New Releases by Bart D Ehrman

A “humane, thoughtful, and intelligent” (The New York Times Book Review) bestselling Biblical scholar reveals why our popular understanding of the Apocalypse is all wrong—and why that matters. You’ll find nearly everything the Bible says about the end in the Book of Revelation: a mystifying prophecy filled with bizarre symbolism, violent imagery, mangled syntax, confounding contradictions, and very firm ideas about the horrors that await us all. But no matter what you think Revelation reveals—whether you read it as a literal description of what will soon come to pass, interpret it as a metaphorical expression of hope for those suffering now, or only recognize its highlights from pop culture—you’re almost certainly wrong. In Armageddon, acclaimed New Testament authority Bart D. Ehrman delves into the most misunderstood—and possibly most dangerous—book of the Bible, on a “vigilantly persuasive” (The Washington Post) tour through three millennia of Judeo-Christian thinking about how our world will end. With wit and verve, he explores the alarming social and political consequences of expecting an imminent apocalypse, considers whether the message of Revelation may be at odds with the teachings of Jesus, and offers inspiring insight into how to live in the face of an uncertain future. By turns hilarious, moving, troubling, and provocative, Armageddon is nothing short of revelatory in its account of what the Bible really says about the end.

A New York Times bestselling scholar''s illuminating exploration of the earliest Christian narrated journeys to heaven and hell "[An] illuminating deep dive . . . An edifying origin story for contemporary Christian conceptions of the afterlife."--Publishers Weekly From classics such as the Odyssey and the Aeneid to fifth-century Christian apocrypha, narratives that described guided tours of the afterlife played a major role in shaping ancient notions of morality and ethics. In this new account, acclaimed author Bart Ehrman contextualizes early Christian narratives of heaven and hell within the broader intellectual and cultural worlds from which they emerged. He examines how fundamental social experiences of the early Christian communities molded the conceptions of the afterlife that eventuated into the accepted doctrines of heaven, hell, and purgatory. Drawing on Greek and Roman epic poetry, early Jewish writings such as the Book of Watchers, and apocryphal Christian stories including the Acts of Thomas, the Gospel of Nicodemus, and the Apocalypse of Peter, Ehrman demonstrates that ancient tours of the afterlife promoted reflection on matters of ethics, faith, ambition, and life''s meaning, the fruit of which has been codified into Christian belief today.

A New York Times bestselling historian of early Christianity takes on two of the most gripping questions of human existence: where did the ideas of heaven and hell come from, and why do they endure? What happens when we die? A recent Pew Research poll showed that 72% of Americans believe in a literal heaven, 58% in a literal hell. Most people who hold these beliefs are Christian and assume they are the age-old teachings of the Bible. But eternal rewards and punishments are found nowhere in the Old Testament and are not what Jesus or his disciples taught. So where did the ideas come from? In clear and compelling terms, Bart Ehrman recounts the long history of the afterlife, ranging from The Epic of Gilgamesh up to the writings of Augustine, focusing especially on the teachings of Jesus and his early followers. He discusses ancient guided tours of heaven and hell, in which a living person observes the sublime blessings of heaven for those who are saved and the horrifying torments of hell for the damned. Some of these accounts take the form of near death experiences, the oldest on record, with intriguing similarities to those reported today. One of Ehrman’s startling conclusions is that there never was a single Greek, Jewish, or Christian understanding of the afterlife, but numerous competing views. Moreover, these views did not come from nowhere; they were intimately connected with the social, cultural, and historical worlds out of which they emerged. Only later, in the early Christian centuries, did they develop into the notions of eternal bliss or damnation widely accepted today. As a historian, Ehrman obviously cannot provide a definitive answer to the question of what happens after death. In Heaven and Hell, he does the next best thing: by helping us reflect on where our ideas of the afterlife come from, he assures us that even if there may be something to hope for when we die, there is certainly nothing to fear.

