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Jesus Christ, the New Testament & Early Christianity A Library of 12 Essential Titles by Bart D. Ehrman, the Well-Known New Testament Scholar & Historian
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Jesus Christ, the New Testament & Early Christianity A Library of 12 Essential Titles by Bart D. Ehrman, the Well-Known New Testament Scholar & Historian
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Click on title for more information or simply scroll down this page to view more information about each title.
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Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium by Bart D. Ehrman Jesus is one of the few people whose biographies have the ability to spark intense passion and heated controversy. Now, in this highly accessible exploration into Jesus' life, Bart Ehrman reviews the latest textual and archeological research as well as the history of first-century Palestine, drawing a fascinating portrait of the man and his teachings. Read more about this title. |
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The New Testament : A Historical Introduction to the Early
Christian Writings by Bart D. Ehrman This new third edition of Bart Ehrman's highly successful introduction approaches the New Testament from a consistently historical and comparative perspective, emphasizing the rich diversity of the earliest Christian literature. Read more about this title. |
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A
Brief Introduction to the New Testament by Bart D. Ehrman A Brief Introduction to the New Testament is a concise and more pedagogical version of Bart D. Ehrman's best-selling The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings, 3/e. Read more about this title. |
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The
New Testament and Other Early Christian Writings: A Reader edited by Bart D. Ehrman This reader presents, for the first time in one volume, every Christian writing known to have been produced during the first hundred years of the church (30-130 C.E.). In addition to the New Testament itself, it includes other early noncanonical Gospels, Acts, Epistles, and Apocalypses, as well as additional important writings, such as those of the Apostolic Fathers. Read more about this title. |
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Lost
Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew by Bart D. Ehrman The early Christian Church was a chaos of contending beliefs. Some groups of Christians believed that the world had not been created by God but by a lesser, ignorant deity. Certain sects maintained that Jesus was human but not divine, while others said he was divine but not human. In Lost Christianities, Bart D. Ehrman offers a fascinating look at these early forms of Christianity and shows how they came to be suppressed, reformed, or forgotten. Read more about this title. |
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Lost Scriptures: Books that Did Not Make It into the New Testament by Bart D. Ehrman While most people think that the twenty-seven books of the New Testament are the only sacred writings of the early Christians, this is not at all the case. A companion volume to Bart Ehrman's Lost Christianities, this book offers an anthology of up-to-date and readable translations of many non-canonical writings from the first centuries after Christ--texts that have been for the most part lost or neglected for almost two millennia. Read more about this title. |
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Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible
and Why by Bart D. Ehrman When world-class biblical scholar Bart Ehrman first began to study the texts of the Bible in their original languages he was startled to discover the multitude of mistakes and intentional alterations that had been made by earlier translators. In Misquoting Jesus, Ehrman tells the story behind the mistakes and changes that ancient scribes made to the New Testament and shows the great impact they had upon the Bible we use today. Read more about this title. |
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The
Orthodox Corruption of Scripture: The Effect of Early Christological Controversies
on the Text of the New Testament by Bart D. Ehrman The victors not only write the history, they also reproduce the texts. In a study that explores the close relationship between the social history of early Christianity and the textual tradition of the emerging New Testament, Ehrman examines how early struggles between Christian "heresy" and "orthodoxy" affected the transmission of the documents over which, in part, the debates were waged. Read more about this title. |
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The Text of
the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration by Bruce M. Metzger and Bart D. Ehrman This thoroughly revised edition of Bruce M. Metzger's classic work is the most up-to-date manual available for the textual criticism of the New Testament. The Text of the New Testament, Fourth Edition, has been invigorated by the addition of Bart D. Ehrman -- author of numerous best-selling books on the New Testament--as a coauthor. Read more about this title. |
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After the New Testament: A Reader in Early Christianity edited by Bart D. Ehrman To help readers recognize and experience the rich diversity of the early Christian movement, After the New Testament provides a wide range of texts from the second and third centuries, both "orthodox" and "heterodox." Read more about this title. |
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Christianity in Late Antiquity, 300-450 C.E.: A Reader edited by Bart D. Ehrman and Andrew S. Jacobs Christianity in Late Antiquity, 300-450 C.E: A Reader collects primary sources of the early Christian world, from the last "Great Persecution" under Emperor Diocletian to the Council of Chalcedon in the mid-fifth century. Read more about this title. |
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The
