Misquoting Jesus with Bart Ehrman

Easter is fast approaching, and while children everywhere are looking forward to chocolate eggs, the minds of many Christians are turning to Jesus' resurrection. Today, Dr. Bart Ehrman joins me to answer audience questions about Jesus' crucifixion, and what happened after.

We've been talking a lot about the revolutionary message of altruism in Jesus' teachings recently - but how do we know what the historical Jesus actually taught? Today, Dr. Bart Ehrman joins me to discuss exactly how scholars reconstruct his message.

Jesus' most famous commandment might be to "love thy neighbour" - but what exactly does "love" mean, and how do you love your neighbour? Today, Dr. Bart Ehrman joins me to talk about the different meanings of love in the New Testament, and how that informs our understanding of Jesus' teachings.

Bart's newest book, Love Thy Stranger, will be released on March 24th - but really, how much can you say about Jesus' impact on the moral conscience of the west? As it turns out, quite a lot - and this week, we'll be getting into exactly what you can expect to read.

The difference between right and wrong and how to live a good life has been a matter of debate for millennia. In the ancient world, different schools of philosophers subscribed to different theories - but were these discussions something that Jesus would have been aware of? Today, Dr. Bart Ehrman joins me to discuss ethics in Jesus' time.

What did it mean to be a good person in the ancient world, and what did ancient cultures say about how we should treat one another? Today, Dr. Bart Ehrman joins me to discuss Jesus' teachings, the cultural norms of his time, and how early Christians changed his message.

The writer of Luke's gospel drew heavily on the gospel of Mark - but was very careful to remove any idea of atonement - the concept that Jesus died in the place of others. Today, Dr. Bart Ehrman joins me to discuss why he did that, and what purpose he thought Jesus' death served instead.

It's well-known Christian tradition that the apostles Peter and Paul were both crucified as a result of their Christian faith, but what does history have to say about those legends? Today, Dr. Bart Ehrman joins me to talk about the texts behind the tradition, and what we know about the execution of early Christian leaders.

Q is a hypothetical source for the gospels of Matthew and Luke - but did it exist, and if it did, why are there no fragments of it? Today, Dr. Bart Ehrman joins me to answer YOUR questions about Q.

The original manuscript of the gospel of Luke may have looked entirely different from the one you might be familiar with - to start with, it might have lacked the first two chapters entirely. Today, Dr. Bart Ehrman joins me to discuss what was added - or removed - and why.

The first followers of Jesus were Jewish, and followed Jewish law. After Jesus' death, gentiles started to convert to Christianity - along with additional Jewish members. Did these new converts need to follow Jewish law, and keep kosher? Today, Dr. Bart Ehrman joins me to discuss Matthew's take on keeping kosher as a Christian.

Sin and salvation are two incredibly important concepts for Christians - both ancient and modern. But exactly what is sin, and how does one attain forgiveness? Today, Dr. Bart Ehrman joins me to discuss what the apostle Paul says about the topic, and how that compares to modern Christians.

The book of Revelation predicts some incredibly unsettling events, full of suffering and blood. Are these predictions of our own future? Today Dr. Bart Ehrman joins me to talk about what the New Testament's most violent book actually predicts, and whether we should be worried.

The Gospel of Matthew was copied and recopied for hundreds of years before the invention of the printing press - and each new copy introduced new changes to the text. What were those changes, and how do they impact the meaning of the text? Today on Misquoting Jesus, Dr. Bart Ehrman joins me to discuss how scribes changed the gospel of Matthew, and what those changes mean for us.