De onstuitbare opkomst van het christendom tijdens de eerste vier eeuwen van onze jaartelling is de grootste culturele revolutie die de wereld ooit heeft gezien. Wat begon met een timmermanszoon en een paar vissers, groeide uit tot een veenbrand van persoonlijk beleden geloof, die het Romeinse rijk in alle opzichten ondermijnde. Twee ideologieën botsten radicaal op elkaar. Aan de ene kant die van millennia oude waarden, gebaseerd op macht: keizers en koningen heersten als bijna-goden over hun onderdanen, meesters over hun slaven, mannen over hun vrouwen. Oorlog was normaal en het afslachten van overwonnenen acceptabel en nuttig. De christenen beweerden het tegenovergestelde. Hun leiders predikten naastenliefde. De ene mens was niet beter dan de andere. Voor God was iedereen gelijk: de meester en de slaaf, de sterke en de zwakke. En dat idee bleek onweerstaanbaar. In De God van Galilea beschrijft Ehrman helder en meeslepend de wereld van de Romeinen en de heidenen, en het gevecht tussen het oude en nieuwe wereldbeeld. Het resultaat is een historisch meesterwerk, waarin de culturele, filosofische en maatschappelijke problemen van toen nog altijd herkenbaar blijken. Bart D. Ehrman (1955) is hoogleraar godsdienstwetenschappen. Hij is autoriteit op het gebied van het Nieuwe Testament en de vroegchristelijke geschiedenis. Eerder publiceerde hij onder andere de bestsellers Misquoting Jesus en How Jesus Became God.

The “marvelous” (Reza Aslan, bestselling author of Zealot), New York Times bestselling story of how Christianity became the dominant religion in the West. How did a religion whose first believers were twenty or so illiterate day laborers in a remote part of the empire became the official religion of Rome, converting some thirty million people in just four centuries? In The Triumph of Christianity, early Christian historian Bart D. Ehrman weaves the rigorously-researched answer to this question “into a vivid, nuanced, and enormously readable narrative” (Elaine Pagels, National Book Award-winning author of The Gnostic Gospels), showing how a handful of charismatic characters used a brilliant social strategy and an irresistible message to win over hearts and minds one at a time. This “humane, thoughtful and intelligent” book (The New York Times Book Review) upends the way we think about the single most important cultural transformation our world has ever seen—one that revolutionized art, music, literature, philosophy, ethics, economics, and law.

Per tutti i cristiani, Gesù è Dio incarnato. Oggi. I cristiani che leggeranno questo libro resteranno invece sorpresi scoprendo che Gesù, alle origini del cristianesimo, non era affatto considerato Dio. A dimostrarlo sono i vangeli stessi. E non solo. I discepoli non credevano che Gesù fosse Dio. Non lo sosteneva nemmeno lo stesso Gesù. Gesù era un semplice predicatore ebreo di umili origini che, secondo gli apostoli e tre evangelisti, Dio avrebbe esaltato a un rango divino soltanto dopo la sua morte. In seguito, anche questa tesi sarebbe stata considerata eresia. Quanto credono oggi i cristiani è stato accettato dalle Chiese cristiane soltanto dopo diversi secoli. “E Gesù diventò Dio” è un’opera documentatissima. Le tesi che presenta sono le stesse sostenute dai maggiori specialisti del settore: Ehrman, che è a sua volta uno dei più autorevoli studiosi del cristianesimo delle origini, le ha però divulgate in modo fruibile da chiunque. Perché chiunque potrebbe essere interessato a capire come andarono realmente le cose, duemila anni fa in Palestina.

Mais comment a-t-on transmis le souvenir de Jésus ? Qui étaient les premiers témoins oculaires ? Quelles chaînes de transmission ont permis aux rédacteurs des évangiles d''écrire leurs textes, près d''un siècle après la mort de Jésus ? Le travail de B. Ehrman met l''accent sur la critique textuelle du Nouveau Testament, le Jésus historique et l''évolution du christianisme primitif. Avec ce dernier livre, best-seller aux Etats-Unis en 2016, l''auteur propose audacieusement de s''interroger le rôle et le fonctionnement de la mémoire, à la fois individuelle et collective, pour comprendre la construction, voire l''invention, de la figure de Jésus comme sauveur. Il s''appuie pour cela sur les meilleures études scientifiques contemporaines sur la mémoire et sur une profonde connaissance des textes antiques, chrétiens et apocryphes. Ce livre est écrit comme une enquête policière : quelles traces avons-nous du personnage Jésus ? Quelles preuves historiques ? Comment évaluer les témoignages dont nous disposons ? Un livre captivant.

