What do you think?
Rate this book
The New Testament
Alternate cover edition of ASIN B00DTO5D6K
Listening Length: 12 hours and 27 minutes
Whether taken as a book of faith or a cultural artifact, the New Testament is among the most significant writings the world has ever known, its web of meaning relied upon by virtually every major writer in the last 2,000 years. Yet the New Testament is not only one of Western civilization's most believed books, but also one of its most widely disputed, often maligned, and least clearly understood, with a vast number of people unaware of how it was written and transmitted.
But now a distinguished religious scholar is available to help you gain a carefully reasoned understanding of not only the New Testament itself, but of the individuals and communities who created its texts.
Drawing on modern biblical scholarship, recent archaeological discoveries, and careful literary analysis - and approaching his subject purely as a historian, with belief or disbelief suspended - Professor Ehrman has crafted a series of 24 fascinating lectures that trace the history of the New Testament and the early Christian faith community. He discusses not only the 27 books included in the New Testament, but also many of the significant texts that were excluded as he addresses key historical questions around the issues of authorship, circumstance, audience, content, meaning, and historical accuracy.
"Our ultimate goal," he notes, "is to come to a fuller appreciation and understanding of these books that have made such an enormous impact on the history of Western civilization and that continue to play such an important role for people today."
Listening Length: 12 hours and 27 minutes
Whether taken as a book of faith or a cultural artifact, the New Testament is among the most significant writings the world has ever known, its web of meaning relied upon by virtually every major writer in the last 2,000 years. Yet the New Testament is not only one of Western civilization's most believed books, but also one of its most widely disputed, often maligned, and least clearly understood, with a vast number of people unaware of how it was written and transmitted.
But now a distinguished religious scholar is available to help you gain a carefully reasoned understanding of not only the New Testament itself, but of the individuals and communities who created its texts.
Drawing on modern biblical scholarship, recent archaeological discoveries, and careful literary analysis - and approaching his subject purely as a historian, with belief or disbelief suspended - Professor Ehrman has crafted a series of 24 fascinating lectures that trace the history of the New Testament and the early Christian faith community. He discusses not only the 27 books included in the New Testament, but also many of the significant texts that were excluded as he addresses key historical questions around the issues of authorship, circumstance, audience, content, meaning, and historical accuracy.
"Our ultimate goal," he notes, "is to come to a fuller appreciation and understanding of these books that have made such an enormous impact on the history of Western civilization and that continue to play such an important role for people today."
13 pages, Audible Audio
First published January 1, 2001
19 people are currently reading
464 people want to read
About the author
Bart D. Ehrman
68 books2,104 followersBart Denton Ehrman is an American New Testament scholar focusing on textual criticism of the New Testament, the historical Jesus, and the origins and development of early Christianity. He has written and edited 30 books, including three college textbooks. He has also authored six New York Times bestsellers. He is the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews
June 24, 2022
مثل همیشه یه دورهٔ خوب از بارت اهرمان.
March 4, 2013
This is a 24 - 1/2 hr audio lecture series, w/ 158 page companion book (kind of a cliff notes) outline.
These lectures deal with the historicity of the new testament, presented in a secular fashion, examining the origins of the content, rather than the spiritual aspects of the text. Dr Ehrman clearly and logically presents the background of the gospels and epistles as well as a short history of the authors. The presenter's methodical approach builds the picture of a multi-authored book, comprised of half-memories and parables of Jesus written over several decades to centuries. I was intrigued by the historical aspects of the lectures, and interested to learn of the evolution of the text itself...from the original Greek to Latin to whatever language, based upon copies of copies of copies (etc.), with centuries of mistakes, compounded geometrically by countless reinterpretation and revision.
The course presents the history of the origin of the book...I enjoyed it.
In the end, it...along with the old testament...is a book called the bible; written by several (many) supposedly inspired men (but few women) who, for a variety of reasons, sought to create a book to change the world. I suppose they did...but there are far more who use this book to exploit it.
If you're looking for scripture, don't bother here...this is history. Enjoy it!
These lectures deal with the historicity of the new testament, presented in a secular fashion, examining the origins of the content, rather than the spiritual aspects of the text. Dr Ehrman clearly and logically presents the background of the gospels and epistles as well as a short history of the authors. The presenter's methodical approach builds the picture of a multi-authored book, comprised of half-memories and parables of Jesus written over several decades to centuries. I was intrigued by the historical aspects of the lectures, and interested to learn of the evolution of the text itself...from the original Greek to Latin to whatever language, based upon copies of copies of copies (etc.), with centuries of mistakes, compounded geometrically by countless reinterpretation and revision.
