Bart D. Ehrman's Blog, page 185

My Interview with Erstwhile-Evangelist-Now-Secular-Humanist Bart Campolo

Now this was an unusual interview!  By a namesake!  I’ve known about Bart Campolo for years, but mainly because of his father, Tony Campolo, a very well-known evangelical evangelist with left-leaning social and political views.  Tony, the father, has a very interesting history (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Campolo); among other things, he was a spiritual adviser to Bill Clinton.  But in some ways Bart, the son, has an even *more* interesting story.  He was raised an evangelical, and be...

Did Some *One* Forge the Writings of “John”? Guest Post by Hugo Mendez

Here my colleague Hugo Mendez wraps up his discussion of the writings of “John” — the Gospel of John, 1 John, 2 John, and 3 John — and he does so with a BANG.  I hope you can see both the quality and significance of these conclusions.  This is very serious and persuasive scholarship put at a level that even non-scholars can understand, with huge implications for understanding four of the important writings of the New Testament but also for rethinking questions of authorship of the early Christia...

Problems with Thinking the “Letters of John” in the NT are Forgeries? Guest Post: Hugo Mendez

This thread of posts we have been having by Hugo Mendez on the writings of John in the New Testament has been unusually stimulating and in the world of scholarship, controversial.  If you havent followed the thread, just look at the four that have already been posted starting two weeks ago.  If he were to argue that 1 Timothy was not really written by Paul, but someone claiming to be Paul (i.e., that it was a forgery), not a single New Testament scholar in the country would raise an eyebrow. ...

A Bart Ehrman Webinar: How We Got the New Testament!

I have decided to hold a small and intimate webinar in order to raise money for the Bart Ehrman Blog.  Every penny that the webinar brings in will go directly to two of the blogs charities, The Food Bank of Central/Eastern North Carolina and Doctors without Borders, split equally between them.  It will be held on Sunday May 31 at 4:00 pm.  It will last for an hour and fifteen minutes.

The topic of the seminar will be How We Got the New Testament.  Among the topics to be covered will be: Who...

Did Paul Know that Judas Betrayed Jesus? Readers’ Mailbag!

QUESTION:

Do you think that Paul, without naming him, is referring to Judas in 1 Corinthians 11:23-24? (The verse in the NRSV: For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body which is for you.  Do this in remembrance of me.)

 

RESPONSE:

Ah, its a great question. Paul never explicitly mentions Judas Iscariot or indicates that Jesus was betrayed by one...

Getting a PhD in New Testament Studies

I was breezing through ancient blog posts this morning and came across this one from exactly eight years ago. It involves a question I get a lot (got it last week!), from people interested in doing graduate work in the field of New Testament or early Christianity. What is it like and what does it take? Here is what I said back then, which is pretty much what I would still say today!

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I sometimes get asked what it takes to become a professional scholar...

Are the Gospel and Epistles of John *Forgeries*?? Guest Post by Hugo Mendez

Whoa! Forgeries? That seems a bit extreme! Right? Forgeries???

Hugo Mendez continues his discussion, and I have to say, its pretty convincing. He and I may disagree on a couple of things about the Gospel of John I havent decided yet

Was There One Author Behind the Four Johannine Writings? A Community? Guest Post by Hugo Mendez

We continue now with the third of Hugo Mendezs guest posts on the community allegedly behind the Gospel of John, 1, 2, and 3 John.   Here he shows why most critical scholars do NOT think (as most other interested human beings on the planet do!) that all four were written by the same person (let alone Jesus disciple, John the Son of Zebedee), and why they have argued that instead they all come from like-minded authors from the same community.

But when he gets to the end he indicates why there...

A Powerful Film and Some Raw Emotions

As a rule I dont watch a lot of films, but during the crisis Sarah and I have reinstated our weekly movie night, and on Friday we saw Ethan Hawkes First Reformed.   Have you seen it?  I was very reluctant to do so for personal reasons. I thought it would hit to close to home. Oh boy was I right.

Ive always loved Ethan Hawke, from Dead Poets Society onward.  But this one was a bit hard. The movie itself is brilliant, extremely layered and thoughtful. Hawke plays the role of Rev. Toller, the...

Readers Mailbag: Does Isaiah 53 Predict the Death and Resurrection of Jesus?

I would like to get back into the practice of devoting one post a week to answering questions raised by blog members.  I have a fairly long list of good questions I havent been able to get to, so why not just go through them week by week?  If you have any pressing questions that are particularly intriguing or perplexing for you about the NT or early Christianity or any related topic, let me know as a comment on a post (any post will do, whether relevant or not).  If its not something I can...