Bart D. Ehrman's Blog, page 131

Did you know that Gold Members can get the full audio feed in their favorite Podcast Player?

Most of you probably know that gold members have access to the audio version of each post, but did you know that gold members can subscribe directly to the feed in their favorite podcast player? This is a convenient way to keep up with the blog.  Your podcast app will notify you when there are [...]

How I Begin My Book on Revelation

I have finished a draft of my book on Revelation and am now having readers take a look at it, both layreaders and experts.  Once I get their comments back I'll make revisions and then get it sent out to the publisher; the plan is to have it published in the spring of 2022. I [...]

Did Abraham Actually Do It? Did He Sacrifice His Son Isaac? Platinum Guest Post by Douglas Wadeson

Do you like controversy?  Well HERE'S some controversy for you.  Maybe Abraham actually went through with it and slew his son.  What?  Read on.  Here's a scintillating guest post by Platinum member Doug Wadeson.  I'm sure he'll answer your questions.  I'm sure if I were you I'd have some! Remember: you too can submit a [...]

Did Abraham Actually Do It? Did He Sacrifice His Son Isaac? Platinum Guest Post by Douglas Wadesonlas Wadeson

Do you like controversy?  Well HERE'S some controversy for you.  Maybe Abraham actually went through with it and slew his son.  What?  Read on.  Here's a scintillating guest post by Platinum member Doug Wadeson.  I'm sure he'll answer your questions.  I'm sure if I were you I'd have some! Remember: you too can submit a [...]

My Pet Peeve: Simplistic Answers to Explain Suffering

In my last post I discussed two things that get under my skin in professional contexts, making me blow my top (to mix the metaphor):  ignorance posing as expertise (not just in biblical studies but generally) and facile answers, by “experts,” to the biggest personal/philosophical/religious problem people have to face, why there is suffering in [...]

Bart Behaving Badly: Podcasts on the Problem of Suffering

I’m getting much more mellow and much less feisty the older I get, but, well, I still have my moments.  I’ve always loved a good argument and for most of my life I could get pretty intense when having one – even when it was about something that really was quite immaterial.  These days, though, [...]

End of the Year Assessment: The Blog, 2021

Here we are at the end of the year.  What a year.  We thought we would see the end of the pandemic and the good times would roll.  Well, not exactly.  They sure seemed about to roll but, nope, just when we thought the thing was ending … hello Omicron!   I hope you have come [...]

What I’m Reading These Days. You?

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 [...]

On Misreading The Gospels: Platinum Guest Post by Joel Scheller

I am pleased to present this interesting guest post to Platinum members to fellow Platinum Joel Scheller.  Joel has taken on one of the most important issues that we can ask of the New Testament:  Are the Gospels meant to be read historically?  Or, as John Shelby Spong argued, are they meant to be symbolic [...]

The Bible’s Best Known Short Story: Jonah

Now we come to the most famous short story of the entire Bible: Jonah!  Again, since it is “short” it does not take long to read – just four brief chapters – and it’s surprising so few people have actually read it.  And a pity.  It’s a terrific little book that is adventurous and thought-provoking.  [...]