The course presents the history of the origin of the book...I enjoyed it.
In the end, it...along with the old testament...is a book called the bible; written by several (many) supposedly inspired men (but few women) who, for a variety of reasons, sought to create a book to change the world. I suppose they did...but there are far more who use this book to exploit it.
If you're looking for scripture, don't bother here...this is history. Enjoy it!
February 27, 2018
This is a solid introduction both to the historical context the New Testament was created in as well as its early literary tradition. It gives you a great notion of how the books of the New Testament came to be.
There are two things this course is not. Firstly, at twelve hours, it is not an in-depth examination. By necessity, it takes a 20,000 ft view of things. In this way, it's very much like an introductory, first-year university course on the topic. It provides you with a general survey of the scholarship but doesn't go into too much detail beyond a few specific examples to illustrate his points. This is perfect for what the course is: it's designed to be a starting point for your investigation, not the ending point.
Secondly, this is a historical analysis of how the books of the New Testament came to be. It isn't directly an investigation into the life of Jesus (although, by necessity, this is talked about in relation to the four gospels). Nor does it examine the theology of the New Testament (although it does touch on competing theologies in the first few centuries CE). These are important and rich topics but aren't within the scope of this series of lectures.
In all, this is an excellent introduction to our understanding of the literary tradition of the New Testament. Take it as this and nothing more: an introduction, a starting point. Bart Ehrman is a thoughtful and transparent lecturer. I recommend this series of lectures highly.
There are two things this course is not. Firstly, at twelve hours, it is not an in-depth examination. By necessity, it takes a 20,000 ft view of things. In this way, it's very much like an introductory, first-year university course on the topic. It provides you with a general survey of the scholarship but doesn't go into too much detail beyond a few specific examples to illustrate his points. This is perfect for what the course is: it's designed to be a starting point for your investigation, not the ending point.
Secondly, this is a historical analysis of how the books of the New Testament came to be. It isn't directly an investigation into the life of Jesus (although, by necessity, this is talked about in relation to the four gospels). Nor does it examine the theology of the New Testament (although it does touch on competing theologies in the first few centuries CE). These are important and rich topics but aren't within the scope of this series of lectures.
In all, this is an excellent introduction to our understanding of the literary tradition of the New Testament. Take it as this and nothing more: an introduction, a starting point. Bart Ehrman is a thoughtful and transparent lecturer. I recommend this series of lectures highly.
November 10, 2020
I was raised Christian and thought I had a good grasp of The New Testament, but this course has helped me understand how over confident I was. Even though I know bible study isn't the same as Sunday Service, Sunday service in the church I went to went over a lot of scripture. Unfortunately, most of that scripture was taken out of context to fit recent circumstances. One thing this course has is a lot of context. I now feel like I have a better handle of the people around the places when The New Testament was written. This isn't a religious course, so I think just about anyone curious about the bible without any religious bias would enjoy this book.
December 6, 2017
The Bible is so much more interesting when centered in the context of the people who were alive at and near the time. This lecturer does a great job, keeps to a clear outline, gives concise examples and makes things really enjoyable. It took me awhile to get through only because I wanted so much to set aside time to just actively listen.
November 9, 2017
This is the fourth course on the New Testament that I've gone through by this author, and I've enjoyed them all. Very informative from a historical perspective.
November 24, 2019
I listened to this on Audible, so heard it straight as a series of lectures. I enjoyed it. learned from it, though will admit to hoping for more given the lecture titles. If one has never read Ehrman, this is probably a great place to start. However, after having read Lost Christianities (one of my favorites), Forged and others of his, not to mention other works on early Christian history and texts, there wasn't as much new ground here as I was anticipating.
