Bart D. Ehrman's Blog, page 141

How Yahweh of the Israelites Became God of All: Guest Post by Dan Kohanski

As you may know, members who join the blog at the Platinum level are allowed to write posts for Platinum members, and the members periodically vote on one of the submissions to go on the blog at large -- and on all my social media.  It's a great way to get your views widely disseminated.  [...]

Why Would Later Scribes Be Interested In Having Jesus “Sweat Blood”?

I have explained why it is almost certain that Luke did not himself write the passage describing Jesus “sweating blood” in Luke 22:43-44; the passage is not found in some of our oldest and best manuscripts, it intrudes in a context that otherwise is structured as a clear chiasmus, and it presents a view of [...]

How I Opened My Book on Jesus

I mentioned in my previous post that I had recently looked back over my first trade book, Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium.  I don't think I had read the preface in 20 years, and I wasn't frankly, expecting to like it much when I decided to read it again.  But as it turns [...]

A New Three-Week Book Club!

Last month we had our first Blog Book Club (the BBC) and it was a smashing success.  The feedback has been tremendous.   There were three sessions, the first two to discuss two different books (one by me, one by someone who did not like the one by me!) and then the third a Q&A with [...]

A New Three-Week Book Club for Blog Members Only

Last month we had our first Blog Book Club (the BBC) and it was a smashing success.  The feedback has been tremendous.   There were three sessions, the first two to discuss two different books (one by me, one by someone who did not like the one by me!) and then the third a Q&A with [...]

Must Jesus Divide Families? Platinum Guest Post by Douglas Wadeson

Platinum members!  As you know, one of the perks of your esteemed status is that you are allowed to write blog posts for other platinum members to read and interact with.  Do you have anything you'd like to talk about, any views you'd like to put out there for feedback?? Send me a post!  It [...]

Starting My New Trade Book on Revelation

I started writing my book on the Apocalypse of John a couple of weeks ago and have been using the occasion to reflect on my how my approach to writing has changed over the past few years.  My first trade book – that is, a book for a general audience -- was Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet [...]

Was Jesus in Agony Before His Arrest? The Unexpected Answer in Luke.

This mini-thread within a thread started out with my indicating that among the difficulties I have with the NRSV translation is that it includes as part of the text the account in Luke 22:43-44 of Jesus in agony -- the passage commonly referred to as the account of Jesus' "Bloody Sweat" (from which we get [...]

Knowing What Jesus Said and Did

I was just now looking through some old posts on the blog -- there over 2000 of them, since 2012 -- and ran across one that struck me as particularly relevant, to me at least.  It's the topic I'll be discussing with my PhD students on Tuesday, and it turns out this is what I [...]

Bruce Metzger and My Loss of Faith

In my reflections on my relationship with Bruce Metzger, my mentor through both my Masters and PhD degrees, I come now to a question I sometimes get asked.  Metzger himself was a devout and pious Christian, an ordained Presbyterian minister, and unusually committed to his faith.  When I first met him I was an evangelical; [...]