"Misquoting Jesus” is the only show where a six-time New York Times bestselling author and world-renowned Bible scholar uncovers the many fascinating, little known facts about the New Testament, the historical Jesus, and the rise of Christianity. The show features Dr. Bart Ehrman and host, Megan Lewis.
…
continue reading
Each week on the Bart Ehrman Blog Podcast, John Mueller will read two posts from the Bart Ehrman Blog – the first will be a post from the not too distant past, and the second will be from the blog archives (one published roughly the same calendar week but from years 2012 to 2016). The Bart Ehrman Blog was created in 2012 to raise money for charities devoted to fighting poverty, hunger, and homelessness. Each week, Dr. Ehrman publishes 5 or 6 posts (approximately 1000 words each post) providi ...
…
continue reading
1
"What Did the Prophet Isaiah Say About Jesus? "
44:49
44:49
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
44:49
…
continue reading
Were Jesus and Paul were on different pages when it came to the most important issue for them both, how a person can be saved? In this episode, Bart and Megan explore Gospels and the letters of Paul to see where these two pivotal figures share many similar views and yet appear to stand completely at odds on the major question. If they did, then is …
…
continue reading
In this episode, Bart and Megan dive into the ancient doctrine called the "Harrowing of Hell," which is still believed by millions today. But what are we to make of idea that Jesus' salvation was universal? Literally everyone gets saved?
…
continue reading
1
Christian Monks in a Desert Full of Sound
37:29
37:29
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
37:29
Most of us think of early Christian monks moving into the desert to escape the chaos and noise of civilization to lead the quiet contemplative life. In a fascinating study by Kim Haines-Eitzen we learn that in fact the desert was and is unexpectedly filled with sound. Based on her high-tech own recordings in some of the major deserts of the world, …
…
continue reading
1
Why the Doctrine of Inerrancy Contradicts the Gospels
45:40
45:40
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
45:40
Many modern Christians view the Bible as the inspired, inerrant word of God. Is that what its own authors thought? Did the author of Matthew, for example, think the Gospel of Mark was infallible? If so, why did he change it? In this episode we look at the views of the Gospel writers about the inerrancy of other Gospels -- even those also found in t…
…
continue reading
1
Were Early Christians Known to Be Moral Reprobates?
37:54
37:54
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
37:54
Many modern Christians think Christians are inherently more moral than non-believers. Non-Christians, as a rule, don't think so. What about in the ancient world? Why is it that the most widely attested view among ancient pagans was the opposite, that Christians were dangerously immoral reprobates? Why weren't they seen as stalwart proponents of fam…
…
continue reading
1
Did Jesus Have to Suffer? Trying to Make Sense of a Troubling View
42:56
42:56
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
42:56
Did Jesus himself think or talk about his imminent sufferings—did he predict his own brutal end, or have those parts been creatively interpreted by later authors to fit a theological agenda? This episode offers a chance to uncover the layers of historical, religious, and philosophical complexities surrounding these ancient texts.…
…
continue reading
We are all familiar with the disturbing parts of the Bible, with it's divinely sanctioned violence from the destruction of Jericho in the Old Testament to the destruction of the world in the New, from the passages that justify slavery to the patriarchal views of ancient Israel and the writings in the name of Paul. How have evangelicals tried to sal…
…
continue reading
1
Was Jesus Buried on the Day of His Crucifixion
50:14
50:14
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
50:14
All the Gospels agree that on the day Jesus was crucified, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body and took it from the cross to bury in a tomb. What almost no one realizes is that this would have been unprecedented, so far as we know, in the Roman world, where part of the humiliation of crucifixion was for the corpse to be left on the cross …
…
continue reading
The Gospels agree that Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus, even if they don't agree on why he did it. But is their view about *what* he did plausible? That he told the authorities where they could find Jesus without any crowds around? There are, in fact, reasons for thinking that Judas did something far more sinister, that he revealed a key teaching of …
…
continue reading
1
The Disturbing Views of God and Suffering in the Book of Job
47:10
47:10
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
47:10
Most readers don't realize, however, that the vast majority of the book comes from a different author who has a completely different view of why people suffer.
…
continue reading
Most people think that everyone has a soul that is resident in the body. The vast majority of Christians believe the soul lives on after the body dies. But ironically the vast majority of people -- even devoted readers of the Bible -- have never noticed what the biblical writers actually say about it. In this episode we look at views of the soul fo…
…
continue reading
This week Bart will be interviewing New Testament scholar and public intellectual Candida Moss, on her new book, God's Ghostwriters: Enslaved Christians and the Making of the Bible. In the book, Dr. Moss (Professor in the Department of Theology and Religion at the University of Birmingham) maintains that parts of the Bible may have been written by …
…
continue reading
1
Newly Discovered PROOF: Jesus Was an Illusionist
42:14
42:14
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
42:14
In an absolutely shocking turn of events, Bart has learned of a first-century Gospel that will overturn everything scholars think they know about Jesus, showing that he was a charlatan exposed by the Roman government for duping the Jewish crowds by sophisticated works of magic. The Gospel, set to be published this week by the NY Times, details how …
…
continue reading
1
Was Peter a Rock or Shifting Sand? Jesus' Closest Disciple in History and Legend.