August 8, 2025
Anyone who enjoys listening to erudition on biblical big names Bart D Ehrman ticks the boxes, very much appreciated :-)
October 10, 2016
3.5 Stars
Overall, the author provides a lot of information, in a very straight-forward, (mostly) authoritative, and (mostly) unbiased manner. He uses primary evidence, other prominent scholars' work, and provides many additional citations for further research. The lecture series starts with a historical re-counting of each of the Gospels, tracing the history of their writing and the literary aims of each author. This part was fantastic - there weren't really any new conclusions, but he pulled together what I've read/heard from many different sources so I would highly recommend this part to anyone looking for a good overview of the Gospels, especially from a literary perspective. The author then moved onto the historical Jesus. The overview of the criteria scholars use to piece together evidence was interesting, but felt dodgy. In particular, the author mentioned that when Jesus speaks of the Son of Man, "he did not appear to be referring to himself." This is actually very key to the discussion of who Jesus said he was. Most (Christian) sources harken this statement back to Daniel to show that Jesus meant this as a messianic title. It's also the way Jesus refers to himself the most often in the Gospels (rather than saying that he is the Messiah, the King of David, the King of the Jews, the Son of God, etc.). So, this is a pretty important piece of information to gloss over, especially since it is very relevant to the topic at hand. I would have appreciated a few minutes devoted to why this conclusion was drawn. Either this statement was made haphazardly (which doesn't seem right, based on the otherwise well-articulated & deeply researched lecture series) or, the omission is purposeful, in which case bias has crept into work, which greatly underpins its ability to be effective.
In works that profess to be unbiased, especially in works dealing with religion, hints of bias are like loose threads that threaten to tear down the carefully built authority of the author. I want to clarify that omissions, like the "Son of Man" example above are what I consider bias. The author does, often , try to get readers to question well-accepted 'truth', which is the job of the scholar! The author does this beautifully when discussing why Jesus dies on different days, depending on which Gospel you're reading - "It is worth noting that the Gospel of John, which has Jesus die on the afternoon of the day before the Passover (the Day of Preparation), precisely when the lambs were being slaughtered, is the only Gospel of the New Testament that explicitly identifies Jesus himself as "the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world" (John 1:29, 36)". This doesn't solve the historical issue of Jesus dying on two different days - it reflects that there is something else going on in the literary structure.
The author moves on from the Historical Jesus to Paul. I haven't read as much about Paul, so I found this section very interesting (though I was a bit more tentative, since I wasn't as sure of author's neutrality). His treatment of Paul, even when discussing the pseudonymous epistles seemed straight-forward, well-researched, and unbiased.
Lastly, the author moved into a (too-short) section on textual credibility. This was probably too brief to actually be included. It was interesting, but since nothing could be supported with evidence or explored at any length, it probably would have been better left off. Otherwise, this work was carefully and effectively structured.
3 1/2 stars
Overall, the author provides a lot of information, in a very straight-forward, (mostly) authoritative, and (mostly) unbiased manner. He uses primary evidence, other prominent scholars' work, and provides many additional citations for further research. The lecture series starts with a historical re-counting of each of the Gospels, tracing the history of their writing and the literary aims of each author. This part was fantastic - there weren't really any new conclusions, but he pulled together what I've read/heard from many different sources so I would highly recommend this part to anyone looking for a good overview of the Gospels, especially from a literary perspective. The author then moved onto the historical Jesus. The overview of the criteria scholars use to piece together evidence was interesting, but felt dodgy. In particular, the author mentioned that when Jesus speaks of the Son of Man, "he did not appear to be referring to himself." This is actually very key to the discussion of who Jesus said he was. Most (Christian) sources harken this statement back to Daniel to show that Jesus meant this as a messianic title. It's also the way Jesus refers to himself the most often in the Gospels (rather than saying that he is the Messiah, the King of David, the King of the Jews, the Son of God, etc.). So, this is a pretty important piece of information to gloss over, especially since it is very relevant to the topic at hand. I would have appreciated a few minutes devoted to why this conclusion was drawn. Either this statement was made haphazardly (which doesn't seem right, based on the otherwise well-articulated & deeply researched lecture series) or, the omission is purposeful, in which case bias has crept into work, which greatly underpins its ability to be effective.
In works that profess to be unbiased, especially in works dealing with religion, hints of bias are like loose threads that threaten to tear down the carefully built authority of the author. I want to clarify that omissions, like the "Son of Man" example above are what I consider bias. The author does, often , try to get readers to question well-accepted 'truth', which is the job of the scholar! The author does this beautifully when discussing why Jesus dies on different days, depending on which Gospel you're reading - "It is worth noting that the Gospel of John, which has Jesus die on the afternoon of the day before the Passover (the Day of Preparation), precisely when the lambs were being slaughtered, is the only Gospel of the New Testament that explicitly identifies Jesus himself as "the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world" (John 1:29, 36)". This doesn't solve the historical issue of Jesus dying on two different days - it reflects that there is something else going on in the literary structure.