Truth & Fiction in the Da Vinci Code: A Historian Explores What We Really Know
about Jesus, Mary Magdalene, & Constantine by Bart D. Ehrman A staggeringly popular work of fiction, Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code has stood atop The New York Times Bestseller List for well over a year, with millions of copies in print. But this fast-paced mystery is unusual in that the author states up front that the historical information in the book is all factually accurate. But is this claim true? Ehrman separates fact from fiction, the historical realities from the flights of literary fancy. Read more about this title. |
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Jesus:
Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium by Bart D. Ehrman Oxford University Press, 2001, 288 pp. "Jesus is one of the few people whose biographies have the ability to spark intense passion and heated controversy. Now, in this highly accessible exploration into Jesus' life, Bart Ehrman reviews the latest textual and archeological research as well as the history of first-century Palestine, drawing a fascinating portrait of the man and his teachings." "Ehrman shows us what historians have long known about the Gospels and the man who stands behind them. Through a careful evaluation of the New Testament (and other surviving sources, including the more recently discovered Gospels of Thomas and Peter), Ehrman proposes that Jesus can be best understood as an apocalyptic prophet--a man convinced that the world would end dramatically within his lifetime and that a new kingdom would be created on earth. According to Ehrman, Jesus' belief in a coming apocalypse and his expectation of an utter reversal in the world's social organization not only underscores the radicalism of his teachings but also sheds light on both the appeal of his message to society's outcasts and the threat he posed to Jerusalem's established leadership." "In this sharply written and persuasive book, Ehrman suggests that the apocalyptic fervor that perpetually grips large segments of society is nothing new. Indeed, history's many doomsayers, including those today who are frantic about the new millennium, are close in spirit and thinking to Jesus, who waited in vain for the imminent arrival of a new, peaceful kingdom."
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The New Testament: A
Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings
by Bart D. Ehrman Oxford University Press, Third Edition, 2003, 560 pages; 81 illus., 9 maps, & 30 4-color photos "This new edition of Bart Ehrman's highly successful introduction approaches the New Testament from a consistently historical and comparative perspective, emphasizing the rich diversity of the earliest Christian literature. Rather than shying away from the critical problems presented by these books, Ehrman addresses the historical and literary challenges they pose and shows why scholars continue to argue over such significant issues as how the books of the New Testament came into being, what they mean, how they relate to contemporary Christian and non-Christian literature, and how they came to be collected into a canon of Scripture. Distinctive to this study is its emphasis on the historical, literary, and religious milieu of the Greco-Roman world, including early Judaism. As part of its historical orientation, this text also discusses works by other Christian writers who were roughly contemporary with the New Testament, such as the Gospel of Thomas, the Apocalypse of Peter, and the letters of Ignatius. The volume is enhanced by two color inserts, one on illuminated manuscripts and the other on archaeology." "The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings, 3/e, is an accessible, clearly written introduction that encourages students to consider the historical issues surrounding these writings." New to this edition:
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A Brief Introduction to the
New Testament by Bart D. Ehrman Oxford University Press, 2004, 424 pp., 15 color illustrations, 70 b/w illustrations & maps "Ehrman has contributed a thorough, complete, and carefully devised introduction to the field of study . . . an accurate, yet nuanced, synthesis of the central issues in New Testament studies. The defining characteristic of A Brief Introduction is the degree of energy and imagination it invests in pedagogical sophistication. Perhaps no critical and historical introduction to the New Testament has ever been more "student friendly." Besides its wholesale investment in pedagogical sophistication, perhaps the greatest strength of the "Ehrman" method of New Testament introduction as a whole is its ability to introduce nascent Christianity in terms of where it had come from in its origins while also pointing toward what it would become in later centuries." -- C.D. Elledge, Gustavus Adolphus College, for Review of Biblical Literature "A Brief Introduction to the New Testament is an accessible, clearly written introduction that encourages readers and students to consider the historical issues surrounding these writings." A Brief Introduction is a concise and more pedagogical version of Bart D. Ehrman's best-selling The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings, Third Edition. This volume is nine chapters shorter than the original work." "Retaining the approach of the longer textbook while condensing and simplifying much of its material, this volume looks at the New Testament from a consistently historical and comparative perspective and emphasizes the rich diversity of the earliest Christian literature." "Rather than shying away from the critical problems presented by these books, Ehrman addresses the historical and literary challenges they pose. He shows why scholars continue to argue over such significant issues as how the books of the New Testament came into being, what they mean, and how they relate to contemporary Christian and non-Christian literature. Distinctive to this study is its emphasis on the historical, literary, and religious milieu of the Greco-Roman world, including early Judaism." Features: • Covers the fundamentals of New Testament
