In all four gospels, Jesus conducted a miraculous ministry, leads a circle of disciples, draws the ire of religious authorities, is crucified, and rises from the dead. Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the Synoptic Gospels, portray Jesus as the Son of God, a healer and exorcist who told parables about the Kingdom of God and coming Judgment. The identity of Jesus as the Messiah is kept secret, except to chosen disciples. For example, the current generation was denied any sign in Mark, or given only the Sign of Jonah in Matthew and Luke. John portrays Jesus as the physical incarnation of the Logos, or Divine Word. The Jesus of John tells no parables, demonstrates his divine identity with seven signs, and speaks at length about himself. John makes no direct reference to the synoptic concept of a coming judgment.

Genealogy and family

The Gospels give two different accounts of the genealogy of Jesus through Joseph. Both accounts trace his line back to King David and from there to Abraham. These lists are identical between Abraham and David, but they differ between David and Joseph. Matthew starts with Solomon and proceeds through the kings of Judah to the last king, Jeconiah. After Jeconiah the line of kings terminated when Babylon conquered Judah. Thus, Matthew presents Jesus as the heir to the throne of Israel. The genealogy of Luke is longer than that of Matthew; has more names between David and Jesus, and traces the line back to Adam, the traditional first human being. Joseph is not mentioned in Mark, the earliest Gospel; there Jesus is referred to as 'the son of Mary.' With Jesus commending Mary into the care of the beloved disciple during his crucifixion; later Christian tradition suggested that he had died by the time of Jesus' ministry. Both Matthew 13:55–56 and Mark 6:3 though this passage has been suggested as an interpolation (see Josephus on Jesus). Additionally, the Christian historian Eusebius (who wrote in the 4th century but quoted earlier sources that are now lost) refers to James the Just as the brother of Jesus (see Desposyni). However, Epiphanius argued that they were "Joseph's children by his (unrecorded) first wife", while Jerome argued that they were "Jesus' cousins". The Greek word adelphos in these verses is translated as brother in many Bible translations. However, the word can refer to any familial relation, and Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions, along with certain other Christians, contend, in accordance with their belief in the perpetual virginity of Mary, that the correct translation of adelphos is kinsman and suppose it to refer to cousins or at most half-brothers.

The Gospel of Luke states that Mary was a relative of Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist, though the exact relationship is unspecified and may be an invention of the author of the Gospel..

Nativity and childhood

According to Matthew and Luke, Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea to Mary, a virgin, by a miracle of the Holy Spirit. In the Gospel of Luke, the angel Gabriel tells Mary that she was chosen to bear the Son of God, the Annunciation). According to Luke, an order of Caesar Augustus forced Mary and Joseph to leave their homes in Nazareth and come to the home of Joseph's ancestors, the house of David, for a census. After Jesus' birth the couple had to use a manger for a crib because there was no room for them in the town's inn or family guest room. Depends on which translation from Greek is used; "inn" may be "guest room", see Luke 22:11 According to Luke 2:8–20,, an angel spread the word of Jesus' birth to shepherds who came to see the newborn child and subsequently publicised throughout the area what they had witnessed (see The First Noël).

The story in the Gospel of Matthew has largely different details. This account tells of the "Wise Men" or "Magi" who brought gifts to the infant Jesus after following a star which they believed was a sign that the Messiah, or King of the Jews, had been born.

Jesus' childhood home is stated in the Bible to have been the town of Nazareth in Galilee, and aside from a flight to Egypt in infancy to escape Herod's Massacre of the Innocents and a short trip to Tyre and Sidon, all other events in the Gospels are set in ancient Israel. Luke's Finding in the Temple is the only event between Jesus' infancy and adult life mentioned in any of the canonical Gospels, although New Testament apocrypha fill in the details of this time, some quite extensively.

Because of the divergence between the accounts and the mythic nature of some of the details, many modern scholars regard the nativity stories as pious fictions. Matthew's accounts emphasize Jesus' identity as the King of the Jews, such as with the visit of the wise men. Luke's account emphasizes Jesus' humble origins, such as when the shepherds adore him in the manger. Mark begins with Jesus' baptism. John begins with the Logos at the beginning of creation. Neither of these gospels discusses Jesus' nativity or childhood.

