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Hey, Stop Trashing the Gospels!

I am going to take a brief break from my response to Craig Evans’s critique of my view of Jesus’ burial. There are more things that I need to say – and I have not yet gotten to what I think are his two best arguments. But my sense is that some people are getting a little tired of a steady dose of posts on the burial stories, so… I’m going to break to deal with something else of more general interest. Over the years some people have responded to my argument that Jesus was not really buried by Joseph of Arimathea on the day of his crucifixion by asking me: Why are you trashing the Gospels? It’s a fair question, and deserves a fair answer. The short story is that I’m not intending or trying to trash the Gospels. In my view, what I’m doing is showing what the Gospels really are and what they really are not. And that is not a matter of trashing them. It’s a matter of revealing their true [...]

BDEhrman2023-08-01T10:06:27-04:00August 9th, 2023|Canonical Gospels, Historical Jesus, Public Forum|

Were Roman Leaders Told to Provide Decent Burials for Crucified Victims? (Really?)

In my previous post I tried to show why Craig’s argument that Roman governors on (widely!) isolated occasions showed clemency to prisoners (those not sentenced to death) has no relevance to the question of whether Jesus, condemned to crucifixion for treason against the Roman state, would have been allowed a decent burial, contrary to Roman practice. The “clemency” argument – even in the sources that Craig himself cites, only seems to show that in cases that were completely unlike that of Jesus himself, Roman governors could on rare occasions be merciful and/or bribed. Craig goes on to say that this clemency was extended to the burial of executed criminals. Now in theory, this should be relevant to the question of whether Pilate showed mercy on Jesus by allowing his body to be buried on the day of his execution. But when you actually look at the evidence, once again it is not just irrelevant to Craig's argument, it actually supports the *opposite* view that is opposite to the one Craig wants to argue. See for [...]

BDEhrman2023-07-28T10:55:42-04:00August 6th, 2023|Greco-Roman Religions and Culture, Historical Jesus|

Did Romans Show Clemency to Crucified Criminals?

In my previous post I began to discuss Craig Evan’s essay “Getting the Burial Traditions and Evidences Right,” which was his attempt to show that the views I set forth in How Jesus Became God were flawed. In his view, the New Testament portrayal of Jesus’ burial is almost certainly historical: Jesus really was buried, in a known tomb, on the afternoon of his death, immediately after he expired, by Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin who had, the night before, called for his execution. My view is that this is entirely unlikely, that Jesus was probably left on his cross to suffer the ravages of time and, possibly, scavenging animals, as was the practice of Romans for crucified victims. In no instance was this practice more constant than in the case of “enemies of the state,” anyone, for example, who was involved in an insurrection or who threatened a violent opposition to Roman rule (or was thought to have threatened). Jesus himself, of course, was executed on just this charge, of [...]

BDEhrman2023-07-28T10:48:12-04:00August 5th, 2023|Greco-Roman Religions and Culture, Historical Jesus|

Alleged “Proof” That Crucified Jews Were Allowed Decent Burials

Now that I have restated my views about the burial of Jesus by citing passages from How Jesus Became God (HarperOne, 2014) and emphasized one particular general point – that it is of utmost importance to remember why Romans crucified people, and in particular why they crucified those who were guilty of insurrection, the threat of insurrection, or high treason (a point that I cannot stress enough: Jesus was executed for calling himself the King of the Jews – a political charge of treason against the state) – I can now begin to summarize the counter-arguments that Craig Evans has made in his relatively long response, “Getting the Burial Traditions and Evidences Right.” Despite this title, and despite the respect I have for Craig as a scholar, I have to say that in my judgment he gets virtually all the evidence precisely wrong. He focuses his counter-argument on two of my main points: the Roman practices of crucifixion and the character of Pontius Pilate in particular. I will respond to all of his major claims – [...]

