Recent Posts

The Letter to the Colossians, in a Nutshell

By |May 22nd, 2025|Paul and His Letters|0 Comments

We continue in this series that explains each book of the New Testament “in a nutshell” by turning to the letter to the Colossians.  This is a book that claims to be written by Paul, but as we will see in the next post, there are very good reasons for thinking Paul himself did not write it, but that it was written in his name by a later follower claiming to be Paul. For now, we are interested in the letter itself, it’s major themes and emphases. I begin by trying to explain the book in 50 words. The letter [...]

Some Interesting Questions of the Week

By |May 21st, 2025|Reader’s Questions|3 Comments

I've started posting questions and responses from readers.  Here's another set of particularly good ones.   QUESTION: I recently read your book Jesus Interrupted and have become interested in your work. In it you discussed the potential forgeries contained in the Pauline letters and New Testament but it didn’t seem to mention much about the Old Testament. I noticed you did say that the New Testament was your specialty but was wondering if there was any evidence you were aware of that the Old Testament contains similar situations and which books. RESPONSE: Yes, my book was just about the NT, [...]

How Athens Made Me Rethink….

By |May 20th, 2025|Reflections and Ruminations, Spread of Christianity|3 Comments

I am in Athens just now, heading out on a tour giving lectures on ancient Greek philosophers in relation to the teachings of Jesus and Paul.  I came over a couple of days before the tour to spend some time looking around on my own, and had a lovely afternoon at the fantastic Acropolis Museum. Every time I come to Athens I think of my first time here, for several reasons, but one in particular.  It was when I was struck by a realization about the relationship of the highly cultured, sophisticated Greek world and the rise of earliest Christianity, [...]

Some Intriguing Questions about Paul’s Letters

By |May 18th, 2025|Paul and His Letters|19 Comments

QUESTION: I was wondering how scholars look at situations like Galatians 2:6-10 , specially the part of the text that states “they added nothing to my message” or “all they asked is we should continue remembering the poor”. My primary question is do scholars like yourself believe that the early disciples & James/Jerusalem Church saw eye to eye with Paul on all matters? As a secondary, why does Paul go into disputes later in Galatians 2 if they agreed on everything as mentioned in Gal 2 earlier? The passage of “adding nothing to my message” makes it seem like Paul [...]

Is the “Christ Poem” of Philippians Really a Poem? When Did Jesus Really Become “Equal” With God?

By |May 17th, 2025|Early Christian Doctrine, Paul and His Letters|12 Comments

This is my second and final post on the "Christ-poem" of Philippians 2.   Many years ago when I talked about the poem, a reader (who apparently knew Greek!) objected that the poetic lines I suggested don't actually work. Below I'll give his question and my response.  But then I'll move on to an even more important issue: how the poem understands who Christ was before he became human and after his resurrection.  If Christ was divine before the incarnation, how could he be made more divine afterward?   First, the question I received about whether this is some kind of poem.  [...]

The Death and Afterlife of Jesus: A Historical Reconstruction Part II – Guest Post by Platinum Member Mark Reichert

By |May 16th, 2025|Public Forum|2 Comments

Here now is Platinum blog member Mark Reichert's second part of his two-part reflections in which he offers his own reconstruction of what might have happened after the crucifixion. So what do I think really happened? There is no way to know for sure but I can put together a story that seems plausible and makes sense to me. I believe Jesus and his following traveled to Jerusalem for Passover during the governorship of Pontius Pilate. How large a following I do not know though enough for it to be considered a “following.” Once there, he came to the attention [...]

The Most Widely Discussed Passage of Philippians

By |May 15th, 2025|Early Christian Doctrine, Paul and His Letters|31 Comments

To conclude this mini-thread on Philippians, which is part of my maxi-thread Nutshell Summaries of each of the books of the New Testament, I would like to provide two posts on the passage of this small book that is discussed by scholars (far) more than any other, the "Christ-poem" of 2:6-11, where Paul indicates that Christ was first a divine being in the heavenly realm who then came to earth as a human to die for the sins of others, and then was exalted to an even higher position than before, when God made him the Lord of All. It's [...]

Luke and John “At a Glance” and Controversial Questions

By |May 14th, 2025|Canonical Gospels|2 Comments

As I indicated a few posts ago, I have decided to add a feature to my discussion of each NT book some of the additional materials I present in my New Testament textbook the books I discuss.  These are (a) rapid fire summaries of each book that I call “At a Glance” and (b) a set of study questions that challenge students to take a position on key aspects of the book, that I call “Take a Stand.” Here they are now for the Gospels of Luke and John.   The Gospel of Luke AT A GLANCE: Luke was probably [...]

Philippians: For Further Reading

By |May 13th, 2025|Public Forum|4 Comments

Here is an list of readings on Philippians, most of the books relevant to all the undisputed Pauline epistles, with a couple of commentaries specifically on this significant, short letter.  One benefit of serious commentaries is that they always begin by discussing major critical issues in understanding a book: authorship, date, historical context, major themes, disputed issues, and so on. I devote a fuller discussion of Philippians in my textbook, Bart Ehrman and Hugo Mendez, The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings, 8th ed. (Oxford University Press, 2024), ch. 20.  That’s a good place to start [...]