Baptism and temptation

's The Temptation of Christ]]

All four gospels describe Jesus as present at John the Baptist's ministry of baptism.

The Gospel of Mark begins with the Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist, which Biblical scholars describe as the beginning of Jesus' public ministry. According to Mark, Jesus came to the Jordan River where John the Baptist had been preaching and baptising people in the crowd. In Luke, Jesus is merely another member of the crowd that had come to see John, and is baptised by an unnamed individual that may or may not be John. While Matthew and Mark report that Jesus seeks out John to be baptised by him. After Jesus had been baptised and rose from the water, Mark states Jesus "saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, 'You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased'" Luke adds the chronological details that John the Baptist had begun preaching in the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar, c. 28 and that Jesus was about thirty years old when he was baptised . Matthew adds to the other accounts by describing an attempt by John to decline the baptism, saying that it is Jesus who should baptise John. Jesus insisted however, claiming that baptism was necessary to "fulfill all righteousness." In John's gospel it is John the Baptist who has the vision of the dove/Holy Spirit and who recognises Jesus as being "the lamb of God" and the Christ, while the actual baptism is not explicitly mentioned.

Following his baptism, according to Matthew, Jesus was led into the desert by God where he fasted for forty days and forty nights. During this time the devil appeared to him and tempted Jesus to demonstrate his supernatural powers as proof of his divinity, each temptation being refused by Jesus with a quote of scripture from the Book of Deuteronomy. In all, he was tempted three times. The Gospels state that having failed, the devil departed and angels came and brought nourishment to Jesus.

Mark's account is very brief, merely noting the aforementioned events, but giving no details about them, not even how many there were. Matthew and Luke, on the other hand, describe the temptations by recounting the details of the conversations between Jesus and the devil.

Both the Baptism and the Temptation are included in Matthew, Mark and Luke (the Synoptic Gospels) and the Gospel of the Hebrews (noncanonical Gospel), but there is no mention of these events in the Gospel of John.

Ministry

, 1449.]]

The Gospels state that Jesus is the Messiah, "Son of God", and "Lord and God", sent to "give his life as a ransom for many" and "preach the good news of the kingdom of God." The Gospels also state that Jesus travelled as a wandering rabbi and performed various miracles, including healings, exorcisms, walking on water, turning water into wine, and raising several people, such as Lazarus, from the dead.

The Gospel of John describes three different passover feasts over the course of Jesus' ministry. This implies that Jesus preached for a period of three years, although some interpretations of the Synoptic Gospels suggest a span of only one year. The focus of his ministry was toward his closest adherents, the Twelve Apostles, though many of his followers were considered disciples. At the height of his ministry, Jesus attracted huge crowds numbering in the thousands, primarily in the areas of Galilee (in modern-day northern Israel, though he was unsuccessful in his hometown and Perea (in modern-day western Jordan), most notably in Capernaum. Jesus led what many believe to have been an apocalyptic following.

Some of Jesus' most famous teachings come from the Sermon on the Mount, which contains the Beatitudes and the Lord's Prayer. During his sermons he preached against anger, lust, divorce, oaths and revenge. Some aspects of Jesus' teachings were traditional, but other aspects were not. He advocated and adhered to the Law of Moses. According to Matthew 5:17–19 Jesus stated, "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill." However, Jesus also expounded on Mosaic Law and taught what he said was a new commandment. Jesus advocated, among other things, turning the other cheek, love for one's enemies as well as friends, and the need to follow the spirit of the law in addition to the letter.

In the Synoptics, Jesus often used parables, such as the Prodigal Son and the Parable of the Sower. His teachings centered on unconditional, self-sacrificing love for God and for all people. He also preached about service and humility, the forgiveness of sin, pacifism, faith, and attaining everlasting life in "The Kingdom of God". He preached an apocalyptic message, saying that the end of the current world would come unexpectedly; as such, he called on his followers to be ever alert and faithful. The Olivet Discourse is an example of this.