43:59
43:59
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
43:59
Jesus' closest disciple was Simon, whom henicknamed "Peter" -- that is "The Rock." But in the Gospels and the writings of Paul, Peter is fickle, clumsy, and unreliable, less like a rock than shifting sand. After the New Testament we have numerous writings both about and allegedly by him. In looking over all these records, what can we say about the …
…
continue reading
Jesus' followers have always called him the "messiah," from the earliest days of the religion -- so much so that "Christ" (the Greek word for Messiah) became his second name. But most Jews, both then and now, rejected the claim, pointing out that Jesus in fact was nothing like the messiah. Do they have a point? If so, why did Jesus' early followers…
…
continue reading
1
Do Fundamentalists (actually) Follow Jesus?
46:49
46:49
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
46:49
Why do so many seem to overlook or ignore many of Jesus' key teachings? Surely they know what he said about loving the enemy and the foreigner? Why do they claim that Jesus said things he never, actually, talked about (many of the most pressing social questions fundamentalists are keen on)?
…
continue reading
Some evangelical preachers claim that Jesus is walking all over the pages of the Old Testament. The Old Testament, of course, doesn't say so. But believing Christians all the way in antiquity claimed that the Jewish Scriptures not only predict Jesus but also portray him, as a person involved with the creation of the world and the history of Israel.…
…
continue reading
In this special episode Bart interviews one of the world's leading archaeologists of ancient Israel, Jodi Magness, whose discoveries are regularly covered in National Geographic. The interview is a prelude to an interesting four-lecture remote course Jodi is giving on March 2-3, called "Archaeology in the Time of Jesus" (available at bartehrman.com…
…
continue reading
1
Was Luke Written by Luke? And Why Should We Care?
45:07
45:07
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
45:07
The Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts were both allegedly written by a companion of Paul, Luke "the gentile physician." But the books never name their author. So why Luke? Are are there any good grounds for naming him in particular? Or any grounds at all? Were the books probably written by a doctor? Was he probably a gentile? *Was* there a Luke? …
…
continue reading
The New Testament describes Paul's experience on several occasions: but can the accounts be trusted? Are they even consistent with each other? If we want to understand such a world-shattering experience, do we need to invoke the supernatural? Are there other plausible explanations? And is it right to call the event a "conversion" in the sense that …
…
continue reading
1
Why Did Paul Hate Jesus and His Followers?
43:29
43:29
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
43:29
Next to Jesus, Paul is the most important figure in the history of Christianity, but as is well known, before he was a zealous apostle he was an equally zealous antagonist. What was that all about? Why would a Jew in the Roman world outside Israel even care if a small group of Jews were claiming that Jesus was the messiah who brought salvation? Wou…
…
continue reading
1
Gospel Thrillers! When Jesus Meets Robert Ludlum
50:26
50:26
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
50:26
The backstory is fascinating and illuminating: these books started to appear during the Cold War, in the context of the increasingly serious questioning of authority, imperialism, and colonialism, and just when biblical scholars were themselves publicizing new finds that called into question the traditional truths of Christianity.…
…
continue reading
1
Why Fundamentalism is Not (Always) Such a Bad Thing. Take Bart for example...
51:24
51:24
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
51:24
In this episode he spills the beans on how being a fundamentalist proved, in some ways, to be a good thing. (Even if he doesn't advise going there!)
…
continue reading
1
Is the New Testament Actually Filled with Forgeries?
40:57
40:57
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
40:57
In our previous episodes on "literary forgery" in early Christianity, we have never yet talked about the elephant in the room. Why are there so many in the New Testament? In this episode we will not be going over the old ground of what forgery is (an author falsely claiming to be a famous person) or how it was justified in the ancient world, even a…
…
continue reading
…
continue reading
Almost everyone assumes that Jesus' disciple, John the Son of Zebedee, wrote the Gospel of John. But is there any compelling reason to think so? In this episode we look into many of the issues that most people have never thought about. Most, for example, do not realize that the author of this book never mentions John, let alone calls himself John. …
…
continue reading
Mary is definitely the more famous of Jesus' mortal parents…but what about Joseph? Few people have asked about him but he is obviously a significant part of the Christmas story. But what can we know about him? Why are the writers of the New Testament virtually silent about him? What we can infer about his life and the role he played in Jesus' life?…
…
continue reading
1
Why Mary? What Made the Mother of Jesus so Special? The Proto-Gospel of James
40:47
40:47
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
40:47
The Proto-Gospel of James, a kind of "Gospel Before the Gospels," was one of the most influential non-canonical writings throughout the Middle Ages. The narrative does not focus on the life of Jesus but on the supernatural birth, young life, betrothal, and pregnancy of his mother Mary. From this Gospel come many traditions that remain important in …
…
continue reading
1
Can There Be Meaning In A World Without God?
