Page 70 – The Bart Ehrman Blog

Does the Bible Condemn Homosexuality? Recording of The Blog Webinar

As you may know, I did a free blog webinar on April 23, on the question "Does the Bible Condemn Homosexuality?" The answer is not as obvious as most people think. For one thing, it is deeply embedded in biblical and other ancient understandings of sex and gender, which ain't the understandings of most people today. Does that matter? Watch it and see. Here is the webinar, including the Q&A at the end. Enjoy! Does the Bible Condemn Homosexuality?

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:58:06-04:00May 7th, 2022|Sex and Sexuality in the Bible|

The Plausibility of the Fourth Gospel: The Sayings of Jesus. Guest Post by Dennis Folds

Here is the second of a two-part Platinum-guest-post by Dennis Folds, who makes the controversial argument that *John* is the more accurate Gospel and that it is *Mark* who has changed the historical facts. This time he focuses on the teachings of Jesus and, relatedly, the reasons for his condemnation to execution. Interesting stuff. Let us know what you think! And feel free to write a post or two in response! Or write a post on anything else related to what we do on the blog. Your input is welcome! ****************************** In Part 1 of this two-part post, I described the vast differences between the gospels of John and Mark in the chronology of events of Jesus’s ministry. Matthew and Luke follow Mark’s chronology, and these three (the Synoptic Gospels) are thought to be more accurate. I argued that the narrative in John is more credible, as it spread the action over two-plus years, had Jesus going back and forth to Jerusalem for major religious festivals, and had a growing conflict with the religious authorities. [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:58:06-04:00May 6th, 2022|Canonical Gospels, Historical Jesus|

What’s Eternal Life Like? Ask Paul…

I’ve been trying to show that Paul thought eternal life would be lived not in some kind of bodiless spiritual existence, but in the physical body. How is *that* supposed to work? And didn’t he say that “flesh and blood” would NOT inherit the kingdom (1 Cor. 15:50)? Here I explain how Paul understood it was all to happen. I pick up with the last bit of my last post, taken from Heaven and Hell (Simon & Schuster, 2020). ****************************** The future resurrected body Paul imagines will be utterly and completely transformed. It will be a different kind of body. Paul argues that the human body that goes into the ground is like a “bare kernel” of some kind of grain that grows into a plant. What grows is intimately tied to and related to what went into the ground; but it is also vastly different. When you plant an acorn it doesn’t grow into a forty-foot acorn, but into an oak tree. So too the human. When the body comes out of the [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:58:06-04:00May 5th, 2022|Paul and His Letters|

Eternal Life is in the BODY? Really?

What did Paul actually teach would happen after death? It was not that after you died your soul would go to heaven or hell. Paul taught a future physical resurrection of your *body*, to have eternal life here on earth. I started explaining that in my previous post. I continue here: Paul’s argument for a coming resurrection of the dead. Again, this is taken from my discussion in Heaven and Hell (Simon & Schuster, 2020). ***************************** Paul’s Teaching of the Resurrection To make his case (for a physical resurrection of all people at the end of time), Paul begins the chapter (1 Corinthians 15) by summarizing what the Corinthians came to believe when they first joined the Christian community, that Christ died for sins and was raised from the dead, and after his resurrection he was seen not only by his disciples but by a large number of people, including 500 at one time and, finally, by Paul himself (1 Corinthians 15:1-8). All these people actually saw Jesus. That’s because he was physically raised. [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:57:55-04:00May 4th, 2022|Paul and His Letters|

Understanding the Future Resurrection of the Dead…

One of the most important issues for the apostle Paul is the future resurrection of the dead. It is also one of the must misunderstood topics among readers of Paul today, who often claim that Paul had just the *opposite* view to the one he had. And that’s because they completely misconstrue his understanding of Jesus’ own resurrection. If I’ve heard it once I’ve heard it 834,000 times: “Paul thought Jesus was raised spiritually, not bodily.” Wrong, wrong, wrong. It will take a while to explain. I deal with the matter in my book Heaven and Hell (Simon & Schuster, 2020). Here is the first bit of what I say there. ****************************** The Glorious Transformation of the Resurrected Body Undoubtedly the most important passage for Paul’s view of the future resurrection is 1 Corinthians 15. The chapter, in fact, is often called “the resurrection chapter.” It is also one of the most misread passages in all of the New Testament. Many casual readers have thought Paul wrote it in order to prove that Jesus [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:57:55-04:00May 3rd, 2022|Paul and His Letters|

Why Romans Crucified People and Who Was Crucifixion Reserved For?
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Why Romans Crucified People and Who Was Crucifixion Reserved For?

