The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings

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The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings

by Bart D. Ehrman

4.21 · rating details · 170 ratings · 18 reviews

Featuring vibrant full color throughout, this new edition of Bart Ehrman's highly successful introduction approaches the New Testament from a consistently historical and comparative perspective, emphasizing the rich diversity of the earliest Christian literature. Rather than shying away from the critical problems presented by these books, Ehrman addresses the histori

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Paperback, 4th edition, 529 pages

Published October 7th 2007 by Oxford University Press, USA (first published 1996)

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Jan 18, 2012

Mike Hankins rated it

· review of another edition

If you search for Bart Ehrman on Amazon, you'll find not only a prolific author, but one that is the cause of an intense amount of controversey. The comments pages of his book listings overflow with venomous diatribes. Some seminaries consider his name a curse word. And some of that is deserved. Ehrman has devoted much of his work to discrediting or even maligning Christianity, but this book should not be considered part of that body. Rather, this is a fairly old book, written before Ehrman beca...moreIf you search for Bart Ehrman on Amazon, you'll find not only a prolific author, but one that is the cause of an intense amount of controversey. The comments pages of his book listings overflow with venomous diatribes. Some seminaries consider his name a curse word. And some of that is deserved. Ehrman has devoted much of his work to discrediting or even maligning Christianity, but this book should not be considered part of that body. Rather, this is a fairly old book, written before Ehrman became the more outspoken, controversial author he is reputed to be currently, and it is a fairly vanilla textbook meant to accompany undergraduate introductory classes. As such, it is limited to braodly discussing widely held beliefs, and avoids invective and too much conjecture.

The book aims to analyze the New Testament and many related non-canonical early Christian documents in their historical context, allowing the student to undertstand where these texts came from and how they came to us in the form we are familiar with today. Ehrman arranges the book somewhat topically, starting with a few introductory chapters of general history and textual analysis, and proeceeding to first look at the life of Jesus throught he gospels and other non-canon biographies, then looks closely at Paul's writings. Other epistles are then grouped thematically. This approach gives the book a nice sense of flow and allows the ideas to build on each other. Although the texts are not considered in the order they were written, necessarily, they are arranged (losely) in historical chronological order (i.e. Jesus before Paul, even though Paul's letters were written long before the gospels) which again allows the book to flow smoothly, developing and building on itself.

Although the book is not meant to be controversial, and its tone goes out of its way to remain conciliatory, the book does purposefully challenge many ideas that readers may have been given by the modern church, attempting to introduce the views of biblical and historical scholars and textual analysts. Many religious readers might be uncomfortable with the idea that very few of the New Testament books have certainty regarding their authorship. The insinuation that many of Paul's epistles were not in fact written by him, or that the gospels are, in fact, anyonymous, will no doubt cause some serious blowback for some readers. Some people may be offended by the discussions of how certain books came to be included in the canon, and others excluded, or by the discussions of how scribes changed and edited the texts over the centuries, and many hallowed passages may not have been originally included in these works.

If there is an overriding theme to the book, it is the idea that these works must be examined in their proper context. The New Testament books are meant to be inspirational religious works. They are designed to convert people to the faith, or to inspire those already converted. They are not meant to be history books or science textbooks. To study them as if they were does them a severe disservice--as well as a disservice to history and science. While they certainly have historical value, not every detail in them is historically accurate. Ehrman shows that this cannot be so by examining how many details of narratives from different canonical works do not line up with each other, in addition to the fact that the writers used sources that were likely modified and chagned over the years, even if they relied on eyewitnesses. He includes many chapters that attempt to discover the historical truth by analyzing the text, showing various methods scholars have used to do so over the years. These historical problems are the nature of these types of documents, and acknowledging this does not at all take away from the importance of these texts. Regardless of his reputation, Ehrman continually makes this point, emphasizing that just because not every single verse of these books literally historically happened--just because authors changed events to suit their theological points--just because speeches and sermons were made up by the authors and are likely completely innaccurate historically--none of this means that these texts are not valuable or important. Rather, they simply must be studied in light of what they are: religious, theological, inspirational documents.

