Bart D. Ehrman's Blog, page 89

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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The Origins of Purgatory

As I indicated in my previous two posts on the Martyrdom of Perpetua, I'm interested in the question of where the idea of purgatory came from.  Ths idea of purgatory is *widely* misunderstood today; in fact, just about everyone who mentions it to me (including two days ago), doesn't know what it actually is -- [...]

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April Gold Q&A: Submit your questions!

Dear Goldies, Time to crank up another monthly Gold Q&A.  Have a question?  ASK IT!  DEADLINE for your question(s):  this coming Friday, April 7, midnight your time. I'm more likely to answer questions that are relatively short and to the point than those that go on for a long paragraph.  So be concise. I'll answer [...]

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Dreaming of Purgatory

Yesterday I began to talk about the Martyrdom of Perpetua, one of the most interesting and moving texts to come down to us from early Christianity.  It is an account of a 23-year old Roman matron who is willing to die a gruesome death for her Christian faith.  Among other things, the text shows that [...]

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The Martyrdom of Perpetua and the Rise of Purgatory

I was recently asked about "purgatory, a concept misunderstood by most people I've ever met, including nearly every Protestant (!) but also some lifelong Catholics.  I had done a series of posts on the issue years ago, while I was doing research for my book on Heaven and Hell.  I had just read an interesting [...]

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What Does God Think of Surrogacy? Platinum Guestpost by Imran M. Usmani

There are two things I can say about this guest post by Imran Usman.  It is extraordinarily interesting AND I've never talked about the topic on the blog! Check it out -- a Platinum guest post for you other Platinums!  And remember, you too can submit a post.  Just send one along to me, on [...]

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