Public Forum Archives - Page 30 of 89 - The Bart Ehrman Blog

November Gold Q&A

Dear Gold Members, First I'd like to apologize for a mess-up on the monthly Gold Q&A's. It was not until a few days ago that I learned the October one had not been posted. (Don't hesitate to tell me sooner next time!) That was a complete snafu. We collected your questions and I recorded the Q&A and then there was a communication breakdown. I was out of the country and something fell through the cracks; we're not sure what or where, but we're taking steps to make sure it doesn't happen again. So, sorry 'bout that. The October Q&A is being posted now -- hopefully by tomorrow. The November Q&A is a different matter. I have had a family emergency over the past couple of weeks that took me out of action (not just blog action!). But I'm now able to get back on with life as we know it. But that's why the November Q&A is and will be late. On the upside -- you'll get TWO Q&A's in December! And there's another bit [...]

FreedomBen2025-09-10T13:00:36-04:00November 28th, 2022|Public Forum|

December Platinum Webinar!

Hey Platinum members! I'm pleased to announce that our next Platinum Webinar for the blog will be on Thursday, December 8, at 8:00 pm ET. Topic TBA. But I'll do my best to choose something interesting, and will let you know what it is anon. Here's the link: https://unc.zoom.us/j/97717226646?pwd=VG1rOFBDcnppV1FNQktJejZsVVZsZz09 Any questions or concerns, let us know. And thanks for being Platinum members: if we can improve your experience, let us be the first to hear you shout!

BDEhrman2025-09-10T13:00:19-04:00November 28th, 2022|Public Forum|

A Challenge Grant to the Blog! Can You Help Match It?

Holiday Season Donation Challenge! I am very pleased to announce that we have received a $20,000 challenge grant from an anonymous donor on the blog. For the challenge to be met, we need to raise another $20,000 among us. C’est possible? One can always hope! I am posting this request for gifts to meet the challenge to the Platinum members of the blog, hoping that we can find some generous assistance with us to meet the goal. It’s obviously a good time of year for generosity; given the state of the world, no time has ever been better. Every penny we bring in will go directly to our charities to support both disaster relief and the ongoing problems of hunger. Can you help us out? We will appreciate anything you can donate, from a buck or two to, well, 20,000. If you choose to make a donation, please do not respond here as a comment on the blog but write us to indicate the amount, and then simply go to the Blog site, scroll down [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T13:00:19-04:00November 26th, 2022|Public Forum|

How Can “Group Hallucinations” Possibly Happen?

When I lecture or debate on whether it is possible to "prove" the resurrection of Jesus on historical grounds, I talk about how -- whether you believe in the resurrection or not -- almost certainly the reason the disciples originally *believed* Jesus had been raised is that one or more of them had a vision of him after he died. (Believers would say their "vision" was something they actually saw; non-believers would say they were mistaken for one reason or another, or they imagined it, etc -- that it was a hallucination of some kind). But it is often noted that in the New Testament, after his death Jesus appears not only to individuals (Peter, Paul, and Mary, for example) (!) but to groups (the "twelve," the "apostles" and "500 people" at one time, according to 1 Cor. 15:5-8). But how could *that* be possible? One person might mistake something she saw for a person, or dream they saw someone, or whatever. But *groups* of people? How can historians possibly explain "group visions" of a [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T13:00:04-04:00November 13th, 2022|Historical Jesus, Public Forum, Reader’s Questions|

Why Paul Was Persecuted (Or Claimed He Was). Guest Post by Daniel Kohanski

I am pleased to publish this guest post by Platinum blog member Dan Kohanski, on an intriguing and important topic for understanding both the life (and writings) of Paul and the earliest history of the Christian movement. As you know, Platinum level members get a several perks -- I do a quarterly webinar with any of them who want to come (and provide a link to the recording afterward for those who can't make it) and they are allowed to publish posts for other Platinums. Every month or so, the members vote on one of the platinum posts to appear on the blog for everyone to see. This one is the current winner! If you are interested in participating at the Platinum level, check it out: Register - The Bart Ehrman Blog And for now, check out Dan's post. He will be happy to respond to your comments. ****************************** (This article is based on research I’ve been doing for my new book, A God of Our Invention: How Religion Shaped the Western World, to be [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T13:00:05-04:00November 10th, 2022|Paul and His Letters, Public Forum|

What Charities does the Blog Support?

