Recent Posts

Are *Groups* of Story Tellers (Think: Ancient Followers of Jesus) More Likely to Preserve Traditions Accurately than Individuals?

By |May 28th, 2023|Historical Jesus, Memory Studies|Comments Off on Are *Groups* of Story Tellers (Think: Ancient Followers of Jesus) More Likely to Preserve Traditions Accurately than Individuals?

This post will conclude my mini-thread trying to show that modern practices of story telling in the Middle East, during a community ritual called the haflar samar, in which groups of knowledgeable people ensure that stories are never significantly changed, has no bearing on the question of whether ancient stories told about Jesus were preserved accurately over time. Here I take on a bigger question, as addressed in in my book Jesus Before the Gospels:  Does this group context for telling the stories ensure that they are accurate?  Actually, modern psychological studies suggest that just the opposite is normally the [...]

Back in the Saddle Again…

By |May 27th, 2023|Public Forum|Comments Off on Back in the Saddle Again…

I am now, alas, back from my two-weeks in Galapagos.   Whoa.... And I'm getting back to business on the blog.  Before leaving I placed a number of posts in queue and these have been published promptly.  I'm now starting to deal with the comments that came in during my absence.  This'll take a couple of days, but I will get caught up soon. For those of you who are Gold members, I've recorded the monthly hour-long Gold Q&A, soon to be released for your viewing/listening pleasure.  For those of you who are not Gold members: this is one of the [...]

Do Modern Mideastern Story Tellers Show How the Ancient Traditions of Jesus Were Circulated?

By |May 27th, 2023|Historical Jesus, Memory Studies|Comments Off on Do Modern Mideastern Story Tellers Show How the Ancient Traditions of Jesus Were Circulated?

In my previous post I discussed a seemingly-plausible explanation for how modern ways of telling stories in small communities in the Middle East today can show that the Gospels may well represent literal word-for-word depictions of what Jesus said and did.  Here I show why in fact the theory does not work, as laid out in my book Jesus Before the Gospels (Harper, 2016) ****************************** As we have seen, Bailey argued that modern tellers in the Middle East today work in a small community context, where the stories of a village's past (its key figures, its main events) are circulated [...]

Did Jesus Believe The End Would Come Within His Lifetime? Platinum Post by Rizwan Ahmed

By |May 26th, 2023|Public Forum|Comments Off on Did Jesus Believe The End Would Come Within His Lifetime? Platinum Post by Rizwan Ahmed

A post for Platinum members only from Rizwan Ahmed ****************************** “Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened” (Matthew 24:34, Luke 21:32) A little over a century ago, Albert Schweitzer, through his famous book “The Quest of the Historical Jesus”, revolutionized and reshaped our understanding of the historical figure of Jesus. He convincingly argued that Jesus should be best understood as an apocalyptic Jewish prophet. That is, a prophet who heralded the coming end of the world, in which God would intervene in history and finally bring about absolute justice and [...]

Do Modern Mideastern Customs of Story Telling Show that the Gospels Are Accurate?

By |May 25th, 2023|Canonical Gospels, Historical Jesus, Memory Studies|Comments Off on Do Modern Mideastern Customs of Story Telling Show that the Gospels Are Accurate?

I've been discussing modern explanations of how the traditions about Jesus found in the Gospels could in fact be historically accurate even if they were passed on by word of mouth over the years and decades before anyone wrote them down.  The natural suspicion is that stories that get told and retold by different story tellers in different times and places year after year will change, somewhat significantly, and that some tales and sayings attributed to an important figure will be invented, with no historical basis at all.  It happens all the time. It probably has happened to you.  Someone [...]

More Problems with Thinking Jesus’ Followers Memorized the Stories about Him

By |May 24th, 2023|Canonical Gospels, Historical Jesus, History of Biblical Scholarship|Comments Off on More Problems with Thinking Jesus’ Followers Memorized the Stories about Him

In my previous post I began to explain the problems with the idea that Jesus' followers, like all good students of Rabbis in the Jewish tradition, were trained to memorize what he said and did, so that the Gospels provide us with reliable accounts of his life.  This idea was most forcefully promoted by Swedish scholar Birger Gerhardsson and was popular for a while in scholarly circles.  But it is widely seen today as problematic.  Here is how I continue to explain some of the issues in my book Jesus Before the Gospels (HarperOne, 2016).   ****************************** An even bigger problem [...]