BDEhrman2023-07-26T08:58:37-04:00July 30th, 2023|Early Judaism, Greco-Roman Religions and Culture, Historical Jesus|

More Reasons for Thinking Jesus was Not Given a Decent Burial

So far in this thread I have been laying out the argument found in my book How Jesus Became God of why I do not think Jesus was given a decent burial by Joseph of Arimathea on the day he was crucified. This will be the last post on the question. After this the fun begins. My friend, New Testament scholar Craig Evans, laid out a detailed argument for why he thinks I am very wrong, as one of the essays in the response-book, How God Became Jesus. Starting in the next post, in a new thread of a number of response-to-the-response posts, I will respond to Craig's arguments one-by-one, to show in turn why I don't find his arguments at all convincing. In my post yesterday I talked about one specific reason for doubting the tradition of Jesus' burial by Joseph of Arimathea. Now I give two more reasons. ****************************** Greek and Roman Practices of Using Common Graves for Criminals My second reason for doubting that Jesus received a decent burial is that – [...]

BDEhrman2023-07-24T19:06:21-04:00July 26th, 2023|Greco-Roman Religions and Culture, Historical Jesus|

Did Romans Allow Decent Burials for Crucified Criminals?
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Did Romans Allow Decent Burials for Crucified Criminals?

Canonical Gospels, Historical Jesus

Did Romans Allow Decent Burials for Crucified Criminals?

In considering whether Jesus was buried on the day of his death, does it matter what Roman typical practices were? Or should these just be overlooked, not taken into consideration? In addition to the rather general considerations I have given in my previous post for calling into question the idea that Jesus received a decent burial by Joseph of Arimathea, there are three more specific reasons for doubting the tradition that Jesus received a decent burial at all, in a tomb that could later be recognized as emptied. Roman Practices of Crucifixion Sometimes Christian apologists argue that Jesus had to be taken off the cross before sunset on Friday, because the next day was Sabbath and it was against Jewish Law, or at least Jewish sensitivities, to allow a person to remain on the cross during the Sabbath. Unfortunately, the historical record suggests just the opposite. It was not Jews who killed Jesus, and so they had no say about when he would be taken down from the cross. Moreover, the Romans who [...]

BDEhrman2023-07-25T12:10:00-04:00July 25th, 2023|Canonical Gospels, Historical Jesus|

Literary Problems with the Gospel Accounts of Jesus’ Burial
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Literary Problems with the Gospel Accounts of Jesus’ Burial

Canonical Gospels, Historical Jesus

Literary Problems with the Gospel Accounts of Jesus’ Burial

Here is a section from my book How Jesus Became God (HarperOne, 2014) that deals with the question of whether Jesus was actually given a decent burial by Joseph of Arimathea. At this point of my discussion I am not looking into the question of whether it is plausible that Jesus would be buried on the day of his execution given what we know from other historical sources, about Roman practices, but at general problems with the reporting in the Gospels. ****************************** According to our earliest account, the Gospel of Mark, Jesus was buried by a previously unnamed and unknown figure, Joseph of Arimathea, “a respected member of the council” (Mark 15:43) – that is, a Jewish aristocrat who belonged to the Sanhedrin, which was the ruling body made up of “chief priests, elders, and scribes” (Mark 14:53). According to Mark 15:43, Joseph summoned up his courage and asked Pilate for Jesus’ body. When Pilate learned that Jesus was already dead, he granted Joseph his wish, and he took the body from cross, wrapped it [...]

BDEhrman2023-07-17T17:54:22-04:00July 23rd, 2023|Canonical Gospels, Historical Jesus|

Back to Whether Jesus Was Really Given a Decent Burial

Was Jesus actually given a decent burial the afternoon he was crucified? Almost every Christian in the known universe, and almost all New Testament scholars, don't ask the question and if they do they don't ask it seriously: of *course* he was. Just read the Gospels! Why wouldn't he be? For years now I've taken a different stand, as pointed out in my recent post on Monty Python's Life of Brian (see: The Life of Brian and Jesus: Was Jesus Really Buried on the Day of the Crucifixion? - The Bart Ehrman Blog) After that post, and for years before that, blog readers have asked for a fuller explanation of my views, and for my responses to scholarly rejections of it. Most everything I talk about on the blog comprises views held either by a majority of scholars or by a respectable minority. Not this one. So why do I find it convincing? My fullest discussion of the matter came not in a scholarly publication but here on the blog, nine years ago. I've decided [...]

BDEhrman2023-07-17T14:43:16-04:00July 22nd, 2023|Bart's Critics, Canonical Gospels, Historical Jesus|

The Life of Brian and Jesus: Was Jesus Really Buried on the Day of the Crucifixion?

