Bart D. Ehrman's Blog, page 123

Is the Sacrificed Lamb of God Violent? More Reflections on Revelation

One argument used to support the idea that the controlling image of Christ in the narrative is the lamb who was slain is that this is how he is introduced in his very first appearance in the book.  Anything that follows must therefore be read in light of this introductory image.  The problem is that [...]

Is the Apocalypse of John a Book of Hope?

In my previous post I started giving the lecture I gave recently to a group of professional biblical scholars about how my views of Revelation have changed.  After thinking that the book predicted our future (I gave up on that one forty years ago!) I began to think that the book was a positive message [...]

When I First Read the Book of Revelation….

I recently gave a plenary talk at a regional meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature.  The president of the group asked me to give a talk on Revelation, since that is what I’ve been working on recently, and I cobbled something together based on my book and a few other things.  It was about [...]

Vote on your favorite Platinum Post!

Dear Platinum members, That time again -- an opportunity for you to vote on one of our Platinum guest posts, to see which one will be posted on the blog at large.  Take a look -- they're all terrific.   To vote, just send a quick note to Diane at ehrmanblog@gmail.com And remember -- you're always [...]

Reminder–Fundraiser for Ukraine This Afternoon

As a reminder, we are doing a fundraising event today for CARE's work in Ukraine. Here's the original post; hope you can join us: **************************** Most of us are feeling depressed, frustrated, anxious, stressed, fearful, and helpless in the face of what is happening in Ukraine.  Even though there is nothing we as individuals can [...]

When Did the Bible Get Chapters and Verses?

One question I get a lot:  when did the Bible’s chapters and verses came from.   Here's a quick answer taken from my textbook on the NT (The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings, Oxford University Press; 7th ed., 2020.  Since the answer is so brief, I’ll attach another couple of paragraphs [...]

Faith and Inerrancy, In My Case — Did the “Young Ehrman” Get it Wrong?

Here I pick up from my previous post about evangelicals misunderstanding my journey of faith, first by repeating its final paragraph: ****************************** My sense is that there is a simple reason that a lot of evangelical apologists think I “threw the baby out with the bathwater” (the baby of faith with the bathwater of fundamentalism).  [...]

The “Young Ehrman’s” Faulty Understanding of Inspiration

In my previous post I talked about evangelicals who argue that if I had only had the right understanding of evangelical theology, I would not have left the faith once I realized my (errant) views were problematic.  I would say that this is true of the video about me that Kurt Jaros posted a couple [...]

Upcoming Debate and Possible Blog Breakfast? Anyone in San Diego March 24?

This next week I'm heading out to San Diego for a debate on March 24 with a Catholic Apologist named Jimmy Akin on the question of whether the Gospels of the New Testament are historically reliable.  I've never debated a Catholic apologist before!  This should be fun. I also (obviously) haven't done a live event [...]

Explanations for Why I Left the Faith

I have often been puzzled by how defenders of the Christian faith attack me and my views by taking the biographical route, pointing out the course of my faith journey, identifying a flaw in it, and then drawing the conclusion that if I had not thought X or been convinced by Y then I would [...]