Loading...Before Christmas this year I read Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. It’s a great story. (Novella? It’s about a hundred pages in my edition.) I used to read it every year. In my first marriage, for a number of years, my wife and I read it out loud to each other on Christmas Eve.
Just about everyone knows the story but almost always from the movies and stage productions. Most of those are just fine, some are actually pretty good. BUT, there is nothing like the book. It’s extraordinarily moving, and even beyond that, the writing is fantastic.
For about thirty years now I’ve read high quality fiction, by which I mean fiction that is thoughtful and thought provoking and written by people who really know how to write. Most novels aren’t written particularly well, but when you read one that is, you just sit back and admire. My GOD that’s a fantastic sentence! I wish *I* could write a sentence like that! For my money, Dickens is one of the best of all time. In terms of wit embodied in a phrase, he’s the best.
But I also read the book because it is such an amazing story of reformation of character. I think a lot about reformation of character. I’d like to have some myself. I suppose we all need it.
In any event, it occurred to me that maybe I should write a post about what I’m reading just now. If you want to respond by what you yourself are reading now, let us know!
I read a ton, of course, since, well, that’s my job. But now that I’ve finished a draft of my book on Revelation, I’m not having to read for work and so can read other things. I always have a novel going, even in the throes of deadlines. And I don’t read a *lot* of non-fiction, since that’s what I write for a living; it’s a bit of a “busman’s holiday,” as my English wife says. But I’m doing some now. So here’s the list of what I’m reading.
If you’re not a member of the blog, think about joining! It doesn’t cost much — about a Starbuck’s a month — and it gives a ton, five posts a week. All the money goes to charity, so what’s to lose? Click here for membership options
I always have multiple books in progress simultaneously, usually a mix of fiction and nonfiction. At the moment:
Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism: A Parallel History of Their Origins and Early Development, 2nd Edition, edited by Hershel Shanks
The Theory That Would Not Die: How Bayes’ Rule Cracked the Enigma Code, Hunted Down Russian Submarines, and Emerged Triumphant from Two Centuries of Controversy by Sharon B. McGrayne
The Prime Minister by Anthony Trollope (as part of reading all his Palliser novels)
Nova by Samuel R. Delany (a re-read of a science fiction classic after a 50-year gap)
LOVE Trollope; I”ve read over 20 of them (Liked Palliser’s better than Barchester, to my surprise) He wrote 47! (Did you know he invented the mailbox?)
On Bayes’ Theorem: with your expertise, I’d love to know your evaluation of how it is used by Richard Carrier to prove that Jesus never existed and by Richard Swinburne to prove that Jesus was raised from the dead. Those two proofs seem incommensurate to me. But maybe I’m small-minded.
Regarding Bayes’ Theorem, this suggests one of the difficulties:
https://xkcd.wtf/2059/
Thanks. What I’d love to see is an expert int he theorem explaining specifically why Carrier and Swinburne apply it in problematic ways. I’ve had a number of people explain it to my privately (esp. about Carrier), but I’ve never seen a published critique.
Bart, it appears that the last two books you mention are non-fiction—is that the case?
Are you referring to teh books by Carrier and Swinburne. Yes, these writings were meant as non-fiction.(Whether they *were* or not is another question. 🙂 )
Im 2/3 finisheid reading, once again, “Interpreting the Revelation With Edgar Cayce”, by J.Everett Irion, and try to paralell it with the ideas from Carl Gustav Jungs coslmology , which are incredibly similar, both in their understanding of the general concepts, and even a number of symbols.
Many may have many views on the Christian mystic Edgar Cayce and his deep meditative, inward, spiritual-psychological interpretation of the Revelation, but it is amusing to read it paralell with ideas from high-level psychologists like Jung!
I don’t have a lot of opportunity to read for pleasure these days. I am reading a lot of John Shelby Spong, as I alluded to in a platinum post, for the sake of expanding my theological understanding. When it comes to leisure reading, I turn more to novels I have read in the past that I thoroughly enjoyed. One writer, Reavis Wortham, who hales from my same neck of the woods, has written great historical fiction, especially in his series “The Red River Mysteries”. My wife and I continue to enjoy the series over and over again through Audible, as we make the commute to and from our two churches (about 50 minutes one way). It has gotten to the point that the recurring characters feel like members of our own family.
@jscheller You mentioned “two churches.” Are you a parishioner at two churches or a pastor at two churches?
Yes I am. I am pastor for two churches in Denton County, Tx.
Yes I am. I am pastor for two churches in Denton County, Tx.
I’m reading “The Happiness Hypothesis” by Jonathan Haidt, about the similarities and differences between ancient wisdom and modern psychology when it comes to happiness. Things like the divided mind, attachments, happiness and wealth, etc. Were the cynics right when they said wealth does nothing for happiness? Where the stoics and the Buddhists right when they said attachments should be avoided? Was Jesus right when he warned us about human hypocrisy?
Surviving Autocracy, Masha Gessen
Death Comes for the Archbishop, Willa Cather
Cyberspies: The Secret History of Surveillance, Hacking, and Digital Espionage, Gordon Corera
Secret Jews, the Complex History of Crypto-Jews and Crypto-Judaism, Dr. Juan Marcos Bejerano Gutierrez
Mercy, David Baldacci
Did Jesus Exist?, Bart D Ehrman
Some of my selections over the last year. Cather also writes beautiful sentences.
Tim currently reading:
– The Age of Decadence: Britain 1880 To 1914 by Simon Heffer
– Fredrick Douglas by David Blight
Matthew currently reading:
– The Master (Volume 5 of Life of Henry James) by Leon Edel
– Framley Parsonage by Anthony Trollope
All four books highly recommended!
Love Trollope, and that’s one of my favorites. 5 volumes on Henry James?? You, at least, are bridging the Atlantic…
The Three-Body Problem is a science fiction novel written by the Chinese writer Liu Cixin. It was first translated into English in 2013 and is certainly the most popular Chinese Science Fiction book ever & maybe the most popular book in the West by a modern PRC Chinese writer of any kind. Netflix is working on a serialization. Why I think you you and those on this Blog would enjoy stand alone Volume 1 w/o giving too much away: First Contact spawns religion, theology and other weirdness among very divided and diverse modern humans.
Great book, but difficult to grasp the external drivers to the stories throughout most of the book.
Having just joined your blog, I’ve been spending a lot of time reading your blog :).
Twas brillig…
_Chortle_
As long as I’m posting, I have a general blog question: I see that book/chapter/verse references to the Bible, e.g., 2 Kings 14:25, get formatted as a link to an actual bible site. Is that done automatically, or is it being done by the poster, or maybe you?
[Edit: Actually, I found the answer as soon as I posted – it’s apparently automatic. Nice feature!]
[Edit 2: Unfortunately, editing the post seems to make the link go away.]
I didn’t know there was a link? Curiouser and curiouser.
Hm. Unless it’s something my browser is doing, although I don’t see any extensions like that installed.
So if you hover your cursor over “2 Kings 14:25”, you don’t see a pop-up showing the verse?
I don’t — but I have an administrator’s view and really don’t know what real human beings see…. What version of the Bible does it take you to?
I noticed that the popup has a link. It’s a feature called Reftagger from Faithlife (https://faithlife.com/products/reftagger). It appears to have been added by your site admin. The version is set for ESV.
It’s possible that it doesn’t work on all browsers (I use Firefox).
ESV
I recently finished Moby Dick and was astonished by how incredibly good it is. I doubt any modern American writer will ever again be able to produce such a work.
Rereading “Moby Dick” and Faulkner’s “The Bear” back to back are on my bucket list.
The Dawn of Everything, by Graeber and Wengrow.
I’m revisiting three novels that I’ve experienced as exceptionally impactful.
