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Misquoting Jesus with Bart Ehrman

Bart Ehrman

"Misquoting Jesus" is the only show where a six-time New York Times bestselling author and world-renowned Bible scholar uncovers the many fascinating, little known facts about the New Testament, the historical Jesus, and the rise of Christianity. The show features Dr. Bart Ehrman and host, Megan Lewis.

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  • 27 episodes
  • weekly
  • Avg 41 min
  • English

Episodes 27

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  • #250
    Yesterday · 44 min

    The KJV is a Literary Masterpiece, and a Disaster Study Bible

    The King James Bible is arguably the most influential book in the English language, and Bart thinks it's a literary masterpiece. He also thinks it's one of the worst Bibles you can study from. In this episode of Misquoting Jesus, Bart and host Megan Lewis trace where the KJV came from, starting with William Tyndale, whose translation it largely reuses and who was burned at the stake for making it. They look at why its unicorns and cockatrices trip up modern readers, and why the words you think you understand, like "conversation," "strange," and "admiration," are more misleading than the ones you don't. They cover the theological choices its translators made, the late Greek manuscripts behind its New Testament, and a 1631 printing that told readers "thou shalt commit adultery." Bart also shares which modern translations he recommends instead. In the listener Q&A: where the doctrine of original sin came from, whether early Christians evangelized door to door, and what Jesus meant about eunuchs in Matthew 19:12.

  • #204
    September 15 · 37 min

    Fixing Gospel Contradictions: 2nd Century to Now

    Around 170 CE, a Syrian Christian named Tatian noticed what a lot of readers have noticed since: the four Gospels don't always agree. So he fixed it. Tatian wove all four into a single, seamless account of Jesus' life. And for roughly two hundred years, in the Syriac-speaking churches of the East, that harmony was the Gospel. Then the church came for it. Bishops collected copies and destroyed them. Tatian was condemned as a heretic. Today not a single copy survives in its original language — we know the text only through a commentary, some translations, and a sixth-century Latin Bible that still carries its shape. Bart unpacks what Tatian actually did to the Gospels, why the church found it so threatening, and what it means that an entire branch of Christianity once read a Bible we can no longer read.

  • #203
    September 8 · 44 min

    Why Are There Four Gospels?

    Most Christians are used to reading four Gospels. But why are there four? Why not one? Or twelve? The early Church thinker Irenaeus fought hard to keep Christians reading all four gospels, but it wasn't a foregone conclusion. In this episode, Bart unpacks how a four gospel new testament came to be, and what could have been the alternative.

  • #202
    September 1 · 40 min

    Was Paul an Eyewitness of Jesus' Resurrection?

    In a recent response to Wes Huff, Bart said the only eyewitness we know of who's converting people is Paul. A lot of people pointed out that Paul never met Jesus. Fair. But Paul is also the only person in the New Testament who tells us, in his own words, that he saw Jesus alive after his death. Everyone else reaches us secondhand. Bart unpacks what Paul actually claims to have seen, why Paul is the only person who claims to see a resurrected Jesus, and why the earliest firsthand evidence for the resurrection suggests visions.

  • #201
    August 25 · 42 min

    How Bart Learned to Live Without God

    For many religious people who deconvert, losing their faith leaves a giant hole in their lives. They can lose their community, their purpose in life, and their understanding of how the world works. What does life look like on the other side of deconversion, once the dust has settled? Today we're talking about how Bart lives without God. We also have our bonus segment at the end, which this week is listener's questions, where I'll be asking Bart - among other things - whether he uses early Christian art as a source for his research.

  • #200
    August 18 · 36 min

    Where did Satan actually come from?

    In the Old Testament, Satan is a minor figure at best, and one fully under the control of YHWH. He appears briefly in the New Testament, notably in the temptation of Jesus. How did Christianity take those minor references and end up with the lord of all evil?

