As many of you know, I started a podcast awhile back, called Misquoting Jesus with Bart Ehrman.  It’s not connected with the blog, but it deals with stuff most blog members would be interested in.  (And hey, it’s free!  Available both as a podcast on all the main podcast servers and on Youtube.)

A new episode comes out every Tuesday, and it occurred to me that you might be interested in knowing what’s happening on it.  So, I’ve decided to make weekly announcements here, in case you’re interested in going there!

This past Tuesday, the topic I discussed with my host Megan Lewis, was “Was Jesus a False Prophet.”  Here’s the description, in case you’d like to check it out.

 Historical scholars for over a century have maintained that Jesus predicted that the end of history as we know it was to come in his own generation. Conservative Christians — laypeople and scholars alike — have insisted that this is a complete misportrayal of Jesus. And many people — possibly most? — believe that if Jesus really did preach this message, not only was he obviously wrong but also Christianity cannot possibly be true. A Jesus who was *demonstrably* mistaken about a central element of his preaching could not be a prophet of God, let alone the Savior of the world.

In this episode we consider the issue and its implication: did Jesus proclaim the imminent end of the world? If so, can Christian faith even be possible, let alone reasonable? Bart and Megan tackle such questions as:

-What does it mean when we say that Jesus was an apocalyptic prophet?

-Were there other apocalyptic prophets in the ancient world, or was Jesus a one-off?

-Was there anything different about Jesus’ message compared to his prophetic peers?

-How were they viewed by the general population – were they taken seriously, or were they viewed in the same way that we may view people on a street corner with “the end is near” signs??

-If Jesus was anticipating that the Kingdom of God would be a physical reality before the end of his life, is it fair to say that he wasn’t expecting to be crucified?

-How do the writers of the gospels deal with this complication, and how do their reactions differ?

-Was Jesus, then, a false prophet?

-How did early Christian cults and sects deal with the world not ending?

To Read Comments or Comment, Please Upgrade to a Full Access Silver, Gold or Platinum Membership.