In John, Jesus speaks at length about himself without using parables. He defines his own divine role in secret speeches to his disciples. and that non-violence should be used to combat violence. He said that he gives peace to those who believe in him, yet he warned that he was bringing strife to the world, setting family members against one another.

Jesus also debated with other religious leaders. He disagreed with the Sadducees because they did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. The relationship between Jesus and the Pharisees is more complex. Although Jesus condemned the Pharisees for their hypocrisy, he also dined with Pharisees, taught in their synagogues, specified their teachings to his followers, and counted Pharisees such as Nicodemus among his disciples.

Jesus' critics claimed he was a drunk and a glutton, who often shared meals with society's outcasts, such as prostitutes and publicans (Imperial tax collectors despised for extorting money), including the apostle Matthew; when the Pharisees objected to meeting with sinners rather than the righteous, Jesus replied that it was the sick who need a physician, not the healthy. According to Luke and John, Jesus also made efforts to extend his ministry to the Samaritans, who followed a different form of the Israelite religion. This is reflected in his preaching to the Samaritans of Sychar, resulting in their conversion.

In the Synoptics, Jesus enjoins demons and mortals not to reveal his identity as the Son of God (see Messianic secret). In Mark, the current generation will be given no sign to demonstrate Jesus' authority (8:12). In Matthew and Luke, the current generation would be given only one sign, the Sign of Jonah. John portrays Jesus performing a series of miracles specifically as signs (in the so-called Signs Gospel).

All four Gospels record Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem at the end of his ministry. This was during the Passover Feast (15 Nisan; in the spring) according to John 12:12–19. The Hosanna shout and the waving of palm fronds were ordinarily part of the feast of Sukkoth (15 Tishri; autumn), but appear to have been moved by the followers of Jesus to Passover, perhaps because of their Messianic associations.

Arrest, trial, and death

in Passionary of Christ and Antichrist.]] The narrative of Jesus and the Money Changers occurs in both the Synoptic Gospels and in the Gospel of John, although it occurs close to the end of the Synoptic Gospels but close to the start in John 2:12-25. In the episode Jesus is stated to have visited the Temple in Jerusalem, Herod's Temple, at which the courtyard is described as being filled with livestock, which were sold for use in the Temple, and the tables of the money changers, who changed other currencies into the Jewish half shekel, which was the only coinage allowed in Temple ceremonies . According to the Gospels, Jesus took offence to this, and drives out the livestock, scatters the coins of the money changers, and turns over their tables and those of the people selling doves. In the synoptics Jesus begins his journey to Jerusalem upon a colt. Matthew, citing Zachariah 9:9, claims Jesus rode not only a colt, but also a donkey, and simultaneously. The synoptics also mention three other Old Testament references. The crowds greet Jesus by repeating the verses of Psalm 118:26. And after over turning the money tables, Jesus chastises the money changers with a combination of Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11: "It is written, 'My house will be called a house of prayer,' but you are making it a den of robbers" (Matt 21:13; Mark 11:17; Luke 19:46).

According to the synoptic Gospels, Jesus ate a meal, called The Last Supper, with his disciples before going to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane (the Last Supper in John's gospel occurs possibly two years after the overturning of the tables). This meal was possibly the Passover Seder. In the course of the Last Supper, according to the synoptics (but not John), Jesus divides up some bread, says grace, and hands the pieces to his disciples, saying, "This is my body". He then takes a cup of wine, says grace, and hands it around, saying, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured for many". Finally, he tells the disciples, "Do this in remembrance of me".