My New Online Course on Paul and Jesus!

By |May 23rd, 2023|Public Forum|2 Comments

In case you haven't heard, I will be doing a live, eight-lecture online course comparing the theology of Paul and Jesus on May 27-28.  The course is not connected with the blog -- it is part of my separate venture for a series I'm publishing called How Scholars Read the Bible.  But I mention here because some of you may be interested.  Even if you can't make the live sessions and Q&A, you can purchase the course to watch at your leisure.  You can learn about it here: BartEhrman.com The course will consist of  four lectures and one Q&A each [...]

Didn’t the Disciples Memorize Jesus’ Teachings and Accounts of His Life?

By |May 23rd, 2023|Canonical Gospels, Historical Jesus, History of Biblical Scholarship, Memory Studies, Public Forum|Comments Off on Didn’t the Disciples Memorize Jesus’ Teachings and Accounts of His Life?

I've been talking about how scholars began to realize in the early 20th century that the stories of Jesus in the Gospels were based on oral traditions that the Gospel writers inherited decades earlier.  But is that really a problem?  Here's how I discuss the issue in my book Jesus Before the Gospels (HarperOne, 2016). ****************************** Many people, when they first consider the reality that the traditions in our Gospels must have circulated orally for decades before being written down, come up with a commonsensical response.  Surely the sayings of Jesus, and the accounts of his life, were actually memorized by [...]

Was Jesus Literate or Illiterate? A Platinum Post by Omar Abur-Robb

By |May 22nd, 2023|Public Forum|28 Comments

For Platinum members, from Platinum member Omar Abur-Robb: ****************************** Was Jesus literate or Illiterate omr-mhmd.yolasite.com   Scholars are in difference regarding whether Jesus was literate or not, and I would like to explore this subject. Most of the people who lives in Galilee at the time of Jesus were peasants, and most of the peasants were poor, and most of the poor peasants were illiterate. Therefore, we can conclude that Jesus was illiterate. But the above conclusion was based on a “null hypothesis”. “Null hypotheses” are statements of probability. So ... Let Sam be one of the people who lived [...]

Stories of Jesus Passed on By Word of Mouth. When Scholars First Took Oral Traditions Seriously.

By |May 21st, 2023|Canonical Gospels, Historical Jesus, History of Biblical Scholarship|Comments Off on Stories of Jesus Passed on By Word of Mouth. When Scholars First Took Oral Traditions Seriously.

I'm discussing how scholars came to realize that Mark our earliest Gospel is not simply a nuts-and-bolts, unembellished, accurate report of what Jesus said and did.  This kind of scholarship reached a kind of climax about a century ago with a group of scholars called "form critics."  To make sense of what they said and why they said it, I need to start where I left off yesterday -- and so I'll repeat the end of yesterday's post to get us a running start on today's, taken from my book Jesus Before the Gospels (HarperOne 2016). ****************************** Where did the stories found [...]

Does Mark Present the Bare-Bones Facts about Jesus’ Life?

By |May 20th, 2023|Canonical Gospels, Historical Jesus, History of Biblical Scholarship|Comments Off on Does Mark Present the Bare-Bones Facts about Jesus’ Life?

In my previous post I showed how scholars in the 19th century came to think that our shortest and evidently-least-embelished Gospel Mark gave the accurate account of Jesus ' life, so that any reconstruction of what Jesus really said and did simply could simply assume that Mark provides the essential information. But is that right?  It eventually came to be seen as wrong.  Here's how I discuss the matter in my book Jesus Before the Gospels (HarperOne, 2016). ****************************** The problem with Mark is that it is so terse that there are huge gaps in the narrative.  It is hard to [...]

Was Levi of Alphaeus the “the Beloved Disciple”? Platinum Post by Gregory Hartzler-Miller, MATS

By |May 19th, 2023|Public Forum|Comments Off on Was Levi of Alphaeus the “the Beloved Disciple”? Platinum Post by Gregory Hartzler-Miller, MATS

  ****************************** Was Levi of Alphaeus the "the Beloved Disciple"? A Redaction Critical Approach   Since the discovery of the Gospel of Peter, scholars have speculated about the missing words after the mention of "Levi of Alphaeus" in the final sentence, which breaks off. The sentence reads, "But I, Simon Peter, and my brother Andrew, having taken our nets, went off to the sea. And there was with us Levi of Alphaeus whom the Lord [blank]," (Tr. Raymond Brown). How should we fill in the blank? Could it be "whom the Lord [loved],"? Many scholars have wondered whether this mention [...]

