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Articles by Bart D. Ehrman
The surprising origin of modern compassion
A literature column to feed your curiosity. History and SocietyPhilosophyEthicsReligionSocial Change Excerpted from Love Thy Stranger: How the Teachings of Jesus Transformed the Moral Conscience of the West by Bart Ehrman. Copyright © 2026. Reprinted by permission of Simon & Schuster, LLC. All rights reserved. Most people I know are moved by news of tragedy.
Oryginalny tekst Biblii jest niedostępny. Dlaczego naukowcy rezygnują z jego poszukiwań?
W okresie pierwszych dwóch–trzech stuleci działalności Kościoła teksty (wczesno)chrześcijańskie kopiowane były nie przez profesjonalnych kopistów, ale przez tych członków zgromadzeń chrześcijańskich, którzy wyrażali chęć podjęcia się takiej czynności i dysponowali wystarczającymi umiejętnościami. Mamy zatem istotne powody, by przypuszczać, że znalazło się w nich – zwłaszcza tych najdawniejszych – sporo pomyłek powstałych przy przepisywaniu.
Did Jesus Believe in Heaven?
Would you want to go to Heaven when you die? I’m not asking: Do you believe in the existence of Heaven? Deconstructionology with Jim Palmer is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. What I’m wondering is, if it were true that there is a Heaven - a paradise you enter into after death - would you want to go? This may sound like a trick question. Right?
Debating the nature of Jesus
In 2022, Ligonier Ministries conducted a survey called “The State of Theology” to explore how Americans respond to various theological questions. Among clergy whom I follow on social media, the results garnered dismay, frustration, confusion, and—if memory serves—a couple of facepalm and eye roll emoji combos.
Washington Independent Review of Books
Many well-read American Christians might also express ambivalence about the writings of University of North Carolina professor Bart D. Ehrman, a New Testament scholar famous for being an atheist. In adolescence, Ehrman himself had a brief, passionate fling with evangelicalism, and he frequently targets his former coreligionists for closemindedness and incuriosity about their own Scriptures.
Episode 263: Bart Ehrman - The Gospels & Historical Reliability
We’re back for our eighth season of the podcast! In this episode of The Bible for Normal People, New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman joins Pete and Jared to discuss the historical reliability of the Gospels, highlighting the roles of oral tradition, authorial bias, and contradictions within the texts. Join them as they explore the following questions: What’s involved in the historical study of antiquity?
Did the Old Testament Endorse Slavery?
The God of the Old Testament commanded and endorsed many practices that we find morally reprehensible today. High on the list was the institution of slavery, which features prominently in several sections of the Hebrew Bible. Fathers could sell their daughters into slavery, masters could beat their slaves, creditors could carry off children for failure to repay a debt, and foreigners could be kept for life, passed down as inherited property.
A Biblical Conference for Non-Scholars
Dr. Bart D. Ehrman has written or edited thirty-three books, including six New York Times bestsellers: How Jesus Became God, Misquoting Jesus, God’s Problem, Jesus Interrupted, Forged, and The Triumph of Christianity. Bart is the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, where he has taught thousands of students and won numerous awards.
How a misreading of the Bible fuels many Americans' apathy about climate change
By Bart D. Ehrman Christian theology and global politics can make strange bedfellows. Consider the intimate relationship between fundamentalist expectations of Jesus' return and market-driven disregard for the environment. The affair became public back in 1981, when Ronald Reagan's newly minted Interior secretary, James Watt ― once known for suing the department he went on to lead ― was testifying before a House committee.
Commentary: How a misreading of the Bible fuels many Americans’ apathy about climate change
Christian theology and global politics can make strange bedfellows. Consider the intimate relationship between fundamentalist expectations of Jesus’ return and market-driven disregard for the environment. The affair became public back in 1981, when Ronald Reagan’s newly minted Interior secretary, James Watt — once known for suing the department he went on to lead — was testifying before a House committee.
How A Misreading Of The Bible Fuels Many Americans’ Apathy About Climate Change Online
Christian theology and global politics can make strange bedfellows. Consider the intimate relationship between fundamentalist expectations of Jesus’ return and market-driven disregard for the environment. The affair became public back in 1981, when Ronald Reagan’s newly minted Interior secretary, James Watt — once known for suing the department he went on to lead — was testifying before a House committee.
Did Jesus Even Exist? on Apple Podcasts
The (considerable) vitriol directed against Bart by theologically conservative Christians is (easily) matched by what he gets from critics on the opposite end of the spectrum --"mythicists" who insist not only that the New Testament is filled with legendary material but that Jesus himself was, literally, a myth: he never existed.
