Bart D. Ehrman is a leading scholar on the New Testament and early Christianity, focusing on the historical background and evolution of early Christian texts. His work is characterized by a deep knowledge of ancient manuscripts and a meticulous examination of how biblical texts were transmitted and influenced over centuries. Ehrman primarily investigates the variations found in surviving copies of the New Testament and the role of scribes in their production. His critical approach illuminates the complexities of early Christianity and the textual traditions of the Bible.
The book offers a vibrant introduction to the New Testament through a historical and comparative lens, highlighting the diversity of early Christian literature. It uniquely examines the Greco-Roman and early Jewish contexts, providing insights into contemporary Christian writings like the Gospel of Thomas and the letters of Ignatius. Praised for its clarity and engaging prose, this widely-used textbook has maintained its popularity across editions, with Ehrman committed to revising it based on reader feedback.
In a book that took eight years to research and write, leading Bible scholar Bart D. Ehrman explores how an apocalyptic prophet from the backwaters of rural Galilee crucified for crimes against the state came to be thought of as equal with the one God Almighty Creator of all things. Ehrman sketches Jesus's transformation from a human prophet to the Son of God, exalted to divine status at his resurrection. Only when some of Jesus's followers had visions of him after his death—alive again—did anyone come to think that he, the prophet from Galilee, had become God. And what they meant by that was not at all what people mean today. As a historian—not a believer—Ehrman answers the questions: How did this transformation of Jesus occur? How did he move from being a Jewish prophet to being God? The dramatic shifts throughout history reveal not only why Jesus's followers began to claim he was God, but also how they came to understand this claim in so many different ways. Written for secular historians of religion and believers alike, How Jesus Became God will engage anyone interested in the historical developments that led to the affirmation at the heart of Christianity: Jesus was, and is, God.
Many believe that the Gospel stories of Jesus are based on eyewitness testimony and are therefore historically reliable. Now, for the first time, a scholar of the New Testament, New York Times bestselling author Bart D. Ehrman (Misquoting Jesus; and Jesus, Interrupted), surveys research from the fields of psychology, anthropology, and sociology to explore how oral traditions and group memories really work and questions how reliable the Gospels can be. Focusing on the decades-long gap between when Jesus lived and when these documents about him began to appear, Ehrman looks to these varied disciplines to see what they can tell us about how the New Testament developed
The bestselling historian of early Christianity takes on two of the most
gripping questions of human existence - where did the ideas of heaven and hell
come from, and why do they endure?
"A New York Times bestselling Biblical scholar reveals why our popular understanding of the Apocalypse is all wrong-and why that matters. You'll find nearly everything the Bible has to say about the end in the Book of Revelation: a mystifying prophecy filled with bizarre symbolism, violent imagery, mangled syntax, confounding contradictions, and very firm ideas about the horrors that await us all. But whether you understand the book as a literal description of what will soon come to pass, interpret it as a metaphorical expression of hope for those suffering now, or only recognize its highlights from pop culture, what you think Revelation reveals...is almost certainly wrong. In Armageddon, acclaimed New Testament authority Bart D. Ehrman delves into the most misunderstood--and possibly the most dangerous--book of the Bible, exploring the horrifying social and political consequences of expecting an imminent apocalypse and offering a fascinating tour through three millennia of Judeo-Christian thinking about how our world will end. By turns hilarious, moving, troubling, and provocative, Armageddon presents inspiring insights into how to live our lives in the face of an uncertain future and reveals what the Bible really says about the end"--
Argues that Jesus, like many of his later followers, proclaimed that God was
soon to intervene in human affairs and bring all of history to a screeching
halt. Through a careful evaluation of the New Testament Gospels and other
sources, the author shows why Jesus should be understood as an apocalyptic
prophet. schovat popis
This new edition of Bart Ehrman's highly successful introduction approaches the New Testament from a comparative historical perspective, emphasizing the rich diversity of the earliest Christian literature. Ehrman shows why scholars continue to argue over such significant issues as how the books of the New Testament came into being, who produced them, what they mean, how they relate to contemporary Christian and non-Christian literature, and how they came to be collected into a canon of Scripture. Ehrman also discusses works by other Christian writers who were roughly contemporary with the New Testament.
How did Christianity become the dominant faith in the West in the historical
blink of an eye? Bart Ehrman shows that there was no miraculous rate of
conversion required
In a book that took eight years to research and write, leading Bible scholar Bart D. Ehrman explores how an apocalyptic prophet from the backwaters of rural Galilee crucified for crimes against the state came to be thought of as equal with the one God Almighty Creator of all things. Ehrman sketches Jesus's transformation from a human prophet to the Son of God exalted to divine status at his resurrection. Only when some of Jesus's followers had visions of him after his death—alive again—did anyone come to think that he, the prophet from Galilee, had become God. And what they meant by that was not at all what people mean today. As a historian—not a believer—Ehrman answers the questions: How did this transformation of Jesus occur? How did he move from being a Jewish prophet to being God? The dramatic shifts throughout history reveal not only why Jesus's followers began to claim he was God, but also how they came to understand this claim in so many different ways. Written for secular historians of religion and believers alike, How Jesus Became God will engage anyone interested in the historical developments that led to the affirmation at the heart of Christianity: Jesus was, and is, God.