While in the garden, Jesus was arrested by Roman soldiers on the orders of the Sanhedrin and the high priest, Caiaphas (cited later in Matt 26:65–67). The authorities had decided to arrest Jesus, since some of them had come to consider him a threat to their power because of his growing popularity, his new interpretations of scripture, and his revelations of their hypocrisy. The arrest took place clandestinely at night to avoid a riot, because Jesus was popular with the people at large. According to the synoptics, Judas Iscariot, one of his apostles, betrayed Jesus by identifying him to the guards with a kiss. By John's account Jesus identified himself to the guards with the words "I am he." Another apostle (identified as Simon Peter in John 18:10 used a sword to attack one of the captors, cutting off his ear, which, according to Luke, Jesus immediately healed. Jesus rebuked the apostle, stating, "All they that take the sword shall perish with the sword." After his arrest Jesus' apostles went into hiding. The high priests and elders asked Jesus, "Are you the Son of God?" and upon Jesus' reply of "You say that I am", Jesus was condemned for blasphemy by the Sanhedrin. The high priests then turned him over to the Roman Prefect Pontius Pilate, based on an accusation of sedition for claiming to be King of the Jews.

depiction of Pontius Pilate presenting a scourged Jesus of Nazareth to the people of Jerusalem]] While before Pilate, Jesus was questioned "Are you the king of the Jews?" to which he replied, "It is as you say." According to the Gospels, Pilate personally felt that Jesus was not guilty of any crime against the Romans, and since there was a custom at Passover for the Roman governor to free a prisoner (a custom not recorded outside the Gospels and questioned by scholars), Pilate offered the crowd a choice between Jesus of Nazareth and an insurrectionist named Barabbas (the name means "Son of the Father" in Aramaic). The crowd chose to have Barabbas freed and Jesus crucified. According to Matthew, Pilate washed his hands to display that he himself was innocent of the injustice of the decision. Pilate, attempting to placate the crowd, had Jesus scourged. The crowd demanded that Jesus be crucified, and Pilate relented. At some point Roman soldiers fashioned a crown out of thorns and placed it on Jesus' head.

All four Gospels say Pilate then ordered Jesus to be crucified with a charge placed atop the cross (known as the titulus crucis) which read something along the lines of "King of the Jews", depending on the gospel account. (The titulus crucis is often written as INRI, the Latin acronym.) Having carried his own cross (according to John), Jesus was crucified on Golgotha. According to the Gospel of Luke, as he was crucified, Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; they know not what they do." As he hung on the cross, he was mocked by passers-by and given a drink of wine vinegar. According to the Gospel of John, he was visited by his mother and others; then his death was confirmed by a Roman soldier piercing his side with a spear ().

According to Matthew and Mark, his last words were "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" which is Aramaic for "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (taken from Psalm 22); according to John 19:30, "It is finished"; and according to Luke 23:46, "Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit", see also Sayings of Jesus on the cross. Luke states that all the multitudes who had witnessed Jesus' crucifixion were sorrowful.

According to all four Gospels, Jesus died before late afternoon, and the wealthy Judean Joseph of Arimathea, according to Mark 15:42 and Luke 23:50-56 a member of the Sanhedrin, received Pilate's permission to take possession of Jesus' body, placing it in a tomb. According to John, Joseph was joined in burying Jesus by Nicodemus, who appears in other parts of John's gospel. The synoptic gospels tell of an earthquake and of the darkening of the sky from twelve until three that afternoon.

Resurrection and Ascension

According to the New Testament, "God raised him [Jesus] from the dead", he ascended to heaven, to the "right hand of God", and will return again to fulfil the rest of Messianic prophecy such as the Resurrection of the dead, the Last Judgment and establishment of the Kingdom of God, see also Messianism and Messianic Age. The Gospel of Matthew states that an angel appeared near the tomb of Jesus and announced his resurrection to the women who had arrived to anoint the body. According to Luke it was two angels, and according to Mark it was a youth dressed in white. The sight of this angel had apparently left the Roman guards unconscious. According to Matthew 27:62-66 the high priests and Pharisees, with Pilate's permission, had posted guards in front of the tomb to prevent the body from being stolen by Jesus' disciples. Mark 16:9 states that on the morning of his resurrection, Jesus first appeared to Mary Magdalene. John 20:11 states that when Mary looked into the tomb, two angels asked her why she was crying; and as she turned round, she initially failed to recognise Jesus until he spoke her name.

