Book Discussions Archives - Page 8 of 31 - The Bart Ehrman Blog

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|

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|

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|

Bart’s Latest Attack on Christianity by Randy Alcorn
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Bart’s Latest Attack on Christianity by Randy Alcorn

Afterlife, Bart's Critics, Book Discussions

Bart’s Latest Attack on Christianity by Randy Alcorn

As you know, books on controversial topics get reviewed by all sorts of readers; some reviews are glowing and others are, well, nasty. About a month or so ago several reader sent me an online review of my book Heaven and Hell on patheos.com (check it out: it's a website dealing with issues connected with religious faith) by Randy Alcorn, a prominent evangelical author with a high public profile, who has written a number of books about Heaven from his faith perspective. You can check him out online: Randy Alcorn is the founder and director of Eternal Perspective Ministries (EPM) and the author of more than 55 books, including Heaven and If God Is Good: Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Evil. More than 11 million copies of his books have been sold. They’ve also been translated into 70 languages. Randy's review was, shall we say, of the harsh variety. But now that I'm getting older and the body-joints aren't working as well as in the days of my youth, my knee doesn't seem [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:49:27-04:00June 21st, 2020|Afterlife, Bart's Critics, Book Discussions|

Did Jesus Favor Armed Rebellion Against Rome?

In response both to my thread on Judas and to my post on Barabbas from last week, a number of readers have asked or suggested that the stories about both figures may be explained on the hypothesis that Jesus was indeed a kind of insurrectionist who supported an armed rebellion against Rome. That would explain possibly why Judas turned on him, and why he is treated equally to Barabbas, himself guilty of murder during an attempted insurrection. I have dealt with the issue on the blog, but it has been many years now. The first time I addressed it at any length (in 2013!) was in response to the then recently-published book Zealot by Reza Aslan. This was the first book about Jesus ever to become the Number One bestseller on the NYTimes bestseller list, and back then lots and lots of people had been reading it. It is a brilliantly written book: Aslan is a professor of creative writing. He is smart, creative, and knows how to spin fine narrative. But even though he [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:49:27-04:00June 15th, 2020|Book Discussions, Canonical Gospels, Historical Jesus|

My Interview with Erstwhile-Evangelist-Now-Secular-Humanist Bart Campolo

Now this was an unusual interview! By a namesake! I've known about Bart Campolo for years, but mainly because of his father, Tony Campolo, a very well-known evangelical evangelist with left-leaning social and political views. Tony, the father, has a very interesting history (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Campolo); among other things, he was a spiritual adviser to Bill Clinton. But in some ways Bart, the son, has an even *more* interesting story. He was raised an evangelical, and became an evangelist/missionary, but eventually left the faith and became a secular humanist -- as am I. Bart wrote a book about it, and together they helped produce a film released a few years ago, Leaving My Father's Faith. It's quite a story. Bart now has a secular ministry that involves counseling people who are thinking about leaving the faith or who have already done so. In addition, he has a weekly podcast, "Humanize Me." On May 13, 2020, he invited me to the podcast to discuss my book "Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife." As you will [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:49:09-04:00May 20th, 2020|Book Discussions, Public Forum, Video Media|

Live Event on Wednesday Evening, May 6!
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Live Event on Wednesday Evening, May 6!

Afterlife, Book Discussions, Video Media

Live Event on Wednesday Evening, May 6!