scholarship in an engaging style, making challenging material easily understandable to
undergraduates in introductory courses |
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The
New Testament and Other Early Christian Writings: A Reader edited by Bart D. Ehrman Oxford University Press, Second Edition, 2003, 432 pp. "The twenty-seven books of the New Testament were not the only writings produced by early Christians. Nor were they the only ones to be accepted, at one time or another, as sacred Scripture. Unfortunately, nearly all the other early Christian writings have been lost or destroyed. But approximately twenty-five books written at about the same time as the New Testament have survived--books that reveal the rich diversity of early Christian views about God, Jesus, the world, salvation, ethics, and ritual practice." "This reader presents, for the first time in one volume, every Christian writing known to have been produced during the first hundred years of the church (30-130 C.E.). In addition to the New Testament itself, it includes other early noncanonical Gospels, Acts, Epistles, and Apocalypses, as well as additional important writings, such as those of the Apostolic Fathers. Each text is provided in an up-to-date and readable translation (including the NRSV for the New Testament), and introduced with a succinct and incisive discussion of its author, date of composition, and overarching themes. This second edition adds The Martyrdom of Polycarp, features Ehrman's new, accessible translations of many of the noncanonical works, and provides updated introductions that incorporate the most recent scholarship." "With an opening overview that shows how the canon of the New Testament came to be formulated--the process by which some Christian books came to be regarded as sacred Scripture whereas others came to be excluded--this accessible reader will meet the needs of students, scholars, and general readers alike. An ideal primary text for courses in the New Testament, Christian Origins, and Early Church History, it can be used in conjunction with its companion volume, the author's The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings, 3/e (OUP, 2003).
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Lost Christianities: The
Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew by Bart D. Ehrman Oxford University Press, 2003, 320 pp. "Ehrman displays expert knowledge of the texts and the best modern scholarship.... His balanced exposition of the Gospel of Thomas, with its careful delineation of the different materials in it, is outstanding."-- America "The early Christian Church was a chaos of contending beliefs. Some groups of Christians claimed that there was not one God but two or twelve or thirty. Some believed that the world had not been created by God but by a lesser, ignorant deity. Certain sects maintained that Jesus was human but not divine, while others said he was divine but not human." "In Lost Christianities, Bart D. Ehrman offers a fascinating look at these early forms of Christianity and shows how they came to be suppressed, reformed, or forgotten. All of these groups insisted that they upheld the teachings of Jesus and his apostles, and they all possessed writings that bore out their claims, books reputedly produced by Jesus's own followers. Modern archaeological work has recovered a number of key texts, and as Ehrman shows, these spectacular discoveries reveal religious diversity that says much about the ways in which history gets written by the winners." "Ehrman's discussion ranges from considerations of various 'lost scriptures'--including forged gospels supposedly written by Simon Peter, Jesus's closest disciple, and Judas Thomas, Jesus's alleged twin brother--to the disparate beliefs of such groups as the Jewish-Christian Ebionites, the anti-Jewish Marcionites, and various 'Gnostic' sects. Ehrman examines in depth the battles that raged between 'proto-orthodox Christians' -- those who eventually compiled the canonical books of the New Testament and standardized Christian belief -- and the groups they denounced as heretics and ultimately overcame." "Scrupulously researched and lucidly written, Lost Christianities is an eye-opening account of politics, power, and the clash of ideas among Christians in the decades before one group came to see its views prevail."
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Lost Scriptures: Books
that Did Not Make It into the New Testament by Bart D. Ehrman Oxford University Press, 2004, 352 pp. "While most people think that the twenty-seven books of the New Testament are the only sacred writings of the early Christians, this is not at all the case." "A companion volume to Bart Ehrman's Lost Christianities, this book offers an anthology of up-to-date and readable translations of many non-canonical writings from the first centuries after Christ -- texts that have been for the most part lost or neglected for almost two millennia." "Here is an array of remarkably varied writings from early Christian groups whose visions of Jesus differ dramatically from our contemporary understanding. Readers will find Gospels supposedly authored by the apostle Philip, James the brother of Jesus, Mary Magdalen, and others. There are Acts originally ascribed to John and to Thecla, Paul's female companion; there are Epistles allegedly written by Paul to the Roman philosopher Seneca. And there is an apocalypse by Simon Peter that offers a guided tour of the afterlife, both the glorious ecstasies of the saints and the horrendous torments of the damned, and an Epistle by Titus, a companion of Paul, which argues page after page against sexual love, even within marriage, on the grounds that physical intimacy leads to damnation. In all, the anthology includes fifteen Gospels, five non-canonical Acts of the Apostles, thirteen Epistles, a number of Apocalypses and Secret Books, and several Canon lists." "Ehrman has included a general introduction, plus brief introductions to each piece. This important anthology gives readers a vivid picture of the range of beliefs that battled each other in the first centuries of the Christian era."
