Here I continue the "Introduction" to my translation of the Martyrdom of Polycarp in my two-volume work, The Apostolic Fathers for the Loeb Classical Library, vol. 1 (Harvard University Press, 2003).  It is giving a bit of harder hitting scholarship (though completely accessible) and  includes, at the end, some bibliography. As it turns out, years after I published this edition, I changed my mind about when the first part of this discussion -- specifically, about when the martyrdom was written and about whether it was based on eyewitness reports.  That will be the subject of my next posts.  The view I give here had been the consensus for many decades at the time, and is still widely held today. ****************************** Date and Integrity Two of the most disputed issues in the modern study of the Martyrdom of Polycarp involve the integrity of its text (i.e., whether we have the original or a highly interpolated form) and the date of its composition. Some scholars have held that the surviving text went through several stages of composition.  H. [...]

Thanks to the incredible ongoing generosity of members of the blog, I am happy to announce that there are a limited number of free one-year memberships available.   These have been donated for a single purpose: to allow those who cannot afford the annual membership fee to participate on the blog for a year.  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 us 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 -- that is, why you can't afford it. I don't need or want all the details, just an idea of why you aren't able to purchase a membership just now. Country of citizenship (we're required, as a non-profit, to ask). Your preferred personal email. Your preferred username [...]

I was recently asked if I'd be willing to do a lecture on whether the Gospels are anti-Semitic.  I've dealt with the issue on the blog before, but thought it might be useful to return to a particularly interesting feature of the Gospels that can contribute to an answer. I should say at the outset that I do not think that the Gospel writers, or anyone else in their time, was “anti-Semitic.”   The idea and reality of anti-Semitism are modern, and are based on modern sense of “race” as these were developed by the anthropologists of the 19th century.  The idea that there was a Semitic “race” has been used for all sorts of hateful purposes in the modern period.  As just one example, throughout the Middle Ages – before the modern period -- and on into the nineteenth century, “Jews” were understood to be people who subscribed to and followed the Jewish religion – but not that they had racial characteristics.  There were indeed persecutions of Jews, since the conversion of the Roman Empire [...]

A number of you have signed up to come to our Blog Movie Club discussion this Sunday, January 22, 4:00-5:30 EST, to discuss my favorite Jesus Movie of all time, "Jesus of Montreal."   Some of you who have not yet signed up may be interested in coming once your learn what the movie is about. Below is a note we sent to all those who have already signed up, where I describe the movie and suggest how to watch it. If you decide you want to come to the event after all, there is still time!  Here is the link:  Register here And this is the link to my post describing the event more fully:  My All-Time Favorite Jesus Movie. Wanna Discuss It With Me? - The Bart Ehrman Blog   Watching Notes for “Jesus of Montreal” Blog Movie Club, 2023   I’m glad you’ll be joining me on Jan 22 for a discussion of Jesus of Montreal --- my all-time favorite Jesus movie.   Some of you have seen it already, other not.  No matter, [...]

Do public debates on controversial topics do anything other than entertain, stir up the blood, and make people more entrenched in their views?  It there any sense of speaking of a “winner” in a debate in which virtually all listeners already have opinions?  Is there any substantive reason to have these events, other than to provide a bit of public spectacle? I’m in London for the holidays, spending most of the time visiting family on Sarah’s side.  But we did have a chance to get to a play on the West End, called “The Best of Enemies.”  I hadn’t heard of it before, but it’s made a big splash, probably because of its obvious ongoing political and social relevance, even though it is about a series of events from 55 years ago. The play is a dramatization of the debates held on ABC between William F. Buckley, famous and outspoken conservative intellectual, and Gore Vidal, famous and outspoken liberal intellectual, during the 1968 Presidential National Conventions.  Some of you will remember these characters well, others [...]

Here's a reminder about a first-time-ever blog event, coming soon.  Interested?  Here's the original announcement. ************************* People often ask me what my favorite “Jesus Movie” is, and they  almost never expect my answer.  For me it’s hands down.  A clear forerunner.  A movie most people have never heard of, but in my opinion, the best of all time: “Jesus of Montreal.”   This is not just my favorite Jesus movie of all time but one of my very favorite movies of any kind of all time. Want to watch it and then have a discussion about it with me? This will be our first ever Blog Movie Club event (BMC)! The main event, the discussion with me, will be on Sunday, January 22, 4:00-5:30 pm EST. The Movie Club viewing will not be that day, but before; and you have two (well three!) massively convenient options.  You can: Watch it on your own at your leisure. Join other blog members in watching it simultaneously in silence, with a brief introduction and discussion afterward (without me) led [...]