He writes that scholars have tended to avoid the word “forged” because of its negative connotations, but argues convincingly that much of the Bible is, in fact, forged. He points out that many of the books in the New Testament were not even written by their putative authors: only eight of its 27 books are almost certain to have been written by the people whose names are attached to them. But as Ehrman argues, this only creates a bogus “fifth Gospel” that doesn’t exist.Įhrman’s critique is far from over. The conventional response to this is to try to “harmonize” the Bible by smashing all four Gospels together. Matthew believed that Jesus’ followers had to keep the Jewish law to enter the kingdom of Heaven, a view categorically rejected by Paul. Mark and Paul saw Jesus’ death as offering an atonement for sin, while Luke did not. The skeptic set on doubting the validity of. Ehrman points out that Mark and Luke had radically different attitudes toward Jesus’ death: Mark saw him as in doubt and despair on the way to the cross, while Luke saw him as calm. Ehrman begins by expressing concern for those ignorant of Jesus and unaware of the variants in the New Testament. Picking up where “Misquoting Jesus” let off, it goes beyond the Bible’s textual problems to look at deeper doctrinal inconsistencies and contradictions. Here is an excerpt:Įhrman’s new book, “Jesus, Interrupted,” will not lead many evangelicals and conservative Christians to invite him to talk to their Bible study groups.

Salon has a great new interview with him. Here he takes on the many contradictions found in the text. Ehrman’s last book, Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why, took on the mistakes (intended and not) that biblical scribes have made over the years and how its changed the text of the Bible.

Ehrman’s latest book Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible (And Why We Don’t Know About Them). If you have a chance, I highly recommend that you pick up Bart D. Full Book Name:Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible and Why We Don’t Know About Them.

Bart ehrman jesus interrupted