The bestselling author of Misquoting Jesus, one of the most renowned and controversial Bible scholars in the world today examines oral tradition and its role in shaping the stories about Jesus we encounter in the New Testament—and ultimately in our understanding of Christianity. Throughout much of human history, our most important stories were passed down orally—including the stories about Jesus before they became written down in the Gospels. In this fascinating and deeply researched work, leading Bible scholar Bart D. Ehrman investigates the role oral history has played in the New Testament—how the telling of these stories not only spread Jesus’ message but helped shape it. A master explainer of Christian history, texts, and traditions, Ehrman draws on a range of disciplines, including psychology and anthropology, to examine the role of memory in the creation of the Gospels. Explaining how oral tradition evolves based on the latest scientific research, he demonstrates how the act of telling and retelling impacts the story, the storyteller, and the listener—crucial insights that challenge our typical historical understanding of the silent period between when Jesus lived and died and when his stories began to be written down. As he did in his previous books on religious scholarship, debates on New Testament authorship, and the existence of Jesus of Nazareth, Ehrman combines his deep knowledge and meticulous scholarship in a compelling and eye-opening narrative that will change the way we read and think about these sacred texts.

"Os leitores de Ehrman nunca mais lerão os Evangelhos e as cartas de Paulo da mesma maneira." Publishers Weekly "O que Jesus disse? O que Jesus não disse? é uma dádiva divina." Philadelphia Inquirer "Este livro oferece um olhar fascinante sobre a crítica textual e sobre as alterações sofridas pelas Escrituras." The Charleston Post & Courier "Independentemente da sua visão do texto bíblico, esta é uma leitura gratificante." Dallas Morning News "Um dos best-sellers mais surpreendentes do ano." Washington Post Ao ler o Novo Testamento, as pessoas pensam estar lendo uma cópia exata das palavras de Jesus ou dos escritos de seus apóstolos.Contudo, por quase mil e quinhentos anos, esses manuscritos foram reproduzidos por copistas profundamente influenciados pelas controvérsias políticas, teológicas e culturais de seu tempo. São vários os erros e as mudanças intencionais nos manuscritos subsistentes, dificultando a reconstituição das palavras originais. O que Jesus disse? O que Jesus não disse? mostra a história que está por trás das alterações que eclesiásticos políticos e copistas ignaros fizeram no Novo Testamento, causando um impacto enorme na compreensão e interpretação da Bíblia que temos hoje. Um livro que vai fascinar e surpreender tanto leigos quanto teólogos e historiadores experientes.

New York Times bestselling author and Bible expert Bart Ehrman reveals how Jesus’s divinity became dogma in the first few centuries of the early church. The claim at the heart of the Christian faith is that Jesus of Nazareth was, and is, God. But this is not what the original disciples believed during Jesus’s lifetime—and it is not what Jesus claimed about himself. How Jesus Became God tells the story of an idea that shaped Christianity, and of the evolution of a belief that looked very different in the fourth century than it did in the first. A master explainer of Christian history, texts, and traditions, Ehrman reveals how an apocalyptic prophet from the backwaters of rural Galilee crucified for crimes against the state came to be thought of as equal with the one God Almighty, Creator of all things. But how did he move from being a Jewish prophet to being God? In a book that took eight years to research and write, Ehrman sketches Jesus’s transformation from a human prophet to the Son of God exalted to divine status at his resurrection. Only when some of Jesus’s followers had visions of him after his death—alive again—did anyone come to think that he, the prophet from Galilee, had become God. And what they meant by that was not at all what people mean today. Written for secular historians of religion and believers alike, How Jesus Became God will engage anyone interested in the historical developments that led to the affirmation at the heart of Christianity: Jesus was, and is, God.