The Acts of the Apostles tell that Jesus appeared to various people in various places over the next forty days. Hours after his resurrection, he appeared to two travellers on the road to Emmaus. To his assembled disciples, he showed himself on the evening after his resurrection. I Corinthians 15:7, the Gospel of the Hebrews, and some other ancient sources mention he appeared to his adelphos Jacob ("James" in most English Bibles). According to John 20:24-29, during one of these visits, Jesus' disciple Thomas initially doubted the resurrection, but after being invited to place his finger in Jesus' pierced side, said to him, "My Lord and my God!" Thereafter, Jesus went to Galilee and showed himself to several of his disciples by the lake and on the mountain. These disciples were present when he returned to Mount Olivet, between Bethany and Jerusalem. Although his own ministry had been specifically to the lost sheep of Israel, Jesus sent his apostles to the Gentiles with the Great Commission and then ascended to heaven while a cloud concealed him from their sight. According to Acts, Paul of Tarsus, who called himself the Apostle to the Gentiles, also saw Jesus during his Road to Damascus experience. Jesus is sitting at God's right hand and promises to come again to fulfil the remainder of Messianic prophecy.

See also

Notes and references

Further reading

Category:Perspectives on Jesus Category:Biblical exegesis

Shoebat's account of his life

Supposed bombing of Bank Leumi

The Jerusalem Post also disputed the authenticity of Shoebat's account of his terrorist history. The paper stated that Shoebat claimed bombing has been rejected both by Bank Leumi, which claims no such attack took place, and by Shoebat's own relatives. The Post said that Shoebat had contradicted himself on this matter. When, in 2008, the Jerusalem Post asked him if there were news reports about the bombing, he said,

On April 9, 2008, Shoebat responded to the Jerusalem Post's skepticism on that paper's op-ed page. He wrote that the Jerusalem Post had been duped and that the sources they interviewed who disputed his own account of his upbringing, including his relatives, were themselves involved in terrorism, and want to see him discredited. He also claims that reporter did not interview reputable witnesses offered to him who would confirm the bombing operation of Bank Leumi. He also posted a response on his website.

Views

Shoebat gives lectures to local police departments regarding his belief that "most Muslims seek to impose sharia law in the United States. To prevent this, he said in an interview, he warns officers that 'you need to look at the entire pool of Muslims in a community.'"

He is the founder of the Walid Shoebat Foundation, an organization that claims to "work to fight for Israel in the Media [sic]."

Shoebat believes Israel should retake the Gaza Strip, as it is Jewish by right. He says, "if a Jew has no right to Gaza, then he has no right to Jaffa or Haifa either." He advocates that Israel deport anyone who denies its right to exist, "even if they were born there."

See also

Documentaries Involving/Featuring Walid Shoebat

References

External links

Videos

Category:American Christians Category:Anti-Islam sentiment Category:Blogs critical of Islam Category:Blogs about Muslims and Islam Category:Converts to Protestantism from Islam Category:Criticism of Islam Category:Islam-related controversies Category:Islamic fundamentalism Category:Islamic terrorism Category:Living people Category:Muslim views Category:Palestinian Christians Category:Palestinian former Muslims Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Palestinian political writers Category:Arab Zionists

Biography

Newcombe's powerful serve and volley was the backbone of his attacking game. He frequently came up with a second-serve ace. He was the top ranked amateur in the world in 1967 according to Lance Tingay, although Rex Bellamy ranked him second behind Roy Emerson. As a professional, Newcombe was the joint world number one player in 1970 and 1971. In singles play, he was a two-time winner of the Australian Open, a three-time winner of Wimbledon, and a two-time winner of the US Open.

As a member of Lamar Hunt's World Championship Tennis professional tour group and the players' union, he was banned by the International Tennis Federation from competing in the 1972 Wimbledon Championships and he boycotted the event in 1973.

Newcombe was the last of the Australians who dominated tennis in the 1950s and 1960s. In his 1979 autobiography, Jack Kramer, the long-time tennis promoter and great player himself, included Newcombe in his list of the 21 greatest players of all time, and also considered Newcombe to have the best second serve in tennis history.