One, David Lindsay’s “A Voyage to Arcturus.” Published in 1920, the first edition sold only 596 copies. But it attracted the attention of C.S Lewis, who drew on it for “Out of the Silent Planet”, and Harold Bloom, who used it as a template for his Gnostic fantasy “A Flight to Lucifer”, and it keeps being rediscovered.
Two, Graham Greene’s “The Comedians”, set in Haiti during the terror rule of François “Papa Doc” Duvalier and the Tonton Macoute. Greene has been described as a Catholic writer, and here we see an antihero confidence trickster experience a kind of redemption.
Three, Wilkie Collins’s “The Moonstone”, a 19th century novel that has been described as the first detective novel. It’s striking for it’s depiction of England’s colonial relationship to India, and where Collins’s sympathies ultimately lie. I found the ending that I wanted, but not one that I expected.
Fantastic. Collins was buddies with Dickens, and a big fan as well of theatre (shared intereste and experience)
Books that I have right by my bed:
1. Brian Greene – “The Hidden Reality”
I don’t know what exactly is the most brilliant thing about Brian Greene: his vast knowledge over cutting edge physics or the fact that he explains all that -almost arcane- stuff in the most eloquent, beautifully concise manner?
2. Lee Smolin – “The Problem with Physics”
Really, I have lost count of how many dazzling and unbelievably inspired ideas this books presents. Not for the faint of heart, but it does compensate you.
3. Dimitrios Kyrtatas – “Η Οδός και τα βήματα των πρώτων χριστιανών”
Mr. Kyrtatas is a Greek equivalent to Bart Ehrman. Extremely erudite, has written or edited dozens of books on early Christianity. And I had the priviledge to be his student.
4. The New Testament
I’m currently revisiting Paul’s letters.
5. Friedrich Nietzsche “Last Letters”
Really moving to see the all too human aspect of the greatest thinker of the last 200 years. Also, fascinating to actually see through the escalation to madness.
6. Alexandros Papadiamantis – “Η Φόνισσα” (“The Murderer”[?] actually, it is a female murderer :-))
Alexandros Papadiamantis is regarded to be the greatest Greek short-story writer ever.
7. Sam Harris – “Free Will”
Sam Harris is an intellectual hero of mine.
Robert Alter THE HEBREW BIBLE A Translation with Commentary
Alter, a literary critic and Hebrew scholar, has spent the last 25 years translating the Hebrew Bible and in 2019 he released the completed three volume set. Many of the individual books were previously published as standalones but you had to wait for the complete set to get his version of the Prophets. If there is anyone who wants to sample Alter’s work but doesn’t want to spring for the complete set try THE DAVID STORIES (I & 2 Samuel) which is to be had in an inexpensive paperback.
Ted Chiang is an awesome science fiction short story writer who has two collections, STORIES OF YOUR LIFE and EXHALATION. Folks might recognize him because the title story of his first collection was made into a movie entitled ARRIVAL a while back, starring Amy Adams.
In his (infamous) essay, “Modern Theology and Biblical Criticism,” C. S. Lewis expresses distrust of critical scholars: “A man who has spent his youth and manhood in the minute study of New Testament texts and of other people’s studies of them, whose literary experiences of those texts lacks any standard of comparison such as can only grow from a wide and deep and genial experience of literature in general, is … very likely to miss the obvious things about them. … I want to know how many legends and romances he has read, how well his palate is trained in detecting them by the flavour; not how many years he has spent on that gospel.”
It occurred to me that *you* are precisely the kind of Biblical scholar Lewis was hoping for: well read, a student of literature. Ironically, you still turned out atheist.
Lewis also says, about the trustworthiness of the gospels: “Either this is … pretty close up to the facts … Or else some unknown writer in the second century, without known predecessors or successors, suddenly anticipated the whole technique of modern, novelistic, realistic narrative.”
Was ancient fiction really lacking in realistic touches, or is this another false dilemma?
Yup, I remember that passage in Lewis well. If I recall correctly, he’s attacking Bultmann, a bit unfairly (Bultmann was highly influenced by scholarship on the fairy tale, Brothers Grimm etc.)
But no, Lewis would definitely not like my biblical scholarship. And no, there are lots of books like the Gospels in terms of modern, novelistic, realistic narrative. Surely he knows that. The Greek and Roman novels, e.g.? He probably thoguht they weren’t on the Gospels’ level, but that would be a religious bias, not a literary evaluation, in my view.
Earlier this year I read absolutely the best book about the scientific revolution, “The Invention of Science” by David Wooton. Can’t recommend this highly enough.
AH! Thanks. I”m reading Michael Strevens The Knowledge Machine (same subject). Oh my god it’s fantastic. I’ll check out Wooton.
I’m finishing “In Search of the Multiverse” by John Gribbin. A bit of a struggle for my poor old brain but fascinating concepts about the nature of reality. Before that, the classic “The Demon Haunted World – Science as a Candle in the Dark” by Carl Sagan. Whenever I see the community book club offerings in my home town I wish people were more interested in learning about science than spending time with fiction and fantasy. I do appreciate good writing however. Bart, when you came to Lincoln NE years ago and gave a talk at the First Plymouth Church with Rev. Jim Keck, I asked you when signing my book what you thought about the new atheist authors like Dawkins and you expressed a certain dislike for his take on religion ( you told me that Dawkins knows NOTHING about religion) and there was an author that wrote a response to one of his books that “…nailed Dawkins to the wall!” Do you happen to remember to whom you were referring? I’d love to read it!
I don’t. But later I had dinner with Dawkins (maybe before) and liked him a lot. He doesn’t know much about religion, but he’s doing a lot of good by making people think about it.
I have A Christmas Carol as a facsimile of Dicken’s manuscript. (I have also seen the manuscript in the Morgan Library several times.) His handwriting is terrible, and the manuscript is full of scratching out and changes, so, fortunately, there is a complete text for each page. (My only problem with Dickens is that I keep stopping to go back and reread a paragraph to enjoy his prose again.) It is the power of redemption, I think, that gives it such resonance.
A great deal of my reading is stuff aimed at my own research projects, and I tend to be a slow (but thorough) reader.
I have been reading Justin Brierley’s Unbelievable?, mostly because I liked several of his podcast discussions, but I have to admit that the book is a bit disappointing, especially the chapter on suffering. (No one, it seems, has a really satisfying answer to that problem.) It is not a large book, so I may just push may way through the rest, or I may put it aside to turn to the two Kugel books that have been patiently waiting their turn (and are much bigger).
Dr. Ehrman, I recently finished my undergraduate degree in archeology, and for the last few years have been fascinated with the history of the early church. Are there any archeologists currently working on the first few hundred years of Christianity whose work you’d recommend looking into? I’m very interested in pursuing research in that time period.
I”m afraid there aren’t any significant archaeological remains from the first couple of hundred years of Christianity. The classic book in the field is Graydon Snyder, Ante Pacem. If you’re really interested, you might ask either Jodi Magness (Judaism in the period) or Robin Jensen (expert on earliest Christian art)
Thank you for the names! It’s much appreciated
Yes we used Burns and Jensen “Christianity in Roman Africa: the development of its practices and beliefs” as a textbook in our Early Christianities graduate class. Lots of great photos and building plans. It’s a bit overwhelming but a person could definitely get a sense for the field of early Christian archaeology.
Evolving In Monkey Town / Faith Unraveled by Rachel Held Evans. Not near as deep as your books but I see so much of me in her writing. Trying to hold to the faith I grew up on while acknowledging the problems with suffering and contradictions of the Bible. Are you familiar with her and if so, your thoughts?
Nope! But sounds interesting.
I’m reading two books at once these days. “Christian Beginnings – From Nazareth to Nicaea, AD 30-325,” by Geza Vermes, (2012) and “Good without God,” by Greg M. Epstein, (2009). Both are most interesting.
