Has anybody read this recent book by Erhman? Wondering.
Thank you.
"Forged" by Bart Ehrman
by Dagney 133 Replies latest jw friends
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Band on the Run
No, not this book. May I ask what the focus of the book is? I've read other works and listened to a Teaching Company audio presentation this past week which analyzed the beginnings of Early Christianity. I respect him very much but he is not my favorite.
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ssn587
read it when it first hit the library here. made notes on it will have to find them tomorrow before I can comment further.
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Dagney
@BotR: From the synopsis in the "Skeptics" emal I received today and on the Amazon website, I believe it is about the writers/writings of the New Testament, as well as other considered "sacred/inspired" writings. One of the website comments mentioned most of what he said was contained in his other books, but other comments were quite glowing.
@ssn587: Thank you.
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PSacramento
Bart tends to throw around words liek "forged" way too much with no evidence or proof, just specuilation.
Which is prefectly fine when you are simply voicing your opinion, but not everyone sees the opinion of a respected scholar ( by some) as simply "his opinion".
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Terry
I don't own the book yet, but, while waiting on my daughters at the Mall (!) I eye-leeched a goodly bit of it.
Ehrman very carefully lays out the definition of "Forged" with precision.
He clearly distinguishes between simply having somebody write down what you are sayiing (because you are illiterate) and the other alternatives.
For example, if your name was John and your work was later confused as being the Apostle's John's.
Or, having an anonymous set of writings falsely attributed by name to a footstep follower of Jesus.
The actual "Forged" writings would be those written by somebody deliberately intent on influencing others and using a false identity to do so.
Ehrman methodically and painstakingly makes his case without hysteria or rancor. His is academic training, after all. He is a language scholar at the top of his profession who began as a conservative Evangelical inerrantist. It is the evidence which has led him this far.
Bart Ehrman went from being the darling of the Evangelical seminary theologians to being now considered Apostate. We can all identify with this.
Intellectual honesty requires us to follow evidence and let the chips fall where they may.
The inerrantist community has always charged itself with shaping evidence or hiding it or ridiculing it when it does not serve their needs.
This should be a familiar mindset to us who have emerged from the Jehovah's Witness mindf**k community.
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PSacramento
Lets not make Bart the "patron saint" of Apostates, LOL !
He was a die hard bible ineerantists that good a rude awkening and lots his "faith" in the bible.
Lets not paint it out to be more than that.
For every point he makes you will find quite a bit of scholary work refuting them, with as mich if not more evidence.
Lets not forget that his own Professor, Bruce Metzger, though he supported Bart's work, was NOT a bible inerrantist AND who's ample works show that Bart's opinions are just that, opinions and that there are many counters to them.
That said I admire Bart's tenacity in showing that one should always test and question everything.
I just would prefer that he wasn't such a "sensationalist".
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Terry
Could you give an example of Bart Ehrman's sensationalism?
Is Ehrman deliberately obtuse, is he hyper emotional, does he omit facts, is he loud and self-centered?
Isn't it more proper to look at the monster of an institution:Christianity as so all powerful and authoritarion ANYBODY who takes on its "facts" is going to be targeted as "out there" and "over-reaching" by ridicule and a general piling on? -
PSacramento
Well, the title FORGED for example.
Regardless of how Bart may try to explain it, when someone sees the word, we all know what they think and that is a perfect example of sensationalism.
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Terry
Paul himself warns that others are teaching false things by spreading untruth. How is the writing of letters in Paul's name not forgery?
What about the warning at the end of Revelation not to "add to" or "subtract from" the received writings?
How did all those other "Gospels" come to exist which are Non-canonical if they were not forged?
Who are all those Super-fine Apostles Paul is fighting against?