Bart's Critics, Historical Jesus

Why Romans Crucified People and Who Was Crucifixion Reserved For?

Why Romans crucified people.....and who was crucifixion reserved for? Most people acquire their knowledge about ancient Roman crucifixions from the accounts of Jesus' crucifixion in the Gospels. They learn the stories about the cross, the nails, the "King of the Jews" sign nailed above Jesus' head, and the agony he endured. But there's another side to the story. By studying the facts of Roman crucifixions, including their methods and process, you'll find that crucifixion was about a lot more than pain and punishment. Their goal was absolute humiliation. This is part 5 in a thread of my responses to Craig Evans, who has argued against the positions I take in How Jesus Became God. Here's the beginning of the thread. Why Romans Crucified People - Why it's Important Because you must understand the REASON the Romans crucified people in order to understand an important position I take in my book, How Jesus Became God, which Craig Evans attacked. In the book, I argue that it is likely that Jesus was not given a decent burial, [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:25:48-04:00May 1st, 2022|Bart's Critics, Historical Jesus|

What Is the Didache & When Was the Didache Written
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What Is the Didache & When Was the Didache Written

Early Christian Writings (100-400 CE), History of Christianity (100-300CE), Proto-Orthodox Writers, Public Forum

What Is the Didache & When Was the Didache Written

What is the Didache (pronounced DID-ah-kay)? In the recent exchange that I posted on the blog (dealing with the existence of Q) the document known as the Didache was mentioned. Especially by guest contributor Alan Garrow, who thinks that the Didache was a source used by the authors of Matthew and Luke. I think even Alan will agree that this is a highly anomalous view; I don’t know of any other scholar who accepts it (though if Alan knows of any who do, I’m sure he can tell us in a comment). The Didache is almost always assumed to have quoted the Gospels – or at least the traditions found in the Gospels – not vice versa. I realized this morning that I haven’t talked about it much on the blog. I better do so! What is the Didache I published a translation of the Didache (the title means “Teaching”) in my two-volume edition of the Apostolic Fathers in 2003, in the Loeb Classical Library (Harvard University Press). In that edition, I talk about what [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:39:32-04:00May 1st, 2022|Early Christian Writings (100-400 CE), History of Christianity (100-300CE), Proto-Orthodox Writers, Public Forum|

Was The Messiah Supposed to Be Born of a Virgin?
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Was The Messiah Supposed to Be Born of a Virgin?

Canonical Gospels, Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, Historical Jesus

Was The Messiah Supposed to Be Born of a Virgin?

Here in the lead-up to December 25, I am discussing some issues related to Jesus' birth. As I mentioned in my previous post, in the entire New Testament, the story of the virgin birth is found only in Matthew and Luke. Luke has a pretty straightforward explanation of why Jesus had to be born of a virgin: it's because he was (literally) the "Son of God." That is, God is the one who got Mary pregnant, as the angel tells her at the Annunciation: read Luke 1:31-35, and notice the angels' explanation: the Spirit of God will "come upon her ... SO THAT" the child born of her will be called "The Son of God." Matthew, though, has a different explanation. For Matthew Jesus had to be born of a virgin because that is what was predicted in the Old Testament. This view fits in very well with Matthew's entire birth narrative of chapters 1-2. Everything happens "to fulfill Scripture." Why was Jesus’ mother a virgin? To fulfill what the prophet said (he quotes Isaiah [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:51:41-04:00May 1st, 2022|Canonical Gospels, Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, Historical Jesus|

Does Isaiah 53 Predict Jesus’ Death and Resurrection? Most-Commented Blog Posts: #1