Here is the third and final section of the paper that I read at the Life of Brian conference. The entire paper tried to argue that parody can be an effective historical method. By providing a caricature of a narrative or an alleged historical event, the film was able to highlight some very important historical realia that otherwise are too easy to miss, or that have not been given enough prominence by biblical scholars and historians. This third part of my paper is the really controversial one (although part 2 raised some concerns as well!). Here is where I argue that Jesus was not given a decent burial, and I use the film to explain why. I should say that in a few days I am going to be devoting a sustained thread to just this issue, of why I think the story of Joseph of Arimathea in the NT is legendary, that Jesus was almost certainly not given a decent burial on the day of his crucifixion. My thread will be a response [...]

BDEhrman2023-07-10T21:38:09-04:00July 11th, 2023|Historical Jesus, Jesus and Film, Public Forum, Video Media|

The Life of Brian and the Historical Jesus

A couple of weeks ago we had a very fun Movie Club as a fundraiser for the blog, trying to raise funds to cover our operating expenses, since all the membership fees and any regular donations that come in go directly to our charities -- but we still have to pay our bills! This one was on the Life of Brian. Have you seen it? If not, you should. If you've seen it ten times, you should see it eleven. During our discussion of the film I pointed out that there was a conference in London some years ago to celebrate the 35th anniversary of its release -- a group of academics specializing in New Testament and/or ancient Judaism reading serious papers (often with some humor) about the relevance of their field for the film, and vice versa. Seriously. (John Cleese came to the conference and thought the whole thing was outrageously funny and great fun -- a group of academics discussing a film he and his Monty Python buds had come up with. He [...]

BDEhrman2023-07-03T16:14:30-04:00July 8th, 2023|Historical Jesus, Jesus and Film, Public Forum, Video Media|

Did the Curtain in the Temple Really Rip in Half at Jesus’ Crucifixion?

Did the curtain in the temple really rip in half when Jesus died? That’s what the Gospels say. But can it be true? [[RECALL, in case you haven’t been reading each of the posts in this thread: I’ve been trying to show how experts in the phenomenon of “memory” can help us reflect on the Gospel traditions about Jesus. Memory is a much wider and more expansive phenomenon than most people imagine. Memories involve what we’ve done, what we’ve experienced, what we’ve learned, what we’ve heard, and what we simply recall about the past whether we ourselves experienced it and whether our recollections are just personal or collectively shared by a broader swath of our community (e.g., our “memories” of the Clinton presidency or of the Civil War) . When seen in this broader sense, the Gospels contain some “historically true” memories of Jesus but also some distorted or fake memories. In the current thread of posts I’ve been discussing key passages of the Passion narratives of the Gospels. All these are taken from my [...]

BDEhrman2023-06-13T11:16:12-04:00June 24th, 2023|Canonical Gospels, Historical Jesus, Memory Studies|

Was Jesus an Ascetic Street Preacher or a Man With a Plan? A Platinum Post From Omar Robb

In this post Platinum guest poster Omar Robb takes on one of the key questions anyone must grapple with in studying the New Testament: how are we to understand the activities and mission of Jesus? Feel free to comment with your own views! ****************************** I am going here to generate a story (a made-up story) that you should read as a fictional imaginary one. Just go with this story to the end. After that, we will start a serious discussion. ##### The start this imaginary built-up story: Jesus, John the Baptist, and Zechariah (John’s father) were relatives, and they originated from a noble family in the capital until they lost favor in the eyes of the authority many decades before the time of Jesus, and they were forced into exile in Galilee. Zechariah formed a secret political party with the objective of liberating Palestine from the Roman rule and their puppets in the capital. When Zechariah passed away, his son followed the plan. They (Zechariah and John) managed over the years to form a culture [...]