Entenda como Jesus Cristo se tornou a figura central do Cristianismo Jesus de Nazaré era um judeu de classe baixa dos confins da Galileia, cuja pregação apocalíptica sobre a iminência do fim do mundo e da chegada do reino de Deus o levou à condenação por crime contra o Estado e à morte infame por crucificação em Jerusalém. O homem Jesus tornou-se um dos maiores personagens religiosos da História e acabou aclamado como Deus pelos cristãos. Mas Jesus pensava que era Deus? Ele se proclamou assim? Seus discípulos viam-no como tal? O que os primeiros cristãos pensavam dele? A partir dessas perguntas, Bart D. Ehrman narra como Jesus se tornou Deus, separando fatos históricos, visões teológicas e questões de fé. O processo da exaltação de Jesus é analisado no contexto dos primórdios do Cristianismo, do desenvolvimento da cristologia e também da época e do lugar em que Jesus viveu, a Palestina do século I d.C., sob o domínio do Império Romano e influenciada pela cultura grega. Como Jesus se tornou Deus é um relato fascinante sobre a evolução da cristologia do século I ao século IV. Diferenciando os fatos históricos das questões teológicas e de fé, o autor analisa o que os Evangelhos falam sobre a divindade de Jesus e apresenta as ideias de vários teólogos posteriores, montando um panorama da exaltação de um pregador judeu ao status divino supremo. Sobre o autor: Bart D. Ehrman é especialista em Novo Testamento e História do Cristianismo Primitivo. É professor de Estudos Religiosos na Universidade da Carolina do Norte em Chapel Hill e autor de best-sellers sobre Jesus, os Evangelhos do Novo Testamento, os textos apócrifos e o início da fé e Igreja cristãs. Ex-cristão evangélico, agora agnóstico, Ehrman deixou de se interessar pela questão teológica de como Deus se tornou homem, e voltou-se para a questão histórica de como um homem virou Deus.

Più di duemila anni fa, in Palestina, un predicatore itinerante e sconosciuto, un uomo semplice, diventò agli occhi di molti il Figlio di Dio. Attorno alla sua parola nacque una chiesa destinata ad affermarsi rapidamente e con inaspettata fortuna, e ad acquisire un potere eccezionale: raccolta da narratori orali e seguaci, la sua testimonianza avrebbe raggiunto gli angoli più remoti della Terra. Che l''esistenza di Gesù di Nazaret sia una realtà è un''opinione sostanzialmente condivisa da storici e biblisti, ma a livello globale è diffuso un radicale scetticismo. Dai miticisti, convinti che la figura di Gesù appartenga al mito, ai teorici della cospirazione, che vedono in lui un clamoroso falso, un''invenzione della Chiesa delle origini prima e uno strumento di potere e di controllo sulle masse impugnato dalla Chiesa cattolica poi: i detrattori si rivelano una minoranza ostinata e rumorosa, capace di affermarsi in passato in paesi come l''Unione Sovietica e di conquistare attualmente un consenso crescente nel mondo occidentale. Dunque, Gesù è davvero esistito? Bart D. Ehrman, autorevole storico della Chiesa delle origini, affronta apertamente la domanda e prende in considerazione le prove che gli scettici più radicali portano a discredito della storicità di Gesù, analizzandole e confutandole in maniera rigorosa fino a costruire un¿indagine dettagliata, condotta con la precisione a cui Ehrman ha abituato i suoi lettori. Gli argomenti a favore della storicità di Gesù sono esposti con estrema chiarezza, attraverso un esame puntuale delle principali fonti a nostra disposizione: dai vangeli sinottici alle lettere di Paolo di Tarso, dalle opere di autori pagani quali Plinio il Giovane e Tacito ai Padri della Chiesa. L''immagine di Gesù che ne affiora è assai distante da quella coltivata da molti predicatori e teologi contemporanei: non rivoluzionario né marxista ante litteram, non eroe della controcultura né profeta di questioni etiche, sociali e politiche del nostro tempo, Gesù, così narrano le fonti, fu invece un predicatore ebreo apocalittico che prefigurò l''imminente intervento di Dio nella storia al fine di sgominare le forze del male e di instaurare qui, sulla terra, il suo regno giusto. E sebbene questa immagine, ammette Ehrman, non sia unanimemente condivisa dagli studiosi del Nuovo Testamento, una cosa è certa: Gesù di Nazaret è realmente esistito.

