Bart D. Ehrman's Blog, page 85

Gold Q&A LIVE! (And Recorded) Tuesday April 11

Dear Gold Members, I will be recording  my Gold Q&A tomorrow afternoon,  April 11, 2:00 pm.  If you're free and want to watch it, come along!  I've got a full set of questions to deal with and am looking forward to it. No charge for admission, just show up.  We'll meet and greet, I'll do my [...]

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Don’t Wanna Be Left Behind? An Upcoming Lecture on the Rapture!

Interested in the "rapture"? Want to be sure you're not "left behind" when the Antichrist arises and all hell breaks out on earth?   Then come to my lecture:  April 15, 3:00 pm:   "Will You Be Left Behind? A History of The Rapture"  Check it out here.   Will You Be Left Behind? » Powered by ThriveCart If [...]

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How Does An Author Write a Bestseller?

Almost everyone has the wrong idea about how a book becomes a bestseller.   In the crowd I run around with, the term “bestseller” tends to have a technical meaning: a book on the New York Times Bestseller List.  Every week the NY Times receives data from all the major book-selling outlets – from Amazon to [...]

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The Quest for the Legendary Jesus. Platinum Guest Post by Robert Droney

Now *here* are some smart and interesting reflections about a topic most of us think is rather crucial: the quest for Jesus.  But which Jesus?   And which quester?  Here Robert Droney discusses the search for the "legendary Jesus" by one who is questioning his faith. It should generate some feedback!  So comment away! ****************************** I [...]

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The First Actual Account of the Resurrection (Hint: It’s Not in the New Testament)

On this Easter Sunday I thought it would be appropriate to repost a blog from several years ago on a Gospel not in the New Testament -- a Gospel that gives us an actual narrative of the resurrection.  I often say that there is no story of the resurrection in the the New Testament -- [...]

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What If I Commit the Unforgivable Sin? Can It Be Purged in Purgatory?

In my previous post I discussed one of the passages of the New Testament that has traditionally been used to support the idea of Purgatory, the place that most of the “saved” go after death to be purged of their sins (Matt 5:26  “you won’t get out of there until you have paid the last [...]

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Yahweh and Moses. Platinum Guest Post by Omar Abur-Robb

For those of you interested in Hebrew Bible, the (existence of the) historical Moses, the Hebrew language (you don't have to know it!), and... so on -- here's the post for you!  This is a Platinum offering for other Platinums only.  Omar will be happy to address your comments and questions! ******************** The name “Yahweh” [...]

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Blog Volunteer Needed!!

As you may know, a number of Volunteers devote their time and talents to the blog, making  it work, succeed, thrive, and grow.  And an important position has now opened up. We have a special need for someone who is skilled in social media of all kinds.   For some time now we have been highly [...]

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Did Jesus Believe in Purgatory?

The topic I’m dealing with on this destined-to-be-a-very-long thread seems to me to be particularly important.  Most of my scholarship is of interest mainly to people concerned about the life and teachings of Jesus, the New Testament, the history of Christianity, and so on; but this is of interest to *all* of us.  What happens [...]

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Purgatory Before There Was a Purgatory

As I said in my last post, the definitive doctrine of Purgatory did not exist before the 12th century, even though the basic *idea* had been around for a long time – the idea that even though Christ’s death brought salvation to the world, most people, except for the most holy saints, such as those [...]

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