The Death and Afterlife of Jesus: A Historical Reconstruction Part I – Guest Post by Platinum Member Mark Reichert

By |May 12th, 2025|Public Forum|5 Comments

Today, Platinum blog member Mark Reichert offers the first part of a compelling two-part reflection on one of the most well-known—and debated—stories in history. It’s part historical reconstruction, part personal inquiry, and entirely worth the read. According to the Gospel of Mark, the Jewish preacher Jesus was crucified by Roman Governor Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem the day before the Sabbath (Friday) during the holiday period of Passover. After about 9 hours on the cross Jesus “gave up the ghost.” The Roman centurion in charge of the crucifixion said “truly this man was the son of God.” A supporter and onlooker, [...]

Philippians: Who Wrote It, When, and Why?

By |May 11th, 2025|Paul and His Letters|4 Comments

Now that I have provided a nutshell summary of the letter to the Philippians in my previous post, I can move into the questions of authorship, date, and motivating purpose (who, when, and why). Philippians is almost always considered a Pauline letter, one of the seven “undisputed” epistles.  There seems very little reason to doubt it.  The letter is filled with Pauline themes and thoughts; it uses his typical kind of writing style; its concerns line up with what we find in others of his writings; and the presupposed historical circumstances are perfectly in line with what we would expect. [...]

Philippians in a Nutshell

By |May 10th, 2025|Paul and His Letters|8 Comments

In this thread summarizing each book of he New Testament, I come now to the book of Philippians, one of my favorite Pauline epistles since I first started reading the New Testament seriously when I was 17!  The first biblical verse I memorized (apart from the Lord’s Prayer!) was Philippians 1:21:  “For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”    I memorized it because it was oh, so short. But once I did that, I realized I could maybe memorize some other favorites from the NT.  And started doing that.  Philippians was the first book I memorized in [...]

May 2025 Gold Q&A

By |May 9th, 2025|Public Forum|0 Comments

Dear Gold & Platinum Members, Mark your calendars—our monthly Gold & Platinum member Q&A is here!It’s your chance to ask Bart anything related to the blog’s deep dive into early Christianity. He’ll tackle as many of your questions as possible in an exclusive, hour-long session. This month’s Q&A will be recorded live on Wednesday, May 28 at 2pm ET.Can’t join us live? No worries—the full recording will be sent straight to your inbox afterward. If you’ve got a question, send it along to our CEO, Jen Olmos, at [email protected] by end of day Monday, May 26th (whatever time zone you’re in is fine). [...]

Matthew and Mark “At a Glance” with Controversial Questions

By |May 8th, 2025|Public Forum|25 Comments

It occurred to me that another nice resource for this “Nutshell” Series might be some of the additional materials I present in my New Testament textbook for each of the books I discuss.  Two separate items I provide there are (a) rapid fire summaries of each book that I call “At a Glance” and (b) a set of study questions that challenge students to take a position on key aspects of the book, that I call “Take a Stand.” I’ll present these on the blog in the same canonical sequence as I’ve provided the Nutshell posts. Here they are for [...]

Ephesians: For Further Reading

By |May 7th, 2025|Forgery in Antiquity, Paul and His Letters|6 Comments

Here is an annotated list of books on Ephesians, most of them relevant to all the Deutero-Pauline epistles (that is, the letters that are assigned a “secondary” standing in the New Testament collection of Paul’s letters because scholars doubt they were actually composed by Paul himself) with a couple of commentaries specifically on Ephesians.  One benefit of serious commentaries is that they always begin by discussing major critical issues in understanding a book: authorship, date, historical context, major themes, disputed issues, and so on. ****************************** Beker, J. Christiaan. The Heirs of Paul: Paul’s Legacy in the New [...]

Some Important Questions From Blog Readers

By |May 6th, 2025|Paul and His Letters, Reader’s Questions|8 Comments

Here are some questions I have received recently from readers: QUESTION: I’m curious about when Paul’s letter were compiled and by whom? It seems almost miraculous that, in that time period, letters sent to various destinations around the Mediterranean could somehow be gathered up together in one place. What are the earliest fragments or complete copies we have?   RESPONSE: It's an unusually complicated issue, and it has vexed scholars for a very long time.  But there is nothing miraculous about it per se. The letters of Ignatius (somewhat weirdly, we have seven of those too), were also collected at [...]

Does a Different “Writing Style” Show (convincingly?) That Ephesians is a “Forgery”?

