Misquoting Jesus
By Bart D. Ehrman
- Release Date: 2009-10-06
- Genre: Christianity
Description
When consulting the New Testament, most people today assume they are reading the very words that Jesus spoke or St. Paul wrote. And yet, for almost 1,500 years manuscripts were copied by hand by scribes — often untrained — who were deeply influenced by the theological and political disputes of their day. Mistakes and intentional changes continue to plague biblical scholars, who must determine which words, phrases, or stories are the most likely to be accurate.
In Misquoting Jesus, author Bart D. Ehrman presents the fascinating history of where and why changes were made in our earliest surviving biblical manuscripts. These changes continue to have a dramatic impact on widely-held beliefs concerning the divinity of Jesus, the Trinity, and the divine origins of the Bible itself.
For the first time, leading Bible scholar Ehrman reveals the many early variations of our cherished biblical stories and discusses why only certain versions of those stories qualify for publication in the Bibles we read today.
Bart D. Ehrman chairs the department of religious studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. A leading authority on the early Church and the life of Jesus, he is the author of twenty books and lives in Durham, N.C.
“[Ehrman’s] absorbing story, fresh and lively prose, and seasoned insights into the challenges of recreating the texts of the New Testament ensure that readers might never read the Gospels or Paul’s letters the same way again.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Reviews
Good insight.
5By CeruleanLionAs a child of fundamentalists, I respected the different viewpoints expressed. In a cult-like environment it is hard to have these sorts of questions and have them answered without hatred or disregard. And I appreciate the space awarded, here, to openly ponder these areas of Christianity. That being said I would recommend this book to even those who are incredibly devout, as it may be a growing experience to delve into the topics discussed. To those who are open to it this novel helps bring context to what influenced the Bible we have today. Wether you believe in its words or not, having more background information on its works can give many things to think about. I enjoyed the read very much. (:Playing on fears for profit
1By old squidThe author is using a very common misconception/assumption to play on people’s fears - and of course, sell books. Most people assume that every time a new translation is made, they start with the last one. The reality is that virtually all modern Bible translations start with the oldest and most reliable original language texts. And since older manuscripts have been discovered over the years, (eg. the Dead Sea Scrolls) translators have been able to compare copies of the scriptures that are sometimes separated by thousands of years and assure that no changes have been made. As a result, there is abundant proof that modern translations are - in as far as the original Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic can be translated into English - exactly the same words the writers were inspired by God to pen. And while it’s true that attempts have been made by some religions to “bend” the scriptures to their erroneous beliefs, those manipulations have long since been discovered and corrected.Tiresome and repetitious
2By sgulieThe title is sensational, but the book doesn't live up to it. The author is a bible scholar who documents thousands of alterations in the text of the New Testament over several centuries, resulting in hundreds of conflicting versions and making it impossible to know with certainty what the original said. It's interesting, whether you're a Christian or not, but it's about 50 pages worth of information, padded out to 250 pages by repeating everything five times.Thought Provoking
5By Matthew ReevesThis is, in the truest sense, a truly thought provoking book. Well written and well researched, Dr. Ehrman presents an interesting look into the history of how the bible was copied and the many debates surrounding certain passages believed to have possibly been added later. It also delves into the many different early manuscripts and differences they contain versus our own. Overall, it's quite an intriguing and captivating read. Unlike his two other books that were published after this, he remains rather unbiased throughout the book, leaving readers to formulate conclusions on their own. There are of course a few times, including the last two pages, where he tries to insert his own opinion, but for the most part, he remains neutral. This was quite a welcomed change, as it felt like he was truly giving respect to the reader. I would not recommend this to young or new Christians, as they won't necessarily have enough background in Christian theology/NT History to figure out what to do with the information provided. But as for experienced Christians and obviously skeptics/inquiring minds, this is highly recommended. So in essence, this book is a great historical perspective on the Bible, it's composition, copying, edits and Early Christianity.Against the Grain
4By Keo ZachThis was the first piece of literature I read from Dr. Ehrman. VERY insightful and thought-provoking. I completely understand how such in-depth studies have compelled Dr. Ehrman to think outside the mainstream thought processes and present an unbiased perspective of the scriptures. This (book) is not an attempt to dissuade folk from their Christian faith, but to arouse the suspicions of those who find particular notes in scripture as inconsistent. This material is for folk who can absorb the potential truths about scripture and realize that (through time) the scriptures were liable to err (fallible). I've read two other pieces of material from this author and although I may not entirely agree with his perspective I respect his position and look forward to more of his research.Great Input To Strengthen Faith
4By RubeshThe information is really usefull to strengthen our fsith to grow from child faith to be mature faith. Its always 2 sides story as yhousands years appart; it means there are still more for Mr. Ehrman to dig more. I believe; this is a very great information of Historical Bible perspective but its far away than enough in order to draw a conclussion. This book is highly recommand to the mature Christian to get better perspective about their believe.