Diane2023-06-16T10:28:51-04:00June 23rd, 2023|Historical Jesus, Public Forum|

Did The Twelve Become Only Three? Platinum post by Douglas Wadeson MD

As you know, Platinum members on the blog are allowed to publish posts for other Platinum members, who then vote on one to be included on the entire blog. I'm pleased to publish this guest post by Douglas Wadeson, on an unusually intriguing and important topic. Did Jesus twelve disciples stay committed to the movement after his death, as everyone assumes? Or are there reasons to think that most of them actually abandoned the cause? Read this challenging post and let us know what you think! (And think about moving up to the Platinum level yourself: along with being allowed to publish your own posts, you will be invited to a special quarterly webinar with just the Platinums and me). ****************************** Early Christianity had many stories about the adventures of the Twelve Apostles after the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. Thomas is tricked into becoming a missionary to India.1 John travels about evangelizing while demonstrating control of bedbugs!2 Andrew was said to travel to the area now known as Ukraine to evangelize there – [...]

Diane2023-06-13T11:16:04-04:00June 22nd, 2023|Historical Jesus, Public Forum|

Did Pilate Really Release A Dangerous Criminal, Barabbas, at Jesus’ Trial?

Is it true that at Jesus’ trial, the Roman governor Pontius Pilate tried to get him off the hook by offering to let him loose, according to his annual custom, but that the Jewish crowd insist that he release to them Barabbas instead, a serious criminal? [[RECALL, in case you haven’t been reading each of the posts in this thread: I’ve been trying to show how experts in the phenomenon of “memory” can help us reflect on the Gospel traditions about Jesus. Memory is a much wider and more expansive phenomenon than most people imagine. Memories involve what we’ve done, what we’ve experienced, what we’ve learned, what we’ve heard, and what we simply recall about the past whether we ourselves experienced it and whether our recollections are just personal or collectively shared by a broader swath of our community (e.g., our “memories” of the Clinton presidency or of the Civil War) . When seen in this broader sense, the Gospels contain some “historically true” memories of Jesus but also some distorted or fake memories. In [...]

BDEhrman2023-06-12T11:02:32-04:00June 21st, 2023|Canonical Gospels, Historical Jesus, Memory Studies|

Were Jesus Followers Really Armed and Dangerous in the Garden of Gethsemane?
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Were Jesus Followers Really Armed and Dangerous in the Garden of Gethsemane?

Canonical Gospels, Historical Jesus, Memory Studies

Were Jesus Followers Really Armed and Dangerous in the Garden of Gethsemane?

Can it be true that Jesus’ followers were armed when Jesus was arrested, and that they put up a fight to defend him, as indicated in the Gospels? Did Jesus’ disciples believe in armed engagement with the enemy? Did Jesus??? [[RECALL, in case you haven’t been reading each of the posts in this thread: I’ve been trying to show how experts in the phenomenon of “memory” can help us reflect on the Gospel traditions about Jesus. Memory is a much wider and more expansive phenomenon than most people imagine. Memories involve what we’ve done, what we’ve experienced, what we’ve learned, what we’ve heard, and what we simply recall about the past whether we ourselves experienced it and whether our recollections are just personal or collectively shared by a broader swath of our community (e.g., our “memories” of the Clinton presidency or of the Civil War) . When seen in this broader sense, the Gospels contain some “historically true” memories of Jesus but also some distorted or fake memories. In the current thread of posts [...]

BDEhrman2023-06-22T09:51:14-04:00June 20th, 2023|Canonical Gospels, Historical Jesus, Memory Studies|

Did Jesus Really Cleanse the Temple?

In all the Gospels Jesus enters into the temple in Jerusalem and becomes enraged by what he sees there. He overturns tables and drives merchants out and shuts down the operation. Could this actually have happened? Or is it an exaggerated – or completely invented – account? [[RECALL, in case you haven’t been reading each of the posts in this thread: I’ve been trying to show how experts in the phenomenon of “memory” can help us reflect on the Gospel traditions about Jesus. Memory is a much wider and more expansive phenomenon than most people imagine. Memories involve what we’ve done, what we’ve experienced, what we’ve learned, what we’ve heard, and what we simply recall about the past whether we ourselves experienced it and whether our recollections are just personal or collectively shared by a broader swath of our community (e.g., our “memories” of the Clinton presidency or of the Civil War) . When seen in this broader sense, the Gospels contain some “historically true” memories of Jesus but also some distorted or fake [...]

BDEhrman2023-06-12T11:11:09-04:00June 18th, 2023|Canonical Gospels, Historical Jesus, Memory Studies|

Did the Triumphal Entry Really Happen?