I’m reading through Laura Ingalls Wilder’s “Little House” books. I read more non-fiction than fiction… but sometimes a little fiction is can be encouraging.
I am reading through Huston Smith’s “The World’s Religions”… that is eyeopening. It is a 30,000 ft view of the major religions one doesn’t see when one is confined in one of them at ground level.
William R. Estep “The Anabaptist Story” is a history lesson that I need. I was baptized in a Lutheran Church in 1968 when I was a baby and baptized in a Pentecostal church in 1996 in my late twenties… I didn’t realize that what I did back then is something people were burned at the stake almost five centuries before. I need to read the stories and honour those people who didn’t live in a time where their choice mattered. My Lutheran parents attended my baptism in 1996… they didn’t ask for my death. I need to remember that. Even though church isn’t my thing anymore… I still need to remember. My grandmother came from European Mennonites… maybe my own ancestors were persecuted for what I did freely.
I signed up for this blog but am just now showing up to read. I am amazed at how impactful even this blog post is for me. One piece of advice: don’t get a puppy if you want time to read. I am hoping to get to Bewilderment by Richard Powers some time this week. Just ordered Radical Ecopsychology by Andy Fisher and Ecological and Social Healing by Jeanine Canty.
Puppies. I know. Oh boy do I know.
“ The Kid”- The immortal life of Ted Williams. Ben Bradley jr. Huge book. I thought I’d just thumb through it but every page is so good that I can’t.
“How they train”- second edition, Edited by Fred Wilt. 1973. I collected rare out of print biographies of distance runners and all the “ How they Train” books. Losing my ability to train has been only second to losing my wife. The last two years were alright, I ran 4000 miles but I see it coming. I’ll be at an orthopedist here real soon, but I only regret I had but two legs to give my sport. This book came out my senior year of high school and takes me back to the great times of finding my favorite thing in life.
I have read I think 5 of your books and enjoyed them thoroughly!!! Looking forward to others. I read “ The plague” but can’t remember much about it. “ The Stranger”, was good.
I remember well reading Fred Wilt’s book in the sixties. It is just amazing to me the interval training they did back then. There is a book I read I liked a lot about a New Zealand runner who took up cycling and wrote about that (this was from the late sixties, I cannot find what the title of the book was). I remember the long distance runners like Tracy Smith doing intervals 4 hours a day on a track, just amazing.
Great choices, I love Camus (re-read The Myth of Sisyphus not long ago). When raising three kids gives me a bit of time I devour a few pages of Nabokov’s Ada, that’s all I can scratch out right now I’m afraid 🙂
The Death of Expertise by Tom Nichols has made it possible to understand how family and friends can have opinions that differ so from mine.
Most of my reading these days is involved with a writing project I’m working on on the relationships between the mythologies of early Christianity, the founding period of the U.S. as a country, and the weirder and weirder myths floating around these days (child abduction and child-devouring rings, etc.). I am finding that a lot of today’s American mythology goes straight back to Jesus and friends (no mystery why). So a lot of my reading is devoted to the works of one Dr. B. D. Ehrman (gripping stuff!) and other authorities on early Christianity.
Otherwise, it’s mostly software and hardware user manuals I am perusing in connection with my work life.
Happy New Year, all!
Hi Bart. You should definitely read The Myth of Sisyphus and The Rebel. Both great, even in English.
Ciao.
I am in the habit of reading A Christmas Carol but didn’t get around to it this year. Watched an old movie version and realized how much of the fine writing was simply left out. I haven’t read The Plague but found it’s downloadable online, so now I have something to read. Thanks!
Terribly unPC, but the most impressive work of fiction I read last year was Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind. The only book I can recall where I re-read sentences in awe of their artful construction. In terms of structure, I believe it’s an unsurpassed textbook of how to write a novel.
Stevens is phenomenal, probably the most fascinating book of 2021. The other great read of this year was Mark Mazower’s “The Greek Revolution: 1821 and the Making of Modern Europe”.
My Christmas break pick is Lucien Febvre’s “Martin Luther : Un destin” (1927).
I just finished “Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone” by Diana Gabaldon. I’m not a big fan of series books but I love this series. The author thoroughly researches the history and practices of the time periods she writes about and I learn so much! It’s now 1779 and the American Revolutionary War is playing out. I read these big fat books with a dictionary app because there are a lot of obscure and outdated words and Scottish phrases that I’m not willing to skip over because I don’t know their meanings.
I think it would be a great idea to write a book about the archaeological discoveries from biblical areas, not because archaeology and the Bible need to agree with each other but because I want to understand the peoples and practices from that era. It’s always interested me.
Happy New Year!
1. “She Who is: The Mystery of God is Feminist Theological Discouse” By Elizabeth A. Johnson
2. “City of the Sharp-Nosed Fish: Greek Lives in Roman Egypt” by Peter J. Parson
3. The Aeneid translation by Shadi Bartsch
4. “The Bible Unearthed” by Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman – I believe I bought this originally because you recommended it on this blog. Finkelstein is an engaging writer (and speaker – I also finished working through his series of YouTube Videos).
5. “The Homeric Hymn to Demeter” Edited with commentary by Helen P. Foley. During the pandemic I took a series of classes in Classical Greek and also in Coptic. My Greek is better now than before but I am still dependent on my lexicon. I try to read through this Hymn in Greek, then go back and compare my translation with Dr. Foley’s. Hers always makes more sense. I have also been working through several Great Courses – after finishing “The Persian Empire” by John W. Lee. I am now in the middle of “The Holy Land Revealed” by Jodi Magness. All the best for the New Year to you and your family.
Read through Robyn Faith Walsh’s recent book “The Origins of Early Christian Literature: Contextualizing the New Testament within Greco-Roman Literary Culture”. Wonder if you have read or have any thoughts on it?
I haven’t read the whole thing, but what I’ve seen is terrific.
Thanks for this interesting post.
Sorry to be Mr Pedantic, only mentioning it b/c it slowed down my search a bit at an online bookseller…the author of “The Knowledge Machine” is stRevens, with an r just after the t.
In the spirit of the post, currently reading 2 books
The Jeffersonian Transformation, Henry Adams. This is a pair of excerpts from Adams’ big history of the Jefferson & Madison administrations, one excerpt describing the United States just before Jefferson’s two terms, the second excerpt describing the US at the end of Madison’s two terms. Part of the swag from the NYRB’s recent end-of-year sale. Pretty good, quite interesting.
The Colony of Unrequited Dreams, a novel by Wayne Johnston, from 1998, set (mostly) in Newfoundland. Excellent.
Sorry — just a typo. But thanks for pointing it out. It’s an unusual name.
I generally try to have one work of fiction at the go at any one time; it’s usually what I read at bedtime before going to sleep. My current fiction read is Jonathan Franzen’s latest, Crossroads. I’m about three quarters through and have loved every bit of it so far.
On the non-fiction side, as well as a couple of works of popular theology, I’ve almost finished The Meaning of the Bible by Douglas A. Knight and the wonderful Amy-Jill Levine and am also finishing up War and Power in the 21st Century by Paul Hirst, which I ordered on a whim out of sheer curiosity and have found quite interesting.
Upcoming reads include a couple of novels by one of my favourite English writers, Julian Barnes, and Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond, which will be the first of his I’ve read.
Hi Bart,
Thanks for sharing this. Camus is also one of my favorites and I have read most of his works (in addition to what you mentioned I have read: Caligula, The Misunderstanding, Kingdom and Exile). His non-fiction books are also great (The myth of Sisyphus and L’homme revolte).
If you enjoy Camus, you may also try Sartre (Le mur, Nausea).