The author moves on from the Historical Jesus to Paul. I haven't read as much about Paul, so I found this section very interesting (though I was a bit more tentative, since I wasn't as sure of author's neutrality). His treatment of Paul, even when discussing the pseudonymous epistles seemed straight-forward, well-researched, and unbiased.
Lastly, the author moved into a (too-short) section on textual credibility. This was probably too brief to actually be included. It was interesting, but since nothing could be supported with evidence or explored at any length, it probably would have been better left off. Otherwise, this work was carefully and effectively structured.
3 1/2 stars
February 23, 2015
The New Testament is the latest religion course that I have ordered from The Great Courses. This is a 12 hour 24 lecture course taught by Professor Bart D. Ehrman. Although this is my first course with Professor Ehrman, it won't be my last. He teaches many of the Great Courses on religion, and I found both his knowledge and presentation style to be excellent. He clearly knows his material, and his lecture delivery is clear and easy to understand. Ehrman also will keep you interested as he works his way through the Books of the New Testament of the Bible.
I learned a lot from basic things such as that the entire New Testament was written in Greek and that many of the Chapters were written much later than I had realized. Pr. Ehrman approaches the New Testament from a historical scholarly approach, so those looking for a devotional religious approach may not find what they want here. Ehrman starts with the Gospels and gives a detailed analysis of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. He tells us what we historically know of these apostles, when these narratives were written and what each Gospel focuses upon. I knew that they were four tellings of the life and times of Jesus Christ but even though I had read them, I never examined them in the detail that Pr. Ehrman did.
He discusses how Jesus went from being a Jewish teacher of a Jewish religion to Jewish people to becoming the central figure of a new religion, Christianity. In the lectures about the New Testament this transition is explained in a way that is both interesting and easy to follow.
Paul is discussed at length since his letters make up many books of the Bible. Ehrman discusses Paul's life and his books in the Bible. Issues like which is more important, good works or faith are discussed. The times that Jesus lived are examined in detail and the ideas, philosophies and religion of the day was reviewed very thoroughly.
Finally, Ehrman discusses the many interpretations that the final book of Bible, The Revelation of John. He then places it completely in context of the time that it was written. The idea of the Rapture was not discussed by Ehrman, he discusses the most likely explanations for the symbols in Revelations. For example, the whore of Babylon described in vivid detail in Revelation was most likely representing Rome.
For some Christians, Ehrman may come across as critical of the New Testament. He does not pull punches, where evidence is lacking, where inconsistencies occur and when historical facts may make things not as miraculous, Ehrman will point it out and in great detail. Whole chapters are given to the subject on controversies of who may have written the various books, and the number of errors that have gone into the copies of copies of copies. Folks like Ken Ham and Kirk Cameron probably will not enjoy Ehrman's historical and analytical approach to the New Testament.
Howver, if you want a serious study of the New Testament of the Bible, I found the Great Course on the New Testament with Professor Ehrman to be quite scholarly and most interesting. I would recommend it to anyone with a real interest in religions.
I learned a lot from basic things such as that the entire New Testament was written in Greek and that many of the Chapters were written much later than I had realized. Pr. Ehrman approaches the New Testament from a historical scholarly approach, so those looking for a devotional religious approach may not find what they want here. Ehrman starts with the Gospels and gives a detailed analysis of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. He tells us what we historically know of these apostles, when these narratives were written and what each Gospel focuses upon. I knew that they were four tellings of the life and times of Jesus Christ but even though I had read them, I never examined them in the detail that Pr. Ehrman did.
He discusses how Jesus went from being a Jewish teacher of a Jewish religion to Jewish people to becoming the central figure of a new religion, Christianity. In the lectures about the New Testament this transition is explained in a way that is both interesting and easy to follow.
Paul is discussed at length since his letters make up many books of the Bible. Ehrman discusses Paul's life and his books in the Bible. Issues like which is more important, good works or faith are discussed. The times that Jesus lived are examined in detail and the ideas, philosophies and religion of the day was reviewed very thoroughly.
Finally, Ehrman discusses the many interpretations that the final book of Bible, The Revelation of John. He then places it completely in context of the time that it was written. The idea of the Rapture was not discussed by Ehrman, he discusses the most likely explanations for the symbols in Revelations. For example, the whore of Babylon described in vivid detail in Revelation was most likely representing Rome.