"Arguably the most distinctive feature of the early Christian literature," writes Bart Ehrman, "is the degree to which it was forged." The Homilies and Recognitions of Clement; Paul''s letters to and from Seneca; Gospels by Peter, Thomas, and Philip; Jesus'' correspondence with Abgar, letters by Peter and Paul in the New Testament--all forgeries. To cite just a few examples. Forgery and Counterforgery is the first comprehensive study of early Christian pseudepigrapha ever produced in English. In it, Ehrman argues that ancient critics--pagan, Jewish, and Christian--understood false authorial claims to be a form of literary deceit, and thus forgeries. Ehrman considers the extent of the phenomenon, the "intention" and motivations of ancient Greek, Roman, and Jewish forgers, and reactions to their work once detected. He also assesses the criteria ancient critics applied to expose forgeries and the techniques forgers used to avoid detection. With the wider practices of the ancient world as backdrop, Ehrman then focuses on early Christian polemics, as various Christian authors forged documents in order to lend their ideas a veneer of authority in literary battles waged with pagans, Jews, and, most importantly, with one another in internecine disputes over doctrine and practice. In some instances a forger directed his work against views found in another forgery, creating thereby a "counter-forgery." Ehrman''s evaluation of polemical forgeries starts with those of the New Testament (nearly half of whose books make a false authorial claim) up through the Pseudo-Ignatian epistles and the Apostolic Constitutions at the end of the fourth century. Shining light on an important but overlooked feature of the early Christian world, Forgery and Counterforgery explores the possible motivations of the deceivers who produced these writings, situating their practice within ancient Christian discourses on lying and deceit.

In Did Jesus Exist? historian and Bible expert Bart Ehrman confronts the question, "Did Jesus exist at all?" Ehrman vigorously defends the historical Jesus, identifies the most historically reliable sources for best understanding Jesus’ mission and message, and offers a compelling portrait of the person at the heart of the Christian tradition. Known as a master explainer with deep knowledge of the field, Bart Ehrman methodically demolishes both the scholarly and popular “mythicist” arguments against the existence of Jesus. Marshaling evidence from within the Bible and the wider historical record of the ancient world, Ehrman tackles the key issues that surround the mythologies associated with Jesus and the early Christian movement. In Did Jesus Exist?: The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth, Ehrman establishes the criterion for any genuine historical investigation and provides a robust defense of the methods required to discover the Jesus of history.

Bart D. Ehrman, the New York Times bestselling author of Jesus, Interrupted and God’s Problem reveals which books in the Bible’s New Testament were not passed down by Jesus’s disciples, but were instead forged by other hands—and why this centuries-hidden scandal is far more significant than many scholars are willing to admit. A controversial work of historical reporting in the tradition of Elaine Pagels, Marcus Borg, and John Dominic Crossan, Ehrman’s Forged delivers a stunning explication of one of the most substantial—yet least discussed—problems confronting the world of biblical scholarship.

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.

Addresses the issue of what the New Testament actually teaches-- and it''s not what most people think.

Featuring vibrant full color throughout, this new edition of A Brief Introduction to the New Testament is a concise version of Bart D. Ehrman''s best-selling The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings, Fourth Edition. Retaining the approach of the longer book 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. This edition features several new text boxes on fascinating topics; a new photo essay on important Greek manuscripts of the New Testament; updated content reflecting recent scholarship and discoveries, including the Gospel of Judas Iscariot; and much more

¿Cómo es posible que Dios, omnisciente y bondadoso, permita la guerra, la enfermedad, los desastres naturales, los abusos, el dolor y la muerte? Si Dios no es responsable de estas desgracias, ¿quién lo es? Solemos acudir a la Biblia cuando no encontramos respuesta a nuestras preguntas. Sin embargo, los textos sagrados no nos proporcionan una sola explicación, sino muchas, y a menudo controvertidas.

A top Bible scholar and "New York Times"-bestselling author of "Misquoting Jesus" challenges the varied and contradictory biblical explanations for why an all-powerful God allows suffering.