How Can We Get Behind “False Memories” of Jesus to the Historical Facts?

By |May 18th, 2023|Canonical Gospels, Historical Jesus, History of Biblical Scholarship|Comments Off on How Can We Get Behind “False Memories” of Jesus to the Historical Facts?

I'm discussing how in both the ancient and modern worlds people have constructed "false memories" of who Jesus really was.  In this post I give a brief explanation of how scholars became increasingly aware of the problem and, for a time, thought they had found a solution:  Mark's Gospel is the unembellished version and so we need to stick mainly with that!  How'd they come up with *that* one?  And is it true? This is taken from my book Jesus Before the Gospels (HarperOne, 2016). ****************************** Throughout the history of scholarship, especially since the nineteenth century, scholars have realized that Christians [...]

Did Early Christians “Invent” Memories of Jesus?

By |May 17th, 2023|Canonical Gospels, Historical Jesus, History of Biblical Scholarship, Public Forum|Comments Off on Did Early Christians “Invent” Memories of Jesus?

I've been talking about how we remember things -- or misremember things, or make up memories of things -- as a way of getting to the question of how, in our heads, we think about what Jesus said and did.  This is all part of my larger project that came incarnated (inletterated?) in my book Jesus Before the Gospels. As I point out early in the book, we remember most things  just fine, but we also often get things either partially or completely wrong.  Memories can be frail, faulty, and false.  And not just our individual memories, but also the “memories” [...]

Jesus’ Resurrection: A Challenging Hypothetical. Guest Post by Ryan Fleming

By |May 16th, 2023|Public Forum|74 Comments

And now *here* is an interesting way to think about whether someone was raised from the dead!  This is a Platinum Guest Post by Ryan Fleming.  It is begging for responses.  What do you think? ****************************** A short story: Suppose you are a French-resistance fighter in Nazi-occupied Paris during World War II. One of your countrymen, Jacques, is unbeknownst to you, a Nazi spy. He openly supports passivism towards Nazi authority, keeps the peace, and even promotes paying taxes to the Nazis. Periodically you see Jacques in the company of a Nazi officer. You and your fellow countrymen become suspicious, [...]

The Father and the Son. A Platinum Post by Omar Abur-Robb

By |May 15th, 2023|Public Forum|25 Comments

A Platinum post for fellow Platinum members from Omar Abur-Robb:   ****************************** The Father and the Son omr-mhmd.yolasite.com   When and how the people of the Christian faith started to refer to God as “The Father”? Jews today refer to God as Adonai, Hashem, or Elohim. Karaite Jews do refer to God as Yahweh, but the Rabbinic Jews don’t use this name as they regard it sacred. But (to my understanding) there are no Jews (Karaite or Rabbinic) who refer to God as “The Father”. Also (to my understanding) there are no Jews in history who have referred to God [...]

How Can We “Remember” Someone (say, Jesus) We Never Knew?

By |May 14th, 2023|Memory Studies|Comments Off on How Can We “Remember” Someone (say, Jesus) We Never Knew?

A number of readers on the blog have objected to my understanding of memory, specifically to what a memory is, that is, to what constitutes a memory.  As a rule, these readers have argued – some with considerable force and conviction! – that a “memory” is a mental recollection of something that one has personally experienced. Let me cite one of the more closely reasoned expressions of this alternative view by one of my respondents, before explaining my view and why I have it. COMMENT: Bart, I think people might be confused by your definition of false memories. In the [...]

In What Sense is a Made-Up Story about Jesus a False *Memory*??

By |May 13th, 2023|Historical Jesus, Memory Studies|13 Comments

In the past, when I've said that the Gospels sometimes contain “false memories” of Jesus people have objected:  these may not be memories at all, but simply stories the Gospel writers made up for their own reasons.  In that case Jesus isn’t being “remembered” in these ways.  Someone’s just making up stuff. In response to that view, let me make two points.  The second will be the most important, but first things first:  in most cases I don’t think there is any way to know whether a non-historical tradition in the Gospels is something that the Gospel writer inherited from [...]