Opinion: The messages of Easter and Good Friday are not the same
Good Friday and Easter Sunday celebrate two events that the disciples of Jesus never saw coming. In our Gospels, they did not accept what he repeatedly said: His goal in life was to die. And they were to follow his example. The disciples instead believed Jesus was the powerful Messiah — the one who would destroy God's enemies and establish his kingdom here on earth, with himself at its head. They assumed he was going to Jerusalem the final week of his life to be coronated.
Armageddon: What the Bible Really Says about the End
The Christian church has often had an ambivalent relationship with Revelation, the final book in its scriptural canon. Skepticism about Revelation’s orthodoxy ran deep in the early church, Protestant reformer Martin Luther relegated it to an appendix in his translation of the Bible, and even those Christians who love it often admit to confusion over its meaning.
Armageddon by Bart D. Ehrman | Review | Spirituality & Practice
Ehrman is a New York Times best-selling author of several books. This one will not disappoint, if you have read any of the others. He writes with real pacing and verve, setting out to deconstruct inaccurate and harmful beliefs and teachings often found in evangelical Christianity.
Spirituality & Practice
“Yes, Jesus thought destruction was coming for sinners. He repeatedly discusses it. Strikingly, though, he never says anything about divinely sent misery, torture, or protracted deaths. The end will come suddenly, when no one expects it, and it will be decisive. Destruction would come to all who placed themselves above others, who refused to help others, who insisted on promoting their own pleasures and position even if it meant hurting others.
Book World: 'Armageddon' reads the Book of Revelation with fresh eyes
Simon & Schuster. 250 pp. $27.99 - - - "I was dreamin' when I wrote this," Prince once observed. "Forgive me if it goes astray." That's quite the preemptive flex. Do you approve of what follows in "1999"? Lions in pockets? Everybody having a bomb? Judgment Day? It was all written while dreaming. Complain about a dream if you must, but that's on you. There's no running from revelation. Dreams resist explanation. The Bible is full of them.
'Armageddon' reads the Book of Revelation with fresh eyes
"I was dreamin' when I wrote this," Prince once observed. "Forgive me if it goes astray." That's quite the preemptive flex. Do you approve of what follows in "1999?" Lions in pockets? Everybody having a bomb? Judgment day? It was all written while dreaming. Complain about a dream if you must, but that's on you. There's no running from revelation. Dreams resist explanation. The Bible is full of them.
Armageddon: What the Bible Really Says about the End
Description A "humane, thoughtful, and intelligent" (The New York Times Book Review) 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 says 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.
Armageddon: What the Bible Really Says about the End
Ehrman (religious studies, Univ. of North Carolina–Chapel Hill; Heaven and Hell) is well known for serious biblical scholarship and the willingness to press provocative implications of it. This book is a continuation of that style, this time bringing the Book of Revelation into view.
Jimmy Akin and Joseph’s Two Homes (Evangelical Eisegesis #4 - Catholic Edition)
Matthew depicts Joseph as living in Bethlehem and setting in Nazareth later. Luke depicts Joseph as being from Nazareth, going to Bethlehem for the census and birth of Jesus, and then returning to Nazareth. How can these two be reconciled? If you’re Jimmy Akin that’s easy! Joseph owned two homes. Or did he? Like this: Like Loading... Category: Evangelical Eisegesis, Bart Ehrman, Contradictions in the Bible, Jesus' Birth, Jimmy Akin
Journeys to Heaven and Hell: Tours of the Afterlife in the Early Christian Tradition
Overview A New York Times best-selling scholar’s illuminating exploration of the earliest Christian narrated journeys to heaven and hell “[An] illuminating deep dive . . . An edifying origin story for contemporary Christian conceptions of the afterlife.”–Publishers Weekly From classics such as the Odyssey and the Aeneid to fifth-century Christian apocrypha, narratives that described guided tours of the afterlife played a major role in shaping ancient notions of morality and ethics.
The Atheist Handbook to the Old Testament, Volume 1
By: Joshua Bowen Narrated by: Seth Andrews Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins Unabridged Audiobook Categories: Religion & Spirituality, Atheism 4.7 out of 5 stars 4.7 (55 ratings) 1 audiobook of your choice. Stream or download thousands of included titles. $14.95 a month after 30 day trial. Cancel anytime.
Journeys to Heaven and Hell
Bart D. Ehrman has provided another book on the history of Christianity intended for both academics and the lay reader. Journeys to Heaven and Hell: Tours of the Afterlife in the Early Christian Tradition follows his earlier Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife (Simon and Schuster, 2021).
