Misquoting Jesus with Bart Ehrman

Christopher Frilingos, expert on the Proto-Gospel of James, discusses the miraculous birth and young life of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The podcast explores traditions within Catholic and Orthodox faiths, including Mary's perpetual virginity and upbringing in the temple. Unique details from the Proto-Gospel, such as Mary's postpartum inspection, are highlighted, providing insight into the narrative's significance.

Explore the challenges of finding meaning without God, homemade gifting and ancient philosophies, challenges of deconverting, discovering meaning through understanding oneself and others, origins and purpose of a blog about early Christianity, origins of Jesus' resurrection and growth of the early church, and personal journey of finding meaning after leaving the Christian faith.

The podcast discusses the origins and significance of the Virgin Birth, debunks misconceptions about its roots, explores the differences and contradictions in the biblical accounts, examines the concept of perpetual virginity in Christianity, delves into the portrayal of Mary's virginity in the Bible, and challenges the traditional belief of Joseph as Jesus' father. It also explores Jesus's beliefs about his future role, the role of the Bible in Christian belief, and the relevance of the topic as Christmas approaches.

Exploring the limitations placed on God by Christians, the podcast discusses theological concepts, biblical interpretations, and the differences between monotheism and polytheism. It also explores the relationship between biblical passages and modern social topics, the decline of abilities and humanities, and the need for logical thinking in religious views.

For over five centuries (going back to Martin Luther!) many readers of the New Testament have maintained that the letter of James flat-out contradicts the teachings of Paul, that a person is made right with God only by faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus. James insists that a person is not justified by faith alone, but by doing good works; but Paul argues with equal passion that a person is justified by faith in Christ and not by doing works of the law. So... aren't these views at direct odds? Bart's views may seem surprising....

An intriguing discussion about the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, which contains stories of a mischievous young Jesus. They explore the authorship and attribution of the gospel, debunk forged gospels, and delve into the childhood stories. The gospel depicts Jesus performing miracles, cursing people, and engaging with teachers, similar to biblical prophets. The podcast also discusses the message of the gospel, affirming the value of family.

The podcast explores whether Jesus could read and write based on historical plausibility and the limited evidence in the New Testament. It analyzes ancient literacy rates, the role of writing in Judaism, and the challenges of determining Jesus' literacy as a rural Galilean. The podcast also touches on the authorship of the New Testament Gospels and introduces a new course launch and 'Outsmart Bart' segment discussing early Christian texts and Jesus' literacy in relation to the development of Christianity.

The podcast delves into the fear of death, its portrayal in ancient literature, and its influence on the development of Christianity. It explores the appeal of an afterlife as an incentive for non-Christians to convert. Additionally, it discusses the radicalization of Jesus' ethics, translation discrepancies in his sayings, the importance of using parallel versions of the gospels, and the influence of the fear of death on ancient Judaism and early Christianity.

Exploring the evolution of early Christianity, reliability of the Book of Acts, disciples' activities, growth of Christian community, belief in Jesus' resurrection, origins of Christianity, upcoming webinar on authorship of New Testament Gospels, Bart's recent activities, motivations and ironies in writing about Christianity, copying patterns in New Testament and growth of Christianity

For our 52nd episode -- our one-year anniversary! -- we will be having a live Q&A with Bart. Questioners have submitted questions, some out of the many have been chosen, Megan will host the event, and questioners will ask their questions live, to hear Bart's responses! A special time of celebration as we (also) reflect on our Year One!