Bart D. Ehrman's Blog, page 55

How the Gospels Transformed the Apocalyptic Jesus

Contrary to the claims of the “Jesus Seminar,” that Jesus is best understood as delivering an apocalyptic message – or so I began to argue in my previous post, where I explained that all the earliest Gospel sources independently record Jesus delivering apocalyptic teachings. Equally interesting, some of the most clearly apocalyptic traditions come to [...]

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The Jesus Seminar and the Non-Apocalyptic Jesus. Hey, Why Not?

I have recently received several questions more or  less out of the blue about what I think about the “Jesus Seminar” and its views of Jesus.  I looked and it appears I’ve only had one brief posting on this issue, so I thought I should say a few things, first by explaining what the question [...]

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Blog Dinner, Waynesville NC, Feb 7. Anyone Interested?

I'm going to be off to Waynesville next week  for some time away from the hustle and bustle of my normal routine (actually, now that I think about it, what *is* bustle?), to work on the next book.  And I've decided, HEY, time for a Blog Dinner!  Anyone want to come?   It's a chance to [...]

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In Support of Religious Studies at a Major University

How dispensible is Religious Studies to the mission of a modern university? To the mutual chagrin of the faculty colleagues in my department, we recently learned that the chancellor of one our affiliate schools, UNC Greensboro, was considering closing down their own very fine Department of Religious Studies ( the UNC "system" has 16 public [...]

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How to Sugarcoat Scripture but Seem Sophisticated. Final Guest Post by Jill Hicks-Keeton

It's amazing how committed New Testament scholars often try to tame the Bible, making it upbeat and relevant for today when, on the surface, it affirms views that most of us, when we're honest about it, simply can't abide.  And not just the Old Testament celebration of slaughter (those damn Canaanites) and execution (for, say, [...]

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How to Sugarcoast Scripture but Seem Sophisticated. Final Guest Post by Jill Hicks-Keeton

It's amazing how committed New Testament scholars often try to tame the Bible, making it upbeat and relevant for today when, on the surface, it affirms views that most of us, when we're honest about it, simply can't abide.  And not just the Old Testament celebration of slaughter (those damn Canaanites) and execution (for, say, [...]

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We Need a Blog Volunteer! Do You Have Experience With Non-profit Taxes?

A major part of the success of the blog is the corps of faithful volunteers who do a variety of tasks, some to make the blog much better and some to make it even possible.   The only perk that volunteers get, in addition to knowing they've helped advance the spread of biblical knowledge to a [...]

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How To Make the New Testament Non-Patriarchal. Good Luck with *That* One. Guest post by Jill Hicks-Keeton

I'm very pleased to post this second contribution by Jill Hicks-Keeton, professor of religious studies at the University of Oklahoma, and an author who does not appreciate "experts" who try to explain away the problems of the Bible (e.g., with respect to women) and sees no need to pull her punches!  This is an unusually [...]

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Making the Bible Benevolent: Guest Post by Jill Hicks-Keeton

Is the Bible "Good News" for everyone, or, does it just seem good to those who want it to be? And how do readers make it good in places that on any honest reading are not (think violence and the treatment of women and slaves).  Jill Hicks-Keeton, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University [...]

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Atonement Doctrine – A Platinum Post by Manuel Fiadeiro

Here is an interesting reflection on the doctrine of the atonement by Platinum member Manuel Fiadeiro, for you other platinum members.  What do you think?  Do you agree with him?  Disagree?  Have an answer to his final pondering? Remember, as a Platinum member you too are allowed to make a post for other Platinums.  Do [...]

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