Bart D. Ehrman's Blog, page 132

Vote for your favorite Platinum Guest Post!

Dear Platinum members, It's time to vote on another Platinum guest post, to determine which 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 welcome to submit a post yourself.  Anything connected to [...]

How Important Was Paul, Actually, For Early Christianity?

I’d like to say a bit more about Paul in relationship to the beginning of Christianity. Yesterday I argued that Paul could not have invented the idea of the resurrection. I should point out that Paul himself – who was always proud of the “revelation” of the truth given to him and his part in [...]

Reminder! Live Lectures Tomorrow (Sunday 1/30/2022)

In case you're interested: here is the post I made a while back about the course I'll be starting tomorrow. *********************** I am pleased to announce that I will be doing a six-lecture online (recorded) course called: “In the Beginning:  History, Legend and Myth in the Pentateuch.  Part 1.  The Book of Genesis.”   This will [...]

Did Paul Invent Jesus’ Resurrection?

I have been discussing at some length the rise of Jewish apocalyptic ways of thinking.  I decided to do so not only because it's so interesting and important on its own terms (which it is, at least for me) but also because I wanted to talk about the apostle Paul's understanding of salvation  (how do [...]

An Old Interview on Fresh Air: How Jesus Became God

I was reminiscing of days gone by ("Things just ain't like they used to be.  And they never were.") and browsing through some old posts, and came upon this one.  It's an interview I rather enjoyed from 2014, on my then-new book How Jesus Became God.   Hope you like it too. ****************************** As I have [...]

Major Perspectives of Ancient Jewish (and Jesus’!) Apocalyptic Views

Jewish apocalypticism was a very common view in Jesus’ day – it was the view of the Essenes who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls, of the Pharisees, of John the Baptist, later of the Apostle Paul – and almost certainly of Jesus.  I can demonstrate that in some later thread if it seems appropriate.  For [...]

Where Did the Apocalyptic Views of Jesus (and others) Come From?

I have spent a few posts explaining the overarching views of the ancient Hebrew prophets; in this lecture I want to explain how a very different "apocalyptic" view -- one embraced by Jesus, John the Baptist before him, and the earliest Christians after him -- emerged within ancient Israel.  It has to do with how [...]

Reminder! My Remote Book Event, This Thursday

Just a reminder in case you haven't signed up yet:  I'll be doing a book event Thursday evening (Jan 27).  Here's the announcement from last week.  I hope you can make it! ****************************** I am excited to announce a new and unusual fund raiser for the blog, to take place on Thursday January 27 at [...]

Are the Gospels Too Early To Have Legends About Jesus? Platinum Guest Post by Bob Seidensticker

Here is an interesting and important post by Platinum member Bob Seidensticker for the rest of you Platinums.  In it he deals with a fundamental issue.  Some Christian apologists who otherwise are smart people have made the odd claim that "legends" about Jesus could not have sprung up in the forty years between his life [...]

The Maccabean Revolt

In order to understand the difference between what the prophets of the Hebrew Bible proclaimed, and what came to be the views of apocalyptic Jews, I need to sketch a set of historical events that the people of Israel had to live through.  Without this kind of historical knowledge, you simply will not understand ancient [...]