  • #199
    August 11 · 45 min

    What Moody Bible College Didn't Prepare Me For

    Those familiar with Dr. Bart Ehrman's career trajectory will know that he attended Moody Bible Institute, where he received his early training in textual criticism - but what is a "bible institute", exactly, and why do people attend them?

  • #198
    August 4 · 35 min

    Was Jesus Actually John's Disciple? (Q&A)

    Did you know that Jesus wasn't the only apocalyptic prophet traveling around Galilee during the 1st century CE? If the answer is "yes Megan, of course!", then you probably know something about John the Baptist. But what do we really know about him, and what impact did his teachings have on the historical Jesus?

  • #197
    July 28 · 58 min

    Bart Fact Checks Apologist Wes Huff

    Last year, Wes Huff was a relatively unknown Christian apologist. Then he went on The Joe Rogan Experience, one of the biggest podcasts in the world, and spent more than three hours talking with Joe Rogan about biblical manuscripts, the New Testament, the historical Jesus, and the case for Christianity. The interview exploded online. It now has more than 8 million views on YouTube alone, over 40,000 comments, and it essentially launched Wes into apologetics stardom overnight. Wes is smart, articulate, and clearly very knowledgeable when it comes to manuscripts and textual criticism. But as the interview goes on, there are several moments where manuscript evidence starts turning into much bigger claims about eyewitnesses, Gospel reliability, canon formation, and even evidence for the resurrection. Today, I'm joined by Bible scholar Bart Ehrman. We're going to watch some clips from the interview and ask an important question: where does solid scholarship end and apologetics begin? Welcome to the Misquoting Jesus Podcast with Bart Ehrman.

  • #196
    July 21 · 42 min

    Did Jesus Actually Believe in Heaven?

    Did you know that Jesus didn't believe in the soul, heaven, or hell? As an apocalyptic Jew, these ideas would have been completely foreign to him. So where on earth did Christianity get the idea that a life well-lived would be rewarded with a place in paradise for your soul? Today, we're talking about where the idea of heaven came from.

  • #195
    July 14 · 43 min

    8 Bible Myths Many Christians Believe

    Have you ever heard a Christian say something about the Bible and wondered exactly where they were getting their information from? Today we are talking about the most common claims Christians make about the Bible that are not actually based in reality.

  • #194
    July 7 · 41 min

    Who Really Chose the Books of the New Testament?

    Have you ever read something in the New Testament, maybe the Book of Revelation, and wondered why on earth it's included in the Bible? Why were these specific books included, and why are they considered inspired by God while the non-canonical writings are just the work of humans? Today we're talking about the formation of the New Testament, using listeners' questions.

  • #193
    June 30 · 43 min

    John's Rewritten Gospel: What Did Scribes Change?

    Did you know that scribes made changes to all of the books of the New Testament? Some of them were accidental, but some of them were very deliberate. The gospel of John is no exception - but what was changed, and why?

  • #192
    June 23 · 39 min

    Three Myths Atheists Believe

    Atheists often accuse people of religious faith of uncritically accepting a bunch of myths - but do atheists do the same? How closely do people actually examine their dearly-held views and beliefs, regardless of their religious persuasion?

  • #189
    June 2 · 45 min

    Why No One Can Prove the Resurrection

    The resurrection of Jesus is probably one of the most well known stories from the New Testament. But how do historians deal with this miraculous event? Should it be discounted in its entirety, or can it be investigated using the historical method? Today, we're talking about what historians can and can't say about the resurrection.

  • #187
    May 19 · 42 min

    5 Evangelical Truisms that Aren't True

    Love him or hate him, if you're listening to this podcast then you're probably familiar with some of Dr. Bart Ehrman's beliefs - but how familiar are you with the ideas he used to hold when he was an evangelical Christian?

  • #186
    May 12 · 42 min

    Is the Trinity Really in the Bible?

    The doctrine of the Trinity - that there's one single God who is father, son, and holy spirit - is central to modern Christianity. But is it even in the Bible?

Showing 1–20 of 27 episodes