Currently, I am reading: The daughter of time (a novel about Richard the III by Josephine Tey), Darkness at noon (a novel about the show trials of 1936-1938 in the USSR by Arthur Koestler), das glasperlenspiel by Hermann Hesse, and finally the collected plays of Durrenmatt.
I’m currently working through Schweitzer’s ‘Quest of the Historical Jesus’, which has been a lot of fun. I’m a little over half way through and probably the sections on Strauss were my favorite—reading about Bauer was also fascinating, but more because I was filling the margins with the things he’s since been proven wrong on lol.
(There’s also this bit where Strauss I believe says that the ‘Markan priority’ hypothesis was ridiculous and would disappear just like anti-vaccine rhetoric eventually would and … well that gave me a huge chuckle!)
Dever’s work has been on my reading list for awhile. Back in my evangelical days the whole ‘biblical archaeology’ school (people like Albright) was used by apologists to disprove critical scholarship of the OT, and Dever was one of the people who kept coming up in my research as a current researcher pushing back against a lot of that older work.
Cheers Bart!
Silk Roads by Peter Francopan dovetails nicely, in panoramic fashion, for a lay person like myself who enjoys thinking and reading about how religion, politics, and business go hand in hand and have done so since ancient times.
Ok, I’ll bite but first … a request if you can consider it. I would appreciate your view (casual if it may be) on whether “man in the Iliad [is] determined by the gods, or does he have free will?” That is an essential premise of Julian Jaynes treatise in which ancient man was not conscious and acted out as his inner god directed. Supposedly it must be read in the most ancient of Greek to see this.
Me, I’m half through Charles Mann’s “1491”. Have to recommend it!
I don’t think the concept of “free will” can be easily retrojected onto ancient thinkers. The heroes of the Iliad certainly can make decisions for themselves; but sometimes they are motivated to do so by gods.
One year, as a child, I was too excited to sleep on Christmas Eve so, to kill some time, I started reading Rosemary Sutcliff’s novel about Roman Britain, The Eagle of the Ninth. It then became a sort of Christmas tradition and I would read it every year in the run up to Christmas, although not for the past few years, I regret to say.
A happy New Year to everyone on the Blog 🎉
My interests are nearly all non-fiction in these categories: nutrition, religions, small scale farming, popular talks on physics. Mix of reading and from YouTube videos
I have not read a novel in decades, but enjoying watching novels in the form of movies, just about any genre, science fiction, action, drama, etc. About three movies a week. No horror movies. Good movies, I watch many times.
For religion, “The Second Coming of Christ: The Resurrection of the Christ Within You,” by Yogananda, 1600 pages. I got the kindle version after reading the hardcopy, to research specific topics.
Masters and Miracles, Kindle, by Sam Podany.
Revelation, by Elaine Pagels.
For nutrition, I research on the NIH website many subjects, such as Vitamin D3, Magnesium, Curcumin, Omega 3 fatty acids, nutrients that protect the body from inflammation, etc.
For gardening, small scale farming, many videos on YouTube, such as “how to dig a shallow well by hand, building hoop greenhouses, etc, what to grow in zone 4a.
Hi Bart. In addition to your book God’s Problem, I am reading an anthology of fantasy stories called Unfettered as well as listening to Huma Abedin’s recent memoir Both/And (she reads the text and has a fantastic reading voice). And today I bought myself Pat Barker’s Regeneration trilogy which I plan to start next week. Barker is one of my favorite novelists–her look at the Trojan War through the eyes of the women, The Silence of the Girls, was one of the reading highlights for me of the year.
And I agree with you Bart about Dickens. I remember reading A Christmas Carol over Christmas break (my mother had given me a copy so I would have something to occupy myself–this was 1973 and I had nothing to read) and smiling through my tears at Scrooge’s redemption. To treat myself every year I listen to Tim Curry’s reading of it (an Audible freebie and what a voice!) and Unholy Night which is a humorous look at the traditional Christmas narrative through the eyes of a career criminal.
I love Barker’s trilogy. Was just talking about it with a niece yesterday. Fantastic.
Almost finished Marcion and the Making of a Heretic by Judith M. Lieu. I am fascinated by Marcion’s views on religion. It is a shame we don’t have more information regarding his thoughts.
And of course, your talks and debates on YouTube
After finishing Homer’s Odyssey in Greek, you can turn to James Joyce’s Ulysses. It would be interesting to find out what you think is the greater challenge: reading Homer’s Odyssey in the original Greek or reading James Joyce.
I navigated my way through James Joyce’s Ulysses by means of, what else, the Teaching Company course on it. The course is outstanding and I have listened to it several times. In rich detail, the course explains how James Joyce’s Ulysses relates back to Homer’s Odyssey. The book and the course are a fabulous intellectual feast.
Joyce. Yikes…
I read Ulysses several times in college, the first reading finding it incomprehensible, but with supplemental “keys” from the James Joyce Quarterly and elsewhere found it an extremely rewarding novel.
I ordered a copy of “The Origins of Early Christian Literature: Contextualizing the New Testament within Greco-Roman Literary Culture” by Robyn Faith Walsh (Assistant Professor of the New Testament and Early Christianity at the University of Miami) in order to challenge my long-standing assumptions about how and for whom the Synoptic gospels (Mark, Matthew and Luke) were written.
After listening to online interviews of Walsh about her book, I would very much like to see, in 2022, a debate between her and Professor Ehrman on the following resolution:
“Resolved: The Synoptic Gospels were written by elite Roman intellectuals (some of whom may or may not have been professed Christians), rather than the literate spokespersons of primitive Christian communities.
Any chance of that happening?
I doubt it. But it would be interesting.
Robyn Faith Walsh argues that the Synoptic gospels were written by elite cultural producers working within a dynamic cadre of literate specialists, including persons who may or may not have been professed Christians. Comparing a range of ancient literature, her ground-breaking study demonstrates that the gospels are creative works produced by educated elites interested in Judean teachings, practices, and paradoxographical subjects in the aftermath of the Jewish War and in dialogue with the literature of their age. Walsh’s study thus bridges the artificial divide between research on the Synoptic gospels and Classics.
Steve Campbell, author of Historical Accuracy
In 2022, I would like to read The Gospel of Mark and the Roman-Jewish War of 66-70 CE: Jesus’ Story as a Contrast to the Events of the War by Stephen Simon Kimondo because I want to see if the book would give me extra reasons for me to do a second edition of my book.
Hi Ebion, the book you mentioned costs $99.99 and is not available in paperback.
“For about thirty years now I’ve read high quality fiction, by which I mean fiction that is thoughtful and thought provoking and written by people who really know how to write. Most novels aren’t written particularly well, but when you read one that is, you just sit back and admire. My GOD that’s a fantastic sentence! I wish *I* could write a sentence like that!”
Professor Ehrman, have you ever seriously considered writing a biographical novel about the birth, life and death of the historical Jesus (understood as a failed Jewish apocalyptic preacher) that could be easily adapted into a film?
If not, would you consider it?
Nope. I know other biblical scholars who have tried, and usually it ends up being a bit of a bad joke….
I have been reading an incredibly fascinating book titled “The Linguistic Wars” by Randy Allen Harris. I have a minor fascination with linguistics, with Noam Chomsky, and I am really interested in seeing how the battle between generative grammar and generative semantics played out over the decades. Harris doesn’t just explain the history of the conflict but takes time to explain each theory in sufficient enough detail to understand it.