Of course the works have extreme historical value as well, but just as historians are critical and careful of the veracity of other ancient sources (Plutarch, Livy, or Suetonius to name a few) so modern readers must be critical when reading the New Testament. While this will certainly ruffle some feathers of those who believe these words are the inspired words of the Almighty, Ehrman--and ultimately all serious historians--must examine these texts as they do any other ancient source: as documents written by specific people in specific situations for specific purposes. This does not necessarily undermine the argument for inspiration, although Ehrman's discussion of the problems of textual analysis will give many fundamentalists a run for their money. This discussion, the final chapter of the book, examines the copies of the New Testament we have to work with, and how many versions of these texts do not line up with each other, indicating changes by scribes over the years that might alter the way these books are interpreted.

The extensive bibliography and "further reading" recommendations are an extremely valuable addition. These minature annotated bibliographies conclude each chapter, and Ehrman insists on including works which disagree with him. If nothing else, the book has extreme value as a platform for further research, placing the vast field of scholarly study in an easy-to-access context for readers on all levels.

In any case, Ehrman's textbook does an excellent job in what it sets out to do, and does it in as nonoffensive a way possible. While he does take a few ideas a little too far (the discussion of the Johanine community seems a little to conjectural) this book ultimately provides a solid synthesis of current scholarly thought about the New Testament, and provides a firm foundation and context for it's study. Anyone who has a faith built on these documents would benefit from this book, and the church would perhaps be better off if more pastors taught some of these ideas. Unfortunately, many people find it easier to believe that the New Testament is an almost magical document that appeared in the sky one day, which is how many churches teach it. This however, does the New Testament a diservice, and those readers whose faith would be destroyed by the ideas in Ehrman's book ultimately reveal that their faith was perhaps a little on the weak side. Ehrman, despite his reputation, presents nothing here that undermines these documents, but rather, provides a context for deeper understanding, appreciation, and ultimately inspiration.(less)

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Jul 30, 2011

BHodges added it · review of another edition

Ehrman has a way with words when discussing difficult or sometimes boring issues. This book is an excellent introduction to the New Testament from a historical perspective. Granted, Ehrman could have spent a little more time discussing differences among various interpreters and scholars. To keep the pace going he usually skates through a few rather hotly-debated issues by noting that they are hotly debated, then moving on. As an intro text, though, this is probably to be expected. His suggestion...more

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Jan 20, 2010

Huyen rated it

Recommends it for: people who think the best way to attack Christianity is its history

Recommended to Huyen by: Matt Molloy

Shelves: history-politics-religion

One of my friends once said Christianity was a great idea, unfortunately, Jesus' disciples made it into a religion. I was never sure if I could agree with him. One thing to take away from this book, like other books by Ehrman, is that once you look critically into the historical stuff about Jesus and what he actually said and did, not what others interpreted him to say, things aren't as romantic as moralists or philosophers (not to mention theologians) would like us to think.

Unlike ...more One of my friends once said Christianity was a great idea, unfortunately, Jesus' disciples made it into a religion. I was never sure if I could agree with him. One thing to take away from this book, like other books by Ehrman, is that once you look critically into the historical stuff about Jesus and what he actually said and did, not what others interpreted him to say, things aren't as romantic as moralists or philosophers (not to mention theologians) would like us to think.

Unlike what most people would imagine, that Jesus was an asteroid hitting the earth with great moral force, he was more like a pebble thrown into the sea. His influence outside Palestine was nil, very little was known or written about him in the pagan or non-Christian Jewish literature, the best we had was a passing mention of some guy called Christos by the historian Josephus. He was more like a typical village preacher than a great philosopher. Apart from the four Gospels, each with a distinct theological orientation, very few other Christian sources actually described Jesus' life and deeds, often with contradictory and unreliable information. Jesus' preaching had little to do with reforming society or inculcating better morality but much more about what people had to do to enter the imminent Kingdom of God when all current social institutions would be destroyed to be replaced by God's eternal happy paradise. on this topic Ehrman's "Jesus, the first millennium apocalyptic prophet" is a much better read.