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Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and
Why by Bart Ehrman HarperSanFrancisco, 2005, 256 pages. "When world-class biblical scholar Bart Ehrman first began to study the texts of the Bible in their original languages he was startled to discover the multitude of mistakes and intentional alterations that had been made by earlier translators. In Misquoting Jesus, Ehrman tells the story behind the mistakes and changes that ancient scribes made to the New Testament and shows the great impact they had upon the Bible we use today. He frames his account with personal reflections on how his study of the Greek manuscripts made him abandon his once ultraconservative views of the Bible." "Since the advent of the printing press and the accurate reproduction of texts, most people have assumed that when they read the New Testament they are reading an exact copy of Jesus's words or Saint Paul's writings. And yet, for almost fifteen hundred years these manuscripts were hand copied by scribes who were deeply influenced by the cultural, theological, and political disputes of their day. Both mistakes and intentional changes abound in the surviving manuscripts, making the original words difficult to reconstruct. For the first time, Ehrman reveals where and why these changes were made and how scholars go about reconstructing the original words of the New Testament as closely as possible." "Ehrman makes the provocative case that many of our cherished biblical stories and widely held beliefs concerning the divinity of Jesus, the Trinity, and the divine origins of the Bible itself stem from both intentional and accidental alterations by scribes -- alterations that dramatically affected all subsequent versions of the Bible."
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The Orthodox Corruption of
Scripture: The Effect of Early Christological Controversies on the Text of the
New Testament by Bart D. Ehrman Oxford University Press, 328 pages, 1996. "The victors not only write the history, they also reproduce the texts. In a study that explores the close relationship between the social history of early Christianity and the textual tradition of the emerging New Testament, Ehrman examines how early struggles between Christian 'heresy' and 'orthodoxy' affected the transmission of the documents over which, in part, the debates were waged." "His thesis is that proto-orthodox scribes of the second and third centuries occasionally altered their sacred texts for polemical reasons--for example, to oppose adoptionists like the Ebionites, who claimed that Christ was a man but not God, or docetists like Marcion, who claimed that he was God but not a man, or Gnostics like the Ptolemaeans, who claimed that he was two beings, one divine and one human." "Ehrman's thorough and incisive analysis makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the social and intellectual history of early Christianity and raises intriguing questions about the relationship of readers to their texts, especially in an age when scribes could transform the documents they reproduced to make them say what they were already thought to mean, effecting thereby the orthodox corruption of Scripture." Excerpts below from some reviews of the book: "Bart D. Ehrman has written a book which will stimulate the casual reader and intrigue the academic or professional reader of the New Testament....An excellent work and definitely invaluable for lay or scholars."-- Anglican Theological Review "This book is highly recommended as an excellent work of scholarship that is of great importance in the development of New Testament studies. Here is a new voice that addresses some of the central theological and historical issues."-- Journal of Theological Studies "[Ehrman's] arguments throughout deserve our attention; they are frequently compelling....Clearly set out and persuasively presented....Variants that treat of Christ's person and function must from now on always be considered with reference to Ehrman's thesis."-- Novum Testamentum "[A] detailed and carefully documented study."-- Religious Studies Review |
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The Text of the New
Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration by Bruce M. Metzger and Bart D. Ehrman Oxford University Press, Fourth Edition, 2005, 384 pages, 27 halftones & line illustrations. "This thoroughly revised edition of Bruce M. Metzger's classic work is the most up-to-date manual available for the textual criticism of the New Testament. The Text of the New Testament, Fourth Edition, has been invigorated by the addition of Bart D. Ehrman -- author of numerous best-selling books on the New Testament--as a coauthor." "This revision brings the discussion of such important matters as the early Greek manuscripts and methods of textual criticism up to date, integrating recent research findings and approaches into the body of the text (as opposed to previous revisions, which compiled new material and notes into appendices). The authors also examine new areas of interest, including the use of computers in the collection and evaluation of manuscript evidence and the effects that social and ideological influences had upon the work of scribes." "The standard text for courses in biblical studies and the history of Christianity since its first publication in 1964, The Text of the New Testament is poised to become a definitive resource for a whole new generation of students. Excerpt from a review of 3rd Edition: "Well-researched and expressed, with that rare elegance of style that graces the English language. It is a model for scholarly endeavor, as well as the definitive text in English on the subject." -- Louis I. Hodges, Columbia Bible College and Seminary
