Bart D. Ehrman's Blog, page 79

The Life of Brian and the Historical Jesus

A couple of weeks ago we had a very fun Movie Club as a fundraiser for the blog, trying to raise funds to cover our operating expenses, since all the membership fees and any regular donations that come in go directly to our charities -- but we still have to pay our bills!  This one [...]

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What Is (Sexually) “Unnatural”?

Are sex acts other than those between a man and a woman “unnatural”? Very few people ever bother to reflect on what the term “natural” means or how one decides what an “unnatural might be – and what makes it unnatural.  Almost everyone simply assumes that we each have a conscience; that our consciences basically [...]

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How the Bible Can Help Those in Pain — Even Non-Believers. Guest Post by Glenn Siepert

Are you interested in seeing how the Bible can be important and meaningful even for those of us who do not believe? Glenn Siepert is one of our Blog Volunteers, who provides graphics for our public posts; he has just published a very interesting book for which I wrote a blurb (endorsement) for the cover.  [...]

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June 2023 Gold Q&A (video)

Hello, Gold & Platinum friends! Here's a video of me recording the June Gold Q&A in ancient Rome--or, maybe...?  

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The (Lost) Greater Questions of Mary (Rated R) (X?)

In my last post I mentioned Gospels that we know about because they are mentioned, or even quoted, by church fathers, but that no longer survive.  A second, particularly intriguing, Gospel like this – one that I desperately wish we had, for reasons that will soon become clear -- is known as “The Greater Questions [...]

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The Lost Gospel of Basilides

I sometimes get asked about "lost Gospels" -- Gospels that we know at one time did exist (because they are mentioned and sometimes even discussed by ancient authors)  but that, alas, exist no more.  I dealt with this question on the blog many moons ago, and I regret to say that in the interim, the [...]

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The Road from the “Duo of Philo” to the “Trinity of Nicaea”–Guest Post by Omar Robb

As you know, blog members at the Platinum level are allowed to publish posts on any topic of their choosing (related to blog interests!) to other Platinum members.   After a month or so, the other Platinums vote on which one can appear on the blog at large.  If you yourself are interested in getting in [...]

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Did Paul Get Along with the Other Apostles?

I mentioned in my previous posts that there are discrepancies between Paul’s letters and the book of Acts in both major and minor ways, and in my last post I dealt with some differences that appear when one looks closely at the details (the issue I addressed: what does Paul do immediately upon his conversion).  [...]

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After Paul Converted… Does the Book of Acts Contradict Paul Himself?

Is the account of Paul's life in Acts at odds with what Paul says himself?  If not, are the stories in Acts just invented out of whole cloth? Some people who responded to my previous post on the historical trustworthiness of the book of Acts suggested that maybe its author “Luke” (we don’t know the [...]

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Was Paul Authorized to Persecute Christians?

Who gave Paul the authority to persecute Christians?  The book of Acts suggests it was the authorities in Jerusalem.  Can that be right?  In fact, is Acts right in what it says about Paul generally? The questions matter:  Acts provides our oldest surviving narrative description of the first thirty years of Christianity, and the only [...]

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