45:46
45:46
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
45:46
Many people of faith think, and strongly believe, that without an almighty, sovereign being over this world life would (and can!) have no meaning: it's just a matter of chance and circumstance with no ultimate end, no goal, nor purpose, no meaning. Bart had that view for years, and feared that leaving the faith would lead to a purposeless, meaningl…
…
continue reading
This miraculous event is found in only two passages of the entire New Testament (in Matthew and Luke). Did the other New Testament authors know about it? If so, why didn't they mention it? If not, how could they not? And where did the idea of a virgin birth even come from? In this episode we deal with these and other intriguing issues highly releva…
…
continue reading
For a religion that claims to view their god as the most powerful, supreme being in the universe, some Christians have an interesting habit of placing restrictions on what he can and can’t do. God can’t make a world without suffering, he has to inspire a collection of written texts (that have no mistakes in them), and he certainly can’t be sympathe…
…
continue reading
…
continue reading
1
Does the Book of James Attack the Teachings of Paul?
45:12
45:12
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
45:12
For over five centuries (going back to Martin Luther!) many readers of the New Testament have maintained that the letter of James flat-out contradicts the teachings of Paul, that a person is made right with God only by faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus. James insists that a person is not justified by faith alone, but by doing good works;…
…
continue reading
…
continue reading
1
He's a Very Naughty Boy: The Infancy Gospel of Thomas
43:51
43:51
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
43:51
The Infancy Gospel of Thomas is one of the most intriguing and peculiar non-canonical accounts of Jesus' life from outside the New Testament. The New Testament itself provides only one story about Jesus as a boy (as a twelve-year old, in Luke 2); this later account contains intriguing stories of the mischievous Son of God from ages 5-12. Is he an u…
…
continue reading
…
continue reading
Nearly everyone today assumes that Jesus could read and write. But is that historically plausible? There is only one story in the New Testament where Jesus is shown to be able to read (Luke 4) and he is never said to be able to write (except in the story of the Woman Caught in Adultery that was added by scribes only later John 7-8). In this episode…
…
continue reading
As far back as we have literary reports -- beginning with the Epic of Gilgamesh, our earliest surviving narrative, written centuries before the oldest accounts of the Bible -- humans have feared death more than almost anything. Many people fear the process of dying; others fear facing eternal torment; yet others fear the void, the idea of non-exist…
…
continue reading
What was actually happening in those years? Were thousands of people converting? Was the religion taking over the world? Was it declared illegal by the state? Or... ?
…
continue reading
1
Our One-Year Anniversary! A Live Q&A with Bart
1:18:42
1:18:42
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:18:42
For our 52nd episode -- our one-year anniversary! -- we will be having a live Q&A with Bart. Questioners have submitted questions, some out of the many have been chosen, Megan will host the event, and questioners will ask their questions live, to hear Bart's responses! A special time of celebration as we (also) reflect on our Year One!…
…
continue reading
If Jesus was an apocalyptic prophet, then why isn't mainstream, modern Christianity an apocalyptic religion? Was the move away from apocalypticism deliberate, and are modern doomsday preachers actually closer to preaching Jesus' message than other churches?
…
continue reading
1
What Does It Mean to Write a Popular Book?
45:28
45:28
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
45:28
Most scholars write books and articles for other scholars, using jargon and presupposing knowledge available only to experts trained in their discipline. But some scholars write books designed for popular audiences about their fields of expertise. Can non-scholars write books like that? Should they try? Why do most scholars choose not to do so? Are…
…
continue reading
1
Stories about Jesus Before the Gospels: Oral Traditions in the Early Church.
39:19
39:19
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
39:19
…
continue reading
1
A Giant Jesus and a Walking-Talking Cross: The Fascinating Gospel of Peter
48:21
48:21
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
48:21
One of the most intriguing non-canonical Gospels to be discovered in modern times is the Gospel of Peter. Unlike the New Testament Gospels, which were written anonymously (only later to be given the titles Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), this Gospel actually claims to be written by an apostle, Jesus' own right-hand man, Peter. The account we have i…
…
continue reading
1
Can Christians Study the New Testament Honestly?
42:36
42:36
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
42:36
In this episode we consider the issue from several angles, not by assuming that outsiders are necessarily "objective" (is *anyone* objective?) but by thinking through the complications of the matter.
…
continue reading
The genius of Luke’s Gospel is frequently overlooked by those who simply breeze through it or assume it is saying the same thing as Matthew and Mark. In fact, it is strikingly different. What especially matters are not so much the contradictions one finds, but the larger picture. Luke has radically edited Mark’s account in places to create a new po…
…
continue reading
The Christian faith is rooted in the belief that Jesus died for the sins of the world and was then raised from the dead. But is this what Jesus himself preached during his public ministry? In the Gospels Jesus certainly predicts his coming death, on numerous occasions. But are those saying historical? How would scholars know? What is the evidence b…
…
continue reading
1
New Testament Scholarship for Non-Scholars
48:30
48:30
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
48:30
…
continue reading
1
How did Christianity take over the Roman World?
44:47
44:47
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
44:47
…
continue reading