I think the most interesting thing I learned from this book is the increasing anti-Jewish tendency of early Christianity. Most Jews at that time probably found it ridiculous that some people believed that Jesus could be the messiah. The messiah is supposed to be a fantastically powerful, glorious warrior with aura shining and angels flying above his head not a humiliated, helpless little guy. To recruit more followers, Paul made it very clear that Gentiles could also be salvaged by Jesus' suffering given that they believed in him. Unlike Judaism, which was exempted from persecution by the Roman empire in many aspects, as a weak emerging religious movement without any political clout, early Christianity had to defend itself against subversive charges, and had to create an "enemy" in its process of self-definition. And if you can't tickle the big guy (Rome), the easiest target was Jews who refused to believe in Jesus, and these attacks became increasingly vitriolic and took tragic turns once Christianity became the official religion of the Roman empire.
Another minor interesting thing is how Ehrman explains the evil number 666 (mine is that it sounds like sex sex sex). He says that in ancient Hebrew, each letter can have a numerical value, and 666 makes Rome, the evil centre of the world at that time, which makes pretty good sense.
The book gets a bit tedious at times, but is still an excellent textbook to learn about early Christianity. I love Ehrman as always, his writing is so brilliant and engaging that even a mind-numbingly boring topic like this can be interesting.

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Jul 28, 2011

Ira Therebel rated it

Shelves: history, religion

It is a great book to introduce someone to the history of the New Testament. It is written from the neutral point of view, the author doesn't claim that there is God nor that there isn't. He just talks about history so it may be interesting for religious people just as Christians.

It discusses several books of the Bible and analyzes them using different methods while looking at the historical context, the development of Christianity at that time and the sources that might have been used. It was v...more

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May 23, 2011

Curtis rated it

· review of another edition

Ehrman's quality as a scholar and this books valuable information unfortunately pale in comparison to his juvenile sense of humor and his seminary nerdiness that pervade every chapter of this book. I just finished this and all I can recall are his awkward jokes and jabs directed at the unknowing Christian masses of undergrad students that he has to deal with in his classes.

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Aug 26, 2009

Leann rated it

Any serious student of the Bible would be well-advised to begin with this classic textbook of the New Testament's historic beginnings. absolutely fascinating, Bart Ehrman is a great professor and writer--must read for Divinity students and novices alike.

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Mar 01, 2009

Eric rated it

Shelves: outside-reading

Interesting introduction to the New Testament. Looks at the book from a historical approach, mixed with some literary criticism, and socio-cultural perspectives. An engaging textbook style introduction to "the book" of Western civilization.

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Apr 11, 2010

Heather rated it

A very good book and one that I would highly recommend, especially to biblical literalists. I learned quite a lot from reading it. It's a good introduction to studying the New Testament from a historical perspective.

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Jul 16, 2008

Eileen rated it

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Shelves: history, religious-studies

This was the first of many Ehrman books I read. It was required for my Intro to NT course.

To put it simply: I LOVE Bart D. Ehrman. I had the pleasure of watching him in a debate that was held at my college. He was just as brilliant in person, and thinking on his feet, as he is in his writing. This is a great commentary on the New Testament, and will definitely give people a stronger understnding of the NT. Highly recommended (and would recommend other Erhman books).

Note: ...more

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Aug 09, 2011

Todd added it · review of another edition

I read an early draft of this book when I took his class in the mid 90's. Excellent.

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Jul 26, 2008

Theodora rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: anyone interested in the New Testament

Recommended to Theodora by: Elaine Pagels

Shelves: books08, sonship, christianity

Overall a good introduction to the New Testament. The stuff about Aramaic letters vs. Greek letters are very important, as was the discussion about Jesus' progression to God. Although I think Jesus was a prophet, and maybe an apocalyptic prophet, I think there is a balance between the sweetness of his teaching and the apocalyptic message. I don't think Jesus associated with sinners because they were the ones who had committed the most terrible offensives.

