Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why in Atheists and Skeptics

Jan 09, 2008 Wendy rated it it was amazing

As a biblical scholar, the author wanted to read the Bible in the languages in which it was first written and so studied them and went deeper into the texts. His decision to go deeper, to fully appreciate it, led him to find out as the old saying goes more than he bargained for. It led him to reevaluate his faith which had been based on a belief in the literal truth of what he had been taught it said and in the inerrancy of it as brought down thru the ages..as it was originally written.

What he As a biblical scholar, the author wanted to read the Bible in the languages in which it was first written and so studied them and went deeper into the texts. His decision to go deeper, to fully appreciate it, led him to find out as the old saying goes more than he bargained for. It led him to reevaluate his faith which had been based on a belief in the literal truth of what he had been taught it said and in the inerrancy of it as brought down thru the ages..as it was originally written.

What he discovered was that the Bible had been changed many times by those who were translating it, copying in, interpreting it, and even adding to it for a variety of reasons. He learned of all the various debates over the nature of Jesus and God and the schools of thought which were responded to by later copyists who "clarified" and reinforced their side of the debates by adding to the text.

He applied his expertise in analyzing the multilayered mysteries of alterations and has provided us a rich and fascinating glimpse into history including the context of various forms of Christian beliefs through the centuries, the purpose of some of the writers and the identification of multiple or single more ancient sources for some of the writing and its authorship and of controversies about the role and nature of Jesus which sparked such changes and forever changes the readers understanding of what the Bible can provide.

I thought perhaps one of the most interesting insights I gained is how rewriting, adding or editing was an accepted practice and not as so many today would imagine as sacrilidge and evil and not in keeping with the Biblical writings being "holy or sacred" texts.

The last person who consciously edited the new testament to strip it of what he thought was wrong, false, and irrelevant to its message was Thomas Jefferson who did so not as a surreptitious amender but who set off his version as standing on its own as an independent book, a slim volume known as The Jefferson Bible.
Not something that a current President or crop of candidates would DARE to admit to even thinking of doing in this time of evangelical religiousity .
Again, much is revealed about the temper of the times and how attitudes toward the Bible and its use has changed over time even within the last few hundred years thru books such as these. I heartily recommend it. ...more

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Jun 20, 2009 Coyle rated it really liked it

A well-written and thoughtful book that ought to be read if for no other reason than to understand some of the anti-Christian arguments floating around. To be fair, I don’t know much about textual criticism, but as someone with a decent background in the Roman/Greek/Jewish world (history, culture, politics and religion, not languages), I do have a few thoughts.

Pros:
-First, this book is exceptionally well written. Ehrman is clear and engaging, not losing the reader in technical terms and managing ...more

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May 17, 2008 Mark rated it it was amazing

Misquoting Jesus is an amazing piece of historical work. I -- like so many -- grew up with the bible in my house. Over the years I lost my faith as something that just didn't have any basis in fact, but I still find the study of religion very fascinating. Bart Ehrman has done an excellent job here, laying out who has copied and interpreted the New Testament over the centuries. His research is impeccable, and all the more impressive, since he started off as an evangelical, who thought the bible w ...more

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Nov 07, 2009 Charles rated it liked it · review of another edition

Interesting read. Uncovering the many ways the texts of the new testament were changed and the reasons why as they were copied and passed down from antiquity.

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