Thursday 24 November 2011

Does Bart Ehrman's Mythic Book Exist?

Bart Ehrman is writing a book on the Christ Myth theory - or, better said, theories. He's a skeptic. Not a skeptic about the Historical Jesus, but a skeptic about the mythicist position.

I've heard Ehrman rant about this on a couple of podcasts and, with no exaggeration, he went feral on both occasions.

So the chance to get his views in a coherent, non-confrontationalist form should prove interesting. Equally interesting is the publisher's strategy of launching the volume only as an e-book. HarperCollins, which is still producing hard-copy-only versions of some of its titles, is seemingly testing the e-waters. Here's the skinny:
For years Bart Ehrman has been routinely bombarded with one question: Did Jesus exist? As a leading Bible expert, fans and critics alike have sent letters, emails, posted blogs, and questioned Ehrman during interviews wanting his opinion about this nagging question that has become a conspiracy theorist cottage industry the world over. The idea that the character of Jesus was an invention of the early church -- and later a tool of control employed by the Roman Catholic Church -- is a widely held belief and Ehrman has decided it’s time to put the issue to rest. Yes, the historical Jesus of Nazareth did exist.

Known as a master explainer with deep knowledge of the field, Ehrman methodically demolishes both the scholarly and popular arguments against the existence of Jesus. Marshalling evidence from within the Bible and the wider historical record of the ancient world, Ehrman tackles the key issues that surround the popular mythologies associated with Jesus and the early Christian movement.

Those committed to the “non-existence” theory will need to read this formidable scholar’s counter argument while the more traditionally minded will enthusiastically support Ehrman’s definitive answer to the question. Perfect for the vigorous online debating community, this eBook original will be a must read for anyone interested in Jesus, the Bible, and the birth of Christianity.
To be released in March next year.

8 comments:

  1. That is going to be a fun e-book because even the Britannica admits there are NO sources outside the so-called new testament... ;-)

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  2. Bart Ehrman's ebook on Jesus' existence was originally due out in November. I even downloaded a free Kindle app from Amazon to read it.

    I've heard Ehrman rant about this on a couple of podcasts and, with no exaggeration, he went feral on both occasions.

    Yes, and I've noticed that every amateur 'historicist' on the Internet forums also go ballistic when the existence of Jesus is doubted.

    It reminds me of how theists act when they try to defend the accuracy and infallibility of the bible against atheism.

    Actually, this makes the third time that the attempt has been made to establish the historical existence of Jesus. It has failed twice and will probably fail this time too.

    For those, like Ehrman, who use Gal. 1:19 to prove Jesus existed have the following problem: According to the gospels and the Acts, Jesus had two disciples named James and neither one of them was Jesus' brother.

    The gospels show that Jesus' brother, James, was not even a follower, much less a disciple. In fact, the gospels show that James was an unbeliever and who didn't even go to the tomb on resurrection Sunday. But yet, the James in the letter to the Galatians is obviously the head of the Jerusalem church.

    Something is simply not Kosher. Somebody is telling a fib somewhere in all that.

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  3. Word is that Bart Ehrman's boss, his wife, is a Christian, so he better do the right thing.

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  4. I fully agree with you Corky.

    "Actually, this makes the third time that the attempt has been made to establish the historical existence of Jesus. It has failed twice and will probably fail this time too."

    It has been tried even more times by frantic xtians who, as you say, get very aggressive when the existence of Jesus is questioned...

    One could say it would be similar to saying: "The earth IS flat" - anyone that denies it is an unbeliever. That was the stance of the catholics prior to the Reformation...

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  5. The elusive confirmation/refutation of an historical Jesus needs a 'unified theory' (like the unified theory in physics that resolved the EM force & gravity). So far we cannot reconcile the apparent pre-70CE historical tradition with the post-70CE Gospel literary fiction. Pre the 70CE destruction, in the earliest writing, Galatians?, all we see is a few guys - not 12 disciples - having ecstatic visions/revelations - not eyewitness encounters - with heavenly messiah to bring the 'authoritative scoop' of the 'real truth' to squabbling, speculative messianic sects. Enter seer with special revelation-Saul-, then later on: Mohammad,Joseph Smith, Ellen White,CT Russell, HWA, David Koresh...

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  6. Ken Humphreys on Gospel creation:

    "Why does Luke, a disciple, plagiarize Mark, not a disciple, for information on life of Jesus?"

    Get the feeling we've been punked?

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  7. Just suppose, for the sake of supposing, that there existed a group of messianic Jews in about 30 AD who believed the messiah had come - even though they didn't know WHO he was.

    Suppose then that they knew this because of the 70 weeks prophecy in Daniel. Suppose they believed that this messiah (whom they didn't even know) was killed by the Jews because the prophecy also said that the messiah would be "cut off" or "killed" in the midst of his week.

    Then along comes Paul and puts a name on this unknown messiah (via his "vision" and "revelation") who had lived and died without even being noticed by anyone.

    Then suppose Paul preaches this "name above every name" to the various messianic groups who already believed that the messiah had already come (even though they didn't know who he was) throughout the empire and convinced them that "Jesus" (the Jesus of Paul's revelation) was this messiah.

    IOW, the same messiah that they were already worshiping before (even though they didn't know who the messiah was or had been) was revealed to them by Paul.

    That explains how Paul could be writing to an ecclesia (church) in Rome before Paul's Jesus had ever even been preached there yet.

    This is harder to explain than I first thought it would be when I started writing this so I'm gonna shut up and go away now.

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  8. "Just suppose, for the sake of supposing, that there existed a group of messianic Jews in about 30 AD who believed the messiah had come..because of 70 weeks prophecy"

    Very possible. If Paul says he got this stuff from supernatural trip to heaven, then it's more fantastic than even Joseph Smith's story.

    Most of Book of Daniel's prophecies written after the fact, just like Jesus' 'prediction' of temple destruction written after the fact.

    Before 70CE: a vacuum; no Jesus biographical information or archeological evidence.

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