Dr. Bart D. Ehrman, Apostle to the Atheists. A Platinum Post by Robert Droney

By |May 12th, 2023|Public Forum|13 Comments

Here is a Platinum guest post by Robert Droney where he objects (rather vigorously) to my self-identification as a "Christian atheist."   As always, he has a reasoned set of arguments!  I won't be replying here, but, well, what to *you* think? And remember, you too can write a Platinum guest post for other Platinum members, with the possibility of it being posted to the entire blog.   If you have one, or just an idea of one, let us know; zap an email to [email protected] *********************************   I think that most people and are familiar with Saul’s conversion story. Saul was a [...]

Blog Announcement: Comments!

By |May 11th, 2023|Public Forum|13 Comments

Just so you know!  Tomorrow I'm heading to the Galapagos and will not have reliable wifi for about a week.  That WON'T affect the blog posts -- I've got them all lined up and ready to roll.  BUT, I won't be able to respond to comments. But feel free to make them at will.  I will get to them when I return from the land of Darwin to the land of AI.  And maybe I should start using AI to respond to comments, for the sake of all involved!  (But never fear: it ain't gonna happen.)

Creation Stories of the Ancient World (Part 2): An Ancient Egyptian Account

By |May 11th, 2023|Hebrew Bible/Old Testament|3 Comments

Was the account of creation found in Genesis comparable to (or even borrowed from?) other ancient accounts in scattered throughout the world at the time? Last month my colleague Joseph Lam, an expert in the Hebrew Bible and the languages and literature of the Ancient Near East provided us with a guest post about some of the creation stories found outside Scripture in non-Israelite cultures -- stories in circulation before the ones written in Genesis (https://ehrmanblog.org/creation-stories-of-the-ancient-world-part-1-on-enuma-elish-and-genesis-1-guest-post-by-joseph-lam/) Here now is a second and equally interesting post dealing with stories from ancient Memphis Egypt (not Tennessee!)! This is the topic of his lecture [...]

May Gold Q&A: Submit your questions!

By |May 10th, 2023|Public Forum|2 Comments

Dear Goldies, Our monthly Gold Q&A is coming upon us.  DEADLINE for your question(s):  this coming Friday, May 19, midnight your time.    Interested in anything I can deal with?   Now's your chance: Ask away! I'm more likely to answer questions that are relatively short and to the point than those that go on for a long paragraph.  So be concise. I'll answer as the spirit leads. To enter your question on to the list: send it to Diane at [email protected] My plan is to record the session sometime over the few days after that.  I will probably send out [...]

Does Understanding “Memory” Have Any Bearing on the Study of the Historical Jesus?

By |May 10th, 2023|Book Discussions, Historical Jesus|13 Comments

In my earlier posts I began to discuss my book, Jesus Before the Gospels, which deals with how understanding how "memory" works can contribute to our assessment of the Gospels stories about Jesus.   Long before starting the book I had been intrigued the question of how eyewitnesses would have remembered the Jesus' life, and how the stories about Jesus may have been shifted and altered and invented in later times based on faulty or even false memories.  Those questions led me to be interested in memory more broadly. Memory is an enormous field of research, just within cognitive psychology.  I [...]

Was Matthew Attacking Paul?

By |May 9th, 2023|Canonical Gospels, Paul and His Letters, Public Forum|55 Comments

On my podcast this past week (Misquoting Jesus with Bart Ehrman) someone asked me if I thought any of the Gospels of the NT were influenced by Paul.  It's an interesting question that I should post on (my view: Mark, maybe; Luke, unexpectedly and oddly not; John, I doubt it; Matthew?) Ah, Matthew.  As it turns out, I think Matthew shows a rather obvious and ironic connection with Paul.  Did he know Paul's writings?  I have no idea.  Did he know about Paul?  Same, no idea.  Did he oppose a major feature of Paul's gospel message?  Sure looks like it!!  [...]

The Road From the “Duo of Philo” to the “Trinity of Nicaea” A Platinum Post by Omar Abur-Robb

By |May 8th, 2023|Public Forum|24 Comments

I am happy to post this guest post to Platinum members by fellow Platinum member Omar Abdur-Robb.  The trinity is a complicated issue in early Christianity, closely related to Greek philosophical thought (it's not just some idea someone came up with once....).   Here Omar explores a key aspect of how it may have happened. Remember: you too can post a platinum guest post!  Simply send your submission to [email protected] ****************************** The road from the "Duo of Philo" to the "Trinity of Nicaea" Omar Abur-Robb omr-mhmd.yolasite.com   There is a clear relationship between the early Greek Christianity and the Greek metaphysical [...]

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