Newcombe hosted the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympic Games (Australian broadcast) for Channel 10.

Newcombe lives in a north shore suburb of Sydney, Australia. He is a republican.

Distinctions

Notes

See also

External links

Category:Australian Championships (tennis) champions Category:Australian male tennis players Category:Australian republicans Category:Australian Open (tennis) champions Category:Australian sports broadcasters Category:French Championships (tennis) champions Category:French Open champions Category:People from the North Shore, Sydney Category:People from Sydney Category:Tennis commentators Category:International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees Category:Tennis people from New South Wales Category:United States National champions (tennis) Category:United States Open champions (tennis) Category:Wimbledon champions Category:Wimbledon champions (pre-Open Era) Category:World No. 1 tennis players Category:1944 births Category:Living people

Biography

As his mother was in hospital, he promised to devote himself to God if he would heal her. She recovered, and at 17 he was ordained in the Disciples of Christ denomination.

In 1943, he entered the unaccredited Ozark Bible college in Bentonville, Arkansas, but studied there for only one year. He later received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Pikes Peak Bible Seminary in 1957, and a theology degree from Burton College and Seminary in Colorado in 1958. In 1961 he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Bob Jones University. In the mid 1950's, Hargis was closely associated with Carl McIntire, but he increasingly went his own way. In 1957, the Disciples Of Christ withdrew his ordination, but by then he had established a platform of his own.

Positions and activities

Hargis alleged that John F. Kennedy was killed by a Communist conspiracy, gaining him notoriety in the immediate post-assassination media furor. He was a member of the John Birch Society. Hargis favored segregation, accused Martin Luther King Jr. of being a Communist-educated traitor, and published James D. Bales's anti-King book, The Martin Luther King Story. He demanded that America leave the United Nations. Hargis urged his listeners to write to their Representatives and Senators, and was one of the first fundamentalist Christian personalities to urge his audiences to become politically involved, a tactic that was not lost on his successors.

Hargis targeted rural audiences with his pulpit-pounding, thunderous messages, and engaged in publicity stunts such as his Carl McIntire's 1953 scheme to release 100,000 balloons with Biblical quotations attached to them, across the Iron Curtain into Communist countries. He was the author of at least 100 books, including The Far Left, and Why I Fight for a Christian America. In addition, his organization published an extremely influential pamphlet on sex education entitled Is the School House the Proper Place to Teach Raw Sex? by Gordon V. Drake, who worked very closely with him on his educational mission.

He had an indirect part in a United States Supreme Court ruling that affirmed the Fairness Doctrine in American broadcasting. In 1964, Hargis, who was a staunch supporter of Republican Senator Barry Goldwater in that year's presidential race, used his radio program to attack journalist Fred J. Cook, who had written a book that was sharply critical of Goldwater. Cook requested air time in order to deliver a rebuttal to Hargis' statements, but the broadcaster refused. The journalist took his case to court, and eventually the case went all the way to the Supreme Court. In 1969, the high court upheld the FCC's "equal-time provision" in Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. Federal Communications Commission, codifying what became known as the Fairness Doctrine.Time Magazine gave the scandal publicity in 1976. The local newspapers, the Tulsa Daily World and the Tulsa Tribune, declined to publish the accusations. Hargis stepped down as president of American Christian College after members of Hargis' youth choir, the "All American Kids", accused Hargis of sexual misconduct as well. In September 1975, he returned to other ministries, who welcomed him after he, reportedly, had repented from his sins, and because his name was an irreplaceable asset.

References

External links

Bart D. Ehrman is an American New Testament scholar, currently the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Ehrman writes about the early Christians, using the term "proto-orthodox" to describe the Christian traditions that would later be defined as orthodox. He describes first- and second-century Christians as not yet having a unified, orthodox tradition. His graduate studies, however, eventually convinced him that the Bible makes more sense when one acknowledges its contradictions than when one creates elaborate explanations to reconcile them. He remained a Christian for 15 years but later became an agnostic because of the problem of suffering, or theodicy. In his writings, Ehrman has turned around textual criticism. From the time of the Church Fathers, it was those denounced as heretics (Marcion, for example) who were charged with tampering with the biblical manuscripts. Ehrman theorizes that it was more often the orthodox that "corrupted" the manuscripts, altering the text to promote particular viewpoints.

