Full disclosure: the author of this review is a former Catholic altar boy (unmolested), was briefly enrolled in a Franciscan seminary, had eight years of Jesuit college/graduate school education, and is now what President Obama referred to as a "non-believer" in his inaugural address. In his own full disclosure, author Bart Ehrman relates that he attended a fundamentalist Bible college, furthered his theological education at Princeton, and is currently a professor specializing in New Testament studies at the University of North Carolina. <b>He also states that he is agnostic, though specifically stating that it was not his study of the Bible that led him from evangelical Christianity to this alternate state of conviction.</b>
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Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible (And Why We Don't Know About Them)
by Bart D. Ehrman
Bart D. Ehrman </b>
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Picking up where Bible expert Bart Ehrman's New York Times bestseller Misquoting Jesus left off, Jesus, Interrupted addresses the larger issue of what the New Testament actually teachesâand it's not what most people think. Here Ehrman reveals what scholars have unearthed:
  * The authors of the New Testament have diverging views about who Jesus was and how salvation works
  * The New Testament contains books that were forged in the names of the apostles by Christian writers who lived decades later
  * Jesus, Paul, Matthew, and John all represented fundamentally different religions
  * Established Christian doctrinesâsuch as the suffering messiah, the divinity of Jesus, and the trinityâwere the inventions of still later theologians
These are not idiosyncratic perspectives of just one modern scholar. As Ehrman skillfully demonstrates, they have been the standard and widespread views of critical scholars across a full spectrum of denominations and traditions. Why is it most people have never heard such things? This is the book that pastors, educators, and anyone interested in the Bible have been waiting forâa clear and compelling account of the central challenges we face when attempting to reconstruct the life and message of Jesus.
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I certainly have no idea what evangelical christians are talking about when they site dubious books to counteract the arguments that are plainly reasoned out in Bart Ehrman's amazing "Jesus, Interrupted". How could they possibly "pass-over" the evidence that the Bible is full of contradictions? Once again, they draw from the well of "if one can explain it away, it must not be a contradiction" that I learned in Bible college. No matter how absurd the reasoning, it poses no problem to the "true believer". I'm so glad that I no longer have to bend like a pretzel in order to keep alive the notion that the Bible is inerrant. It took 15 years of careful research till I could accept the things that are in this book. I would also highly recommend "The Jesus Mysteries" to round out the picture. Ehrman is genius at pointing out the human fingerprints that are all over the pages of scripture. One can almost get inside the mind of the various authors who wrote it, as they try to construct a believable narrative of Jesus' life. Over the years there have been attempts to smooth over the falsehoods, both by copyists and by translators. Still, I just don't see how anyone could not follow the clear-eyed Ehrman as he illustrates the contradictions that scholars have long known about. This should be required reading for any fundamentalist. Obviously those reviewers who find fault with this book on religious grounds are unfortunately mesmerized by their reverence for the Bible.
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<b>
Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible (And Why We Don't Know About Them)
by Bart D. Ehrman
Bart D. Ehrman </b>
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Picking up where Bible expert Bart Ehrman's New York Times bestseller Misquoting Jesus left off, Jesus, Interrupted addresses the larger issue of what the New Testament actually teachesâand it's not what most people think. Here Ehrman reveals what scholars have unearthed:
  * The authors of the New Testament have diverging views about who Jesus was and how salvation works
  * The New Testament contains books that were forged in the names of the apostles by Christian writers who lived decades later
  * Jesus, Paul, Matthew, and John all represented fundamentally different religions
  * Established Christian doctrinesâsuch as the suffering messiah, the divinity of Jesus, and the trinityâwere the inventions of still later theologians
These are not idiosyncratic perspectives of just one modern scholar. As Ehrman skillfully demonstrates, they have been the standard and widespread views of critical scholars across a full spectrum of denominations and traditions. Why is it most people have never heard such things? This is the book that pastors, educators, and anyone interested in the Bible have been waiting forâa clear and compelling account of the central challenges we face when attempting to reconstruct the life and message of Jesus.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<b>
I certainly have no idea what evangelical christians are talking about when they site dubious books to counteract the arguments that are plainly reasoned out in Bart Ehrman's amazing "Jesus, Interrupted". How could they possibly "pass-over" the evidence that the Bible is full of contradictions? Once again, they draw from the well of "if one can explain it away, it must not be a contradiction" that I learned in Bible college. No matter how absurd the reasoning, it poses no problem to the "true believer". I'm so glad that I no longer have to bend like a pretzel in order to keep alive the notion that the Bible is inerrant. It took 15 years of careful research till I could accept the things that are in this book. I would also highly recommend "The Jesus Mysteries" to round out the picture. Ehrman is genius at pointing out the human fingerprints that are all over the pages of scripture. One can almost get inside the mind of the various authors who wrote it, as they try to construct a believable narrative of Jesus' life. Over the years there have been attempts to smooth over the falsehoods, both by copyists and by translators. Still, I just don't see how anyone could not follow the clear-eyed Ehrman as he illustrates the contradictions that scholars have long known about. This should be required reading for any fundamentalist. Obviously those reviewers who find fault with this book on religious grounds are unfortunately mesmerized by their reverence for the Bible.
</b>