For some Christians, Ehrman may come across as critical of the New Testament. He does not pull punches, where evidence is lacking, where inconsistencies occur and when historical facts may make things not as miraculous, Ehrman will point it out and in great detail. Whole chapters are given to the subject on controversies of who may have written the various books, and the number of errors that have gone into the copies of copies of copies. Folks like Ken Ham and Kirk Cameron probably will not enjoy Ehrman's historical and analytical approach to the New Testament.
Howver, if you want a serious study of the New Testament of the Bible, I found the Great Course on the New Testament with Professor Ehrman to be quite scholarly and most interesting. I would recommend it to anyone with a real interest in religions.
October 31, 2023
Another fascinating, educational selection from The Great Courses. Professor Bart D. Ehrman, a renowned New Testament scholar and speaker takes us through a concise, albeit brief for time allotment purposes, tour of the gospels of the New Testament and the history of them.
Professor Ehrman is a fantastic lecturer and extremely knowledgeable on his subject matter. I was quickly drawn into the lectures and played them several times over to make sure I had ingested the information. After finishing the book, I felt I had a good rudimentary, begginers' understanding of the New Testament and knew infinitely more than I had at the outset. The amount of information I learned after all these years of ignorance on the subject is mind boggling. I can't imagine why I didn't bother to get a basic understanding of the New Testament from a scholarly, historical standpoint years ago.
Highly recommended. Humankind would benefit so much from receiving widespread education on the Bible, and the New Testament in particular. Learning, understanding and diminishing ignorance is the key to the future of the human species.
Professor Ehrman is a fantastic lecturer and extremely knowledgeable on his subject matter. I was quickly drawn into the lectures and played them several times over to make sure I had ingested the information. After finishing the book, I felt I had a good rudimentary, begginers' understanding of the New Testament and knew infinitely more than I had at the outset. The amount of information I learned after all these years of ignorance on the subject is mind boggling. I can't imagine why I didn't bother to get a basic understanding of the New Testament from a scholarly, historical standpoint years ago.
Highly recommended. Humankind would benefit so much from receiving widespread education on the Bible, and the New Testament in particular. Learning, understanding and diminishing ignorance is the key to the future of the human species.
January 5, 2022
Bart Ehrman (professor at UNC) is a fantastic scholar of the New Testament. I have read several other of his books, and this Great Course on the New Testament is equally good. Ehrman looks at the complete New Testament from a historical perspective (rather than cultural or theological). However, if you have a desire to improve your understanding of Jesus or the New Testament from any perspective, this course is essential. I learned so much, and Ehrman is such a good teacher with a commanding understanding of how the New Testament was made, who the authors were (or were not), how time has influenced the book, and so much more. I'll definitely continue absorbing books and courses from Ehrman.
October 26, 2018
Let's face the fact that it is not easy to discuss the slightly detail about religion rules and prejudices anywhere in the world without hurting somebody. That's why I love this audio class: the professor managed to tackle the subject with a very objective way which opens the possibility to further research by the listener.
In my opinion, this audio, far from ending the subject, opens your mind to individual reading and understanding.
Wonderful material!
In my opinion, this audio, far from ending the subject, opens your mind to individual reading and understanding.
Wonderful material!
January 30, 2019
This is an academic treatment of the Christian New Testament. This might be upsetting for believing Christians to have their founding texts folded, spindled and mutilated. I sympathize, but if you have studied the Christians texts carefully, you already know of conflicts in the texts as to what Jesus taught or did not teach. If you want explanations for these conflicts, then this course is for you.
I really loved this course, and I will be returning to it again and again.
I really loved this course, and I will be returning to it again and again.
August 10, 2021
Very accessible and useful for academic and private study.
It reflects the current theological findings and understandings (such as the dating of certain texts, authorship etc).
For undergraduate academic study it is a great foundation for further learning. It helped me greatly being able to listen to these wonderful lectures on the go in the run up to my exams.
Ehrman also has a wonderful voice that was a pleasure to listen to.
It reflects the current theological findings and understandings (such as the dating of certain texts, authorship etc).
For undergraduate academic study it is a great foundation for further learning. It helped me greatly being able to listen to these wonderful lectures on the go in the run up to my exams.
Ehrman also has a wonderful voice that was a pleasure to listen to.
