Bart Ehrman
 

I was reading some readings when I came upon this discussion of Bart Ehrman whom I find interesting in interpreting Biblical passages.

Which by the way, if I wish to restart my efforts to learn ancient Greek, should I learn koine Greek or a different dialect?

http://labarum.net/?cat=20

I find the author may have interpreted Ehrman a little too harshly, but what are your opinions?

Ehrman is a scholar of the highest order. He makes a strong case against orthodoxy (one that I find persuasive), shines light on the political processes that shaped what was and wasn't included in the Bible, and relentlessly traces where the Bible (and especially the NT) has been tinkered with over the years.

Also, his positions allow Mormons and other non-orthodox groups to be considered Christians. You can see what orthodox theologians might object to...

I own and have very much enjoyed three of his books, Misquoting Jesus, Lost Christianities, and Lost Scriptures. I highly recommend them. Jay may find it useful to put the Misquoting book in dialectic with S.E. Robinson's work.

Thanks I'll check it out. I've been curious about the Misquoting Jesus book for a while.

I agree with SIEQ, and enjoyed all the books he mentioned. In addition, I think Ehrman's undergraduate textbook (The New Testament: A Historical Introduction) is a really nice introduction to modern scholarship on the New Testamant.

So if we were to make one of Ehrman's work our reading project, which one should we choose?

We read two works and could use an influx of new ideas. I'd also like to re-read Truth and Method, but I imagine that one might get a thumbs down.

I'd probably go with,

1. Misquoting Jesus
2. Lost Christianities

If you wanted a book to complement your NT study this year, I would go with,

1. Ehrman's "New Testament: A Historical Introduction"
2. Raymond E Brown's "Introduction to the the New Testament"

Here's a little bio on Ehrman:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bart_Ehrman

Bart D. Ehrman is a New Testament Scholar and an expert on Early Christianity. He received his Ph.D and M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary where he studied under Bruce Metzger. He currently serves as the chairperson of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was the President of the Southeast Region of the Society of Biblical Literature, and worked closely as an editor on a number of the Society's publications. Currently, he co-edits the series New Testament Tools and Studies.
Much of Ehrman's writing has concentrated on various aspects of Walter Bauer's thesis that Christianity was always diversified or at odds with itself. Ehrman is often considered a pioneer in connecting the history of the early church to textual variants within biblical manuscripts and in coining such terms as "Proto-orthodox Christianity." In his writings, Ehrman has turned around textual criticism. From the time of the Church Fathers, it was the heretics (Marcion, for example) that were charged with tampering with the biblical manuscripts. Ehrman theorizes that it was actually the Orthodox that "corrupted" the manuscripts. His scholarly output is extensive. He has authored or contributed to nineteen books.
Although Ehrman has a strong background in Evangelical Christianity, having attending both Moody Bible Institute and Wheaton College (B.A., 1978), his personal beliefs have shifted over time. Ehrman now considers himself an agnostic. He appeared on The Colbert Report in 2006 to promote his book Misquoting Jesus and was jokingly called an "atheist without balls" (alluding to his agnosticism) on national television by Stephen Colbert.
Ehrman has two children, a daughter, Kelly, and a son, Derek. He is married to Sarah Beckwith (Ph.D., King's College London), Marcello Lotti Professor of English at Duke University.
In March of 2006, Ehrman and theologian William Lane Craig engaged in a debate entitled "Is There Historical Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus?" on the campus of the College of the Holy Cross, with Ehrman arguing the opposing position. Following the event, Ehrman's publisher, along with Craig, expressed interest in publishing the transcript in book form. However, Ehrman declined. [1] [2] [3] In June of 2006, a transcript of the debate was made available on the college's website. [4]

Ehrman
 

"Orthodox corruption of scripture" was very well done. Two thumbs up.

Regarding Raymond Brown
 

I agree with his introduction to the New Testament as being superb. Also, all of his books on John are well done.