Over the years I’ve learned that I much prefer to have an assortment of books across a range of topics I’m interested in. That way if I max out on one topic I can “take a break” by switching over to a completely unrelated topic that I’m equally interested in. On my current “chair-side shelf” is:
— Chiara Marletto: “The Science of Can and Can’t”
— John McWhorter: “Woke Racism”
— Wislawa Szymborska: “Poems New and Collected, 1957-1997 Hardcover”
— Stephen Batchelor: “After Buddhism”
— Ron Padgett: “Complete Poems”
— Steven Pinker: “The Blank Slate”
— Alison Bechdel: “The Secret to Super Human Strength”
I have a reasonable science and philosophy training/ education. I have not read this book so I have no personal view on it. But Bart might want to read this Amazon review which seems to me to be soundly argued:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R1FIGWUOAF0HVO/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_vote_lft?ie=UTF8&csrfT=gtfL07GjzavC35d9qoL3Vb5d%2F1k1%2FvDbF%2B9SqgQAAAABAAAAAGHNGopyYXcAAAAA%2B4kUEk%2F7iMGR3xPcX6iU&ASIN=1631491377&reviewId=R1FIGWUOAF0HVO&
I just read the review. I don’t think this reviewer understood the book.
Just finishing up “Hope” Jane Goodall. I stared it for December and it is a nice dose of optimism. I actually just started Benjamin Labatut’s “When We Cease to Understand The World,” (English translation… only😋)
Those jumped the line, I had just finished Adam Grant’s, “Rethink,”
I am in the mists of Steven Pinkers “Rationality.”
I am rereading the new edition of Robert Cialdini’s “Influence” and I’ll just make a list of all I read this year… (according to my “Goodread Reading Challenge):
— Nudge to final addition
— The life changing science of detecting bullshit
— Hitch 22
— The extended mind
— Outliers
— Hooked
— this is your mind on plants
— when men behave badly
— The forgetting machine
— 7 1/2 lessons about the brain
— Heroes (Steven Frey)
— Breathe
— Origins
— Noise
— Counterclockwise
— keeping Sharp
— is this anything
— how I learn to understand the world
— subtle art of not giving a fuck
— Mythos
I am currently staying with family for the Christmas holidays, and I packed three books so that I would have something to read. One of the three is a book by some guy named Bart Ehrman about becoming God and how Jesus did it. Another, complete contrast, is 99 Erics by Julia Serano, the reflections of a woman who dates 99 people named Eric on the theory that seeking out bad dates will make her a better writer (it’s supposed to be absurd, but next time someone asks you for writing advice, bear it in mind). And for the third book I am revisiting a Terry Pratchett novel that I have read before.
The last book I finished is also one I have read before, but not for a long time, The Emperor’s New Mind by Roger Penrose. I want to revisit the oldest dust collectors on my shelf to find out if there are any I might as well donate to a charity shop to make room for something new (for the record, Penrose survived this round of eliminations). In between heavy reading like that, I feel that I am entitled to something light.
Re-re-rereading Emma by Jane Austen. I particularly love to read Austen during the holidays.
I also recently listened to a free audiobook on YouTube of 1984 by George Orwell, read by Steve Parker. It was an amazing performance, totally worthy of the book.
Bart, it’s been five years since you reposted your 2012 reading suggestions:
https://ehrmanblog.org/reading-suggestions-for-the-new-testament-a-blast-from-the-past/.
Can you please update those recommendations as appropriate?
I’d forgotten I’d done that. I need to take a look!
I am also currently reading ‘Has Archaeology Buried the Bible’. Very accessible for the general reader like myself. I find the Minimalist V Maximalist arguments very interesting, but William Dever presents a more balanced view I find.
I do hope you proceed with your project. I’m sure it would be well received.
OK, RIGHT…Almost finished with the tome of RICHIE ROBERTSON’S THE ENLIGHTENMENT, The Pursuit of Happiness 1680-1790, just finished HEAVEN AND HELL which was the only book of yours at Barnes & Noble. Just 29 more of yours to go! Just recently finished all of Yuval Noah Harari’s books. Also reading Marilynne Robinson’s essays. Plan to reread THE GOOD EARTH and CANDIDE. For levity sake I’m rewatching the Seinfeld series. Should give Dickens another go though…
I’m reading Aslan’s “The Zealot” for the 2nd time. Also, working my way through “After The New Testament” by a Mr. Bart D. Ehrman. Along with the “Holy Bible”, Protestant style. All help to satisfy my inner cravings for knowledge.
I’m attempting to put the existence of Jesus into some sort of context I can wrap my mind around, so I am currently co-reading “Mind the Gap” by Matthias Henze and “The Jewish Teachers of Jesus, James, and Jude” by David deSilva. I have “Project Hail Mary” by Andy Weir on Audible to satisfy my craving for science fiction. I’m thinking of changing my middle name to Eclectic.
I just finished The Midnight Library. Do you ever wonder how life would’ve turned out if you had made a different choice or two? That’s the theme explored in this engrossing novel by best-selling author Matt Haig.
Regarding fiction, it’s “The Madness of Crowds” by Louise Penny. The 21st novel in her Inspector Gamache series. She’s just an excellent writer and developer of characters. Unlike most authors, she doesn’t write solely from the perspective of the protagonist as the little Quebec town of Three Pines has several interesting characters beside Gamache. As for non-fiction, “The Order of Time” by Carlo Ravelli who does an excellent job “explaining” quantum mechanics (as John Wheeler once quipped ‘anyone who thinks they can explain it doesn’t really understand it’). But the one I keep going back to over and over is “I am That – conversations with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj”. Open to a random page and read the transcript of that conversation is enough to get one to rethink their assumptions of what it means to “know”. It’s easily the most important book I have ever read. Even more important than “Misquoting Jesus”, and that’s saying something.
It looks like Dever has about as many books out as you do, and that’s saying a lot!!
Can you recommend any others of his books? It looks like the kind of thing I’m interested in.
Thanks and best wishes for the new year.
I would simply choose the titles that sound inviting to general readers. He has some that are highly complex for scholars.
I usually have a set of non-fiction going at once, and sometimes favored fiction.
Right now it’s Joe Lieberman’s the Centrist Solution, and a book called The Way Out by Peter Coleman. I’d think the latter would be interesting for blog readers as he talks about online social media, and how there aren’t many places for dialogue, as he defines it “open and reflective speaking, hearing, learning and discovery”, rather than “debate, criticism or oppositional confrontation.” I’m only at the beginning, but it seems like the author reflects my own experience at “peace-seeking online community building” over the last eleven years.
I’ve just attended a group session with medium Rebecca Rosen, and so am reading her new book “What the Dead Have Taught Me About Living Well.” I was struck (as a theological lumper) how some of her observations about being in line with Spirit resonate with observations by James Finley, one of my favorite spiritual teachers.
Thanks for asking this question, Bart! I’m curious and hope to pick up some suggestions.
Dr. Ehrman:
In your view is the Nestle Aland 28th Edition of the Greek New Testament the best? What other Greek New Testament works would you recommend?
It’s not *quite* the only game in town, but jsut about. And it’s the best.
Thanks Bart. “The Knowledge Machine” sounds quite interesting.
I’m reading: “The Subjection of Women” by John Stuart Mill.
Bart, off topic question: why the Bible “editors” put the Gospel of Matthew before Mark’s” You’ve worked with Dr Metzger on the NRSV committee, was there any discussion that Mark should be the first?
Becausee that’s the order in most manuscript: Matthew is normally given first (possibly because of hte mistaken view in antiquity that Mark was a condensed version of it) (and possibly because it has the genealogy and birth narrative, a perfect way to begin the NT.)
Reading a lot of Ehrman. Do you plan to or have you commented on the new changes to the Revised Standard Version Bible, due out in May? INterested in your take.
I haven’t seen it yet. I doubt if there will be much controversial in it, or much of anything most general reader will even notice is different. We’ll see! I do know they chose to translate the Greek word for “slave” in the NT as “servant,” and I think that’s a very bad decision (as do some members of the committee)
I just started “Of Fear and Strangers. A History of Xenophobia”. George Makari. 2021. I’m enjoying it as it’s well written, but it’s always so difficult to review how humans have treated each other from the beginning (and why). Why we persist in our fear of “others” and how we still treat them is always uncomfortable. No lite reading for me over the Holidays!
