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My All-Time Favorite Jesus Movie. Wanna Discuss It With Me?
Here’s a reminder about a first-time-ever blog event, coming soon. Interested? Here’s the original announcement. ************************* People often ask me what my favorite “Jesus Movie” is, and they almost never expect my answer. For me it’s hands down. A clear forerunner. A movie most people have never heard of, but in my opinion, the best of all time: “Jesus of Montreal.” This is not just my favorite Jesus movie of all time but one of my very favorite movies of any kind of all time. Want to watch it and then have a discussion about it with me? This will be our first ever Blog Movie Club event (BMC)! The main event, the discussion with me, will be on Sunday, January 22, 4:00-5:30 pm EST. The Movie Club viewing will not be that day, but before; and you have two (well three!) massively convenient options. You can: Watch it on your own at your leisure. Join other blog members in watching it simultaneously in silence, with a brief introduction and discussion afterward (without me) led […]
January 9, 2023
The New Testament Ain’t the Only Text with Important Scribal Changes!
Readers of the blog will know that I’ve talked a lot about scribal changes in the writings of the New Testament, making it difficult to know what the author originally wrote. Which in turn makes it difficult to know what a translator should translate. Which words?? The ones in this manuscript, or in that manuscript, or some other manuscript?? Sometimes people say to me “Well, if you say that about the New Testament you’d have to say that about all ancient texts!” They say this as a rhetorical statement (even scholars have said this to me! Even New Testament scholars!!) — as if THAT would be the most ridiculous thing you can imagine. You can’t possibly think there are problems like that with Plato, or Euripides, or Cicero! What’s wrong with you? Yeah, there ain’t anything wrong with me — at least in this respect. Of COURSE we have the same problems with all these authors. Often far worse than with the New Testament. The reason (some) NT scholars (including some NT manuscript scholars!!) don’t know it is because […]
January 22, 2023
A Spectacular Martyrdom and an Intriguing Textual Change
Outside the New Testament there are some truly terrific early Christian writings, including accounts of early martyrs. And sometimes we know know what the authors of these texts actually wrote, because our surviving manuscripts have differences. Sometimes rather bizarre differences. There are lots and lots of textual variants in the various writings of the apostolic fathers. As with the New Testament (where there are thousands more manuscripts and hundreds of thousands more variants), most of the variant readings do not matter for much. But some of them are of real importance. Yesterday I mentioned one in Ignatius. Today I discuss one in the Martyrdom of Polycarp, possibly our earliest surviving Christian martyrology – that is, the first account, outside the New Testament, of a Christian being martyred for his faith. It is a fascinating account – required reading for anyone interested in early Christianity! In the narrative, the old man Polycarp, Christian bishop of Smyrna, is tracked down and arrested by the local officials, who take him to the arena for public judgment. When he […]
January 23, 2023
The First Christian Martyr Text?
In my previous post I talked about a textual problem in the early Christian writing, “The Martyrdom of Polycarp.” To my surprise, I’ve never talked about this intriguing text on the blog before. It’s time I did! This is one of the books of the corpus I’ve been calling “The Apostolic Fathers,” a collection of ten or eleven “proto-orthodox” authors (meaning that they attest forerunners of the views that eventually became “orthodox” — that is, widely approved as “true”). It is our first Christian narrative fully devoted to describing a martyrdom (the martyrdom of Stephen is described in the NT in Acts 8, but it one episode in a long narrative; other martyrdoms are mentioned in Acts and Revelation, etc., but are not narrated). This became a kind of genre within early Christian literature–accounts, many of them claiming to be by eyewitnesses, of martyrdoms. Here is how I discuss the Martyrdom of Polycarp in my Loeb edition of the Apostolic Fathers (in the Introduction to my translation of the text). This will take two posts. […]
January 24, 2023
More about the First Christian Martyr Text
Here I continue the “Introduction” to my translation of the Martyrdom of Polycarp in my two-volume work, The Apostolic Fathers for the Loeb Classical Library, vol. 1 (Harvard University Press, 2003). It is giving a bit of harder hitting scholarship (though completely accessible) and includes, at the end, some bibliography. As it turns out, years after I published this edition, I changed my mind about when the first part of this discussion — specifically, about when the martyrdom was written and about whether it was based on eyewitness reports. That will be the subject of my next posts. The view I give here had been the consensus for many decades at the time, and is still widely held today. ****************************** Date and Integrity Two of the most disputed issues in the modern study of the Martyrdom of Polycarp involve the integrity of its text (i.e., whether we have the original or a highly interpolated form) and the date of its composition. Some scholars have held that the surviving text went through several stages of composition. H. […]
January 26, 2023
Is the Martyrdom of Polycarp an Authentic Account?
