Bart D. Ehrman has 23 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 23 narrators, with an average listener rating of 4.4★ across 330 ratings. The most-rated is How Jesus Became God.
Forgery and Counterforgery
Summary
"Arguably the most distinctive feature of the early Christian literature," writes Bart Ehrman, "is the degree to which it was forged." The Homilies and Recognitions of Clement; Paul's letters to and from Seneca; Gospels by Peter, Thomas, and Philip; Jesus' correspondence with Abgar, letters by Peter and Paul in the New Testament - all forgeries. To cite just a few examples. Forgery and Counterforgery is the first comprehensive study of early Christian pseudepigrapha ever produced in English. In it, Ehrman argues that ancient critics - pagan, Jewish, and Christian - understood false authorial claims to be a form of literary deceit, and thus forgeries. Ehrman considers the extent of the phenomenon, the "intention" and motivations of ancient Greek, Roman, and Jewish forgers, and reactions to their work once detected. He also assesses the criteria ancient critics applied to expose forgeries and the techniques forgers used to avoid detection. With the wider practices of the ancient world as backdrop, Ehrman then focuses on early Christian polemics, as various Christian authors forged documents in order to lend their ideas a veneer of authority in literary battles waged with pagans, Jews, and, most importantly, with one another in internecine disputes over doctrine and practice. In some instances a forger directed his work against views found in another forgery, creating thereby a "counter-forgery." Ehrman's evaluation of polemical forgeries starts with those of the New Testament (nearly half of whose books make a false authorial claim) up through the Pseudo-Ignatian epistles and the Apostolic Constitutions at the end of the fourth century. Shining light on an important but overlooked feature of the early Christian world, Forgery and Counterforgery explores the possible motivations of the deceivers who produced these writings, situating their practice within ancient Christian discourses on lying and deceit.
©2013 Oxford University Press (P)2013 Audible Inc.
The Da Vinci Code
Summary
The 92nd Street Y has gathered scholars and authorities to discuss the questions and issues raised in Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code. What are the implications for religion and private faith when talk about God moves into pop culture, and popular entertainment becomes a mode of education? Never has this topic been more relevant than when a book like The Da Vinci Code is treated as fact rather than fiction. Panelists also touch on the early Christian church, the role of women in the early church, the objectives of organizations like Opus Dei and how the Christian church has changed through the ages. Dan Burstein is an award-winning journalist, author, and venture capitalist, and is the editor of Secrets of the Code. Bart D. Ehrman chairs the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and wrote The Truth Behind The Da Vinci Code: A Historian Reveals What We Really Know About Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Constantine. Linda Ruf is a spokeswoman for the Catholic group Opus Dei and has been a member of the group for more than 20 years. Phyllis Tickle is the former religion editor at Publishers Weekly, the author of more than two dozen books and an expert in the field of religion and popular culture. This event took place on February 27, 2005.
©2006 92 nd Street Young Men's and Young Women's Hebrew Association (P)2006 92 nd Street Young Men's and Young Women's Hebrew Association
Peter, Paul, and Mary Magdalene
Summary
Bart Ehrman, author of the best sellers Misquoting Jesus and Truth and Fiction in The Da Vinci Code, here takes listeners on another engaging tour of the early Christian church, illuminating the lives of three of Jesus' most intriguing followers: Simon Peter, Paul of Tarsus, and Mary Magdalene. What do the writings of the New Testament tell us about each of these key followers of Christ? What legends have sprung up about them in the centuries after their deaths? Was Paul bow-legged and bald? Was Peter crucified upside down? Was Mary Magdalene a prostitute? In this lively work, Ehrman separates fact from fiction, presenting complicated historical issues in a clear and informative way and relating vivid anecdotes culled from the traditions of these three followers. He notes, for instance, that historians are able to say with virtual certainty that Mary, the follower of Jesus, was from the fishing village of Magdala on the shore of the Sea of Galilee; but there is no evidence to suggest that she was a prostitute, and little reason to think that she was married to Jesus. Vibrantly written and leavened with many colorful stories, Peter, Paul, and Mary Magdalene will appeal to anyone curious about the early Christian church and the lives of these important figures.
©2006 Bart D. Ehrman (P)2006 Tantor Media, Inc.