Bart D. Ehrman's Blog, page 40

Here is the second of three posts on my first book-length study -- my dissertation on a particular aspect of how we can determine what the original words of the New Testament were and how they came to be changed over time.  The dissertation was directed by Bruce Metzger, and it dealt more directly with [...]

The post The Reason for Detailed Work on Textual Criticism appeared first on The Bart Ehrman Blog.

Here's May's Gold Q&A video--a little delayed because of Professor Ehrman's heavy summer travel schedule: https://vimeo.com/968002151/4f376bd29...  

The post May Gold Q&A Video appeared first on The Bart Ehrman Blog.

Last night someone asked me about my very first book.  My answer wasn't what they were hoping for; the book was not an insightful discussion of Jesus or the Gospels or how we got the Bible for a general audience.  It was my published dissertation, a work of scholarship on the Greek manuscript tradition of [...]

The post My First Book! A Dissertation on Textual Criticism of the New Testament appeared first on The Bart Ehrman Blog.

This now is the final guest post by David Litwa, one of the most prolific scholars of New Testament and Early Christianity over the past ten years.  David was a graduate student at Duke some years ago and took a couple of my PhD seminars over at UNC.  He is now at Boston College.  (See:  [...]

The post The Arch-Heretic of Them All? Simon of Samaria — Guest Post From Dr. David Litwa appeared first on The Bart Ehrman Blog.

I'm really excited about this one.  Next month we will be presenting a new remote course on the Parables of Jesus, consisting of four lectures by Amy-Jill Levine.   Amy-Jill is one of the top scholars on the historical Jesus and the Gospels on the planet, and is an unusually interesting and dynamic lecturer.  If you [...]

The post NEW COURSE! “The Parables of Jesus” with Amy-Jill Levine appeared first on The Bart Ehrman Blog.

In my book on altruism (yet to be finished!), I'm thinking about including the following as a way to begin reflecting on the question of whether anything like "pure" altruism exists (where someone acts entirely for the sake of another with no benefit at all for the self).  Let me know your thoughts. ****************************** One [...]

The post Does Altruism Even Exist? Some Personal Reflections Based on a Crazy Anecdote appeared first on The Bart Ehrman Blog.

As I've been writing my new book, tentatively called "The Invention of Altruism: How the Teachings of Jesus Transformed the Conscience of the West," I've been thinking about how I might summarize the basic argument.  Here's what I've got to this point.  I'd be happy to hear your reactions. ****************************** Most people I know are [...]

The post The New Book I’m Writing About Altruism: Putting It In a Nutshell appeared first on The Bart Ehrman Blog.

Is there a way to “disprove” the existence of God?  I’m not asking what the best arguments are; I’m asking whether an argument is possible. Just now I’m on a tour of some of the Greek Islands (Andros, Naxos. Amorgas, Santorini, and Crete) giving lectures for a group of unusually interesting people from a striking [...]

The post Can You Disprove the Existence of God? appeared first on The Bart Ehrman Blog.

I recently reposted a debate I did with Peter Williams about the signficance of textual variants for the New Testament.   It reminded me of another debate we did some five years ago, on an even more pressing question, whether the Gospels can be seen as completely trustworthy.  This one was televised.  I thought it was [...]

The post Toe-to-Toe with Evangelical New Testament Scholar Peter Williams: Can We Trust the Gospels? appeared first on The Bart Ehrman Blog.

Here now is a second post on a, well, rather unusual and widely unknown Christian group, by guest blogger David Litwa, one of the most prolific scholars of New Testament and Early Christianity over the past ten years.  David was a graduate student at Duke some years ago and took a couple of my PhD [...]

The post An Early Christian Advocate of Licentious Living? Carpocrates — Guest Post by Dr. David Litwa appeared first on The Bart Ehrman Blog.