In my previous posts I have talked about the Martyrdom of Polcarp, our first full account of a Christian martyrdom (outside the martyrdom of Stephen in Acts 8). But is it an authentic account? It claims to be written by an eyewitness. Was it? I did not begin to investigate that question seriously and deeply until after I had published by Loeb Apostolic Fathers translation of the text in 2003. Some years later I started my research on my book Forgery and Counterforgery: The Use of Literary Deceit in Early Christian Polemics (published in 2013 by Oxford University Press). This was a lengthy analysis of all the early Christian writings involved with polemical engagement (that is, Christian arguments with and verbal attacks on pagans, Jews, and especially other/”heretical” Christians) that could be argued were actually forgeries — not written by the persons claimed to be their authors (starting with the New Testament and going through the first four centuries). During my research I became convinced that a number of the texts were not written by their alleged […]
January 28, 2023
Can We Take the Martyrdom of Polycarp at Face Value?
I continue here my discussion of the Martyrdom of Polycarp as found in my book Forgery and Counterforgery. This will get in the weeds a bit, but hey, it can be good for your soul! I’ve always thought that it’s useful for layfolk to see how scholars in one field or another argue among themselves, and this is an example of it. And we ain’t talkin’ quantum physics here. This should be pretty accessible if you’re interested in some of the complexities. Here I explain why in the past scholars doubted whether the account was authentic or not; in posts to come I’ll explain reasons that I ended up finding it more compelling to think that the book is in fact a forgery. ****************************** It has long been recognized that there are problems with taking the Martyrdom of Polycarp at face value as a straightforward historical record of what actually happened to the bishop of Smyrna. The numerous parallels to the Gospel records of Jesus’ death appear contrived in places, the account is chock-full of miraculous […]
January 29, 2023
Watching Notes for Jesus of Montreal! (My Favorite Jesus Movie!)
A number of you have signed up to come to our Blog Movie Club discussion this Sunday, January 22, 4:00-5:30 EST, to discuss my favorite Jesus Movie of all time, “Jesus of Montreal.” Some of you who have not yet signed up may be interested in coming once your learn what the movie is about. Below is a note we sent to all those who have already signed up, where I describe the movie and suggest how to watch it. If you decide you want to come to the event after all, there is still time! Here is the link: Register here And this is the link to my post describing the event more fully: My All-Time Favorite Jesus Movie. Wanna Discuss It With Me? – The Bart Ehrman Blog Watching Notes for “Jesus of Montreal” Blog Movie Club, 2023 I’m glad you’ll be joining me on Jan 22 for a discussion of Jesus of Montreal — my all-time favorite Jesus movie. Some of you have seen it already, other not. No matter, […]
January 18, 2023
Do Eyewitnesses Prove Miracles? Can They Be Faked? The Martyrdom of Polycarp
For over two hundred years scholars of antiquity have worked diligently to determine which ancient writings by pagans, Jews, and Christians were actually produced by their alleged authors and which are by authors merely claiming to be some other famous person, as well as which originally anonymous writings were wrongly ascribed to one famous author or another. If a book is wrongly ascribed, it’s not the author’s fault. If Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John did not write Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, that would not make these books “forgeries.” A “forgery” is when an author intentionally takes the identity of another (famous or important) person with the intent of deceiving her or his readers. There were lots of reasons for doing that in antiquity, and I discuss all such matters on a popular level in my book Forged (HarperOne, 2011), where by and large I focus on the writings of the New Testament (e.g., the six letters that claim to be written by Paul but appear not to have been; and also letters by Peter; […]
January 31, 2023
Evidence of Forgery. More Reasons the Martyrdom of Polycarp Was Not Written by Someone There
In my previous post I began to lay out my case that the Martyrdom of Polycarp, our (allegedly) first full narrative account of a Christian martyr, who died 155 CE, written (allegedly) by an eyewitness, in fact was written decades later, by someone who wanted his readers to think he was an eyewitness and to that end (falsely) claimed to be one. Here I move from the intriguing fact (from the last post) that the author asserts his eyewitness authority precisely at the points that are, well, rather difficult to believe to other historical problems in the text that suggest the author was not living at the time or privy to what actually happened. Again, this is from my book Forgery and Counterforgery: The Use of Literary Deceit in Early Christian Polemics (Oxford University Press, 2013). ***************************** Apart from the miraculous elements of the text – which include the martyr’s blood gushing forth in such profusion as to douse the flames of his pyre, and a dove emerging from his side and flying […]
February 1, 2023
Finally: The Martyrdom of Polycarp as a Clever Christian Forgery
Here now I bring this thread on the Martyrdom of Polycarp to an end, arguing yet further reasons for thinking the account was forged, and explaining the “truths” the author was trying to advance by not telling the truth about his real identity. (From my book Forgery and Counterforgery, Oxford University Press, 2013). ****************************** Problematic for entirely other reasons is the account of what happens in the aftermath of Polycarp’s death. The Jews, moved by the devil, are intent not to allow the Christians to collect Polycarp’s body “even though many were desiring to do so and to have a share in his holy flesh” (ch. 17). And so, the centurion ordered the body to be burned. That did not hinder the Christians’ enthusiasm for Polycarp’s material remains, however: “And so, afterwards, we removed his bones, which were more valuable than expensive gems and more precious than gold, and put them in a suitable place.” It is there that the author anticipates celebrating, with his fellow believers, the “birthday of his martyrdom.” One might be able […]
February 2, 2023
Am I About To Become Muslim?
