BDEhrman, Author at The Bart Ehrman Blog - Page 91 of 208

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.

Proving the Bible Is True: The Museum of the Bible. Guest Post by Cavan Concannon

Here now is the second of three posts on the Museum of the Bible, this one by Cavan Concannon, one of the editors of the newly released volume, The Museum of the Bible: A Critical Introduction. One of the most amazing lines in this post is the claim made by a representative of the museum that: "The Bible has been carefully transmitted through time." Wow! OK then.... You gotta wonder what this fellow (whom Cavan quotes) is thinking.... What I myself am thinking is that he has a different definition of "carefully" from me.... Again, Cavan will be happy to respond to your comments. - Cavan Concannon is the editor of The Museum of the Bible: A Critical Introduction, and the author of Assembling Early Christianity and Profaning Paul, among other works. ********************************************************** Proving the Bible: Archaeology, Objects, and Evangelical Theology at the Museum of the Bible By Cavan Concannon The Museum of the Bible (MOTB) is no stranger to scandal. In our previous post, we described how, in their quest for [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:50:04-04:00July 17th, 2020|Book Discussions, History of Biblical Scholarship|

Slurs Against Religious Opponents and Makin’ Stuff Up

In yesterday's post I detailed the scurrilous accusations made by the 4th century heresy-hunter (i.e., "heresiologist") Epiphanius against a group of Christian "heretics" he calls the Phibionites. Among other things, he claims they used a Gospel that depicted Jesus engaging in a bizarre sex-act with Mary Magdalene. But then I asked whether there really was a Gospel that described such a thing and if the Phibionites themselves were engaged in the kind of activities Epiphanius alleges. He claims he has first-hand knowledge. Does he? Here I explain why I don't think we can trust him on these claims (he is commonly among scholars thought to be untrustworthy in general), that in fact I think he's just makin' stuff up. It's not just a feeling I have. I think there are reasons for drawing that conclusion. Here is what I say about it in my book Forgery and Counterforgery. How would we know? ********************************************************************* One obvious place to start is with Epiphanius’s sources of information. Because he had some contact with the group as a young man [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:50:04-04:00July 15th, 2020|Heresy and Orthodoxy, Proto-Orthodox Writers|

Did Early Christian Heretics Promote Outrageous Sex Rituals?

In my post a few days ago I mentioned the widespread rumor in the ancient Roman world of the first couple of centuries CE that Christians were flagrantly immoral, engaging in wild sex and infanticide and homicide in their weekly meetings. A couple of readers have asked if that might have been true for *some* of the Christian groups of “heretics,” and that Roman outsiders who knew of their activities assumed all Christians engaged in them. Great question! I’ve thought about this one for over thirty years. What I concluded about twenty-nine years ago is what I still think now: these kinds of charges were commonly leveled in the Roman world against whomever you didn’t like and suspected and there is very little any evidence that they were ever true. Almost always they are just slanders. It is worth noting that very similar charges were leveled by pagans against Christians, pagans against Jews, pagans against each other, Christians against pagans, Christians against … Christians! I’ve talked about this in some of my publications, most fully [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:50:04-04:00July 14th, 2020|Early Christian Writings (100-400 CE), History of Christianity (100-300CE)|

New Book on Museum of the Bible: Guest Post by the Editors Jill Hicks-Keeton and Cavan Concannon

Many of you have heard about, read about, or even visited the Museum of the Bible in Washington D.C., founded and funded by the Green family, owners of Hobby Lobby, a highly committed evangelical family with a decidedly evangelical mission. The museum has become controversial both in the public eye and among scholars. An intriguing book came out last year about it, a collection of essays by scholars of Bible and archaeology that critique the museum on a number of grounds: The Museum of the Bible: A Critical Introduction, edited by Jill Hicks-Keeton and Cavan Concannon (Fortress Academic, 2019). The book has already made a splash, and so I have asked Jill and Cavan to do three posts on it. This first one is a kind of introduction to what the museum is, and is jointly authored by the two of them. After this we will have a post by each one individually focusing on different issues connected with the museum. Jill is an associate professor of Religious Studies at the University of Oklahoma; I [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:50:03-04:00July 13th, 2020|Book Discussions, Public Forum|

The Outrageous Immorality of Early Christians (!) (?)

