Bart D. Ehrman's Blog, page 172

Was The Messiah Supposed to Be Born of a Virgin?

Here in the lead-up to December 25, I am discussing some issues related to Jesus' birth.  As I mentioned in my previous post, in the entire New Testament, the story of the virgin birth is found only in Matthew and Luke.  Luke has a pretty straightforward explanation of why Jesus had to be born of [...]

Do Christians Have to Believe in the Virgin Birth?

The last time I went to visit my mom in Kansas during the holiday season  was six years ago (she is now in a retirement home in Ohio; 93 and still walkin' around!).  I talked about it on the blog soon thereafter.  I was not a church going person then (still not) but I did [...]

My Article on Christmas in Newsweek: Part 2

Yesterday I gave Part 1 of my Newsweek article on Christmas, published in 2012.  Here is Part 2! *************************************************************** Most modern readers who are not already familiar with these stories [in the apocryphal Gospels such as the Proto-Gospel of James] tend to find them far-fetched.   That’s almost always the case with miraculous accounts that we [...]

My Article on Christmas in Newsweek

I mentioned in my previous post that in 2012 I was asked to write an article on Newsweek about the Christmas story.  Before it appeared I posted it on the blog; here it is in full (at least as I sent it in to the magazine), in two parts. Here is the first half: ******************************************************************* [...]

Christmas from a Historical Point of View

We are barreling down on Christmas!   For the blog this year, that means: seasonal Posts!  I thought it would be a good idea to talk about what we know about the birth of Jesus, and don't know, based on the Gospels and our knowledge of the history of the period.  It's amazing what we don't [...]

A Holiday Season Request!

As we are all keenly aware:  ‘Tis the Season to be giving!  For many of us, in terms of giving at least, mid December is the best of times and the worst of times.   It is best because we can show our love and gratitude to those close to us by choosing things to give [...]

An Apocryphal Story of Mary’s Conception of Jesus

In my previous post I introduced the seventh-century Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew, one of the most popular Christian writings of the Middle Ages.  It tells an expanded version of the events leading up to Jesus’ birth, and then yet more legendary tales of what happened afterward.   I continue here with another intriguing portion of the account: [...]

A Different Account of Joseph and Mary!

As we move to the Christmas season, I thought it would be interesting to post some extracts on one of the most popular Gospels in the Middle Ages, an account of Jesus birth and before that, his mother Marys birth and what happened in the aftermath.   It is called the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew, [...]

Is Suffering a Problem for Those Who Suffer?

I started this thread on the problem of suffering because I wanted to respond to a specific question from a member.   My original idea was simply to give the question and then write the response and do it all in one post.   When I started writing it, I realized it wouldnt be possible, that [...]

How Then Can We Believe?

I continue now with the amazing and disturbing chapter Rebellion from the Brothers Karamazov, which significantly affected my view of suffering.   If you did not read yesterdays post, you will probably want to do so before launching into this one. ****************************** Ivans stories are not just about wartime atrocities.  They involve the everyday.  And what [...]