Ehrman became an Evangelical Christian as a teen. His desire to understand the original words of the Bible led him to the study of ancient languages and to textual criticism, to which he attributes the inspiration for an ongoing critical exploration of the basis of his own religious beliefs, which in turn gradually led to the questioning of his faith in the Bible as the inerrant, unchanging word of God. He now considers himself an agnostic. Nevertheless, Ehrman has kept ongoing dialogue with evangelicals. In March 2006, he joined theologian William Lane Craig in public debate on the question "Is There Historical Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus?" on the campus of the College of the Holy Cross. In April 2008, Ehrman and evangelical New Testament scholar Daniel B. Wallace participated in a public dialogue on the textual reliability of the New Testament. In January 2009, Dr. Ehrman debated Dr. James White, Director of Alpha and Omega Ministries, an Evangelical Reformed Baptist scholar on "Did the Bible Mis-Quote Jesus?"

He has authored or contributed to more than twenty books. In 2006 and 2009 he appeared on The Colbert Report, as well as The Daily Show, to promote his books Misquoting Jesus, and Jesus, Interrupted (respectively).

In 2007, he gave a speech at Stanford University in which he discussed the textual inconsistencies of the New Testament, and also took questions from the audience. He regularly conducts similar sessions through the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Adventures in Ideas seminars. He has also made several guest appearances on National Public Radio (NPR) including the show Fresh Air in February 2008 to discuss his book God's Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question-Why We Suffer and in March 2009 to discuss his book Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible (and Why We Don't Know About Them).

Professional awards received include the Students' Undergraduate Teaching Award, The Ruth and Philip Hettleman Prize for Artistic and Scholarly Achievement, and The Bowman and Gordon Gray Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Works

In 1999 Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium was released as a study on the historical Jesus. Ehrman argues that the historical Jesus was an apocalyptic preacher, and that his apocalyptic beliefs are recorded in the earliest Christian documents: the Gospel of Mark and the authentic Pauline epistles. The earliest Christians believed Jesus would soon return, and their beliefs are echoed in the earliest Christian writings.

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." Ehrman brought this thesis, and textual criticism in general, to the lay public through his popular level work Misquoting Jesus.

Evangelical commentators have been critical of Ehrman's thesis on textual criticism. Daniel B. Wallace, Executive Director of the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts, wrote, "Unfortunately, as careful a scholar as Ehrman is, his treatment of major theological changes in the text of the New Testament tends to fall under one of two criticisms: Either his textual decisions are wrong, or his interpretation is wrong." Wallace also wrote, "One almost gets the impression that he is encouraging the Chicken Littles in the Christian community to panic at data that they are simply not prepared to wrestle with." Wallace also wrote that "Most of the book (chs. 1–4) is basically a popular introduction to the field, and a very good one at that." Craig Blomberg, a conservative evangelical at Denver Seminary in Colorado, wrote that "Most of Misquoting Jesus is actually a very readable, accurate distillation of many of the most important facts about the nature and history of textual criticism, presented in a lively and interesting narrative that will keep scholarly and lay interest alike." On his blog, Ben Witherington III criticized the book's research writing "It is not sufficient to reply that Bart is writing for a popular audience and thus we would not expect much scholarly discussion even in the footnotes. Even in a work of this sort, we would expect some good up to date bibliography for those disposed to do further study, not merely copious cross-references to one’s other popular level books."

Personal life

Bibliography

References

External links

Category:American academics Category:American agnostics Category:American religion academics Category:Biblical scholars Category:Moody Bible Institute Category:People from the Research Triangle, North Carolina Category:Princeton Theological Seminary alumni Category:Former Protestants Category:University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty Category:Wheaton College (Illinois) alumni Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people Category:People from Lawrence, Kansas