Bible: Can New Testament possibly be true?

Bart D. Ehrman, April 2023 and December 2022; Eds., Wisdom Quarterly

Armageddon: What the Bible Really Says About the End (Audible Audio Edition)

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New York Times bestselling Biblical scholar Bart Ehrman reveals why our popular understanding of the Apocalypse is all wrong — and why that matters. We find nearly everything the Bible has to say 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 whether we understand this book of the Bible 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, what we think Revelation reveals…is almost certainly wrong.

• Ancient fragments of New Testament manuscript uncovered

In his new book Armageddon, acclaimed New Testament authority Prof. Bart D. Ehrman delves into the most misunderstood — and possibly the most dangerous — book of the Bible, exploring the horrifying social and political consequences of expecting an imminent apocalypse and offering a fascinating tour through three millennia of Judeo-Christian thinking about how our world will end.

By turns hilarious, moving, troubling, and provocative, Armageddon presents inspiring insights into how to live our lives in the face of an uncertain future and reveals what the Bible really says about the end.

Could Bible's New Testament possibly be true?

(Bart D. Ehrman) Many people say that the Christian Bible's New Testament cannot be true because we don’t know exactly what the authors originally wrote, or because there are contradictions in it, or because some of the books were not actually written by their alleged [illiterate] authors, or because there are historical mistakes.

Megan Lewis with Dr. Bart D. Ehrman

But even if these things are true, does that mean the New Testament cannot be true – on some level? Bart Ehrman and Megan Lewis discuss: Why is the question of the "truth" of the New Testament important?

If it is "true," in what sense? Is truth in fiction the same as truth in nonfiction? Does the fact that we don't know who wrote the Gospels impact their "truth"?

If a book of the Bible is a forgery, does that make it necessarily untrue? The question of authorship versus veracity is complicated.

If one part of a writing is verifiably true, does mean it's all true? What kind of questions do historians try to verify? What criteria do historians use to determine genre (what is history, what is poetry, etc.)?

The Gospels are biographies, but are not trying to tell an objective, chronological story. Ancient writers were interested in getting at the essence of a person, rather than the particular historical details of his life.

If people read the Gospels as history rather than as they were intended, they miss the message of the writer. The Book of Revelation is a particular genre, not meant as prophetic literature.

Paul's Epistles ARE meant to be read as factual. Some people read the Bible like a Ouija board; some cherry-pick it like a jigsaw puzzle.

Is the response of the modern reader a kind of truth? Can it lead to bad interpretations?

Listeners' questions:

• If a scribe changes a text, is that divinely inspired?
• When did Christians start believing the scriptures were inerrant (infallible)?
• Does Paul think men and women are equal when he says, "in Christ, there is no male or female..."?
• First Corinthians 15:29 talks about baptizing the dead. Did Paul intend people to do this?

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