Op-Ed: How Christians came to believe in heaven, hell and the immortal soul
© (Jarred Briggs / For The Times) (Jarred Briggs / For The Times) Billions of Christians around the world believe that on Easter, Jesus was raised from the dead and taken up to heaven to live with God. They also believe that when they die, their own souls will go to heaven. The great irony is that this is not at all what Jesus himself believed.
Washington Independent Review of Books
The very subtitle of Bart D. Ehrman’s new book, Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife, will rankle his longtime fundamentalist Christian antagonists and amuse his typically liberal and secularist devotees. But this will surprise no one. After all, the University of North Carolina professor — who was raised in fundamentalism himself and grew up to become perhaps the most famous atheist in the field of biblical studies — has made a career of unsettling pious minds.
NEW for 4/25: On resisting; and on relaxing
· GwinnettForum | Number 22.29 | April 25, 2023 NOW OPEN IN THE CITY OF BUFORD is the new 153-door terminal of Saia trucking lines. Dignitaries at the grand opening included Andrew Hickey, project manager; Shantell Wilson, Gwinnett economic development manager; Todd Toppor of the City of Buford; Fritz Holzgrefe, CEO and president; and Executive Vice President Ryan Ramu. The company is headquartered in Johns Creek, Ga. For more information, see Upcoming below.
What Jesus Really Said About Heaven and Hell
Ideas By Bart D. Ehrman May 8, 2020 1:32 PM EDT Ehrman is a leading authority on the New Testament and the history of early Christianity, and the author or editor of more than thirty books, including the just published Heaven and Hell. He is a Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. None of us likes thinking about death, but there are times when we have little choice. The virus spreads, hospitals fill, and systems become overwhelmed.
Why Are Some Evangelicals Giving Up on the Idea of Hell?
Even some evangelical Christians are abandoning their conception of a place of eternal torment, a notion not supported by scripture. Updated Apr. 19, 2020 1:42AM ET / Published Apr. 19, 2020 1:41AM ET BEAST INSIDE Fire and brimstone has been part of Christianity for as long as there have been literal-minded Christians.
Washington Independent Review of Books
It’s a remarkable saga. In a span of barely 350 years, what begins as a tiny Jewish sect, just three-dozen strong, spreads across the Mediterranean world to become the official state religion of the Roman Empire. This is the fascinating story that New Testament scholar Bart D. Ehrman tells in The Triumph of Christianity. But don’t tackle this erudite volume in search of cloud-splitting fireworks — either of the divine-intervention or 1950s Cinemascope sort.
On Early Judaism and Its Conception of the Afterlife
We have the same problem knowing what the average Jew believed at any one time that we had with the pagans. All of our surviving literary texts come from the highly educated—that is, the cultured elite. You can never know whether the upper intellectual class can be trusted to represent fairly the views of those who were uneducated, who have not had the time or, more important, the resources to be exposed widely to the thoughts, views, ideas, prejudices, and assumptions of others.
Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife
The very subtitle of Bart D. Ehrman’s new book, Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife, will rankle his longtime fundamentalist Christian antagonists and amuse his typically liberal and secularist devotees. But this will surprise no one. After all, the University of North Carolina professor — who was raised in fundamentalism himself and grew up to become perhaps the most famous atheist in the field of biblical studies — has made a career of unsettling pious minds.
Heaven - Lisa Miller - E-book
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The price we pay
If we lacked free will, Gilbert Chesterton liked to say, there is no point in thanking someone for passing the mustard. Like all writers on the topic (theist, atheist, or pantheist), Ehrman distinguishes two main aspects of the so-called “problem of evil”: 1) Evils caused by human behavior. A demented man fires an automatic into a crowd. The lives of those killed are as irrationally ended as if they had been killed by an earthquake. Hitler murders millions of Jews.
Forget about Jesus walking on water - the Bible is far more than that
Forget about Jesus walking on water - the Bible is far more than ... Ideas There's no point pretending the Bible is something it is not. A new warts-and-all book tells its real story 15 April 2019 Reading Time: 7 Minutes Article Number: 9 / 26 Related Articles Next Article Previous Article
Monday, April 15 2019
Boys arrested for schoolmate’s murder Two schoolboys from Mokopane have been arrested in connection with the murder of their schoolmate, Limpopo police said on Sunday. The pair was arrested after the 17-year-old girl’s body was found on Saturday morning at a dump site. "The intensive police investigations resulted in the arrests of the two suspects, aged 17 and 18. They are both learners at the same high school where the deceased was attending," police spokesperson Colonel Moatshe Ngoepe said.
