Loading...I thought I would take a few posts to talk about what I’m working on these days – for the past month or so, with another month or so to go. As many of you know, I spent almost the entire summer doing nothing but reading books and articles about “memory” and related topics (such as the telling of stories in oral cultures) from a variety of perspectives: cognitive psychology, neurology (very low level!), anthropology (oral cultures and how they pass along their traditions), sociology (communal memory), folklore (urban legends, rumors, gossip), and so on. All of this was in preparation for my next trade book dealing with what we can say about the oral traditions of Jesus as they were passed along in the years before the Gospels were written. I am still leaving open the possibility of writing a scholarly monograph on a similar topic.
But I have had to take a break from all that. And with huge reluctance. There are dozens and dozens of books and articles that I’m still desperate to read – these are big fields. But I had to stop for the time being, and really I had no choice. The reason: I was *supposed* to be spending the summer producing the sixth edition of my textbook, The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings. My editor (who happens also to be one of my closest friends) wanted it to be done by now; and near the end of the summer I had to tell him that, well, I hadn’t been working on it, but had been reading on memory instead. He was not amused. But he was completely understanding, and gave me a new deadline. I have about six weeks to pull it off.
So I thought I would devote some posts to what this is all about.
First, some words about the textbook and how it came about that I wrote it in the first place. Let me say at the outset that if I had not done so, none of you would have ever heard of me. That may have been just as well, but it’s probably the case. Here’s why:
In the early 1990s…
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Delightful! I’m sure all of us are glad you *did* change your mind.
I’d been thinking of buying your New Testament textbook. Glad to know you’ll be bringing out a new edition – I’ll wait for that.
Makes sense! But the new edition won’t be out till probably a year from now.
Bart, am reading the 6th edition of your NT textbook and really loving it – thanks for changing your mind! (Was turned on to the idea to get and read it by going through Dale Martin’s semester course which Yale makes available on YouTube).
That’s not nice Dr. Ehrman. Leaving me/us hanging like this waiting for the next installment !! lol
That book, more than any other I’ve ever read, changed my views on so many long held beliefs. It was transformational for me. I recommend it frequently and loan my two copies out regularly. THANK YOU for writing this book!
Sixth edition!! Crikey, I’m out of it. My edition is the 2nd from 2000.
Proof no doubt of the rapid pace of scholarship.
As a minor addition to the issue of “research publication” vs the deprecated “textbook” and “trade book” debate in recent posts, I might note that I think it critical that scholars communicate their work to the educated and interested lay public in all fields. It is all very well to do work for fellow specialists but the fruit of that work has to be transmitted to the outside world or the whole effort is pointless. I presume I am preaching to the choir on this as your own career blends the two (or rather three) audiences as is self-evident. For me, just to underline the point, writing for the denizens of the real world is critical. I am sorry, therefore, to learn that such labours are considered secondary in the academic world. I don’t think they should be.
It is a real gift to be able to communicate complex topics to a lay audience and make a connection. Moving between an expert audience and an amateur, or merely interested, is very difficult and success in both is exceptional. You certainly succeed. All to say, however, that the lay audience needs feeding and it is a vital duty of the academic world in my view.
Hi Dr. Ehrman,
In this post you mentioned your future work on your new book on the oral tradition time period.
In several of his books, Bishop John Shelby Spong, talks about what he believes occurred during the oral tradition.
First he says that during the oral tradition, he believes that the followers of Jesus told their stories about Jesus inside the Jewish Synagogues. Furthermore, he also says that during this time period, he believes that many of these stories about Jesus were then aligned with very specific Jewish Holy Days. For example, during Passover, the followers of Jesus would have talked about the Crucifixion of Jesus; relating how this was a story about the sacrifice of Jesus and his surviving death (these are my words not his). Finally, as a result of this, he says that he believes the synoptic gospels were then organized around a 1 year “Jewish” holy day liturgical reading cycle.
While I’m neither an historical scholar not a theologian, these ideas of his all seem very plausible to me.
I’m curious to know what you think the general historical scholarship community thinks about these concepts.
John B
I’ve never found this theory to be very convincing. My sense is that people were telling stories about Jesus in all sorts of context, and only occasionally was that during synagogue worship services.
Dr. Ehrman, if someone wanted to provide a family member with one of your books which would you suggest? The person I have in mind believes the Bible is inerrant; I recently heard his mother say that he’s teaching Bible lessons and challenges his students’ doubts with, “If Jesus said it, I believe it.” He is finishing up his bachelors in biblical counseling and states that he did not study the Bible from a historical perspective.
I know he would immediately reject “Jesus Interrupted.” He would more than likely read a textbook than a commercial book on the subject. Does your new “New Testament” textbook cover the same material? If so, I’d like to provide him with either your OT textbook or your NT textbook. Which would be the better choice for a critical viewpoint?
Yes, then I’d suggest my New Testament textbook, or even my reader “After the New Testament.”