Bart D. Ehrman's Blog, page 171

What Really Happened at Jesus’ Trial Before Pilate?

An important question I’ve received from another scholar who is interested in New Testament studies but is an expert in a different field.   QUESTION: Have you ever encountered the argument that the Gospels’ portrayal of Pilate giving in to the crowd’s call for Jesus’ death could be possible in as much as Pilate would [...]

Some Feedback on the New Blog ??

This is a good time for some feedback from you, the members of the blog! We are very pleased with the roll-out of the new blog site, and hope you are as well.   The user experience appears to be much improved (or so it seems to us, and that is what we are hearing from [...]

“Oral” Changes in the Christian Bible?

I received a very interesting question recently on a topic I’ve never been asked about, ever, to my recollection, but which I’ve thought about a good deal.  Here ‘tis:   QUESTION: Given that most people in the ancient world could not read, and that gospels, letters and so forth were read to gatherings to help [...]

On Ignorant Critics…

Sometimes people say the most ridiculous things.  Especially when they want to argue against you.  It’s amazing what people can dream up.  And not just in politics – just in everyday life.   You no doubt have noticed yourself…    I want to talk about an instance of this which, for me, gets particularly bizarre near [...]

Why Scribes Changed Their Manuscripts

  I haven't talked about the manuscripts of the NT for a while, and thought I should return to it for a couple of posts.  This is a topic many people didn't know anything about and certainly didn't know they should *care* about until probably the past 15-20 years.  But now it's one of the [...]

Peter and Mary Magdalene in Competition

I began this short thread with a discussion of the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, where she seems to be Jesus’ preferred follower; I then talked about the idea that there were women apostles in the earliest period of the church – according to Paul himself – and pointed out an old tradition that in fact [...]

Is Mary Magdalene the Founder of Christianity?

I have devoted a few posts to the relationship of / competition between Peter and Mary in early Christian traditions.  I conclude by posing a rather significant question.  Peter, of course, has traditionally been seen as the “rock” on which Christ built his church, the very foundation of Christianity (Matt. 16:18 – “You are Peter [...]

Women Apostles in Early Christianity

In my previous post I discussed the Gospel of Mary and its portrayal as Mary Magdalene as the one to whom Jesus had revealed the secrets of salvation (as part of a gnostic myth) - -much to the consternation of the male disciples, especially Peter and his brother Andrew.  Hey, how could he consider a [...]

The Gospel of Mary Magdalene

In my undergraduate class on ancient Gospels and modern Jesus films this semester we looked at one of the truly intriguing but little known early Gospels, “The Gospel of Mary.”  This second century does not claim to be written by Mary Magdalene, but she is the main figure in it – the one to whom [...]

666: The Number of the Beast

Yesterday’s post was meant as background to this brief discussion about the meaning of the “number of the beast” in the book of Revelation.  Remember: I’m talking about “gematria” as a way of interpreting words by understanding their letters as numbers.  Yesterday I tried to explain the symbolism of the beast in Rev. 17.  To [...]