Join us for the third in a fascinating six-week series of virtual "book club" discussions! This week join NHC president Robert Newman and scholar Bart D. Ehrman to discuss Ehrman's book, Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife Wednesday, May 6, 2020 at 7:00 pm ET Facebook Live _________________________________________________________________ Where do our ideas about heaven and hell come from, and why do they endure? _________________________________________________________________ In clear and compelling terms, Bart D. Ehrman recounts the long history of the afterlife, from the Epic of Gilgamesh to the writings of Augustine, focusing especially on the teachings of Jesus and his early followers. He discusses ancient guided tours of heaven and hell, in which a living person observes the sublime blessings of heaven for those who are saved and the horrifying torments of hell for the damned. As a historian, Ehrman obviously cannot provide a definitive answer to the question of what happens after death, but by helping us reflect on where our ideas of the afterlife come from, he assures us that even if there [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:49:08-04:00May 5th, 2020|Afterlife, Book Discussions, Video Media|

Life after Death in the Bible and Beyond: Webinar with Oxford Press

On April 20, 2020, I did a webinar for Oxford University Press. I have published three textbooks with Oxford and the textbook division has started hosting these events, principally for college and university professors and their students, but anyone is welcome to sign up and join in. When they asked me if I'd be interested, I thought it sounded like a great idea; and when they asked what I'd like to do it on, I told them the afterlife. Of course! It's what I've been thinking about and doing all my research on for the last four years or so -- not what *really* happens in the afterlife (for that I would need more experience, and I'm not eager to have it at this stage of existence, since, well, it will be my last experience and I won't be able to write about it -- but about where the ideas of the afterlife came from, especially those that have been prevalent for most of the past 2000 years. They entitled the event "Life after Death [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:48:52-04:00May 3rd, 2020|Book Discussions, Public Forum, Video Media|

What I Do Argue in Misquoting Jesus

In my previous post I pointed out that lots of people -- friends and foes -- misconstrue what I say in Misquoting Jesus. It's a particular problem with people who want to attack my views, often without seeing what I actually say. Sometimes when someone tells me what they object to in my book I ask them if they've read it. "Well, no, but I heard about it." Sigh.... Even scholars -- including scholars I'm friends with -- have said things about my views that are absolutely not true (e.g., a common one, that I became an agnostic once I realized how many differences there were among the manuscripts of the NT. Good grief. Where do they get such ideas from?? I knew about massive differences in the manuscripts when I was a *fundamentalist*!!) Anyway, what do I talk about in the book, and why have people found it objectionable? Here are some reflections I had on the issues when I thought about them some years ago. ********************************************** One of the most interesting things in [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:48:52-04:00April 28th, 2020|Bart's Critics, Book Discussions, New Testament Manuscripts|

The Not Old Better Show – Heaven and Hell Book Interview

On April 1 I did a podcast interview with Paul Vogelzang, the host of Smithsonian Associates "The Not Old Better Show," aired on Soundcloud (Washington DC). The podcast focuses on the issues or particular relevance to the 50+ crowd (nence its name) but obviously lots of the topics it hits are on the minds of everyone else as well. The interview was on my new book on Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife. I read an excerpt from the book int he interview but mostly it's question and answer. I've done the show several times now, and have always found Paul to be an unusually perceptive and generous interviewer. Here 'tis. Please adjust gear icon for 720p High-Definition:

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:48:51-04:00April 22nd, 2020|Book Discussions, Public Forum, Video Media|

Interested in a Webinar on My Book?

For all who are interested! This coming Monday, 2:00-3:00 pm, I will be leading a one-hour webinar hosted by Oxford University Press. It is free and open to everyone. The webinar will focus on the history of the ideas of heaven and hell, the subject of my recent book with Simon & Schuster. So *that's* a bit strange. An Oxford event focusing on a book I wrote for someone else??? I'll explain below. FIRST, about the event. I will start by giving a fifteen-minute talk, and that will be followed with Q & A. Since several hundred people have already signed up for the event, the questions will be in writing, either submitted in advance or on "Chat" during the talk. The original idea of the webinar was to make it for university students and their professors. But then Oxford thought, what the heck: why not just open it up? It's not like we have to worry about their not being enough *chairs* in the room! So, anyone can join up to listen and watch. [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:48:51-04:00April 17th, 2020|Book Discussions, Public Forum|