I sometimes get asked to provide specifics about the charities we support on the blog. To date, in ten and a half years, we have raised a total of $1.8 million. Our efforts are becoming increasingly productive: on Oct. 22 this year surpassed our entire total disbursed funds from our banner-last-year (which came in at $360,000). Where's all the money going? Not to me (I can assure you!) or to any of our overhead. I get not a thin dime; and the overhead is raised in its entirety through separate fund-raising efforts and foundation donations. Every penny from your membership fee, and from regular donations, from the book club, and from other fund-raisers, go directly to charity. I talk about the specific charities on the blog site itself, under "About the Blog." But it's good to get the information out there in even simpler form on occasion. And so, here it is! ****************************** All the monies collected by the blog (membership fees, direct donations, specified fund raisers) go into the Bart Ehrman Foundation, and [...]

admin2025-07-16T17:40:06-04:00November 3rd, 2022|Public Forum|

On a couple of personal notes…

These aren't related to the blog per se, but, well, to me. In case you're interested.... 1. As many of you know, I'm starting a podcast, Misquoting Jesus with Bart Ehrman. In fact, it's starting tomorrow. We will be debuting with two episodes, the first that explain the title and a bit of why we chose it, how it relates to my life personally (my views of the Bible as they developed), and what it all means. The second will be more specific about Christian scribes copying their texts. My host is Megan Lewis, who is *terrific*; it includes Q&A (questions previously submitted on the topic) and a couple of other features.. You will be able to find it wherever you do your podcasts AND, if you prefer video, on my Youtube page. 2. Unrelated to that or much anything: my editor from Yale University Press emailed me today to tell me that my recent book Journeys to Heaven and Hell has been chosen for the New Yorker's "Best Books of 2022." An academic book?? Go figure. [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T13:00:05-04:00October 31st, 2022|Public Forum|

Did Jesus Give the Sermon on the Mount?

Did Jesus actually say the Golden Rule as found in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7; the saying is in Matt. 7:12). I have talked about the Sermon and why it is so important for Matthew’s Gospel (in a previous post: Little-Known Aspects of the Golden Rule as Found in the Sermon on the Mount) and now it is time to say something controversial about it. I don’t think Jesus ever gave the Sermon on the Mount. That’s not just a crazy idea I came up with one day. It’s a widespread view among historical scholars, for reasons that would not be hard to figure out. Just think about the logistics of the issue for a second. The Sermon goes on for three entire chapters. These are not concise chapters; in our Bibles today, they are 111 verses in total (48 + 34 + 29) – saying after saying after saying, one after the other, some one-liners, some extended instructions, some parabolic-like illustrations. It is an amazing collection of Jesus’ teachings, by far his [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T13:00:04-04:00October 26th, 2022|Public Forum|

Little Known Aspects of The Golden Rule as Found in the Sermon on the Mount

Possibly the best-known teaching of Jesus is the Golden Rule, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Many people would consider this the very core of Jesus’ teaching, the one line that sums up his entire message about how people ought to behave and live their lives. And so it probably seems strange that there are scholars who doubt that he actually said it. Do they have good grounds for thinking so? In a later post I’ll consider a couple of the best arguments against thinking Jesus said it and then (spoiler alert!). I’ll explain why, in the end, I don’t find the arguments convincing. I think Jesus probably did say it, and even if he didn’t actually say it, I think it brilliantly encapsulates his message. In this post I’ll set up the discussion by explaining the first appearance of the words in any of our sources, i.e., the Gospel of Matthew. Before getting to the Gospel of Matthew, I should acknowledge that some of you might be thinking: of [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:59:48-04:00October 22nd, 2022|Public Forum|

October Gold Q&A

Dear Gold Members, How tempus fugits when you're havin' fun! Time for our October Gold Q&A. Have a question? Give it a shot. It can be anything related to the blog. To enter your question on to the list: send it to Diane at [email protected] The DEADLINE for your question is this Friday, October 21 midnight (whenever midnight is where you live). I will record the session soon thereafter and we'll get it released by October 27 or so. Questions that are short and to the point (a sentence or two) are more likely to be chosen. And feel free to ask a tough one. Outsmart Bart! Bart

BDEhrman2025-09-10T13:00:04-04:00October 17th, 2022|Public Forum|

Vote on your favorite Platinum Post: The Next Round!