The question I addressed yesterday: could the obvious benefits of the Christian community – a community of love, fellowship, and mutual support – have drawn converts into it, who very much wanted that kind of thing? The surprising answer, I think, is no, at least in the early centuries when Christianity was trying to establish a foothold in the world. There’s another reason for thinking what I do, and it’s not one you would expect. There were reports about the early Christian communities among outsiders. But it was not that they were a loving and caring group of unusually upright and morally committed people. On the contrary, the Christians were known to be flagrantly immoral, engaged in heinous, licentious, and murderous behavior. Hard to believe, but that is the charge we repeatedly find. Here is what I say about it in my book The Triumph of Christianity. Brace yourself. ************************************************************* In the early centuries Christians were accused of almost unfathomable outrageous behavior. Both Justin around 150 CE in Rome and Tertullian some fifty years [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:49:48-04:00July 12th, 2020|Early Christian Writings (100-400 CE), History of Christianity (100-300CE), Spread of Christianity|

Did the Benefits of the Christian Community Win Converts? Readers’ Mailbag.

Here's an important question I have received, along with an answer a lot of people think is counter-intuitive. It has to do with why Christianity proved so attractive in the ancient world as they were desperately trying to attract converts. QUESTION: Please help me understand – didn’t first-century Christians offer more than stories of Jesus and a god to pray to? Didn’t they also offer the care and support of a community? Weren’t they actually supporting and providing for each other’s needs? And if so, wouldn’t this make their religion attractive to others in need? RESPONSE: As it turns out, my view of the matter is that the answer to the first three questions is a resounding YES; but the answer to the final question – that is, the one that this reader is most interested in and (I would guess) thinks depends entirely on the preceding three – is MAYBE but the implication that this is why they grew and expanded is probably NO. History is like that sometimes. In my book [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:49:48-04:00July 10th, 2020|Book Discussions, History of Christianity (100-300CE), Spread of Christianity|

Would You Like a Free Three-Month Membership to the Blog?

Thanks to the incredible generosity of members of the blog, I am happy to announce that there are a limited number of free three-month memberships available. These have been donated for a single purpose: to allow those who cannot afford the membership fee to participate on the blog for three months, during our ongoing crisis. I will assign these memberships strictly on the honor system: if you truly cannot afford the membership fee, but very much want to have full access to the blog, then please contact me. Do NOT reply here, on the blog, as a comment. Send me a separate email, privately, at [email protected]. In your email, please provide me with the following information: Your first and last name. Why you would like to take advantage of this offer. I don't need or want a full account of your history or financial affairs, just an idea of why you would like a free membership just now. Country of citizenship (we're required, as a non-profit, to ask) Your preferred personal email. Your preferred user [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:49:48-04:00July 9th, 2020|Public Forum|

Publications By Blog Members! 7.9.20

Last month I invited Blog Members who had published something in some way connected to the blog to tell all of the rest of us about it. Many have done so! If you, too, would like to make your written work known, please read very carefully the instructions in the original post: https://ehrmanblog.org/have-you-written-something-you-would-like-to-advertise-on-the-blog/ Today I publish the second batch. They are of various kinds and all sound interesting. I have a stockpile of others submitted, and will get to them gradually over time. For now: enjoy these! Each one includes the name of the work, the author’s name, a description of what the piece is, and a link that can show you how to get a copy. I will post these periodically in batches of about this size. Novel. Kristie Almighty: Across the Street, by Katie Younger Available at: https://www.amazon.com/Kristie-Almighty-Across-Katie-Younger/dp/B0851LLWXK/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=kristie+almighty&qid=1592158391&sr=8-1 This is a novel I completed ten years ago. It is based on my years as a Fundamental Baptist who was originally raised Catholic. The characters were influenced by my time spent at a college [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:49:48-04:00July 9th, 2020|Public Forum|

Why Is This Happening To Us?

It is very difficult to be a sentient human being just now and not wonder occasionally or, well, obsessively: “Why is this happening to us?” I’m not speaking of the scientific questions of how Covid began and spread, how it is like and unlike other viruses, how it works, how it spreads, how… well, there are a million scientific questions and we read about them every day. I don’t mean those, but the more existential question. How do we make sense of it all? It is is less of a problem for naturalists, who do not believe that there is anything beyond the physical universe (in any sense), any non-material superior being, for example, or any non-material thing at all, that has any dealings with it. For hardcore naturalists, the universe and everything in it, living or not, is all particles; sometimes the particles line up in ways that are not conducive for us to survive, let alone thrive. And so the existential “why” something happens, for many naturalists, is a pointless question. It’s only [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:49:48-04:00July 8th, 2020|Reflections and Ruminations|

