Loading...A couple of blog issues.
FIRST: I will be giving public lectures after the New Year at the current locations. These are all free and open to the world at large. I don’t know the topics in every case, but will know closer to the times. If you are anywhere near: feel free to come! All lectures are in the evening.
- Thursday January 26: Michigan State University, East Lansing Michigan. Topic: Did the Early Christians Forget Jesus? Eyewitnesses, Oral Traditions, and Distorted Memories.
- Thursday February 2: Tulsa University, Tulsa Oklahoma
- Thursday February 16: Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina. Topic: Did the Early Christians Forget Jesus? Eyewitnesses, Oral Traditions, and Distorted Memories.
- March 9: Washington and Jefferson College, Washington, Pennsylvania
- March 23: State University of New York Binghamtom, Binghamtom, New York
- April 6: University of Rochester, Rochester New York
- April 20, Hamline University, St. Paul, Minnesota
SECOND: We are approaching the end of the year, as you may well have noticed! Many of us are thinking about making end-of-the-year donations. If that includes you, PLEASE think about making a donation to the Bart Ehrman Blog. All donations are fully tax-deductible. I give every penny to charities dealing with those in desperate need. By giving to the blog, you give to those charities AND you help promote the purposes of the blog. It’s a win-win situation. So please give it a thought!
When, oh when, are you coming to Canada? Nous voulons vous ecouter!
I go where I’m invited!!
Dr. Ehrman,
Are you sure that isn’t State University of New York Binghamton, New York?
My mistake! I’ve corrected it.
Dr. Ehrman, a quick off topic question. In 1 Thess. 2:15, when Paul uses the word ἐκδιωξάντων, is he referencing a specific event in which Christians were “driven out” of Judea, or to some general exodus over time of Christians from Judea due to constant persecution? Is there any scholarly consensus on what Paul means here?
Well, it’s an aorist, so if it refers to an exodus it is probably not being imagined as continuous but point-in-time.
Interesting! So at some point previous to the composition of 1 Thessalonians (ca. 50CE?), the Jewish Christian Church in Jerusalem was somehow “driven out”? Can this be connected to the theory that the Jerusalem Church fled to the Decapolis before the Siege of Jerusalem (the so-called “Flight to Pella”)? If we assume that the tradition that James the leader of the Jerusalem Church was executed around the same time, is it possible that Paul is making reference to a series of events in which James was killed and the Church was “driven out” from Jerusalem at some point the in early 40s CE?
When Paul said “the Judeans” drove “us” out, I don’t think he’s referring to the entire church (there’s no evidence of that). Rather, Paul and his companions were run outta town, as happened in other places.
Bart
I just made a donation. Merry Christmas. It is good that at least one day a year many think of others that probably wouldn’t without the holiday. I’m not sure the world as a whole can accept or handle a world without hope that religion gives many that suffer even if it doesn’t truly exist. A placebo at best.
It may be me but when I read “Support” as a option I think of computer support or a place to ask a question to a problem. Maybe you should consider it to say “Donation “. Don’t be shy. Make it prominent.
Bless you! May your tribe increase!
(But the home page has “Donate” as an option, no? And two spots that mention Donations. I’m not sure where you’re seeing “Support”)
I wrote the above from my phone and now that I read it I didn’t clarify my comments enough. When using the phone or even a computer to make a donation I look at the top pull downs and select “Support” since that seems like the right choice since there isn’t a “Donation” option that is prominent. I then scroll to the bottom to make a donation. Adding a pull down for “Donation” couldn’t hurt. Up front and in your face.
Oh, I see. But is’nt Donate clearly in your face on the page?
Bart ! Come to Colorado !! I would like to see you!!
Beautiful Colorado Springs !
I second that!
Thanks for the reminder – I’ve just sent in a donation.
And for what it’s worth – Merry Christmas!!
Bless you! May your tribe increase! (And thanks: it’s my favorite part of the year!)
Any plans to come to Chicago next year?
None at this point. I go where I’m invited!
Isn’t the March 23 city Binghamton,NY not Birmingham?
My mistake! I’ve corrected it.
Hi,
Did you mean SUNY Binghamton?
My mistake! I’ve corrected it.
FYI
I got the Biblical Archeological Society catalog in the mail this week and they’re having an end of year sale on some of their DVDs which include several of your lectures for the BAS. Interested parties can go here –
http://store.bib-arch.org/DVDs/departments/48/
I live near Tulsa, Oklahoma, and would love to hear the lecture.
