Bart D. Ehrman's Blog, page 197

Why Does Matthew Have the Story of the “Wise Men”?

QUESTION:

My Bible group had a good time yesterday comparing Matthew and Luke’s accounts of the Christmas story. One question that came up was why would Matthew relate the story of the Magi?

RESPONSE

Ah, it’s a great question and – as it turns out – an important one for understanding the Gospel of Matthew. The story is found only in this Gospel (But this time of year, who can keep ones mind from jumping to: “We Three Kings of Orient Are….”), and it is filled with intriguing conundra.

For...

Christmas 2019

For a long time now I’ve had ambivalent feelings toward Christmas. Some of my blog posts from years past on the day and its meaning have very much celebrated its great sides (you can just search for “Christmas” on the blog and you’ll see them). But I’ve long seen the downsides as well, frequently discussed among people we know and know about and more frequently felt even when not discussed. I still see these down sides – one above all — in some ways more and more every year. But I’ve begun to...

More on the Case Against Miracles: Michael Shermer Guest Post

This is the second guest post by Michael Shermer, from his Foreword to the new book edited by John Loftus, The Case Against Miracles. ((For the first, see yesterday’s post) Michael is on the blog and is happy to respond to comments you have. Again, the book can be found here:

https://www.amazon.com/Case-Against-Miracles-John-Loftus/dp/1839190086/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=The+Case+Against+Miracles&qid=1577002938&sr=8-1

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When we...

The Case Against Miracles

I recently learned of a new book that has come out arguing *against* the idea that miracles happen. It is a collection of essays edited by John Loftus, an interesting who in some has had a similar faith trajectory as I: started as a very conservative evangelical, studied at evangelical schools, and ended up leaving the faith and becoming an atheist. Among other things, for one of his master’s degree he studied with the evangelical philosopher and apologist William Lane Craig, whom some of you...

Guided Tours of Heaven and Hell in a Christian Mode

I’ve started a short thread describing the academic monograph I’ve started writing, Guided Tours of Heaven and Hell: Otherworldly Journeys in the Early Christian Tradition.. In my last post I describe two o the most important forerunners of the tradition, the Greek Homer (Odyssey 11) and Roman Virgil (Aeneid 6) — flat out fascinating texts that I’ve become obsessed with. The Christian versions are similar in ways but also profoundly different. Here is what I say about them in these...

Guided Tours of Heaven and Hell: My Scholarly Book

I mentioned that I have started writing my academic book on the early Christian versions of the guided tours of heaven and hell. This will be very different from the trade book coming out in March — an full eight-chapter scholarly analysis of material that I cover in a very brief overview fashion in one chapter of the trade book.

As I’ve mentioned on the blog before, when I get to certain points of my work on a book, I like to produce for myself an account of what it is, where it’s going, how...

UpcomingTours, Lectures, and Book Readings

A number of my upcoming “events” have been more or less finalized (barring natural or national catastrophe, collapse, or cataclysm or, well, catabasis). At the bottom are the currently scheduled book readings/lectures based on my forthcomingHeaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife.

Any questions about any of this, let me know.

But first: my two international venues.

APRIL 14-24, 2020

Tour to Rome!!

I’ve mentioned this a couple of times on the blog, most recently here:...

Heaven and Hell in a Nutshell: Getting into the Kernel

Here is the second and last part of my summary of the heart of my forthcoming bookHeaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife. It’s not an outline of the chapters, but a summing up of the key issues, flow, and the ultimate “point” of the book. As a tip, I’ve called this little essay (in my own mind): “There Is Nothing To Fear.”

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The idea of rewards and punishments eventually found its way into...

Heaven and Hell in a Nutshell

This post is free for anyone who wants to look. Every week on the blog I post five times, dealing with all sorts of issues connected with the New Testament and early Christianity. Interested? Why not join? It doesn’t cost much, you get tons for your money, and every nickel you pay goes to deserving charities.

I’m excited about my next book, being published on March 31, Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife. It’s already getting good reviews in the trade journals, the publications that...

Why Would an Agnostic-Atheist Be A Bible Scholar??

Five years ago I received this question. I still hear it! And I would still answer it the same way. A question that makes a lot of sense in one way actually doesn’t make a lot of sense looked at in another way. I suppose a lot of our questions are like that…. Here is the question and response.

QUESTION: The one thing that I do not understand about you is that you have stated you have lost your faith. That being said, how do you continue to work in your field? Have you ever wanted to redirect...