Author: Bart D. Ehrman
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 978-0-06-085951-0
- Which form of the Lord’s Prayer did Jesus teach – the one in the gospel of Matthew or the one in the gospel of Luke?
- Did the original letters of 1Timothy and 1 John teach that Jesus was divine?
- Was Jesus calm on the night of his arrest or did he suffer intense mental anguish?
- Why are there thousands of discrepancies between biblical manuscripts?
- How does a reader determine whether the translation he or she holds in hand is textually accurate or has been translated to favor a particular theological slant?
These are the sorts of questions that biblical textual critics strive to answer. As Bart Ehrman, chair of the department of religious studies at the University of North Carolina, makes clear in this book, the answers to these questions have serious implications for the validity and reliability of numerous religious doctrines.
Ehrman takes his readers through a fascinating tour of the history of biblical transcription, translation, distribution and canonization. With regard to the latter, Ehrman discusses the various Christian ideologies that competed for supremacy in the Church’s first few centuries and the ways in which those conflicts were resolved. With regard to the former concerns, he notes various types of textual changes that have been made throughout 20 centuries of scriptural transmission.
Some of these changes are accidental and include such items as punctuation errors, misspellings, transposed numerals and so on. Other changes are intentional, such as those in which scribes sought to ensure that the text adhered to what they believed were faithful interpretations, or to ensure that particular doctrinal and ideological positions were emphasized. Ehrman illustrates his points by examining closely several disputed texts. He also explains, as well as demonstrates, how several methods of textual criticism, such as comparisons with external contemporaneous documents, internal consistency throughout a gospel or epistle, and consideration of the authors’ (as well as scribes and translators’) purposes enable scholars to determine which manuscripts contain fewer or more flaws than others.
The chapter on the social world in which biblical texts originated offers insights into how the scriptures were modified to address the roles of women within the church, and the changing relationships of the church to its Jewish heritage and its pagan context. Ehrman closes the book by noting that readers transform texts through interpretative behaviors of their own every time they read. Thus, there is a real sense in which no one ever gets back to the real, original meaning of any text. This is neither bad nor undesirable, it is a simply a process that all readers should take into consideration when they examine scriptures.
Readers who believe in the inerrancy (or the less rigid standard of infallibility) and divinely guided inspiration of scriptures may well find this book irreverent, perhaps even appalling. Readers who view the Bible as a compilation of literary texts composed by human beings likely will find Ehrman’s application of literary and textual methods of study to ancient texts insightful. I suspect that, whichever camp you fall into, once you’ve read Ehrman’s book, you will never read the Bible in quite the same way again.
UPDATE: The Perplexed Observer has a link to a video of Ehrman discussing this book.
–the chaplain
Posted by Spanish Inquisitor on January 2, 2008 at 12:12 pm
It was a good book. I love history (my college major) and this book fit right in to that particular niche. Fascinating insight into textual criticism, without being too academic.
He has a new book coming out, due out next month, that looks interesting.
Posted by DaVinci on January 2, 2008 at 12:46 pm
I just finished Lost Christianites by Bart. I have a link on my site to his class on the New Testament, they are 30 minute lectures if you’re interested.
Posted by PhillyChief on January 2, 2008 at 1:34 pm
I have to read that book some time. I got two of his lectures from The Teaching Company that were really good.
Posted by Brian on January 2, 2008 at 2:14 pm
I’ve been meaning to read this book for a year, but I haven’t gotten around to it. Do you think it would make any impression on hard-core fundamentalists? I was thinking of “loaning” it to my dad and brothers after I was finished.
Posted by athinkingman on January 2, 2008 at 2:17 pm
I read this a few months ago and was impressed by his ability to communicate such potentially complex material so clearly. I found it really interesting and compelling, and just wish that I had read it 30 years ago. It would have saved a lot of wasted time and effort and freed me up to do other things.
Posted by BGH on January 2, 2008 at 3:11 pm
I have heard Ehrman interviewed on numerous podcasts. Though I have yet to read the book your summary makes me want to pick up a copy. My biggest issue with the Bible is, not arguing specifics with anyone, rather the overall concept of magic, superstition and ’scared and huddling in the cave’ writing that is prevalent. It all clearly spells “M. Y. T. H. O. L. O. G. Y.” to me and that is what pretty much seals the deal for me.
Posted by the chaplain on January 2, 2008 at 3:12 pm
Brian:
The book includes some back story about Ehrman’s fundy roots, so that may connect with your fundy relatives. He also calls himself an agnostic rather than an atheist, so maybe their defenses won’t go quite so high. I can imagine that they might resist reading it at all, but you never know.
I’d suggest that, as they read it, they have at least two translations of the Bible with them – a parallel Bible would be great. That way they can compare Ehrman’s analysis with what they read with their own eyes and form their own opinions about what he says. It would really enhance their readings of both Ehrman’s book and the Bible passages if they did this.
If they manage to read it all the way through, they may, at the very least, examine scriptures more critically when they hear sermons, attend Bible studies, etc. It could be a first step in opening their minds. The worst thing they’ll do is toss it in the trash. If they do so, they’ll be no farther behind than they are now.
Posted by ordinary girl on January 3, 2008 at 7:46 pm
Chappy, thanks for the review and for your comments to Brian. I was wondering if I slipping this in as a gift when I send Christmas gifts next year might trick them into reading it. But you’re right, they’ll probably trash it. But no harm done, right?
It sounds interesting. I think I’ll pick up a copy to read and then pass it on. That way, at leas it’s not wasted.
Posted by Efrique on January 3, 2008 at 11:22 pm
I bought this book when I went to the US in September (it was hard to find in Australia). I read it in a few days (fast for me these busy days).
I have since got into a discussion with a work colleague relating to the Bible (I started talking to her about a particularly misogynistic wedding ceremony I had attended and she started asking some questions from there), and subsequently lent her the book, since it spoke directly to her questions.
She was fascinated, and I think it’s had a strong impact on her views – but she is a very open-minded, inquisitive person. I don’t know that the book would have the same impact on a fundamentalist, since it involves a degree of turning away from asking those kind of questions, and there are several apologetic works in response to Ehrman’s book that they have no doubt already heard of, which would help to maintain that “closed shop” of ideas.
Posted by seantheblogonaut on January 6, 2008 at 6:32 pm
I am three quarters of the way through the book and find the information on the early construction of the bible fascinating.