here is how I describe how he did that (or tried to do it) in my book on the Triumph of Christianity. The Last Pagan Emperor Julian spent his first six months as emperor in Constantinople, and then nine unhappy and turbulent months in Antioch, before marching against the Persians. He was killed early in the conflict, having ruled the empire for a mere nineteen months. It was, however, an eventful year and a half, especially for pagan-Christian relations. Upon ascending to the throne, Julian declared [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:40:51-04:00May 1st, 2018|Constantine, Fourth-Century Christianity, History of Christianity (100-300CE), Spread of Christianity|

The Beginning of the End of Paganism

I have decided to pursue further the question of how, in the fourth century, Christianity took over the Roman imperial government (at the highest levels) leading to the proscription of pagan practices. For that I will rely on a couple of extracts from my book, The Triumph of Christianity, over a few posts. Here is the continuation of the story after the death of Constantine. ***************************************************************** Constantine’s father Constantius became Caesar of the West in 293 CE and then senior Augustus in the imperial college with the abdication of Maximian in 305 CE. His dynasty was to last seventy years, until the death of Constantine’s nephew Julian in 363 CE. It was not a peaceful and closely knit family, as seen nowhere more clearly than in the vicious bloodbath that occurred after Constantine’s death on May 22, 337, with the event known as “the massacre of the princes.” Constantine’s three remaining sons – Constantius II, Constans, and Constantine II (the eldest Crispus having earlier been executed) – were to divide his empire among themselves, but [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:40:51-04:00April 30th, 2018|Constantine, Fourth-Century Christianity, History of Christianity (100-300CE), Spread of Christianity|

Did Constantine Outlaw the Pagan Religions?

In today’s mailbag I deal with an interesting question about when, exactly, Christianity became the state religion of Rome and the traditional pagan religions were outlawed. Was it during the reign of Constantine (as is popularly imagined?)? Later? At the end of the fourth century? Here’s the question. QUESTION: I was listening to The Great Courses lectures on Early Middle Ages by professor Philip Daileader and he mentions that Christianity was made the official state religion of the Roman Empire and that pagan rituals and practices HAD been made illegal BEFORE the reign of Julian the Apostate and that Theodosius only made it illegal AGAIN to practice paganism in 391-392 !?! I always thought (and taught...) that Christianity became the state religion and that paganism was outlawed in 392 for the first time. Since you have been working on this period recently, I would love to know your stand on that matter RESPONSE: I need to say at the outset that I have not listened to this course by Prof. Daileader and so [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:40:51-04:00April 29th, 2018|Constantine, Fourth-Century Christianity, Reader’s Questions, Spread of Christianity|

Fresh Air – Christianity’s Path From ‘Forbidden’ To A ‘Triumph’

On March 20, 2018 I had an interview with Terry Gross for her NPR radio program Fresh Air, about my book The Triumph of Christianity: How A Forbidden Religion Swept the World. I believe this is the seventh time I've done her program (the first one was for my book Lost Christianities, maybe fifteen years ago). I thought way back then, and I still think now, that she's the best interviewer on the planet. The show runs for about 45 minutes, but we talked for twice that long . On the upside, that means her editors leave out some of the more idiotic things I say. Enjoy! Transcript of this program: https://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=595161200 Please adjust gear icon for 720p High-Definition:

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:40:36-04:00April 26th, 2018|Book Discussions, Public Forum, Spread of Christianity|

What It Takes to be a Graduate Student

I often get questions from people who have been in a career for a while who want to know if it is feasible for them to go back to school and get a PhD in my field of New Testament/Early Christianity. In most cases it is not feasible at all, simply because it is way too complicated and involved -- and takes way more time than one would think. Here is what I said about what being a graduate student working toward a PhD involves, from my perspective as one who teaches these students. *********************************************************************************** I teach one undergraduate and one graduate course a semester. Teaching undergraduates is a passion of mine. I love doing it. These are nineteen year olds who are inquisitive, interested, and interesting. I enjoy lecturing to a crowd like that, figuring out what can make complicated material intriguing and compelling, keeping them attentive, helping them understand such important topics Some of my colleagues find teaching undergraduates a real chore; others find it very difficult. I find it to be a [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:40:51-04:00April 25th, 2018|Public Forum, Teaching Christianity|

The Different Terms for Literary Deception

In the Seminar on Ancient Forgery at Rice University a few days ago, I made a presentation in which I urged (all of us) scholars to decide on which terms we use to describe different kinds of literary phenomena associated in one way or another with literary deceit. My view is that since there are different phenomena (even if these can overlap), we ought to have distinct terms to refer to them – otherwise it just gets confusing. It can be confusing to have so many different terms as well, but if we don’t differentiate the phenomena from one another, it makes matters only worse. And so if we have not only distinct phenomena but also distinct terms for referring to each of them, that should provide clarity to what it is we’re doing (at least in theory). It certainly does not help to call an act of plagiarism also a falsification, if by falsification we mean something other than plagiarism. The following are the terms that I have proposed we use for the various [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:40:51-04:00April 24th, 2018|Christian Apocrypha, Early Christian Writings (100-400 CE), Forgery in Antiquity|

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