The Triumph of Christianity
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 Uitgeverij Van Ditmar Boekenimport B.V. Imprint Simon & Schuster Uitgegeven als Paperback Eerste editie 05-03-2019 Laatste editie 05-03-2019 ISBN 9781501136719 • 9781786074836 Aantal pagina's 352 Taal Engels
Inside the Conversion Tactics of the Early Christian Church
History Reads is a weekly series featuring work from Team History, a group of experts and influencers, exploring history’s most fascinating questions. The triumph of Christianity over the pagan religions of ancient Rome led to the greatest historical transformation the West has ever seen: a transformation that was not only religious, but also social, political and cultural.
Informative, Fun Spring Reading Recomendations
Bobby Kennedy: A Raging Spirit It seems that members of the Kennedy family continue to be a favorite subject for biographies.Author Chris Matthews came of age during the era in which the Kennedy name was synonymous with politics.
Reading Can Be Both Informative and Fun
Bobby Kennedy: A Raging Spirit It seems that members of the Kennedy family continue to be a favorite subject for biographies.Author Chris Matthews came of age during the era in which the Kennedy name was synonymous with politics.
Coast to Coast AM
Biography: Bart D. Ehrman is the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He came to UNC in 1988, after four years of teaching at Rutgers University.
The Triumph of Christianity: How a Forbidden Religion Swept the World
It’s a remarkable saga. In a span of barely 350 years, what begins as a tiny Jewish sect, just three-dozen strong, spreads across the Mediterranean world to become the official state religion of the Roman Empire. This is the fascinating story that New Testament scholar Bart D. Ehrman tells in The Triumph of Christianity. But don’t tackle this erudite volume in search of cloud-splitting fireworks — either of the divine-intervention or 1950s Cinemascope sort.
The roots of Christianity - Feature
The recent death of Reverend Billy Graham and the many diverse responses to it illustrated how inextricably Christianity has woven itself into the fabric of American history. How did this ancient religion grow from a loose group of individuals following an itinerant preacher grow into a massive movement with millions of followers? Three provocative new books examine the evolution of the Christian religion from its roots through to the Middle Ages.
Why Did Christianity Prevail?
In “The Triumph of Christianity,” Ehrman describes the Edict of Milan (which was neither an edict nor written in Milan) as the Western world’s first known government document to proclaim the freedom of belief.
5 Reasons Religious Millennials Aren't Marrying - OnFaith
My best friend and I are both 24 years old, career-driven, and single. We’re also both women who are set on marrying someone who shares our respective faiths — she’s Muslim, I’m Christian. We joke about our singleness a lot — every embarrassing picture, ridiculous dance move and dumb comment is attended by the sarcastic-but-obligatory, “Why am I still single?” But to my friends who are “nones,” being in your mid-twenties and unmarried is normal, even preferred.
Who Wrote The Bible and Why It Matters | The Muslim Times on WordPress.com
By Bart D. Ehrman: Author, ‘Forged: Writing in the Name of God—Why the Bible’s Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are’ Apart from the most rabid fundamentalists among us, nearly everyone admits that the Bible might contain errors — a faulty creation story here, a historical mistake there, a contradiction or two in some other place. But is it possible that the problem is worse than that — that the Bible actually contains lies?
Video: How Jesus Became God, by Prof. Bart Ehrman?
On the dates January 29-31, 2016, Bart D. Ehrman gave three separate lectures to attendees, a series that highlighted his book, “How Jesus Became God.” Rev. Megan Smith opened each session for the local parishioners and pastoral staff at Coral Gables Congregational Church located at 3010 De Soto Boulevard, Coral Gables, Florida. New York Times bestselling author and Bible expert Bart Ehrman reveals how Jesus’s divinity became dogma in the first few centuries of the early church.
Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why
FROM LIBRARY JOURNAL “The Bible”- its use in the singular can gloss over the fact that we do not have access to the original text, but only to manuscripts of a relatively late provenance produced at different times and places and containing among them thousands of variant wordings. An accomplished scholar of early Christianity, Ehrman (religious studies, Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) ventures out of the ivory tower in this accessible lay introduction to New Testament textual criticism.
If Jesus Never Called Himself God, How Did He Become One?
"If Jesus had not been declared God by his followers, his followers would've remained a sect within Judaism, a small Jewish sect," says historian Bart Ehrman. iStockphoto hide caption toggle caption iStockphoto "If Jesus had not been declared God by his followers, his followers would've remained a sect within Judaism, a small Jewish sect," says historian Bart Ehrman.
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