Current: Sea People by Christina Thompson. This book covers the discovery of the various Polynesians by Europeans and the history of attempts to understand who the Polynesians are, where they came from, and how they populated the Pacific.
Recent: A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers. What does it mean to be a person? One character is an AI that inhabited a ship being transferred to a human-like body and dealing with the consequences. Another is a woman, a clone known as Jane 23, among hundreds of such girls living sorting junk in a trash yard.
Previous: The Deficit Myth by Stephanie Kelton, an overview of economic policy in countries like the US that have ‘”fiat” currency. This is a real eye-opener.
One more: The Princes in the Tower by Josephine Wilkinson. Wilkinson is a historian, and tackles the question “What happened to Edward V’s sons and who did it?” There is also a lot about searching out the sources, evaluating them to find which ones are independent, evaluating the writers’ agendas, etc. She devotes a chapter to each person who might have been the culprit, but doesn’t conclude who did it.
I’ve read at least one of Dever’s books and considered the one you mention. Have not bought it yet. I do need to read The Knowledge Machine. Having taught physics and astronomy for many years, I’ve always been interested in the puzzle of why the scientific method developed in the time and place it did, rather than among the ancient Greeks (or the Chinese, or …)
Currenly reading three books:
The Immortality Key by Brian C. Muratesku. The quest for evidence about the role of hallusinogenic substances in ancient religions including Early Christianity. Fascinating. There may be obvious explanation to heavenly visions…
The Dawn of Everything – A New History of Humanity by David Graeber & David Wengrow. What does archeological evidence reveal about the evoltion of humanity. Thought provoking, changes our perception of the evolution of humanity. A must read.
Third is an entertaining Finnish novel that describes the life in medieval Finland. The main character is Mikael Agricola, ” a Finnish Lutheran clergyman who became the de facto founder of literary Finnish and a prominent proponent of the Protestant Reformation in Sweden.” (Wikipedia)
Hitch 22 A Memoir by Christopher Hitchens
All Things Bart Ehrman!
That was Hitchens’ last book before he died. Very good read.
You may, also, be aware that Hitchens wrote the Preface for his memoir about 11 months before he died. When he wrote for Vanity Fair, I bought the magazine every month just for his article. I miss his perspective.
Another by Bill Dever you might be interested in is his The Lives of Ordinary People in Ancient Israel
Where Archaeology and the Bible Intersect.
From the description: “In this book William Dever addresses the question that must guide every good historian of ancient Israel: What was life really like in those days? He presents his answers in a book that is far from a run-of-the-mill “history of Israel.” Writing as an expert archaeologist who is also a secular humanist, Dever relies on archaeological data, over and above the Hebrew Bible, for primary source material. He focuses on the lives of ordinary people in the eighth century B.C.E. – not kings, priests, or prophets – people who left behind rich troves of archaeological information but who are practically invisible in “typical” histories of ancient Israel. Illustrated by photos, maps, charts, site plans, and specially commissioned drawings, Dever’s work brings vividly to life a world too long buried beneath dusty texts and stony landscapes”.
Another great book I’m reading is Forget the Alamo, the Rise and Fall of an American Myth, by Bryan Burrough, Chris Tomlinson & Jason Stanford.
Reading Homo Deus by Yuval Harari. Much as one can contest his interpretation and concluding he raises very interesting themes and gets right to the heart of an issue.
“Return of the God Hypothesis” by Stephen C. Meyer. The style reminds me of when I read Michener novels. When I studied the great physicist, mathematicians, astronomers in history I never considered the underlying justification of their work was to prove or disprove God.
Hi again Bart. just wondering what your thoughts are on :
1. John J Collins in general, and
2. his book “What Are Biblical Values?”
Thank you
1. As good as they come. 2. Terrific. I wrote a blurb for it.
Thanks Bart.
Just read “Woke Racism: How a New Religion Has Betrayed Black America” by John McWhorter, a Columbia University professor who writes a twice weekly column for the New York Times. The book offers up interesting views on wokeness and racism in America.
Also reading “Good Economics for hard Times” by Banerjee and Duflo.
I am reading biblical studies books written by various scholarly suthors, such as Mark S. Smith, The Early History of God and John Spong, A Gentile Heresy. I recently finished Finding the Mother Tree, written by Suzanne Simard, and Mycelium Running, written by Paul Stamets — both true and fantastical. Next I plan to tackle Timo Eskola and Joseph Dan books about early Jewish myticism.
I am currently reading Mark Smith’s The Origin of Biblical Monotheism. Since this book is clearly written for scholars it is a tough read since I am not a scholar. But I am interested in how monotheism originated in Israel so I am pushing on through. Have you read it? If so any thoughts on his conclusions?
He’s a bona fide scholar and extremely learned. I haven’t looked at it in a long while, but I pretty much agree with the major thesis.
Herod: Profile of a Tyrant by Samuel Sandmel. I’ve become fascinated with the mid east and Levant after the Exile.
Grant by Ron Chernow. I’m a huge history buff, especially American and Britain. Who am I kidding. Any history will do.
1 Enoch by Nickles and VanderKam. Recommended by Bart. I’m loving this so far.
Ghosts of Belfast by Stewart Neville. This si the only novel I’m reading.
I am re-reading GOD, A Human History by Reza Aslan, which presents information on how GOD has communicated with humans, guiding us to greater and richer lives, starting more than 50,000 years ago when he led our hunter-gatherer ancestors to believe in an afterlife and to bury their dead with weapons and other items that they will need, and to paint their thoughts on cave walls.
I am also reading Before by Dr. Jim Tucker, Director of the Division of Perceptual Studies (DOPS) at the University of Virginia Medical School. The book summaries the 60 years of scientific research into reincarnation. The DOPS methodology is to conduct interviews followed by attempts at verification, and then to consider all possible explanations. Conclusions are left to the reader. DOPS has compiled a detailed database of 2500 cases of a remembered prior life made by children (age 2 to 6) are described and assessed — the majority of which are inconclusive but some provided evidence that reincarnation is the only possible explanation. In all cases, the child’s recollections fade completely after age 6. The DOPS website has videos and reports for those who want a quick source of information.
A Brief History of Nearly Everything & In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson. Anything & everything written by Dr. Huston C. Smith (including his autobiography) and Will & Ariel Durant. On the fictional side, I just finished Dune (again); the “Aubrey–Maturin” series by Patrick O’Brian; and the “Penn Cage” series by Greg Isles. Great story telling!
Anybody who’s lived through the late 20th century into the present and during that time matured beyond a narrow conservative Christian theology will enjoy the book, “Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation,” by Kristin Kobes Du Mez.
Here’s a link to my review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3674694873
love the Odyssey … two translations I particularly like are:
The Odyssey translated by Emily Wilson
The Odyssey a Graphic Novel Adaptation by Gareth Hinds
Benjamin Foster’s translation of The Epic of Gilgamesh … a must read if you never have.
New novels I’ve enjoyed recently:
Crossroads, by Jonathan Franzen
Intimacies by Katie Kitamura (about translation)
Matrix by Lauren Groff
Klara and the Sun, by Kazuo Ishiguro
Thanks everyone for sharing!
Happy New Year!
“The Human Phenomenon,” fresh “authoritative” translation of Pierre de Chardin by Appleton-Weber, in a Cobb Institute reading circle.
“After Jesus, Before Christianity,” Westar Institute. Will be very interested in your comments when they arrive!
Excerpts from articles & books like Brown’s “The Birth of the Messiah” in preparation for hearing a literalist Star of Bethlehem presentation here on the 9th. (help!) : )
many others in various states of progress : )
Fun to read all the titles listed here — you surely have a varied readership!!