Q&A on Heaven and Hell

The following is a Q&A that I have done with my publisher Simon & Schuster for the History in Five page. You should check it out. You will get a free ebook! Here's the site: https://www.simonandschuster.com/p/historyinfive You'll see, its an impressive array of authors with intriguing answers to questions about their books. Here's what mine looks like. Why write about the afterlife? What drew you toward the subject of heaven and hell? I was raised as in a Christian household and the literal realities of heaven and hell were taken very seriously. My personal views intensified when I had a “born again” experience in high school, and eventually headed off to the fundamentalist Moody Bible Institute, where we were trained to evangelize “the lost” (that is, the vast majority of the human race): there was one way to heaven, and the results would be glorious; every other way led to hell and eternal torment. I no longer hold those views, but I have long been struck that so many other people in our world [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:48:51-04:00April 14th, 2020|Afterlife, Book Discussions|

Fresh Air Interview for Heaven and Hell: Airing Tuesday!

As most of you know, my new book Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife, is due to come out in two days, on Tuesday March 31. I am very lucky to say that I have done an interview with Terry Gross for Fresh Air that will be playing that day. If you’re not familiar with the show, it is probably the premier interview radio program in the country, with millions of listeners; it will be playing on your local NPR station and, of course, can be listened to online. Check it out at https://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/ It is an unfortunately very timely book just now. But, as I’ve mentioned before, even though lots of people have more time to read now than ever because of our time of crisis, it is almost impossible for publishers to get the word out about their new books. The only effective market strategies these days (I don’t mean corona-days but 2021-days in general) are social media (to a limited extent) and TV/radio media. And TV/radio media is not interested [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:48:36-04:00March 29th, 2020|Afterlife, Book Discussions, Public Forum|

How To Begin with Heaven and Hell: An Excerpt

My new book is coming out next week – March 31. Very exciting, even if it is coming out at the absolute worst time in modern history to publish a book that is not about either Donald or Disease. But still, I’m excited. And very oddly (I just checked) (OK, really, I don’t check every day; it’s been some weeks), it is now the top new release on Amazon on the topic of “reincarnation”! HA!! What a scream. OK, there’s not a lot of competition there in the reincarnation market, and even more odd, there’s not a lot about reincarnation in the book. But there’s *some* --and not in places you might expect. Plato!! He was the first to popularize the view, at least in our written record. And in the most famous and important theologian of the first Christian centuries, Origen. But it never caught on in the Christian tradition – even though one constantly hears that it did. It didn’t. But still, Origen’s views are really interesting. Among other things, he argued, with [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:48:35-04:00March 22nd, 2020|Afterlife, Book Discussions|

What Did Ancient People Think (a) God Was?

A number of people have asked me how anyone could imagine a human being or becoming God in the ancient world, based on my claims that for Paul and other early Christian writers Jesus was a divine human. But if he was human, how could he be God? To answer that I have to stress a point I made repeatedly in my book How Jesus Became God. Anyone who wants to say that “Jesus is God” according to an early Christian text, has to explain “in what *sense*” is he God? Now is a good time for me to lay out how again how ancient people understood the divine realm. It was very different from the way most people today do – at least the people I run across. People today think of God as completely Other than us humans. We are mortal and limited in every respect; he is immortal and unlimited. He is all-powerful, all-knowing, and everywhere-present. We are by comparison weak, ignorant, and in one place at a time. He is infinite [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:48:20-04:00March 6th, 2020|Book Discussions, Early Christian Doctrine, Greco-Roman Religions and Culture|

Authors and the Fiasco of Book Tours

With the advent of social media, author book tours have more or less gone the way of the stegosaurus. Some authors do them, but mainly only the celebrities, Hilary or David Sedaris. And you might be surprised to know that most authors think their demise is a very good thing. A book tour sounds exotic – at least it always did to me: “An Eleven-City National Book Tour!!!” How good can it get? Well, actually, it can get a lot better… Let me preface this by saying that right now is an absolutely awful time to be publishing a book, the worst time in recorded history (well, OK, in my recorded history). The only way to sell a book seriously is to get serious media attention. That means TV, radio, and front covers. But at this stage of human evolution, if your name is not Donald, Bernie, or Corona, it just ain’t gonna happen. The media can’t squeeze it all in, and books are at the bottom of the heap. Even if your book is [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:48:19-04:00March 1st, 2020|Book Discussions, Public Forum, Reflections and Ruminations|