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After the New Testament: A Reader in Early Christianity edited by Bart D. Ehrman Oxford University Press, 1998, 464 pp. "The remarkable diversity of Christianity during the formative years before the Council of Nicea has become a plain, even natural, 'fact' for most ancient historians. Until now, however, there has been no sourcebook of primary texts that reveals the many varieties of Christian beliefs, practices, ethics, experiences, confrontations, and self-understandings." "To help readers recognize and experience the rich diversity of the early Christian movement, After the New Testament provides a wide range of texts from the second and third centuries, both 'orthodox' and 'heterodox,' including such works as the Apostolic Fathers, the writings of Nag Hammadi, early pseudepigrapha, martyrologies, anti-Jewish tractates, heresiologies, canon lists, church orders, liturgical texts, and theological treatises." "Rather than providing only fragments of texts, this collection prints large excerpts -- entire documents wherever possible -- organized under social and historical rubrics. This unique reader's concise and informative introductions and clear and up-to-date English translations make it ideal for courses on the New Testament, Christian Origins, Early Church History, or Late Antiquity. It will also be of interest to anyone--student, scholar, and general reader alike -- interested in the entire range of early Christian literature from the period after the New Testament up to the writings of the so-called father of church history, Eusebius." • Features up-to-date and easily readable
translations.
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Christianity in Late Antiquity,
300-450 C.E.: A Reader edited by Bart D. Ehrman and Andrew S. Jacobs Oxford University Press, 2003, 528 pp., 14 illus. & 1 map "Christianity in Late Antiquity, 300-450 C.E: A Reader collects primary sources of the early Christian world, from the last 'Great Persecution' under Emperor Diocletian to the Council of Chalcedon in the mid-fifth century. During this period Christianity rose to prominence in the Roman Empire, developed new notions of sanctity and heresy, and spread beyond the Mediterranean world." "This reader incorporates standard texts -- from authors such as Athanasius, Augustine, and Eusebius -- in the most recent translations and also includes less familiar texts, some of which appear in English translation for the first time. Presented in their entirety or in long excerpts, the texts are arranged thematically and cover such topics as orthodoxy, conversion, asceticism, and art and architecture." "The editors provide introductions for each chapter, text, and image, situating the selections historically, geographically, and intellectually. Christianity in Late Antiquity, 300-450 C.E.: A Reader highlights the ways in which religion and culture were mutually transformed during this crucial historical period." "Ideal for courses in Early Christianity, Christianity in Late Antiquity, and History of Christianity, this reader is an excellent companion to Bart D. Ehrman's After the New Testament (OUP, 1998)."
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Truth and Fiction in The Da Vinci
Code: A Historian Reveals What We Really Know about Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and
Constantine by Bart D. Ehrman Oxford University Press, 2004, 240 pages; 10 halftones "No less interesting than the book it is responding to.... An enjoyable and very accessible tour of a complex subject, Truth and Fiction in the Da Vinci Code is a book that fans of Brown's novel will no doubt find just as engaging." -- St Petersburg Times "A staggeringly popular work of fiction, Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code has stood atop The New York Times Bestseller List for well over a year, with millions of copies in print. But this fast-paced mystery is unusual in that the author states up front that the historical information in the book is all factually accurate. But is this claim true?" "As historian Bart D. Ehrman shows in this informative and witty book, The Da Vinci Code is filled with numerous historical mistakes. Did the ancient church engage in a cover-up to make the man Jesus into a divine figure? Did Emperor Constantine select for the New Testament -- from some 80 contending Gospels -- the only four Gospels that stressed that Jesus was divine? Was Jesus Christ married to Mary Magdalene? Did the Church suppress Gospels that told the secret of their marriage?" "Bart Ehrman thoroughly debunks all of these claims. But the book is not merely a laundry list of Brown's misreading of history. Throughout, Ehrman offers a wealth of fascinating background information -- all historically accurate -- on early Christianity. He describes, for instance, the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls (which are not Christian in content, contrary to The Da Vinci Code); outlines in simple terms how scholars of early Christianity determine which sources are most reliable; and explores the many other Gospels that have been found in the last half century." "Ehrman separates fact from fiction, the historical realities from the flights of literary fancy. Readers of The Da Vinci Code who would like to know the truth about the beginnings of Christianity and the life of Jesus will find this book riveting."
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