Dear Platinum members, We have had some provocative platinum guest posts over the past month and a half , and now it's time to vote to see which of the following will be posted on the blog at large. Take a look. To vote, just send a quick note to Diane at [email protected] Your deadline: this coming Thursday, 10/20/2022 midnight your time. And remember — you’re always welcome to submit a post yourself. Is there anything connected to the blog that strikes your fancy that you’d like others to read about? Any ideas/thoughts you’d like to have disseminated and discussed? Here’s your chance. It doesn't have to be highly learned and informed -- just something you'd like some feed back on . If you're interesetd, just zap me a note -- or send me a post! August 26, 2022 Did Jesus Collaborate with the Romans to Produce His Movement? Ryan Fleming August 29, 2022 Did the Romans Stage Jesus’ Crucifixion? Ryan Fleming September 23, 2022 Why Paul Was Persecuted (Or Claimed He Was) Daniel [...]

admin2025-07-16T17:40:06-04:00October 16th, 2022|Public Forum|

My New Podcast. Help! I Need Questions.

I am pleased to announce that I have indeed decided to start a Podcast (NOTE: this will not be replacing the Bart Ehrman Blog Podcast; it is a completely different beast, in which I am interviewed, as opposed to the already important [!] podcast, on which volunteers read my posts to encourage listeners to join the blog). And here, before starting, I need some assistance (see below). But first, let me give you a few of the details. It will be a weekly podcast, called Misquoting Jesus, with Bart Ehrman. It will cover many of the same sorts of things we do on the blog -- NT, historical Jesus, writings and life of Paul, the rest of the NT, all aspects of early Christianity such as non-canonical Gospels, the role of women, heresy and orthodoxy, Christianization of the empire, persecution and martyrdom, Jewish-Christian relations, and on and on. We will initially release several episodes (i.e. on the first day), and after that it will be one a week. It will always appear on a Tuesday, time [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T13:00:03-04:00October 14th, 2022|Public Forum|

I’ll Be In Denver November 17. Interested in a Blog Dinner?

I will be in Denver for the annual Society of Biblical Literature Meeting, starting a week before Thanksgiving. Anyone out that way interested in a blog dinner, Thursday November 17? Possibly a drink t in advance. Somewhere near the Convention Center. Are you in the vicinity? Interested? If we can get 3-4 (and no more than 7) people together, I'd be happy to do it. No obligations other than: Being a blog member Showing up Talking Paying for whatever you ingest. Whatever you exgest is free. If you're interested, do NOT reply here as a comment. Send me an email at [email protected]. Hope it happens!

BDEhrman2025-09-10T13:00:03-04:00October 13th, 2022|Public Forum|

The Birth of the Trinity – Platinum Webinar September 2022

Dear Platinum Members, Apologies for getting to this in something less than tout de suite! But here it is, our webinar on the Birth of the Trinity, for those of you weren't able to come and ... for those of you who were! Below is the video:

FreedomBen2025-09-10T12:59:48-04:00October 9th, 2022|Early Christian Doctrine, Public Forum|

Is Christianity Responsible for Gender Equality and Consent?

Is the reason women are treated better in today's society than virtually any time in human history (as often bad as it is now, oh boy was it worse in, say, 1950, or 950, or 50), because of the beneficent influence of true Christianity? That is the thesis of the recent work of an evangelical Christian named Glenn Schriver, and I had a remote debate with him about it. You can watch it here. It appeared on one of my favorite interview programs in the world (literally, since it's in London), Unbelievable hosted by Justin Brierley. Oh boy, that program regularly interesting. Every week Justin regularly sets up discussions/debates, often between a well-educated evangelical Christian spokesperson and a decidedly non-evangelical / non-Christian -- e.g., well, people like me. Justin is a terrific interviewer / moderator (he himself is a Christian interested in apologetics). I've done his show a bunch of times, and it's always interesting. Check out the webpage: https: www.premierunbelievable.com/shows/unbelievable This particular back and forth happened a couple of months ago. I must admit, [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:59:35-04:00October 2nd, 2022|Bart's Debates, Public Forum, Sex and Sexuality in the Bible|