Brief Video Promotion of Heaven and Hell

I finally have my grubby paws on a copy of my new book Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife. Looks great, I'm really pleased. It will not be available publicly until the publication date of March 31. But in preparation, my publisher Simon & Schuster has had me do a brief video promotion of it, taped in their studio in New York. In it they ask me five key questions that I address in the book (among the many many!) -- just to give a taste of the sorts of things I deal with there. Here is the promo, for your viewing interest! Please adjust gear icon for 1080p High-Definition:

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:48:18-04:00February 26th, 2020|Book Discussions, Video Media|

Heaven and Hell: Press Release!!

I am happy to say as that we move toward publication of my book, my publisher has just issued a press release to announce that it's coming soon. The release includes several endorsements by experts, which are always gratifying to see, and brief comments taken from the early reviews done by journals that announce and evaluate forthcoming books to booksellers, bookstores, and publishers. It's a a nice release, I think. Here 'tis. News from Simon & Schuster 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020 Publicity Contact: Cat Boyd (212) 698-7183 / [email protected] From the New York Times Bestselling Author of Misquoting Jesus and The Triumph of Christianity HEAVEN AND HELL A History of the Afterlife Bart D. Ehrman Simon & Schuster | March 31, 2020 | $28 | Hardcover | 9781501136733 “Ehrman’s twin strengths are deep knowledge and an accessible style. This displays both in spades.” — Booklist “Ehrman’s eloquent understanding of how death is viewed through many spiritual traditions is scintillating, fresh, and will appeal to scholars and lay readers alike.” [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:48:02-04:00February 12th, 2020|Book Discussions|

A “Newly Discovered” “Gospel”: Was Jesus Married with Children?

When James Tabor graciously made two guest posts a couple of weeks ago, he raised a lot of intriguing questions for our blog readers. I was asked by one of them to address James's view that Jesus may well have been married. I was pretty sure I had dealt with this at one point on the blog, and just now I've checked, and it was almost exactly five years ago, well before most of you were on the blog, and probably before some of you were born. A series of posts. On a lively and interesting topic. Was in fact Jesus married? The series started with a news report that a Gospel had been newly discovered that provided evidence that in fact he probably was. I'll start by reposting that one, and then get into the issue of how we can weigh the evidence one way or the other. It's an issue that continues to intrigue! But rarely does anyone actually discuss the actual *evidence*. It's much easier to make bold claims. I'm not talking [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:48:01-04:00February 2nd, 2020|Book Discussions, Historical Jesus, Public Forum|

A Raffle!! Would You Like a Pre-publication Copy of My Book on Heaven and Hell?
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A Raffle!! Would You Like a Pre-publication Copy of My Book on Heaven and Hell?

Book Discussions, Public Forum

A Raffle!! Would You Like a Pre-publication Copy of My Book on Heaven and Hell?

Would you like to read my forthcoming book Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife prior to publication (it will be released two months from now!)? I have three galley proofs that I would like to give away – not to the highest bidder (as in the last fund-raising venture) but to three randomly-chosen winners based on tickets sold at a very affordable price. These are complete, pre-publication copies of the book, in paperback, less expensively produced, but exactly as it will appear in print, except for a few typos here and there that came to be corrected later. This is the form of the book as it was sent off to review journals, book sellers, and book stores – all of whom want, naturally, to know if the book is any good before they purchase stocks or recommend others to do so. My publisher has given me permission to release these three to the public as a fund-raiser for the blog. I will personally sign it to each of the winners and then [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:48:01-04:00January 31st, 2020|Book Discussions, Public Forum|

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