Bart D. Ehrman's Blog

Jude as Pseudepigraphic (i.e., forged)

I concluded my previous post by indicating that a number of Christian readers/leaders in the ancient world considered Jude not to be authentic – that is, that it was a forgery written in the name of Jesus’s brother by someone else.  Here I continue the discussion, again taken from my study, Forgery and Counterforgery (Oxford [...]

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Book of Jude: Who Wrote it? When? And Why? (part 1)

In my previous post I explained the major themes and emphases of the letter of Jude, including some of its most intriguing and even unexpected features (e.g., quoting apocryphal tales/texts as seemingly authoritative scripture).  In this post and the next I will deal with the thorny questions of who actually wrote it, when, and why. [...]

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Heaven, the Hedonic Treadmill, and Homer (Simpson) Platinum Post by Douglas Wadeson MD

I'm happy to post this guest contribution from Platinum member Doug Wadeson. He raises a question most of us probably haven’t thought much about: if eternity is endless bliss, would we actually enjoy it? Or would it get… boring? --------------------------------------------------- My favorite TV series is the old Twilight Zone by Rod Serling.  There is an [...]

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The Letter of Jude in a Nutshell

We come now in this “New Testament in a Nutshell” series to the penultimate book of the canon, the short letter of Jude.  I begin by giving a one-sentence ,fifty-word summary of the book, before, in this post, explaining more fully its themes and emphases.  The letter of Jude warns its unnamed [...]

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Cleopatra, Virgin Births, and Professional Scribes: More about antiquity…

Here are yet three more excellent questions I have received from blog readers, all of them both interesting and important. QUESTION: I recently came across a rather bold and curious linguistic claim regarding the term ‘Paraclete’ within the Gospel of John, and I was hoping to ask your opinion of it. To be [...]

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Questions on Forgeries, Historical Errors, and Alterations of Texts!

I'm catching up on posting some of the very interesting questions I've received from blog readers.  This will take a couple of posts.  Here are three excellent ones, all going to the heart of what it means to engage in a historical/critical assessment of the New Testament.   QUESTION: Hey Bart, I have a question [...]

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A New Way to Support the Blog: Become a Blog Steward

When I started the blog back in 2012, I had two main goals. The first was to take the historical study of the New Testament and early Christianity out of the academy and make it available to anyone who wanted to learn. The second was to do some good with it. From the very beginning, [...]

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Some Reflections on Our (My) Finitude and the Fear of Death

I have come up with a new way of thinking about our finitude, about the fact that we all die and (in my view) that’s the end of the story.  At least I think it’s a new way.  I don’t recall ever hearing or reading it.  If it is a common view, or a least [...]

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The DeuteroPauline Epistles “At a Glance,” With Questions for Reflection

In this post I give an executive summary (“At a Glance”) of the Deutero-Pauline letters (2 Thessalonians, Ephesians, and Colossiansand then provide some questions for deeper reflection on these books that claim to be written by Paul but are widely considered by critical scholars to be penned by later followers claiming to be him   [...]

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1, 2, and 3 John: For Further Reading

Now that I have discussed the themes, emphases, authors and occasions of the “Johannine epistles” (1, 2, and 3 John) I can provide some suggestions for further reading.  These are all important works written by scholars for non-scholars.  I have given brief annotations for each book to give you a sense of what it’s about [...]

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