Did Jesus really come into Jerusalem on a donkey to the acclamations of the crowd welcoming him as the coming messiah? Or is that a distorted understanding of what happened? [[In this thread of posts I’ve been trying to show how experts in the phenomenon of “memory” can help us reflect on the Gospel traditions about Jesus. Memory is a much wider and more expansive phenomenon than most people imagine. Memories involve what we’ve done, what we’ve experienced, what we’ve learned, what we’ve heard, and what we simply recall about the past whether we ourselves experienced it and whether our recollections are just personal or collectively shared by a broader swath of our community (e.g., our “memories” of the Clinton presidency or of the Civil War) . When seen in this broader sense, the Gospels contain some “historically true” memories of Jesus but also some distorted or fake memories. In my previous two posts I talked about the “memories” about Jesus’ trial before Pilate. In the following posts I’ll discuss other key passages of [...]

BDEhrman2023-06-12T11:22:38-04:00June 17th, 2023|Canonical Gospels, Historical Jesus, Memory Studies|

Jesus’ Trial Before Pilate: Some of the Distorted Memories of the Gospels

In my previous post I discussed some of the important differences between our four Gospels in their accounts of Jesus' trial before Pilate. Just read them, carefully, compare them in detail with one another, and see for yourself! I continue with that discussion here, and then look to see what we can say are (certainly? probably?) "distorted memories" of the event in our accounts. This again is taken from my book Jesus Before the Gospels (HarperOne, 2016). ****************************** Another difference in John’s account is that Jesus and Pilate have several extended conversations. Jesus is not silent before the accusations, as in the other accounts. Instead, he uses the charges brought against him to speak to Pilate about himself, his identity, his kingdom, and the truth. As in Luke, Pilate tries to release Jesus three times, but “the Jews” will not hear of it: they insist that Jesus be executed. Pilate finally brings Jesus outside and shows him to the Jews and tells them to “Behold your King.” The Jews urge him to crucify Jesus. Pilate [...]

BDEhrman2023-06-14T10:32:27-04:00June 15th, 2023|Canonical Gospels, Historical Jesus, Memory Studies|

Jesus’ Trial Before Pilate: What Can We Actually Know?

In this post I shift from a general overview of what we can know about Jesus’ last days/hours to a specific instance. What can we actually know about his trial before Pontius Pilate, that led to his crucifixion? Do we know the details? Can we get the gist? Is there *anything* that is (relatively) certain? Or are all the things “remembered” in the Gospel writings distorted? From my book, Jesus Before the Gospels (HarperOne): An Illustration of the Method: Jesus’ Trial Before Pilate The biggest question we have to deal with at the outset is also the most obvious one. How do we know if a memory of Jesus as recorded in the Gospels is accurate, by which I mean that it is something that in fact did not actually take place? My analyses in this series of posts will be based on a premise that it is indeed possible to uncover a distorted recollection of Jesus’ life, and that it can be done in one of two ways. On one hand, there are some [...]

BDEhrman2023-06-11T08:24:40-04:00June 14th, 2023|Canonical Gospels, Historical Jesus|

The Radical Teachings of Jesus–And Why No One Follows Them
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The Radical Teachings of Jesus–And Why No One Follows Them

Book Discussions, Historical Jesus

The Radical Teachings of Jesus–And Why No One Follows Them

This is the title I’d like for my next book. Of course, I may change my mind (it happens all the time) and of greater moment, what I propose to my publisher as a title book often ends up having little effect or influence on the actual title. Publishers have the final say on that, and even though there is a lot of back and forth, discussion, and negotiation – in the end, well, good luck winning *that* decision! Even so, it’s what I’m calling the book now because I think it encapsulates what I want to say in it. My view is that Jesus’ teachings on how to live in relation to others were radically different from what can be found in (a) the teachings of Greek and Roman moralists (“moral philosophers”), (b) on the ground, in the Roman empire generally (among non-philosophers) (insofar as we can tell how people normally lived, given the scarcity of our sources of information), and (c) even in the Hebrew Bible tradition in which Jesus “lived, moved, and [...]

BDEhrman2023-06-12T10:38:12-04:00June 13th, 2023|Book Discussions, Historical Jesus|

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