Here now is THE post that has received the very most comments in the past ten years - 233 - more than any of the 2,965 OTHER posts. And as it turns out, it's on an unusually important topic, for both Christians and those who want to understand Christians: is Jesus' death and resurrection predicted in the Hebrew Scriptures? Read on: ****************************** Readers Mailbag: Does Isaiah 53 Predict the Death and Resurrection of Jesus? May 8, 2020 I would like to get back into the practice of devoting one post a week to answering questions raised by blog members. I have a fairly long list of good questions I haven’t been able to get to, so why not just go through them week by week? If you have any pressing questions that are particularly intriguing or perplexing for you about the NT or early Christianity or any related topic, let me know as a comment on a post (any post will do, whether relevant or not). If it’s not something I can address or [...]

Diane2025-09-10T12:57:53-04:00May 1st, 2022|Public Forum|

Why Paul Persecuted the Christians
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Why Paul Persecuted the Christians

Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, Paul and His Letters, Public Forum

Why Paul Persecuted the Christians

Why Paul Persecuted the Christians I have been side-tracked by other things, but now can get back to the thread I started to spin, or rather the tapestry I started to weave. The ultimate question I’m puzzling over is how did Christianity become the dominant religion in the empire? My point at this stage is that before Christianity began to thrive, it was persecuted. The persecutions go all the way back. Our first Christian author is Paul, who must have converted to be a follower of Jesus just three years or so after Jesus’ death. Paul tells us explicitly that before becoming a follower of Jesus he was a persecutor of the church. And why was he persecuting it? He doesn’t say directly, but my sense is that it was for a very basic reason. He despised their message. Specifically, he could not abide by what Christians were saying about Jesus. Why was that a problem? Because they insisted he was God’s messiah. Paul Persecuted the Church. So What Happened? In my previous post, I [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:33:41-04:00April 30th, 2022|Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, Paul and His Letters, Public Forum|

Pilate Released Barabbas. Really??
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Pilate Released Barabbas. Really??

Canonical Gospels, Historical Jesus, Reader’s Questions

Pilate Released Barabbas. Really??

I received recently the following question, which deals with an issue I had long puzzled over. It involves the episode in the Gospels where Pilate offers to release a prisoner to the crowds at Passover, hoping they will choose Jesus. But instead, they choose a Jewish insurrectionist and murderer, Barabbas. Could that have happened? Here's the Question and my Response: Did Pilate Release Barabbas? QUESTION: Pilate condemns Jesus to execution for treason against Rome. Pilate gives the Jewish crowds the option of releasing Jesus or a Jewish insurgent, Barabbas (15:6–15). I did a quick search to see if this was an attested practice in the Roman Empire and couldn’t’ find any relevant information. So, I have two questions: Do you think this detail is accurate? Is there any evidence that Roman officials actually freed condemned prisoners at certain local festival times? RESPONSE: This was an issue I worked on while writing my book Jesus Before the Gospels. After doing my research I came to a definite conclusion, that I state rather strongly (!). Here is [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:44:04-04:00April 30th, 2022|Canonical Gospels, Historical Jesus, Reader’s Questions|

A Reflection on Easter. My Most-Commented Blog Post: #2

This post appeared on Easter day, four years ago, and received the second-most comments of any that I have done (218 of them). It is, in fact, a reflection on the significance of that holiday and how Christianity itself actually began. ****************************** An Easter Reflection 2018 April 1, 2018 It is highly ironic, but relatively easy, for a historian to argue that Jesus himself did not start Christianity. Christianity, at its heart, is the belief that Jesus’ death and resurrection brought about salvation, and that believing in his death and resurrection will make a person right with God, both now and in the afterlife. Historical scholarship since the nineteenth century has marshaled massive evidence that this is not at all what Jesus himself preached. Yes, it is true that in the Gospels themselves Jesus talks about his coming death and resurrection. And in the last of the Gospels written, John, his message is all about how faith in him can bring eternal life (a message oddly missing in the three earlier Gospels of Matthew, [...]

Diane2025-09-10T12:57:53-04:00April 30th, 2022|Public Forum|

Why Are The Gospels Called Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John?
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Why Are The Gospels Called Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John?