Reason and Theology – Heaven, Hell and the Afterlife

Here is the recording of an interesting on-line discussion I had on May 17, 2020 for a podcast called "Reason and Theology." It was a rather unusual experience for me. The three moderators were all extremely well-informed lay people who are deeply interested in and knowledgeable about Roman Catholic tradition and theology. We talked about my book "Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife," and we got into all sorts of things that I never would have expected. The podcast generally seeks to provide a wide range of in-depth interviews on theological, philosophical, and historical matters in a way that translates to the average person, to provide a platform for charitable round table discussions between opposing perspectives, and to facilitate formal debates in order to arrive at a better understanding of the truth. I'm not sure I helped to that end, but it was an interesting and at times lively discussion. Here it is. Please adjust gear icon for 1080p High-Definition:

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:49:09-04:00July 7th, 2020|Book Discussions, Public Forum, Video Media|

An Intriguing New Documentary: The Search – Manufacturing Belief

One of the most interesting interviews I've done in recent years was for a feature-length documentary that has now appeared and available for viewing (e.g., Amazon Prime) called "The Search - Manufacturing Belief." It was the brainchild of Patrick Payne, who also produced and directed it. This is how it is described on the Documentary Channel: Juxtaposing reason with mythology, philosophy with religion, and science with mysticism, filmmaker Patrick Payne interviews thought leaders from across this spectrum to build a penetrating, provocative and personal inquiry into the question of awe, objective truth and trust in the 21st Century. I thought it might be worthwhile to have a kind of personal introduction to the film, and so I asked Patrick to provide us with some insight into how it came into being and what it's about. Patrick is on the blog and he will be able to respond to any questions or comments you have. Here is what he has to say: ************************************************************************* The Search - Manufacturing Belief An exploration of the spiritual experience and the [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:49:48-04:00July 6th, 2020|Public Forum|

Are You Willing to Donate a Free Membership (or more) To Someone Who Needs It?

Over the past three months we have offered free temporary memberships to people who would like to belong to the blog but cannot afford a membership during this time of crisis. We have had nearly three thousand people take us up on that offer, and many have expressed real, heartfelt gratitude. I would like to implement a similar program now but, with a different approach. This may involve you. From the beginning, none of the money from blog membership fees or direct donations has gone into any of our pockets; it doesn't even pay for operating expenses. And it never will. Everything that comes in goes directly out to charities dealing with those in serious need. I would like to be able to continue providing free memberships but do so without affecting the blog’s revenue – or even better, to increase it. As many of you know, for a long time now, twice a year I have asked for donations for free one-year memberships for those who cannot afford one themselves. That has been terrifically [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:49:48-04:00July 5th, 2020|Public Forum|

Do Matthew and Paul Agree on the Matter Most Important to them Both?

I was going through posts from many years ago and came across this one, on an issue I've always thought was unusually interesting: if the writer of the Gospel of Matthew (whoever that was) and the apostle Paul had been locked in a room and not allowed to emerge until they had hammered out a consensus statement on how one attains eternal life, would they still be in there, possibly with their skeletons locked in a mutual death grip? I didn't put it that way when I posted this so long ago, but I was younger and milder then I suppose. Here's how I expressed it then. What do you think? ***************************************************************** One of my major goals as a professor of New Testament is to get my students to understand that the NT is not a single entity with a solid and consistent message. There are numerous authors who were writing at different times, in different parts of the world, to different audiences, and with different – sometimes strikingly different – understandings about important issues. [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:49:48-04:00July 3rd, 2020|Canonical Gospels, Early Judaism, Paul and His Letters|

How Accurate are our Copies of the Hebrew Bible?

After my recent posts on the Dead Sea Scrolls a number of readers have asked me about the surviving copies of the Hebrew Bible. Is it true that Jewish scribes didn’t make copying errors and intentional alterations in the copies of the Hebrew Bible they produced, unlike the Christian scribes who made thousands? How many manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible do we have? How have the Dead Sea Scrolls affected our understanding of Jewish copying practices? All terrific questions – both interesting and important. I give an explanation of the situation in the second edition of my book The Bible: A Historical and Literary Introduction. Here it is: ************************************************************************* THE TEXT OF THE HEBREW BIBLE We have seen that the earliest writings of the Hebrew Bible were probably produced during the eighth century B.C.E. This is the date of the oldest prophets such as Amos and Isaiah of Jerusalem. When an ancient author produced a book, he obviously wrote it out by hand. And if anyone wanted a copy, he had to copy it [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:49:48-04:00July 1st, 2020|Early Judaism, Hebrew Bible/Old Testament|

Was Jesus Connected with the Dead Sea Scrolls Community?

