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Bible's New Testament filled with forgeries
New book by a former evangelical Christian says that nearly half of the Bible's New Testament has been forged.
Wed, May 18 2011 at 8:26 PM
Photo: Doug1021/Flickr
The Bible might be the best-selling book in history, but it may also be full of lies. At least, that's the claim being made by biblical scholar and former evangelical Christian, Bart Ehrman, in a new book titled, "Forged: Writing in the Name of God — Why the Bible’s Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are."
According to Ehrman, at least 11 of the 27 New Testament books are forgeries, while only seven of the 13 epistles attributed to Paul were probably written by him. None of the writings attributed to the Apostle Peter could have been written by him, and even the authenticity of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and John can be questioned. The book is the focus of a recent report by Discovery News.
"The Bible not only contains untruths of accidental mistakes. It also contains what almost anyone today would call lies," writes Ehrman, a professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Ehrman builds his case by noting scores of inconsistencies in the writing styles among authors of the New Testament. Discrepancies in the language and content among books attributed to Paul are particularly glaring. Ehrman points to one example from the book of Ephesians, which is written in long Greek sentences, not the short Greek sentences used in Paul's other writings.
Meanwhile, Ehrman claims that the authenticity of any book attributed to Peter should be doubted since Peter — like most other fisherman raised in rural Palestine at the time — was probably illiterate.
So the question remains: Who wrote these books and why did they attempt to conceal their identities? Ehrman says early Christian sects, struggling to legitimize themselves, would have had plenty of motivation to fabricate their religious texts.
"If your name was Jehoshaphat and no one had any idea who you were, you could not very well sign your own name to the book," said Ehrman. "No one would take the Gospel of Jehoshaphat seriously. If you wanted someone to read it, you called yourself Peter. Or Thomas. Or James. In other words, you lied about who you really were."
Ehrman's book has created a firestorm in the Christian community. In a review of the book, the Catholic Herald concedes "some New Testament books probably were not written by the people traditionally assigned as authors." But the Catholic website was also was quick to dismiss Ehrman's analysis: "the book is more provocative than insightful."
The Herald also said that Ehrman's book "barely mentions the concept of oral tradition. So even if a specific letter was not done by Peter or Paul, it could well have been written by someone drawing from the oral tradition passed down by one or the other."
But in Ehrman's view, a forgery is a forgery. If such a writing method were practiced today, it would be looked upon as deceitful and inappropriate.
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The (Walter) Bauer/ (Bart) Ehrman hypothesis has been debunked and should no longer be even considered scholarly. See The Heresy of Orthodoxy, Kostenberger & Kruger, Phds, Crossway press
There are nearly 500 contradictions in the Bible. Count 'em,
For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever shall believe in him shall have life, and life everafter. Hes just a prayer away.... and God Loves You, yes you.
You're cute.
You mean a religious text ISN'T completely fact?
Stop the presses!
Regardless, the Bible has served its purpose (brought many closer to God) and will continue as well. Check the statistics. NO ONE can deny or critique that...christian or atheist.I feel confident God edited the Bible exactly how he wanted it to be. Gods will be done.
It's more appropriate to say that many people (those who have actually read and understood the bible) have been abruptly separated from "god" by reading the bible. It's such a simple a local interpretation of unexplainable events, and phenomenon from scared and power hungry primitives. Even worse most of the important events are completely uncorroborated in history. Don't embarrass yourself any longer by espousing this childish nonsense.
Amen
I agree with you completely. The Bible is God's Word. He wrote it.
He wasn't much of a writer, was he? (she?) Certainly couldn't keep his story consistent.
If God wanted to write a book he didn't want edited to serve the petty desires of men, why didn't he write it on the moon, for all to see? If it brings you closer to your ideal of God, more power to you, but the book was obviously written by men, not by supernatural deities.
But God isn't real...
To anyone who has followed critical biblical scholarship for the last two hundred years this is not news. The only people who will find this shocking is biblical fundamentalists, and they won't believe it anyway.
Thou art god. Grok? All are god. As god, i condemn worshiping me. Do good works, accept others as you and me, have compassion, experience love towards all and come home to me. Otherwise, you are off track, but still welcomed home when you get here. Thank you.
Much love,
me...you...us...one...
If only people put as much effort into disproving the Quran.
It is quite simple, Jesus is either in your heart or he isn't. period. Since when do you need a book to tell you the feelings you have within yourelf...
somone finally had the guts to say that "the bible" is what it is... a collection of lies, forgeries and out and out fairy tales.
well, thats all...just read it.
The fact is that the New Testament is the Good News that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God Almighty and he was born of virgin Mary and became man. He suffered, died a horrific death. On the 3rd day HE rose from death (defeated death that we have hope of not dying the ultimate death..separation from God Almighty. debates among simple men and women here is simply stupidity. If you want to know the truth then follow Jesus plain and simple.
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