Bart D. Ehrman's Blog, page 87

My Best Best-Selling Fluke

A couple of weeks ago I published a post about how an author writes a bestseller (she doesn't!  It becomes one or not for reasons other than the author's intent or writing...) I remembered I had posted something on the topic years ago, based on a blog member's question about my personal best-selling book, Misquoting [...]

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Vote for your favorite Platinum Guest Post!

      We've had a string of interesting Platinum guest posts since our last vote.  Which of these is your favorite? Send in your vote to Diane at ehrmanblog@gmail.com   -- and I'll post the winner on the full blog. Remember: you too can write a guest post for Platinums.  Is there anything you want [...]

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A Scandalous Discovery of a Scandalous Gospel?

Later scholars have sometimes claimed Morton Smith forged the Secret Gospel of Mark; he claimed he *discovered* it.  Which is it?  Here I continue with my account of how he said it all happened.  In my previous post I indicated that in 1958 Smith was catagaloguing the books of the library of the monastery of [...]

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Could the Mysterious “Secret Gospel of Mark” Be Authentic?

In my previous posts I discussed how Morton Smith claimed he discovered a copy of an ancient letter of Clement of Alexandria (ca. 200 CE), written in the back of a 17th century book, by a scribe of the 18th century, in which Clement described a mysterious “Secret Gospel” – an intriguing and possibly scandalous [...]

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How Do You Prove an Ancient Manuscript is Ancient? The Secret Gospel of Mark

In my previous posts I explained how American scholar of early Christianity, Morton Smith, claimed to have discovered the Secret Gospel of Mark in 1958.   Now I’ll discuss how, once he discovered it (assuming he did – some scholars think he actually forged it…), how he went about trying to find out if it was [...]

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The Naked Man of Mark 14:51-52, the Secret Gospel, and a Pressing Question: Did Jesus Engage in Homoerotic Behavior?

I am providing here a thread of posts on Morton Smith’s discovery, in 1958, of the “Secret Gospel of Mark,” a longer version of Mark’s Gospel in a letter allegedly written by Clement of Alexandria who attacks a group of nefarious Gnostics.  Smith argued this really was an authentic letter, that the Secret Gospel really [...]

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March 2023 Gold Q&A (video)

Here you go, Gold & Platinum members! https://vimeo.com/817695164/77e10c1b7...

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Interview with Michael Shermer

Many of you will know Michael Shermer, from his publications and podcast.  He writes about the history of science from the perspective of religious skepticism, and is the editor-in-chief of Skeptic Magazine.  Like me, he converted to evangelical Christianity as a teenager, went to a conservative Christian college, and ended up leaving the faith. Michael [...]

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James Tabor on the 1993 Waco Disaster, Part III

The 1993 Waco Disaster—How Not to Negotiate with Apocalyptic Believers James D. Tabor, retired professor of Religious Studies, UNC Charlotte   In this three-part series James Tabor surveys what happened 30 years ago outside Waco, TX as Federal authorities violently confronted a group of apocalyptic believers who believed that David Koresh, their prophetic leader was [...]

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James Tabor on the 1993 Waco Disaster, Part II

The 1993 Waco Disaster—How Not to Negotiate with Apocalyptic Believers James D. Tabor, retired professor of Religious Studies, UNC Charlotte   In this three-part series James Tabor surveys what happened 30 years ago outside Waco, TX as Federal authorities violently confronted a group of apocalyptic believers who believed that David Koresh, their prophetic leader was [...]

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