Canonical Gospels, Reader’s Questions

Why Are The Gospels Called Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John?

Matthew.Mark. Luke.John. I recently received an important and puzzling question about the names attached to our four Gospels. All four books were written and circulated anonymously, and only later did Christian leaders maintain that they were Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Why these names? Here’s the question: QUESTION: I understand why the names John and Matthew ended up being part of the tradition concerning authorship for gospels, but why a tradition for Mark and Luke? Today, they seem like unlikely characters for a tradition since they were not eyewitnesses. In the 2nd century did John, Mark (companion of Peter), and Luke (companion of Paul) hold more significance to the early church? RESPONSE: Even though the question is only about Mark and Luke, I think I should provide some context by discussing Matthew and John as well. I devoted some thought to the question for my book Jesus Before the Gospels. Here’s what I say about it all there. Why Were the Names Matthew, Mark, Luke and John Chosen? They are the names of two of [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:41:07-04:00April 29th, 2022|Canonical Gospels, Reader’s Questions|

The Plausibility of the Fourth Gospel: The Chronology of Jesus’s Ministry. Platinum Guest Post by Dennis Folds

I'm pleased to publish this guest post by Dennis Folds, dealing with one of the most important issues in the study of the Gospels: how do we know which (if any) is the most, and the least, accurate? Usually it is argued that John is the latest, most theological, and least reliable account. But is it? Dennis takes on the question. See what you think! Then let him know! He'll be dealing with comments. And remember: you too can submit a post. It does NOT have to be highly academic and "expert" -- at all. Why not post something just saying what you think about a topic? Let me know! ****************************** The fourth gospel – John – is quite different than the other three in its narration of the events of Jesus’s ministry, and in its rendering of what Jesus taught. The other three tell the same basic story; that’s why they are called the Synoptic Gospels. The differences between the Synoptics and John are so stark that since antiquity John has been thought to [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:58:06-04:00April 29th, 2022|Canonical Gospels, Historical Jesus|

A Revelatory Moment about God: Most-Commented Blog Post: #3

Here now is my #3 all time most commented-on post, coming in at 210 comments. It's about my religious views as an agnostic. Or an atheist? Or, actually, how should we think about whether we even *could* imagine a God. Read on. ****************************** A Revelatory Moment about “God” January 12, 2020 I had a “revelatory moment” last week that I think may have changed my view about “God” for a very long time – or at least about the existence of superior beings far beyond what we can imagine. As most of you know, I have long been an agnostic-atheist, and as some of you may recall, I define “atheist” differently from most people, at least in relationship to “agnostic.” The word “agnostic” means “don’t know.” Is there a God? I don’t’ know. How could I possibly know? How could you? I know a lot of you do “know” – or think you know. But my view is that if you’re in that boat you “think” there is a God – really, really think [...]

Diane2025-09-10T12:57:35-04:00April 28th, 2022|Public Forum|

A Full Reply to Mythicist Richard Carrier. Most-Commented Blog Post: #4

Here now is my most-commented-from-the-last-ten-years-post #4. It is also by far the longest post I have done in all this time. It addresses an attack on my stupidity and ignorance. I should say at the outset that the one issue/topic I do NOT enjoy going into on the blog these days (for the past three or four years) is the "mythicist" view of Jesus (the idea that Jesus never existed; there never was a Jesus of Nazareth; it's all made up). The people who hold this view tend to have completely boundless energy and no matter what you say, they keep coming back at you like a terrier. It's exhausting. And so these days I stay away from it all. Let them get on with it. But it is the topic of one of my books (what was I thinking?), and oh boy did it provoke a response. I thought *Christian fundamentalists* were a hard audience. HA! Welcome to the mythicists. All that is explained in this post, which in the end elicited 207 comments. [...]