Read
February 23, 2022I enjoyed listening to these lectures. I liked How Jesus Became God more because Dr Ehrman went in depth about the development of Christian beliefs on Jesus and the trinity, but he does give a brief overview here. In this course, he went book by book in the New Testament to talk about their authorship, controversies, philosophy and historical placement. Learning about the deutero-Pauline letters and why their authorship is questioned was fascinating.
November 18, 2021
I really enjoyed these lectures! I learned so much, too much to list here. People who have an interest in the history behind the New Testament, how it was written, when it was written, who wrote it, the historical criteria for determining the originality of the content, etc. would find these lectures fascinating.
November 19, 2020
I thought this was an excellent historical academic analysis of the new testament. It's somewhat introductory (so approachable) and left me with more questions than answers - exactly what I'd hope for!
July 14, 2020
Does the New Testament contain incredible teachings that can improve your life? Yes. Does this mean historicity and authorship should be heavily investigated? Also yes.
January 19, 2023
This year in my religious services we are emphasizing the study of the New Testament. I picked this course up to supplement my studies and provide a new historical perspective. While I have previously read the New Testament and I'm somewhat familiar with the ancient Mediterranean, Dr. Ehrman's lectures introduced whole new concepts and emphases to my understanding. I would consider some of what he discusses to be quite radical compared to what I am familiar. Despite his lectures' occasional radical tenor, I'm open to many of his assertions. For example, he spends much of the latter half of the course explaining how some epistles are likely forgeries. His arguments are often compelling, but in the end, this felt like a meager introduction to his theses rather than a holistic argument.
It's important to note that despite Dr. Ehrman's degrees in Divinity and personal beliefs, this course is taught from a secular perspective. Doctrines are not presented unless specifically outlined as such. (For example, he addresses a problem with the doctrine of the Trinity but adds a caveat saying that he's not necessarily arguing against it, just providing historical context.) It's important to keep this perspective in mind when listening.
I appreciated these lectures and their unique perspective. I found my own beliefs challenged--and supported--in new ways. I never felt prodded toward a particular belief or doctrine, but I frequently felt like I had to think about the New Testament critically. It was interesting to see how some doctrines arose because of, or occasionally in spite of, the writings in the New Testament. Despite this, I remain unconvinced about some of Dr. Ehrman's core assertions (Jesus as an apocalyptic prophet, for example). I need more time, and more context, to weigh them fully.
It's important to note that despite Dr. Ehrman's degrees in Divinity and personal beliefs, this course is taught from a secular perspective. Doctrines are not presented unless specifically outlined as such. (For example, he addresses a problem with the doctrine of the Trinity but adds a caveat saying that he's not necessarily arguing against it, just providing historical context.) It's important to keep this perspective in mind when listening.
I appreciated these lectures and their unique perspective. I found my own beliefs challenged--and supported--in new ways. I never felt prodded toward a particular belief or doctrine, but I frequently felt like I had to think about the New Testament critically. It was interesting to see how some doctrines arose because of, or occasionally in spite of, the writings in the New Testament. Despite this, I remain unconvinced about some of Dr. Ehrman's core assertions (Jesus as an apocalyptic prophet, for example). I need more time, and more context, to weigh them fully.
October 18, 2022
These 24 lectures offer discussion of the scholarly analyses of the New Testament, not a glorification of the Good Book. And the analyses are not spiritual or philosophical interpretations. A primary message is that the original gospels were written many years (decades, if not centuries) after Jesus’ death, and we don’t have any of the originals, only copies of copies of copies, all written by hand and by unskilled copyists. Scholars try to authenticate biblical stories of the historical Jesus by using three primary tools (which are pretty good tools for authenticating nonbiblical information today): the Criterion of Independent Attestation (cross-checking accounts against independent witnesses of an event or of Jesus’ sayings), the Criterion of Dissimilarity (also known as the Criterion of Embarrassment, which holds that an account of Jesus is likely to be true if it doesn’t serve some self-interest or just-so story), and the Criterion of Contextual Credibility (which says that if a reported account doesn’t fit the linguistic, cultural, and historic or social environment of the period, then it probably isn’t authentic.)
These criteria don’t result in a clear picture of Jesus but do seem to confirm that Jesus and early Christians were apocalypticists, believing that they were living in the end times when a sudden, dramatic, and cataclysmic intervention of God with final judgment was imminent. Two thousand years later, we’re still waiting.