I often get asked about the Qur’an (on which I have zero expertise) and my views of Islam (which I admire as one of the great religions of the world with lots of problems involving how it sometimes gets interpreted and used, just like every other great religion of the world). I was just thinking about that this morning and remembered a post I did a long time ago answering a question a reader had raised with me. Is it true I am about to convert to Islam? Well, it hasn’t happened yet, but I thought I would be worthwhile repeating the post: READER COMMENT: I received a message on Facebook a couple of weeks ago from a person who has been proselytizing to me about the Muslim faith. This has happened a few times with others on your FB page. I guess that’s what they do. Anyway, the other day I asked him if he was on your blog. He responded with a yes. Then he said that we (the members) were going […]
February 4, 2023
Was Moses High on Mt. Sinai? Part 1 Platinum Post by Douglas Wadeson MD
I’m pleased to publish this Platinum Guest Post by Doug Wadeson, long time platinum members, retired physician, and, ergo, expert on, well, drugs. Now *here’s* a topic we haven’t addressed on the blog before! What do you think? ************************** Moses is clearly one of the most significant figures in the Bible. Most people know that he is the one who received the Ten Commandments directly from God while up on Mount Sinai, even if they only know it from watching Cecil B. DeMille’s movie, The Ten Commandments, starring Charlton Heston as Moses.[1] I am going to assume you know the Moses story and that his first encounter with God (Yahweh) was while living as a shepherd among the Midianites. While tending his sheep on Mt. Sinai (aka Horeb[2]) he sees a burning bush and God speaks to him from the bush and gives him his mission to free the Hebrew people from Egypt. To the faithful this is a literal description of a historical event. However, it is possible this story is legendary and […]
January 27, 2023
Recreational Drugs in the New Testament? Platinum Guest Post by Douglas Wadeson
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January 30, 2023
Was the Roman Soldier Pantera Jesus’ Father? His Cousin? Platinum Guest Post by Omar Abur-Robb
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February 3, 2023
Analyzing the Prophecies in Daniel 7, 2 and 9. Platinum Guest Post by Omar Abur-Robb
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February 17, 2023
Why Do Muslims Deny that Jesus Was Crucified? Platinum Guest Post by Imran M. Usmani
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February 10, 2023
New Testament Manuscripts as Windows into Early Christian History
My recent post asking whether the Gospels can be seen as anti-Jewish generated a number of comments and questions, one of which was whether scribes who copied the texts of the New Testament ever made them *more* anti-Jewish than they originally were. The answer to that is Yes. I have a student just now who is writing a dissertation that deals with that topic. It’s a question I’ve been intrigued with for years; one of the first times I wrote about it was in an essay called “The Text as Window: New Testament Manuscripts and the Social History of Early Christianity,” in The New Testament in Contemporary Research: Essays on the Status Quaestionis, ed. Bart D. Ehrman and Michael W. Holmes. Studies and Documents; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995, pp. 361-79. The essay was about the wide range of ways that copies of the New Testament from long after the originals were circulated can help us do something other than figure out the original text of each book; when used in a different way, they can […]
February 5, 2023
New Testament Manuscripts That Reveal Later Theological Controversies
In my previous post I started to explain how the manuscripts of the New Testament can help us reconstruct not only the “original” texts that the author wrote but also, when looked at in a different way, what was happening in the worlds of the scribes who changed them. In this post I deal with the one part of that context that is best known today, scribes changing the text for theological reasons. In my next post I’ll get to the issue that started this small thread, changes of the text made in opposition to Jews and Judaism. This again is from my essay “The Text as Window,” in the collection of essays Mike Holmes and I edited, The Text of the New Testament in Contemporary Research. (This post is a bit longer than usual; if you want to cut it in half, you have my permission, indeed, my suggestion, not to read the footnotes. It was written for scholars, who like nothing better than footnotes….) ****************************** The Internecine Struggles of Early Christianity Arguably the […]
February 7, 2023
Do You Want (and Need) a Free Membership to the Blog? Gift Offer 2023
Thanks to the incredible ongoing generosity of members of the blog, I am happy to announce that there are a limited number of free one-year memberships available. These have been donated for a single purpose: to allow those who cannot afford the annual membership fee to participate on the blog for a year. I will assign these memberships strictly on the honor system: if you truly cannot afford the membership fee, but very much want to have full access to the blog, then please contact me. Do NOT reply here, on the blog, as a comment. Send us a separate email, privately, at [email protected] .In your email, please provide me with the following information: Your first and last name. Why you would like to take advantage of this offer — that is, why you can’t afford it. I don’t need or want all the details, just an idea of why you aren’t able to purchase a membership just now. Country of citizenship (we’re required, as a non-profit, to ask). Your preferred personal email. Your preferred username […]
January 25, 2023