Let me offer a round-up of the latest Bart Ehrman and Christology blogging. Ehrman shared the first and second parts of his interview with Dale Tuggy:
Most Christians, however, have no idea that Ehrman’s book represents a genuine conversation among informed scholars. This is unfortunate. Nothing Ehrman is saying would surprise a biblical scholar at even the most conservative theological school. This knowledge gap constitutes a failure of educational ministry in the churches. We Christians should be learning to engage legitimate public conversations about Jesus, about the Bible, and about our faith. And we should attend to spiritual development that equips us to enter those conversations with humility and love.When a book like Ehrman’s upsets laypeople, it’s a symptom of important work that needs to be done in the church.
Daniel Kirk reviews Ehrman's book, with a second part and a third.
Dale Tuggy also discusses a third way in a common Christological debate, and Mike Kok offered his thoughts on the latest “Christology smackdown.”
Andrew Perriman critically engages the views of Chris Tilling and Simon Gathercole (as well as pointing out a review of the latter's earlier book). Ricky Carvel also mentioned one of Gathercole's claims.
At work in Ehrman’s books is an unrelenting attack directed against the fundamentalist understanding of the Bible. Ehrman is not attacking a straw man, for the object of his attacks does indeed exist. But his books address fundamentalist readings, not mainstream understandings of the Bible and the stories it tells.
Dustin Smith continues his multi-part review of Ehrman's book. Derek Leman shared his first impressions.
Mike Bird and Bart Ehrman both had articles on Faith Street. Bird also had things at BibleGateway, Christianity Today, and ABC.
See also Dale Tuggy's post on Hurtado and the early worship of Jesus, and Jeff Carter on debates about whether Jesus was an apocalypticist.
Of related interest, on the Gospel of Jesus' Wife fragment:
Liv Ingeborg Lied commented on one particularly interesting aspect of the GJW discussions – the role of scholarly blogs in the process.
Mark Goodacre hosted a response from Leo Depuydt on his blog, which the ETC blog also highlighted. Jim Davila finds the response problematic.
Also, don't miss Robert Mazza's treatment of this in connection with the broader question of private collectors' artifacts and scholars' work, and Candida Moss' article in The Daily Beast.
Finally, Conan O'Brien offered something that a papyrus fragment – rare video footage of Jesus' married life:
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In