These criteria don’t result in a clear picture of Jesus but do seem to confirm that Jesus and early Christians were apocalypticists, believing that they were living in the end times when a sudden, dramatic, and cataclysmic intervention of God with final judgment was imminent. Two thousand years later, we’re still waiting.
October 26, 2017
A series of 24 lectures, about a half-hour each exploring New Testaments historically. The most interesting for me was pulling what history one could from the four Gospels, with scant historical evidence indeed. Less interesting was the discussion of Paul’s theology from the letters he himself likely wrote. “Paul transformed the religion of Jesus to a relation about Jesus.” I was happy to be reminded how the how Paul’s letters do not call for the marginalization of women, as is often claimed, but from other’s writing as Paul. His descriptions of the functioning of the early church reminded me of early Friends seeking “primitive Christianity revived.”
June 20, 2021
I wish Ehrman had been my parish priest when I was a kid.
I wish Ehrman had been my ship's chaplain when I was in the Navy.
Whether it's the video, the audio, or the book, Ehrman makes Jesus far more believable, more palpable, more kick-ass than any bible-thumping, non-denominational, Lear jet owning, mansion residing, tax evading tele-freaking-vangelist. This was just the accompanying notes from the video/audio discs, it was still informationally "first rate".
As captivating as this was, I live in fear of ever having to take one of his actual course exams to see if I REALLY "got it".
I wish Ehrman had been my ship's chaplain when I was in the Navy.
Whether it's the video, the audio, or the book, Ehrman makes Jesus far more believable, more palpable, more kick-ass than any bible-thumping, non-denominational, Lear jet owning, mansion residing, tax evading tele-freaking-vangelist. This was just the accompanying notes from the video/audio discs, it was still informationally "first rate".
As captivating as this was, I live in fear of ever having to take one of his actual course exams to see if I REALLY "got it".
February 29, 2020
Interesting and relatively concise (24 1/2 hour lectures) summary of what we know about the New Testament writings based on the historical evidence we have in hand today. Ehrman does a good job of describing some of the challenges of historical research, and of discussing the methods, materials and models he takes in his review. I came away appreciating the complexity of this analysis, and why there are so many divergent views on almost every topic (who wrote what, when they wrote it, why they wrote it, whether it was accurately preserved, etc.).
May 29, 2024
This is an EXCELLENT course, full of loads of really important historical information that I, personally, think a lot more people should know about--especially people
in the West, whether or not they are Christian. Christian and secular media alike are saturated with so many portrayals of and ideas about Jesus, Paul, Judas and other pivotal characters and stories from the New Testament. I think anyone who interacts with that media, or the world of Christianity more broadly, would benefit from learning the background information that scholars and historians have uncovered.
in the West, whether or not they are Christian. Christian and secular media alike are saturated with so many portrayals of and ideas about Jesus, Paul, Judas and other pivotal characters and stories from the New Testament. I think anyone who interacts with that media, or the world of Christianity more broadly, would benefit from learning the background information that scholars and historians have uncovered.
May 27, 2022
This is a good overview on all the New Testament and where each of the books came from, who wrote them (or might have written them) and the back story for why they were written and when. This is the 2nd Great Courses series I have done by this author. I chose it based on the description, not the author, but I will say, I enjoyed both and learned a lot from them. I will be looking into his other works.
January 23, 2024
This was an extremely well thought out tour of the New Testament as historical documents, seeking to elucidate what we know of the production of these books and letters, and what they actually tell us about Jesus and the early church. It treats the material in a respectful way even as it points out common misconceptions about their authorship and their meaning. It's a fascinating introduction to the most widely read and influential books in western civilization.
December 1, 2019
The author comes from a critical perspective which does not align well with my conservative perspective. Nevertheless, I found it interesting and useful to understand that point of view and found many of the connections and historical context details helpful. The lecture on Revelation was pretty good.
February 25, 2020
Ehrman is great. This is relatively introductory so if you are already familiar with a lot of New Testament history, this will probably be a bit of a rehash.
I’ve read Ehrman a bunch on the life of Jesus so the early few lectures were retreading old ground but the later lectures on Paul and the other books was new and enlightening.
I’ve read Ehrman a bunch on the life of Jesus so the early few lectures were retreading old ground but the later lectures on Paul and the other books was new and enlightening.
September 27, 2017
This lecture series brought " The New Testament" to life for me. I thought I knew a lot but this series went into the historical context and how the actual text for The New Testament was written. Listen!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews