Bart D. Ehrman's Blog, page 62

Nazareth in the Time of Jesus: the Archaeological Record

I have been talking about the question (which I bet never occurred to you before!) of whether there actually ever *was* a Nazareth in the days of Jesus.  Many “mythicists” who deny that Jesus existed use as part of their argument that Nazareth itself was made up.  I’ve discussed this view over two posts to [...]

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A Blog Challenge Grant, A Worthy Cause for Your End-of-the-Year Giving

Many of us are (still!) considering some end-of-the-year giving as the End Draweth Nigh.   As it turns out, an unusual option and opportunity has just appeared for the blog.  An anonymous donor has pledged a matching $10,000 gift for all funds donated prior to the Happy New Year.  The donor will match donations up to [...]

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The Gift of Christmas (2023)

The practice of gift-giving has obviously gotten way out of control for many of us in the Christmas season.  I suppose on the upside, it helps the economy and gets more people employed, so that part’s good.  But the commercialism and greed, not to mention the sense of heavy obligation (all those relatives!), uncertainty (O [...]

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The Myth That Nazareth Was a Myth

Did Nazareth even exist in Jesus’ day? Or was it invented by the same ancient people who invented the man Jesus – a non-existent home for a non-existent person? So claim many of the “mythicists” I began to discuss in my previous post. Here I continue on the theme, as discussed in my book Did [...]

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Did Nazareth Even Exist?

I’ve been thinking and talking about the town of Nazareth a lot lately.  ‘Tis the season!  Last weekend I did my quarterly webinar with Platinum blog members (you should look at the benefits of the Platinum level!  Private webinars!) on whether Jesus was actually born in Nazareth (most of the New Testament appears to thing [...]

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Interpreting a Text to Make It Seem Orthodox: Luke and Its View of Jesus

In my previous post in this thread I tried to show how one way to show that a text that embraced a “problematic” view (e.g., a potentially heretical understanding of Jesus as an *adopted* son of God instead of, say, the *eternal* son of God) was by interpreting it in light of *other* texts that [...]

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Hark, the Herald Angels What Now? Guest Post by Esther J. Hamori

Yesterday's guest post by Hebrew Bible scholar Esther Hamori began to discuss her new book on the MONSTERS of the Bible and God's, well, uncomfortably relationship with them.  Today she continues by giving us a revised excerpt from the book itself:  God’s Monsters: Vengeful Spirits, Deadly Angels, Hybrid Creatures, and Divine Hitmen of the Bible..  [...]

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Biblical Monsters and Their Violent God! Guest Post by Esther Hamori

Ever wonder about all those Monsters in the Bible, and what they might tell us about, well, God?   Earlier this year I read a book by Esther Hamori, God’s Monsters: Vengeful Spirits, Deadly Angels, Hybrid Creatures, and Divine Hitmen of the Bible. (Broadleaf Books, 2023).  It's been a long time since I've read a book [...]

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How Did Early Christians Make Unorthodox Texts Seem Orthodox?

I’ve been arguing that Luke’s Gospel originally may not have had the story of Jesus’ virgin birth but portrayed Jesus as being adopted by God to be his son at the baptism.  In the previous post I explained one strategy that could be used to “tame” an otherwise important and beloved text when it held [...]

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December 2023 Platinum webinar

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