What Do Professional Scholars Actually Do? Part 1: Introduction

I am constantly reminded (from emails and conversations ) that most people would have little way to know what professional scholars at research universities actually do. That’s not surprising. I, frankly, don’t really know (or much understand) what a hedge fund manager does, or a state lieutenant governor, or an industrial chemist. I was thinking about the issue (my position, not the ones I don't know about) last week and suddenly had a vague recollection that I discussed it at some point on the blog; I checked and, lo and behold, I devoted a number of posts to the matter over ten years ago. I've decided to do it again. This first post will repeat how I introduced the topic back then. ****************************** In some of the back and forth that I have been involved with over the past few weeks some blog readers have asked about whether “experts” in an academic field have any privileged standing when it comes to making judgments about the acceptability or force of evidence that is [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:59:35-04:00September 28th, 2022|Public Forum|

Why Paul Was Persecuted (Or Claimed He Was). Platinum Guest Post by Daniel Kohanski

I am pleased to publish this new Platinum post by Dan Kohanski, on an intriguing and important topic for understanding both the life (and writings) of Paul and the earliest history of the Christian movement. This post is by a Platinum member for other Platinum members. You too can make a post like this. Interested? Just write something up and send it along. It doesn't need to be high level scholarship. Just write up your views about something and get some feedback from others! In the meantime, Dan will be willing to address your feedback on this one. ****************************** (This article is based on research I’ve been doing for my new book, A God of Our Invention: How Religion Shaped the Western World, to be published in early 2023 by Apocryphile Press.)[1] The claim that opposition is persecution is one that occurs throughout the history of Christianity. The last of Matthew’s beatitudes promises that those “who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake” (Matt. 5:10) will be rewarded in heaven. The First Letter of Peter reassures its [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:59:47-04:00September 23rd, 2022|Paul and His Letters, Public Forum|

Our Next Platinum Webinar! Tuesday September 27

We have scheduled our next Platinum-Only Webinar for Tuesday September 27! I hope you can make it: it's a hot topic. (If you can't make it, we'll be recording it and sending it out) (In fact, we'll be doing that even if you *can* make it) Topic: The Birth of the Trinity Issue: Most people don't actually know what the doctrine of the Trinity is (it's not just that there is a Father, Son, and Holy Spirit...); fewer still have a good sense of where it came from, why it developed, and how. After this webinar, you will! Time: 7:30 - 9:00 pm Eastern Time. Link: https://unc.zoom.us/j/97931736337?pwd=b0JmTlYvK3dmZ3dxK3haWWdSS2cxQT09 Meeting ID: 979 3173 6337 Passcode: 691689 Hope to see you there! = Bart

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:59:35-04:00September 20th, 2022|Public Forum|

September Gold Q&A

Dear Gold Members, Here we go! Time for our monthly Gold Q&A. Have a question? Go for it. It can be anything related to the blog. To enter your question on to the list: send it to Diane at [email protected] The DEADLINE for your question is this Saturday, September 24 midnight (whenever midnight is where you live). I will record the session soon thereafter and we'll get it released by Sept. 29 or so. Questions that are relatively short (a sentence or two) are more likely to be chosen. And feel free to come up with a stumper! Bart

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:59:35-04:00September 20th, 2022|Public Forum|

Why Even Conservative Christians Should Accept Evolution: Blog Anniversary Guest Post by Michael Shermer (part 2)
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Why Even Conservative Christians Should Accept Evolution: Blog Anniversary Guest Post by Michael Shermer (part 2)

Public Forum

Why Even Conservative Christians Should Accept Evolution: Blog Anniversary Guest Post by Michael Shermer (part 2)

For several months now I have been posting Guest Posts that were generoulsly provided by others in honor of the blog's tenth anniversary. These posts have been wide-ranging in their content and the intriguing , each pbased on the posters' unique backgrounds and expertise. This now is the final one in the series, the second of two posts by Michael Shermer, to continue what he was saying in his post of Sept. 3. This one is particularly significant. Why is it in conservative Christians' (and everyone else's) own best interest to accept evolution as a reality of the past? He makes some compelling points. Read and see! ************************* To counter the doubts I mentioned in my previous post, I argue that, in fact, Christians and conservatives should accept the theory of evolution for at least eight reasons (again, for brevity, truncated here): Evolution happened. The theory describing how evolution happened is one of the most well-founded in all of science. Christians and conservatives embrace the value of truth-seeking as much as non-Christians and liberals do, [...]

Diane2025-09-10T12:58:50-04:00September 8th, 2022|Public Forum|

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