Happy 2022!!! We hope!!! — Thank you for all you do to make EVERY year better!!!!!
Not reading currently but have read a couple of times and it’s pertinent to the ‘Is the Old Testament historical’ question: Centuries of Darkness by James and Thorpe. In a nutshell it demonstrates that mistaken dating using the ancient Egyptian king lists has given a two hundred year shift to the actual timeline, resulting in the theory of collapse between the civilisations of Mycenae and classical Greece, and in the archaeological record of the Eastern Mediterranean generally. Adjusting for this dating mistake gives archaeological credence to the Old Testament record of e.g. the Exodus and the destruction of Jericho.
Meet The Prophets by John W. Miller and The Bible A Historical and Literary Introduction by some weirdo named Bart Ehrman. 😀
It’s great to know what others on this blog are reading. There was a lot of overlap with what I’ve been reading, but also some books that I have pointedly avoided. But hey, not every one agrees, and one can’t be too sure about books you haven’t even read!
I’ll put a plug in for a great contemporary novelist, Jonathan Franzen. His latest is Crossroads, set in the early 1970’s about an associate pastor, his wife and kids and a hip youth pastor. Franzen’s earlier book The Corrections makes it into my lifetime top five favorite books.
Bart, I’m a huge fan of William Dever’s life and work, and of course your own as well. Hence I’m begging you to write that book on 20th century discoveries in biblical archeology. It is impossible to describe the impact of this science across world cultures and religions. You and Dever have sown the seeds to change the world! So go for it, Bart, we need you!
I’m actually thinking about doing a book on discoveries of manuscripts in modern times that support views of critical scholars that were highly controversial before (e.g., the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Nag Hammadi Library, etc.)
I would read that! Thanks for the recommendation on Devers. I have found that archeology has been prone to some extreme confirmation bias from its early days – Schliemann in Troy and Carter in Egypt for example – probably due in large part to the views and desires of the funding sources. Biblical archeology has certainly provided a prime environment for selective interpretation. Like all critical endeavors, archeology has become more disciplined since the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It sounds like Devers can help us navigate all that.
PS. I am now reading David Carr’s “Writing on the Tablet of the Heart” based on the recommendation of our own Diane Pittman. Interesting study on the role of texts in the ancient world.
I, too, am reading The Dawn of Everything by Graeber and Wengrow. Fantastic! I’ve wanted a book like this for years–connecting lesser-known but well substantiated dots. Just the fact that command obedience is unknown in so many cultures is thrilling. Humans have existed in so many fluid social settings.
Also Symbiotic Planet by the late, great Lynn Margulis. Dr. Ehrman mentioned above that Richard Dawkins didn’t know much about religion. Many scientists think his genetics are lacking, too, part of the fading Modern Synthesis. Margulis’s work on Gaia Theory and symbiogenesis in evolution blew Dawkins and his lineage out of the water. He called her “Attila the Hen.”
Happy New Year, and how heartwarming to hear how much support is going to charities! Epic!
Just finished re-reading How to Build a Dinosaur by Jack Horner.
I have to add that I just started reading what Jesus Learned from Women by James F. McGrath, which I found out about on this blog. I am really enjoying it: intelligent, thoughtful speculation and a lot of interesting historical details and scholarly info I hadn’t heard of before.
In the midst:
—————–
George Mosse, Confronting History: A Memoir (delightful!)
Oliver Burkeman, Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals (a bit bleak but a fine highbrow self-help book)
Sally Rooney: Beautiful World: Where Are You (lovely writing, but I do not like it as much as the folks who think it is the best fiction book of the year)
Recently finished
————————
Jeff Smith, Mr. Smith Goes to Prison (no relation, a prison memoir by a former Missouri state legislator who went to prison for violating election laws and, in the fine tradition of Marta Stewart and others, decided to monetize the experience by writing a book; it does a nice job of interweaving policy discussions with his own experiences)
Fatima Mernissi, The Veil and the Male Elite: A Feminist Interpretation of Women’s Rights in Islam (recommended to me by an economist of all things; the title misleads a bit, what the book really does is makes the case that the Prophet did not really intend the hijab. The discussion reminded me a lot of Bart’s books, though the (relatively) contemporary documentary record of early Islam seems a bit richer than that of early Christianity.
Sen. Hawley of MO has made a cornerstone of his message blaming problems of America on our embrace of Pelagian thinking. Evidently, Pelagius influences men to watch porn and vote for Bernie. (I’m generalizing I know ….) When you have time, I’d love to read your take on his use of Pelagius: Is it historically accurate? I he reading and using Pelagius correctly or re-writing history to fit his agenda.
It might also be interesting to hear your thoughts about Augustine’s original sin idea being a Manichean teaching he grafted onto Christianity. I suspect it’s the root of the pro-life/anti-abortion groups. They’re against anything remotely related to sex, which makes sense if they think sin is passed down via intercourse. Although I think at this point, all this is just out of a force of habit.
Thanks for your work and for bringing some historical accuracy to these issues. I can’t believe a US Senator quotes Pelagius at all. But if he wants to go there, we should too.
I’m not an expert on Pelagius, but I find it odd that he wold be quoted in the way you’re suggesting. Pelagius defended a very high level of personal morality, since salvation depended on it.
This post caught my interest enough to search the Internet. Here is what the senator has to say about Pelagius:
https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/june-web-only/age-of-pelagius-joshua-hawley.html
Quite amazing…. Sigh.
I have found online a fascinating interview of a scholar of Pelagius. The scholar is Dr. Ali Bonner of Cambridge University and she is the author of the book, The Myth of Pelagianism. As Pelagius has been latched upon as a bogeyman for the early 21st century, apparently Augustine did the same thing to Pelagius in the early 5th century. Both sets of attacks on Pelagius are unjustified. Augustine went as far as saying that it did not matter whether Pelagius actually held the views that Augustine was attacking. As far as Augustine was concerned, only the end result of the views being condemned as heresy mattered. The interview concludes with observations about being overly focused on theological doctrine and forgetting about ethics. I can say the interview is quite amazing, not with a sigh but with an exclamation mark. Here is the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzs9HOJA6mc
Also, here is a helpful review of Dr. Bonner’s book:
https://livingchurch.org/covenant/2019/04/05/augustine-and-pelagianism-myth-heresy-and-orthodoxy/
https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/june-web-only/age-of-pelagius-joshua-hawley.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/11/opinion/josh-hawley-religion-democracy.html
Quite amazing. Sigh….
“A Very Stable Genius” – Carol Lennig and Philip Rucker
“The Room Where It happened” – John Bolton
“I Alone Can Fix It” – Carol Lennig and Philip Rucker
“Peril” – Bob Woodward and Robert Costa
Not that I’ve been a one-issue guy recently or anything.
Dr. Ehrman, do you have any recommendations for a book for an interested layperson about the Sea Peoples of the Mediterranean, especially the people who became known as the Philistines? I can’t help thinking that the account we get in the Bible is somewhat prejudiced against them. I remember reading accounts that there were some interesting archaeological discoveries in the past few years.
You might want to try Anne Killebrew’s books (just go to Amazon and look for Philistines; you’ll get a good bit of dross, but hers will be the real deal)
Albert Camus was profoundly influenced by Dostoevsky, my favourite writer to whom I return every other year. He (Camus’) adapted ‘Demons’, a text I teach to my high school Lit students. I believe ‘The Rebel’ derived its title from the famous chapter in ‘The Brothers Karamazov.’
Christianity is a profound but oblique influence in Dostoevsky. And though he turned the topic into philosophical and literary gold, his understanding of Christianity wasn’t particularly historical or scientific!
Incidentally, if it’s of any interest, Dostoevsky’s favourite gospel was John and he was deeply impressed by the Book of Job.
