(15 votes, average: 4.67 out of 5)
Loading...I have been dealing with some of the criticisms that classmates from my college days at Moody Bible Institute have leveled against me. The reason this thread started is that I had decided to say a few words about my Moody experience here on the blog. I didn’t really finish that, but word got out among my former peers (I’m on a listserv that some of them hang out on) and several people made remarks about it. I’m not sure they knew I was reading their comments. (!)
One comment was that I was in danger of judgment on the Last Day. I’ve already said a couple of things about that. Another was that I write my books simply in order to become famous. This post will be the second one on that. The third, which I will also deal with in a couple of posts, is the claim that I have led so many people astray (harming them, the truth, and reality as we know it).
First let me finish with the view – held not only by more former Moody friends and acquaintances, but by a lot of people – that if an author has bestselling books, he is probably writing them simply to become rich and famous.
I already pointed out that my desire all along, from the time I was in college, through graduate school, into my teaching and early publishing career, was not to sell lots of books to non-scholars. I, frankly, wasn’t interested in writing for non-scholars. I wanted to produce scholarship for scholars. And I had chosen the most narrow, circumscribed, technical field of scholarship on the New Testament market to do that – the painstaking study of the surviving textual witnesses (mainly Greek) to try to establish the “original” text of the New Testament.
Even within that mind-numbing subfield of New Testament research, I had chosen one of the more arcane sub-sub-fields, the analysis of Patristic citations of the New Testament to determine how the text had come to be changed by scribes over the centuries. My plan had been to pursue that for time immemorial. This was something I had trouble even *explaining* to a non-scholar, let alone convincing anyone that it was interesting and worth buying a book about. I had no interest even in trying.
But as I indicated, an editor at Oxford convinced me to write a textbook on the NT for a college audience. I finally, reluctantly, agreed. And I am SO glad I did. It was a terrific experience.
As it turns out, I had a real advantage in writing for 19-20 year olds.
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Keep up the good work, fellow MBI and Wheaties graduate….the truth never hurt anyone except those who are not willing to learn from it. A good verse from the Gospel of John…”the truth shall set you free…” but what is missing isthat the truth will set one free from their delusions…now that is almost always unwelcome….go for it Bart
Lou Tulga
“Danger of judgment” — OK, sure 1) if there actually IS a judgment and 2) if GOD is unjust, because he created an unwinnable set of conditions, including a universe with evidence which better supports naturalistic causes than supernatural ones and because although he is in the best position to prove his love and power, refuses to do it.
“Wrote books to become famous” — even if that WERE the case (and the evidence suggests it is not), the issue is still the strength of the arguments based on evidence. Ad personam attacks are easy attacks on a person’s credibility without any force of well-supported argumentation. Fortunately, most of the evidence you provide is accessible to lay people to check for themselves, and assuming that readers are endowed with reason, they can decide for themselves, whether the arguments hold water based on some standard of proof, whether preponderance of the evidence, clear and convincing, or beyond a reasonable doubt.
“Led so many people astray” — assumes that speaker knows the “right” path, a dubious belief. Second, facts and critical thinking probably ARE dangerous to faith unsupported by evidence, and I happen to think people should have the courage to undertake a bona fide examination of evidence which may contradict their beliefs.
Professor Ehrman, keep writing to get famous if that helps us better understand our history, literature, and psychology!
Alex
Even though I earned a Master of Divinity degree from a reputable school with scholarly roots, I am not a scholar. Eventually I went into the field of elementary public school education with the goals of providing my students with the academic tools and life skills to be a positive influence in society as adults. I also wanted to give them a life long love of learning. With that in mind, what I did also had to be interesting and significant.
I have been a life long academic in that I never stop learning, though my wife considers my purpose in life to be washing her car.
With that in mind, when I was introduced to your books and your blog a few years ago, written for non-scholars like me, I was then able to understand the New Testament in a different way and to appreciate it’s structure and origins more deeply.
For that I am eternally grateful. Thank you and I am very eager to read your new book when it is released next year.
I hope your colleagues aren’t teachers. lol. I belong to the Old and NT Textual Criticism FB groups in case I have a question, but I don’t follow their posts because I can’t understand them!
You’re still going to address resentment issues toward Moody, right?
Yup, I’ll get back to that.
First, let me say I am an admirer of your work, and I am glad you decided to write trade books. They sure helped me see Christian scriptures more clearly. Having said this, I think when your detractors accuse you of seeking renown, they are not thinking of the textbook you wrote but rather of your subsequent manuscripts for the general public. After all it seems plausible to imagine that if the first ones hadn’t been received as favorably, you might have written fewer of them.
Regards.
Yup, I’m gettin’ there! See today’s post.
The “voice” in your trade books and textbooks is a very pleasing, conversational one. It is almost as if you are talking rather than writing. Don’t dare change it.
As we say, if it ain’t fixed, don’t break it. 🙂
Dr. Ehrman since you mentioned the topic of Patristic citations of the NewTestament would you please comment on the following article http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Bible/Text/citations.html
Sorry — I’m afraid I don’t have the time to read it!
The idea that you are leading people astray is probably one of the greatest compliments a Christian could give you. On the one hand there is the omnipotent God, creator of the universe and all reality, and on the other hand there is Bart Ehrman teaching NT higher criticism. If you are able to lead people astray, it speaks volumes about the relative power of both God and you.
The whole idea of God needing prophets, scripture, the son of God, churches, ritual, clergy, faith and worship to spread knowledge of correct religious beliefs is the final proof that God does not exist. Omnipotence implies that God could convince his creations of his existence. He would be able to be in contact with all his creations at any given time with no effort. There would be no questions or arguments about the will of God because he would tell you. If free will is important, the revelation would be phrased as “Probably not a good idea. Just saying.” The existence of religions is the proof of the non-existence of God.
My theology has completely changed since I began buying and reading your books. That’s a good thing. Between your work and Bob Mesle’s, I have become realistic about my religious beliefs.
Prof don’t publishers make nasty phone calls to authors they are paying to provide sellable product if the book is boring and unreadable and therefore unsellable?
No — if it’s not sellable then publishers don’t publish it. By contract they are not required to.