Diane2025-09-10T12:57:35-04:00April 27th, 2022|Public Forum|

The Religion of a Sixteen-Year Old. Most-Commented Blog Post: #5

We are counting down the TOP TEN commented posts in our TEN year venture on the blog. We've had a range of topics so far, and here now is Post #5, with 207 comments. ****************************** The Religion of a Sixteen-Year-Old June 1, 2014 I just got home from spending a week in Lawrence Kansas, my home town. As I’ve done now for years, I took my mom fishing in the Ozarks for a few days. She’s 87, and on a walker, but still able to reel them in! I go back to Lawrence probably three or four times a year, and each time it is like going down memory lane. I left there to go to Moody Bible Institute in 1973, when I was all of 17 years old; I still called it home for years, but never lived there full time, not even in the summers usually. I was married and very much on my own only four years later. So my memories of the place are entirely of childhood through high [...]

Diane2025-09-10T12:57:35-04:00April 26th, 2022|Public Forum|

Richard Carrier: A Fuller Reply to His Criticisms, Beliefs, and Claims about Jesus
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Richard Carrier: A Fuller Reply to His Criticisms, Beliefs, and Claims about Jesus

Bart's Critics, Book Discussions, Historical Jesus, Mythicism, Public Forum

Richard Carrier: A Fuller Reply to His Criticisms, Beliefs, and Claims about Jesus

Richard Carrier - My Response to His Criticisms Richard Carrier is one of the new breeds of mythicists. He is trained in ancient history and classics, with a PhD from Columbia University – an impressive credential. In my book Did Jesus Exist I speak of him as a smart scholar with bona fide credentials. I do, of course, heartily disagree with him on issues relating to the historical Jesus, but I have tried to take his views seriously and give him the respect he deserves. Richard Carrier, as many of you know, has written a scathing review of Did Jesus Exist on his Freethought Blog. He indicates that my book is “full of errors,” that it “misinforms more than it informs” that it provides “false information” that it is “worse than bad” and that “it officially sucks.” The attacks are sustained throughout his lengthy post, and they often become personal. He indicates that “Ehrman doesn’t actually know what he is talking about,” he claims that I speak with “absurd” hyperbole, that my argument “makes [me] [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:17:00-04:00April 25th, 2022|Bart's Critics, Book Discussions, Historical Jesus, Mythicism, Public Forum|

Was Paul the Founder of Christianity? Or Was it Mary, Peter…or Jesus?
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Was Paul the Founder of Christianity? Or Was it Mary, Peter…or Jesus?

Historical Jesus, Paul and His Letters, Public Forum

Was Paul the Founder of Christianity? Or Was it Mary, Peter…or Jesus?

Who is the founder of Christianity? It is often claimed that the Founder of Christianity was the apostle Paul – or at least that he was the co-Founder, along with Jesus. The idea behind this claim is that Christianity is not really about the historical Jesus. Yes, his words are hugely important, and yes it is also important to know that he did all those miraculous deeds. But his public ministry is not the core of Christian belief. Instead, the core of Christianity is the belief in his death and resurrection. And this is what Paul preached, not what Jesus preached. So that even if Jesus’ life and teachings are important, they are not really what Christianity is about. Christianity is about believing in his death and resurrection for salvation. And since, in this view, it was Paul who first formulated that belief, he is the founder of the Christianity religion (or co-founder). Paul vs. Jesus: Who is the Christianity Creator? I have never found this line of argument convincing, for two reasons. The first [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:33:23-04:00April 24th, 2022|Historical Jesus, Paul and His Letters, Public Forum|

Are Paul and Jesus on the Same Page? Most-Commented Blog Post: #6

As we celebrate our ten-year anniversary of the blog (April 18) by reposting the ten most commented-on posts, here now is #6, with 200 comments. This one deals with one of THE most significant issues in the study of the New Testament and Early Christianity. Maybe the single most significant. ****************************** Are Paul and Jesus on the Same Page? January 26, 2018 In response to my previous post on the importance of Paul, I have had several people ask me about the relationship between the teachings of Jesus and Paul: are they actually representing the same religion? I dealt with that question some years ago on the blog. Here is the first of two posts on the issue. ****************************** I have spent several posts explicating Paul’s understanding of his gospel, that by Christ’s death and resurrection a person is put into a restored relationship with God. He had several ways of explaining how it worked. But in all of these ways, it was Jesus’ death and resurrection that mattered. It was not keeping the [...]

Diane2025-09-10T12:57:35-04:00April 24th, 2022|Public Forum|

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