Bart D. Ehrman's Blog, page 22

I will be in Tampa next week and would like to do a Blog Dinner on Friday, January 17, with any blog members who happen to be around or can, well, get around.  Probably around 6:30 or so for drinks to start (for whoever is interested in quenching thirst before satisfying hunger), and location TBD. [...]

The post Blog Dinner in Tampa Fl. Friday January 17. You Interested? appeared first on The Bart Ehrman Blog.

My textbook, The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings is now out in its 8th edition, co-authored with my colleague Hugo Mendez.  One of my favorite features of the book since I first wrote it in the mid 90s is the use of side-bar “boxes” that deal with issues that are [...]

The post Did Christians Invent the Idea of “Atonement” / “Vicarious Suffering”? appeared first on The Bart Ehrman Blog.

Here are some more particularly interesting and significant questions I've received from readers, with answers for all here to check out.   QUESTION: Dr. Ehrman: I find it interesting how the understanding of the Greek translation might affect such a crucial NT story. Also, it is in Luke’s narrative that we get the “no room [...]

The post Was There No Room in the “Inn” or in the “Guestroom”? And Doesn’t Caesar Augustus Himself Describe His Census? More Questions from Readers appeared first on...

I’ve received a number of interesting and important questions from readers over the past couple of weeks, and would like to devote a couple of posts to airing my answers to everyone.   QUESTION: I have a question for Bart. Every year right before Christmas we get numerous claims that Jesus was a Palestinian or [...]

The post Was Jesus from “Israel”? Did Jesus “Pre-exist”? Answers to Readers Questions appeared first on The Bart Ehrman Blog.

Last week, the final two reprints of my favorite "Posts of Christmas Past" reproduced an article I had written over a decade ago for Newsweek about the Christmas stories of the New Testament.  I received a good bit of blow-back from the article itself, from various directions; that led me to write post explaining my [...]

The post Finding Value in Writings You Don’t “Believe” (In response to my Newsweek article on Christmas) appeared first on The Bart Ehrman Blog.

2024 has been a remarkable year for the Blog.  We have set a record for the amount of money we raised and donated to our charities; we have hired a highly skilled CEO who has taken charge and already made vast improvements, and we have chosen a design company to come up with a whole [...]

The post 2024: Ehrman Blog Year in Review appeared first on The Bart Ehrman Blog.

Was Jesus’ birth meant to bring peace into the world? One of my favorite Christmas carols is Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,[i] which includes among its memorable lines, “Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace, Hail the Sun of Righteousness.”  The carol is celebrating the announcement of Jesus’ birth to the shepherds “in the fields by [...]

The post Did Jesus Come to Bring Peace? appeared first on The Bart Ehrman Blog.

The End is Near!  At least the End of 2024…. We are trying very hard to make this the most momentous year of the Blog’s existence (we started in 2012) -- and by that I mean the one that exceeds all others in our primary mission, to raise funds for charities that help those among [...]

The post A Matching Grant for our End of the Year Giving 2024: Consider the Blog and Its Mission! appeared first on The Bart Ehrman Blog.

In my previous post I discussed the difference between approaching the Bible theologically and using it historically. It is often hard to explain to people to that doing "critical" scholarship does not mean being a pain in the neck by criticizing everything.  It means using "critical judgment" in order to to establish what is true.  [...]

The post Being Consistently Critical (In the Good Sense) appeared first on The Bart Ehrman Blog.

Dear Gold Members, The New Year is upon us, and with it, another opportunity to get your questions answered by Bart. As you know, the monthly live Q&A session is one of the perks of your elevated status as a gold member of the blog. Mark your calendars! Bart will be recording the session live [...]

The post January 2025 Gold Q&A appeared first on The Bart Ehrman Blog.