In my previous post I talked about the significance of the Dead Sea Scrolls for understanding Jesus and the milieu out of which earliest Christianity grew. My basic point is that if Jesus was a Jew, then to understand him, you have to understand Jews in his world. And the Dead Sea Scrolls provide us valuable information to that end. I am not saying that the Dead Sea Scrolls are representative of what all or even most Jews thought at the time. They clearly are not. If the “Essene hypothesis” is right (that is, that the Scrolls were produced by members of a Jewish sect known as the Essenes) – and it is the view held by the vast majority of the experts (I am *not* an expert on the Scrolls) – then the Scrolls were produced by a Jewish sect that had very distinctive views of its own that were not, in many respects, shared by outsiders. In particular, this was a group of Jews who insisted that the coming apocalyptic judgment, soon to [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:49:48-04:00June 30th, 2020|Early Judaism, Historical Jesus|

Randy Alcorn’s Response to Some Blog Criticisms (part 2)

A few days ago I posted the first part of Randy Alcorn's explanation of his views, in response to a number of criticisms blog members leveled at his review of my book Heaven and Hell. In particular, a number of readers thought that he was unduly harsh and even "slandered" me. Here he provides a response. Feel free to make further comments, though Randy probably will not be responding directly. ******************************************************************************************************* From Randy Alcorn: I’ve changed my mind on various things, I assume Bart has too. In a few cases I wish I wouldn’t have cited info that at the time appeared accurate but turned out not to be (my publishers have sometimes cringed when I insist on another update and revision, as well as corrections that are sometimes expensive). To your charge of slander, Truncated, I don’t consider it slander to say that I believe someone appears to think he’s 100% right in certain areas when there are many people as smart and educated as he is that disagree. I do think at times Bart [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:49:47-04:00June 29th, 2020|Bart's Critics, Fourth-Century Christianity|

The Importance of the Dead Sea Scrolls for Understanding Jesus: Readers’ Mailbag

A few posts ago I discussed, very briefly, the Dead Sea Scrolls. I received a number of questions about the post, one in particular with some frequency: how did the discovery of the Scrolls contribute to our understanding of Jesus and early Christianity? For me as a NT scholar, it is obviously an unusually important question. Let me stress that the Scrolls are *mainly* important for understanding early Judaism, and only secondarily for understanding early Christianity. But with that said, they are *really* important for Christianity as well, though not in ways you might suspect (especially if you acquire all your historical knowledge from random searches on the Internet!). As it turns out, I received virtually this same question seven years ago on the blog, and here is how I addressed it there. Question: Can you write a post on how the Dead Sea Scrolls advance our understanding of the birth of Christianity? Response: This is a question that can be answered in one sentence, or in a very long and dense book [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:49:47-04:00June 28th, 2020|Early Judaism, Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, Historical Jesus|

Do You Have Advanced Training In any of the Blog’s Fields?

Every now and then I learn of someone on the blog who has a PhD or is ABD in one of the related fields, such as New Testament, Early Christian Studies, Hebrew Bible, Early Judaism, Rabbinics, Roman Religion, Greek Religion, Ancient (Greek or Roman) History, Semitic Philology, etc. etc., and/or is teaching in one of those fields in a college or university. Are you one of them? If so, please send me an email, at [email protected]. I'm interested in knowing what your research is and/or has been, and I don't know how else to contact you, other than this!

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:49:47-04:00June 26th, 2020|Public Forum|

Randy Alcorn Explains His Review In Light of Readers’ Comments

Some of you have expressed dismay that comments/questions you submitted on Randy Alcorn's book review of my book Heaven and Hell (from June 21) did not get posted. So sorry. There were some technical difficulties and problems on this end, and when they were resolved Randy found himself confronted with about a hundred comments, some of them with multiple points / questions, and it was more than a mere mortal could handle. Moreover, a number of the comments / questions were along the same lines. So, instead of responding to each comment / question individually he has written two additional posts to explain himself and his position. I will post these separately, though they are related to each other, the first one here today. I will also go ahead now and post your comments / questions that have come in from the beginning. Randy will not be able to respond directly to them, but he appreciates very much your concerns and questions. If you have questions / comments for me, instead of him, feel free to [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:49:47-04:00June 26th, 2020|Public Forum|

Did You Register for the Webinar on Sunday?

I have contacted everyone that has registered for Sunday's webinar on "Do We Have The Original New Testament?" and sent an invitation to the Zoom webinar. If you did register, but did not get the email or invitation, both sent out today (Thursday 6.25.20), please zap me an email, with the subject line YOU MISSED ME!!!

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:49:47-04:00June 26th, 2020|Public Forum|

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