Bart D. Ehrman's Blog, page 155

YHWH and Jehovah: Same? Different? Where’s Jehovah Come From?

I received a number of comments on my recent posts about whether Jesus was Yahweh (Hebrew: YHWH) in traditional Christian thinking/theology.  And a number of people have wanted further explanation of the name.  In particular: how does it relate to "Jehovah"?  In fact, where does the name "Jehovah" come from?   And is it in the [...]

Jesus Under the Influence (of Women): Guest Post by James McGrath

 New Testament scholar, blog member, and blogger with his own blog on topics you may be interested in, James McGrath, has given us one post already about a woman whom the apostle knows, Junia – who he calls his own “relative” -- who may well have been involved with Jesus in his ministry.  This comes [...]

The Letter Jesus Wrote from the Cross (!)

Here is some more of the intriguing (later) Gospel, allegedly written by none other than Joseph of Arimathea, the figure who, in the New Testament Gospels, buried Jesus.  It is entirely apocryphal, of course, based on some information from the Gospels, later legends, and an extremely vivid imagination.  The point of these posts has been [...]

My Smithsonian Seminar: This Saturday!!

Do you know about the Smithsonian Associates?  It's a great organization that, among other things, puts on lectures and day-long seminars by scholars and experts in all sorts of areas, including religion.  For years and years they were live events in Washington D.C. as part of the Smithsonian (on the Mall); for the past year [...]

Live Chance to Ask Me Anything! This Sunday!

This Sunday (5/2/21) 3:00-4:15 pm I will be holding a live ABA (“Ask Bart Anything”).  It will be over Zoom and will be open to anyone on the planet who wants to come. The format: I will take live questions both orally and through chats.  The questions can be on ANY topic that anyone is [...]

Another Letter Written By Jesus? Stranger and Stranger…

In a previous post I discussed a letter forged in Jesus’ name, written to the king of Edessa, Abgar. Of course we don't have anything *actually* written by Jesus (I myself don't think he could write); but there is another writing that  he is alleged to have written.  This one is even stranger.  Far stranger. [...]

Volunteer Needed to Read Audio Posts!

I need a volunteer!! As you know, we produce audio versions of every post that appears on the blog, available to members who subscribe at the Gold and Platinum tiers. We have two volunteers who take turns, on alternating weeks, to read the posts: John Paul Middleworth has been reading away, post after post; since [...]

Other New Testament References to Books Outside the Hebrew Bible: Platinum Guest Post by Doug Wadeson

I'm pleased now to be able to post Part II of Platinum Member Doug Wadeson's two-part thread on quotations/references in the New Testament to passages not found in the Hebrew Bible.  This one has a surprising and intriguing twist, something that would not have occurred to most readers (and certainly not in this detail!). Doug [...]

You Call *This* a Heresy? The Views of Arius, In His Own Words

Here I resume my previous post about the biggest theological controversy in Christian history, which, to modern ears, sounds rather, well trivial.  It certainly sounded that way to some of the people who were dealing with it at the time.  Others thought it was a life and death matter.  It had to do with who [...]

A Heresy that May Not Sound Heretical to You: Arius of Alexandria

I am getting far along now in my discussion of how the Trinity developed.  A major development occurred in the fourth century that, remarkably, that many people still have heard about, seventeen hundred years later.  Unfortunately *what* they typically hear about it is completely wrong. This is the “Arian controversy,” which was the dispute that [...]