By |May 4th, 2025|Forgery in Antiquity, Paul and His Letters|16 Comments

When I have talked about the “disputed” Pauline letters, the ones that scholars have argued were not written by Paul (even though the author claims to be Paul), I have pointed out that one reason for thinking so is that the writing style of, say Ephesians, is significantly different from what you find in Paul’s “undisputed” letters, such as Romans and 1 Corinthians. Some readers have asked whether this argument is compromised by the fact that so many of Paul’s letters claim to be “co-authored.”  Colossians, for example, claims to be from Paul “and Timothy” but 1 Corinthians from Paul [...]

Can We Trust You When You Say “Most Scholars” Think Something?

By |May 3rd, 2025|Bart's Critics, History of Biblical Scholarship|36 Comments

As I've pointed out, most critical scholars do not think that Paul actually wrote the letter to the Ephesians, even though the author claims to be Paul.  We will see that is true for five other Pauline letters.  I should stress: the fact that most critical scholars think something does not mean they are right.  For millenia, "most scientists" agreed the sun revolved around the earth, but that was not evidence.  Apart from whether scholarly views are right, why should you think that I myself am right when I say "most critical scholars" think one thing or another?  Have I taken a [...]

Ephesians: Who Wrote the Letter, When, and Why?

By |May 1st, 2025|Forgery in Antiquity, Paul and His Letters|24 Comments

Now that I have summarized the major themes and emphases of Ephesians (in the previous post), I can move to the issues of who wrote it, when, and why. The “Who” is the big question in this case, with the “when” and “why” depending on our answer. As I indicated in the earlier post, broadly speaking Ephesians sounds like something that Paul could have written, since it addresses a number of themes known from Paul’s seven undisputed letters:  salvation coming by the death and resurrection of Jesus, the unity of Jew and gentile in the church, the need for strong [...]

Ephesians in a Nutshell

By |April 30th, 2025|Paul and His Letters|9 Comments

The goal of this long “nutshell” thread on the New Testament is to introduce each of the twenty-seven books and summarize its major themes and emphases; to discuss what we can know about who wrote it, when, and why; to provide suggestions for further reading for anyone who is interested; and to give an additional post or two on some specific interesting feature of it. We are now up to book # 10 (!), the Letter to the Ephesians; it is the fifth letter in the “Pauline corpus” (that is, the collection of NT writings attributed to the apostle Paul) [...]

Christ’s Prexistence in Galatians (Was Jesus an Angel?)

By |April 29th, 2025|Paul and His Letters, Public Forum|54 Comments

I've been posting on Paul's letter the Galatians, and thought that I might point out a way that the letter completely changed my understanding of Paul, years ago now when I was doing research for my book  How Jesus Became God. I have to admit, that for many years I was puzzled by Paul's Christology--his views of Christ. All the various things he said about it didn’t seem to add up to a coherent whole to me, even though I thought and thought and thought about it.  But I finally found the piece that, when added to the puzzle, made [...]

How Do We Know the Chronology of Paul’s Life and Letters?

By |April 27th, 2025|Paul and His Letters|25 Comments

In this nutshell series on the books of the New Testament, I've been discussing, in part, when each of Paul's letters were written, and some readers have wanted to know, well, how we know?  What kind of evidence do scholars look for? It seems like that ought to be an easy question to answer, a real softball. But it’s not; it’s a tough one, a hard curve. As I've pointed out (and I guess is rather obvious) different scholars have different likes and dislikes within their own fields. Most New Testament scholars, for example, do not enjoy doing textual criticism [...]

Key Questions about Paul

By |April 26th, 2025|Paul and His Letters|16 Comments

I continue to receive very good questions from blog readers and would like to devote a couple of posts to ones that I get repeatedly (in different words) for broader distribution.  Here are three I've received recently and my posted responses to them, all on the apostle Paul. QUESTION:  [This one will be about whether the Cephas, James and other apostles in Jerusalem agreed with Paul on every point when he went to visit them in the course of his missionary work] I was wondering how scholars look at situations like Galatians 2:6-10 , specially the part of the text [...]

Is Paul One of Matthew’s Enemies?

By |April 24th, 2025|Canonical Gospels, Paul and His Letters, Public Forum|49 Comments

In this "nutshell" series summarizing each book of the New Testament, I have now done both Matthew (the first book, canonically) and Galatians (the ninth). If you've paid heed to both sets of posts (or as I say to my students, "If you've been awake and sober this semester....") you will notice they have, well, a slightly different take on whether followers of Jesus should keep the Jewish law. Slightly different?  OK, well, let's ask it this way: if the author of Matthew and Paul were locked in a room and not allowed to emerge until they hammered out a [...]

Galatians: For Further Reading

By |April 23rd, 2025|Public Forum|0 Comments

Here is an list of readings on Galatians, most of the books relevant to all the undisputed Pauline epistles, with a couple of commentaries specifically on Galatians.  One benefit of serious commentaries is that they always begin by discussing major critical issues in understanding a book: authorship, date, historical context, major themes, disputed issues, and so on. I devote a fuller discussion of Galatians in my textbook, Bart Ehrman and Hugo Mendez, The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings, 8th ed. (Oxford University Press, 2024), ch. 20.  That’s a good place to start for a fuller [...]

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