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Sep 11, 2011

John rated it

· review of another edition

Designed as a text for Dr. Ehrman's seminary students, the book is imminately readable and informative. I was fascinated to see that Ehrman assumes his students know nothing about the scriptures except the myths delivered in Sunday School. For anyone who is curious about the 'holy' Christian scriptures, Dr. Ehrman is indeed a must read.
Would suggest if you haven't read Ehrman a good start is MISQUOTING JESUS.

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Dec 09, 2010

Dyani added it · review of another edition

Informative and easy to read.

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Jun 12, 2008

Kristin rated it

Recommended to Kristin by: New Testament prof, University of Washington (required reading)

Shelves: school, comparative-religion, christianity

I loved this book. Ehrman, who teaches at UNC, apparently started out as an Evangelical fundamentalist Christian and through studying theology came to be an agnostic. For someone like me, who grew up in church but is still searching for answers, and who also really likes secrets, I was appreciative of his careful historian's perspective and open mind.

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Jun 12, 2007

Sarah rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: great-books

while this, like any other book that attempts to give the most "accurate" presentation of the bible, is also just another historian's interpretation, i enjoyed reading it immensely and felt it made valuable and plausible insights. best when read in conjunction with an opposing point of view (john dominic crossan is a good choice)

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Oct 28, 2011

Mari rated it

· review of another edition

Interesting--for what it is... Lots of information.

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Aug 18, 2007

Stacy Parrish rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: anyone

One can never question their world too much.

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Feb 29, 2008

Katie rated it

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Shelves: coursebooks, nonfiction

Pretty good.

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About Bart D. Ehrman

Bart D. Ehrman is the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill. He came to UNC in 1988, after four years of teaching at Rutgers University. At UNC he has served as both the Director of Graduate Studies and the Chair of the Department of Religious Studies.

A graduate of Wheaton College (Illinois), Professor Ehrman received both his Ma...moreBart D. Ehrman is the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill. He came to UNC in 1988, after four years of teaching at Rutgers University. At UNC he has served as both the Director of Graduate Studies and the Chair of the Department of Religious Studies.

A graduate of Wheaton College (Illinois), Professor Ehrman received both his Masters of Divinity and PhD from Princeton Theological Seminary, where his 1985 doctoral dissertation was awarded magna cum laude. Since then he has published extensively in the fields of New Testament and Early Christianity, having written or edited 21 books, numerous scholarly articles, and dozens of book reviews. Among his most recent books are a Greek-English edition of The Apostolic Fathers for the Loeb Classical Library (Harvard University Press), an assessment of the newly discovered Gospel of Judas (Oxford University Press), and two New York Times bestsellers: God’s Problem (an assessment of the biblical views of suffering) and Misquoting Jesus (an overview of the changes found in the surviving copies of the New Testament and of the scribes who produced them).

Among his fields of scholarly expertise are the historical Jesus, the early Christian apocrypha, the apostolic fathers, and the manuscript tradition of the New Testament.

Professor Ehrman has served as President of the Southeast Region of the Society of Biblical literature, chair of the New Testament textual criticism section of the Society, book review editor of the Journal of Biblical Literature, and editor of the monograph series The New Testament in the Greek Fathers (Scholars Press). He currently serves as coeditor of the series New Testament Tools, Studies, and Documents (E.J. Brill), coeditor in chief for the journal Vigiliae Christianae, and on several other editorial boards for journals and monographs in the field.

Winner of numerous university awards and grants, Professor Ehrman is the recipient of the 1993 UNC Undergraduate Student Teaching Award, the 1994 Phillip and Ruth Hettleman Prize for Artistic and Scholarly Achievement, and the Bowman and Gordon Gray Award for excellence in teaching.

Professor Ehrman has two children, a daughter, Kelly, and a son, Derek. He is married to Sarah Beckwith (PhD, King's College London), Marcello Lotti Professor of English at Duke University. He lives in Durham, North Carolina.

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More about Bart D. Ehrman...

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Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible & Why

Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible & Why We Don't Know About Them

God's Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question-Why We Suffer

Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture & the Faiths We Never Knew

Lost Scriptures: Books That Did Not Make It Into the New Testament

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