Thanks. Yes, “Rebel,” for me, is the key chapter in Brothers K, far more important than the Grand Inquisitor for my thinking. Incredibly powerful.
What’s incredible to me is that Dostoevsky was a devout Christian pushing his faith almost beyond the limit in that chapter. Alyosha (despite being the closest to FD’s own beliefs) actually concedes that he can’t accept the unredeemed tears of a child (paraphrase) as the price for his ticket to heaven. My personal favourite is ‘Demons’ or ‘Devils’; an absolutely devastating critique of the communist experiment to come.
Do you have a favourite Jesus novel? Mine is ‘The Last Temptation.’ ‘King Jesus’ by Graves is hard work but the more I read about ancient religions, the more I realise how much he (Graves) knew his stuff. Or so it seems to a layman.
Yes, I’ve always had trouble understanding how D would end up siding with Alyosha. But at least he doesn’t minimize the counter arguments!
Not really. But I do have a favorite Jesus movie: Jesus of Montreal!
1. Memoires d’Hadrien — Marguerite Yourcenar
2. Le Royaume (The Kingdom) — Emmanuel Carrere
3. The Cleave Trilogy (Eclipse, Shroud, Ancient Light) — John Banville
4. What’s it Like to Be a Bird — David Allan Sibley
5. The White Album — Joan Didion
6. Anna Karenina — Leo Tolstoy
I have a question for this group on number 2 (The Kingdom). It is an account of the author’s brief intense Catholic phase in the early 90’s and his re-telling of Luke-Acts. It does not seem to follow current scholarship that closely, but it is a stunner of a book. Anybody read it?
Not me. But Anna Karenina is one of the greatest novels of all time….
I prefer “War and Peace” meself.
It’s obviously the more famous; I found A. K. more focused and dealing with teh big questions I’m especailly intrigued by.
Recently finished Willie James Jennings’ The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race. One of the most fascinating and moving books I’ve read in a long time, though not without its problems, imho. Curious what Bart or any other readers here who’ve read it think!
I haven’t read it, but I knew him a wee bit when he was at Duke. Impressive nad intersting fellow.
I just finished Dale Allison’s The Resurrection of Jesus. Starting Soul Made Flesh: The Discovery of the Brain–and How it Changed the World by Carl Zimmer.
I’m the exact opposite! I love reading non fiction. Currently I’m reading Matthew in the Jewish Annotated New Testament.
I’m reading “In the Beginning: The Story of the King James Bible and How It Changed a Nation, a Language, and a Culture”
by Alister McGrath. I’m also reading “The Jewish Study Bible: Second Edition,” with its copious essays and marginal notes, along with “The Ancient Near East: An Anthology of Texts and Pictures,” by James B. Pritchard.
This version of the New Testament was translated by Jewish scholars Amy Jill Levine and Marc Brettler. I’m up to Matthew 16. The commentaries are very informative.
They’ve guest posted on the blog!
On Christmas Eve, after the big dinner and plenty of wine, I read aloud “The Boy Who Laughed at Santa Claus” by Ogden Nash. Much shorter than “A Christmas Carol”, but quite fun and funny. Apparently there are several slightly different versions out there.
My current read is “The Good Soldier Svejk” by Jaroslav Hasek.
I learned of this classic from a Great Courses lecture on Eastern European history.
This was written in Czech (I read it in English!) in 1923 as a satire of life in the Austro-Hungarian Empire (and Army) during WWI. Part “Catch-22” (which it influenced, according to Heller), part “Simplicissimus”, and maybe a bit of Lucian of Samosata.
I’m finally reading your “Heaven and Hell” now- my question is about Greek mythology and the River Styx. I’ve seen some sources that list the Acheron river as the river souls have to cross to get to the underworld. Are there multiple traditions/mythologies at work here?
One of the glorious things about ancient mythology is that it was very rich and diverse. But to see the differences, you can probably just Google the two names together and get a decent explanation.
Bart, Weird coincidence for me, I logged in month ago and read your post about Spong’s passing, so I read his “Jesus for the Non-Religious” and “Biblical Literalism: A Gentile Heresy”, so when Spong mentioned a big source for this one main theory he elaborates in both books is actually from scholar Michael Goulder’s books on “liturgical theory of gospel formation”. So, I logged back in to see if Michael Goulder had ever been discussed here and this post catches my eye first, because on vacation early November, I too read “Has Archaeology Buried the Bible”, by William Dever. By the way, I saw “Fossil Men: The Quest for the Oldest Skeleton and the Origins of Humankind” by Kermit Pattison in airport going home, so I read that too. Both were worth the time. I will buy your future book if this project become reality, would love to know what other books your reading other than Dever?.
Mitch
Nothing on the Hebrew Bible just now. Just on other things! But I did buy Dever’s big scholarly book where he lays out lots more of the evidence in more scholarly terms.
I recently read, Bart, Matthias Henze’s *Mind the Gap*, which I loved. I loved even more, Ross Douthat’s account of his struggle with chronic Lyme, *The Deep Places*. Our oldest is a sufferer. Currently, I’m moseying through John Collins’ *Introduction to the Hebrew Bible*, which I’m enjoying. I suppose Collins must be one of your competitors?
I’m also translating the Book of Joel, which is wonderful.
Unlike you, I’m a painfully slow reader. But I do cherish my reading. Thanks for asking about it.
Nope, Collins and I don’t compete at all. He’s top of the line, one of the finest scholars of Hebrew Bible on the planet and we’ve always been on highly friendly terms.
What I’m reading now is Heaven and Hell. Bart I have this question, in chapter 10 section 2 paragraph 7, I think you used the right book but the chapter and verse is not corespondent to the view of what you trying to make understand. Your are using (Luke 22:37&22:39) the right chapter should be (Luke 24:37&24:39) please review.
It’s probably a scribal corruption of the text.
Has Archaeology Buried the Bible, by William Dever is an outstanding book that I read about a year ago along with Dever’s, Beyond the Texts, which was more technical but good as well.
I’m just now finishing up A Terrible Glory, by James Donovan. An in-depth account of the battle of the Little Big Horn. Which is a subject I knew very little about.
On my book runway are, Why Evolution is True, by Jerry Coyne and Michael Coogan’s, The Old Testament textbook (A used fourth edition).
I just read The Jesus Discovery: The New Archaeological Find That Reveals the Birth of Christianity
by James D. Tabor and Simcha Jacobovici.
Is there evidence that Mariamene was only used for Mary Magdalene? Do you agree with the authors’ conclusion that the Talpiot garden tomb is that of Jesus of Nazareth, his wife, Mary Magdalene, and their son Judah among other family members?
Not that I know of. And no, I don’t think these views are convincing.
Well, I’ve been revisiting blog posts in chronological order and have arrived at the end of 2021, so to mark the occasion I’ve sent you a fifty dollar voluntary donation.
I will be moving house this coming month, so it might be wise for me to wait until I’m settled in the new place before revisiting posts from early 2022. Not saying I will. But it might be wise.
Dickens, yeah. Christmas Carol is a fantastic story, full of meaning to the religious and non-religious alike, and a wonderful message. Although an extremely toned down vision of Hell appears almost as an afterthought, for Dickens, the real impetus for reform is the opportunity to see one’s self from a new perspective. Some time traveller really ought to adapt it for an audience in antiquity!
One modern novel I can’t praise enough — one that certainly ticks all the “thought provoking and written by people who really know how to write” boxes — is _The Gargoyle_ by Andrew Davidson (2008). I believe I’ve mentioned it before. The plot is interwoven and complex, but medieval manuscript translation plays a key role, and references to Dante’s Inferno are among its central motifs. Not family friendly, though.
Many thanks. May your tribe increase! And thanks for the Davidson reference.