Bart D. Ehrman's Blog, page 6

As I’ve been reading in preparation for my course on July 19, “Did Jesus Really Exist” (a freebie!  Check it out at https://courses.bartehrman.com/did-je.... )  another thought occurred to me, about the similarities between “mythicist” writers (those supporting the idea that Jesus of Nazareth never did exist) and conservative Christian apologists.  They seem to have a [...]

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I’ve been doing some reading in preparation for a two-lecture on-line course called “Did Jesus Really Exist” scheduled for July 19.   You can find out about it here: https://courses.bartehrman.com/did-je....  It’s a freebie, so, well, feel free to get it for free! Even though I'm pumped to do this course, and I don’t really much enjoy [...]

The post Did Jesus Exist? Why I Don’t Enjoy Reading the Mythicists appeared first on The Bart Ehrman Blog.

Gold & Platinum Members, As you know, one of your membership perks is the ability to submit your questions to Bart for him to answer in a live monthly Q&A. So...what's on your mind? Send in your questions at: [email protected] (Don’t ask them in the comments of this post – they won’t be included!) Remember, [...]

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Platinum Members, It’s time once again to cast your vote. One of the great perks of Platinum membership is the chance to shape what the whole blog community reads. Below, you’ll find four thought-provoking guest posts written by fellow Platinum members. Read through, reflect, and choose the one you believe deserves the spotlight. The winning [...]

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I now turn to another non-canonical text connected with Paul, one of the most famous throughout the Middle Ages, an account of his journey to observe the fate of souls in the afterlife, both the glories of the saints in heaven and the torments of the sinners in hell.   This tale is not simply meant [...]

The post Paul’s Vision of Heaven and Hell appeared first on The Bart Ehrman Blog.

In my previous post I summarized the legendary account of Paul and his most famous female disciple Thecla, and ended by quoting the “gospel message” that he preaches in the tale.  It’s not at all what you would expect.  He says no word about believing in Christ’s death and resurrection.  It is all about remaining [...]

The post Chastity Within Marriage? Paul Taught THAT? appeared first on The Bart Ehrman Blog.

I have now finished my summaries and discussions of each of the thirteen Pauline letters, "In a Nutshell."  In this long thread we have now covered 18 of the New Testament's 27 books, which, by my math, means we are two-thirds of the way through this thread.  Nine more gems to go. I'd like to [...]

The post Paul and His Most Famous Woman Disciple appeared first on The Bart Ehrman Blog.

I’ve been talking about Paul’s view of slavery, in light of the book of Philemon; this seems to be a good time to talk about a very big issue connected with translating the New Testament from Greek into English.  It may seem fairly straightforward, but in fact it is incredibly thorny:  what English word is [...]

The post Should We Keep “Slaves” in the New Testament? appeared first on The Bart Ehrman Blog.

Here is a list of readings on Philemon, all of which are relevant to all the undisputed Pauline epistles, with a couple of commentaries specifically on this significant, short letter.  One benefit of serious commentaries is that they always begin by discussing major critical issues in understanding a book: authorship, date, historical context, major themes, [...]

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As part of our ongoing effort to improve the Ehrman Blog (including a major redesign to enhance the site and user experience) we recently invited members to participate in a comprehensive reader survey. If you completed the survey, we have a special thank-you just for you: You’re invited to attend a live webinar with Bart [...]

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