I don’t understand your thinking. All of these speaking engagements are in snowy cold climes except for Clemson. When will you learn? We would be most happy have you speak somewhere here in Southern California during these winter months instead. I know we could keep you going for several weeks. We could even push over into the Phoenix area.
I am happy to see you are speaking at my alma mater Michigan State University. A much better basketball school than UNC. 😉
Yeah, I need some other invitations!
Happy Holidays Dr. Ehrman! May you and yours be well and 2017 be filled with delightful surprises. (finally back on line/internet installed and will catch up 2017. Thank you too for your kindness)
Thanks Jana!! Glad to hear you’re back with us.
Dr. Ehrman, I’m sorry for another off-topic question, but I’m curious if you ever got into contact with Sam Harris — the neuroscientist who specialized in the neuroscience of spiritual experiences — for your up-coming book on the concepts of Heaven and Hell. (I suspect that you might be put off by that fact that he’s one of those contraversial “New Atheists”, but I assure you that he’s not the monster that his critics make him out to be.) He would be a tremendous wealth of information on the science of why people come to believe in the concepts of Divine Justice and the “feeling” of the supernatural.
Now that I think about it, what if you two were to publish a collaborative book — where you handle the history and he handles the science? But I would think it depends on how receptive your respective publishers are to the idea. I only suggest it because such a joint publication could very easily be earth-shattering. The media buzz around such a work would be off the charts. Anyway, dare to dream, I guess. :/
We have had correspondence over the years, but not on this topic. Interesting idea about a joint book venture….
I’m telling you, if you combined your knowledge of the history and theology with his knowledge of the science, that would be one helluva book. I would literally pre-order that book it right now!
Interesting idea….
Talmoore, I can’t speak to this with any sophistication or intimate knowledge of brain studies but I still do not accept that, to put it simplistically, when neuroscience finds activity in certain parts of the brain during certain kinds of experiences of consciousness, it proves causality, even though it might, on the surface, suggest it. Simultaneity does not imply causality. It’s a strange position for me, as an atheist, to be in because it is a dualistic one: it seems to be saying that consciousness is something other than the physical body. Although I believe in no gods, it seems to me there are dimensions of reality far beyond what humans are capable of sensing or knowing. I find myself sympathetic with the Hindu notion of the body and brain as, not the cause and source of mind but the vehicle of consciousness. I just cannot imagine that consciousness IS electro-chemical things happening in the brain. That is almost incoherent to me. Do you believe it is and, if so, why?
I can certainly appreciate your skepticism. I’ve spent a couple decades absorbing everything I can learn from neuroscience and cognitive science, and the conclusion I came to is what I call the Beach Analogy of the Mind (BAM). The BAM works something like this: Imagine that the beach is your brain, a physical substrate; the waves are like incoming sensory input; and various patterns left behind on the beach by the receding waves are like your mind. As each successive wave hits the beach and drifts away, it leaves behind a distinctive pattern in the sand, and that distinctive pattern is analogous to our respective minds. To use a $10 word of neuroscientists, our mind or consciousness is an “epiphenomenon” or “emergent property” of that physical action of sensory input flooding our neural network, as waves ebb and flow onto a beach. In know that’s a crude analogy, but it’s the best physical analogy I can think of at the moment.
Here in northern Maine, I’ll have to miss your live lectures coming up at Michigan State or Clemson, but hope you’ll record one of the sessions for the blog. Thanks!
I don’t know if they’ll be taped or not — that decision is made by the host, since they would have to provide the equipment and set-up. But I hope they will be!
Dr Ehrman
Just a note of thanks for your ongoing efforts to bring light and rational inquiry to these subjects.
Though I have read a couple of your books, I find reading increasingly difficult and therefore appreciate the many videos that are posted on YouTube
Ardy
You are an incredibly busy and gifted man “Did the Early Christians Forget Jesus?” is a very creative topic..
I live in Dallas, but happy to drive to Tulsa in Feb 2.
Reading your book changed my thought a lot.
Just curious if there is photograph session?
Thank you~
Young
Do you mean is there a chance to have a photo with me? Sure!
Bart do you ever come to west coast (California)? You should visit San Diego.
I go where I’m invited! (Just spent a week near San Luis Obispo, but it was all play and no work.)
My wife and I would love to listen to one of your lectures. We live in Springfield, IL and the closest trip for us would be your lecture at Hamline University. Do you have a contact there? I’m not seeing any information posted on the university’s website.
Many thanks to you and the work you do. It’s nice to support a good cause and have the opportunity to learn from brilliant scholars like yourself!
Yup. It’s Berkson, Mark A. If you come be sure to introduce yourselves!