Bart Ehrman vs. James White Debate P2

Dr. Bart D. Ehrman continues the debate with Dr. James R. White on the question "Did the Bible Misquote Jesus?" This debate took place at the Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, Sheraton Airport Hotel on January 21, 2009. The discussion stems from Bart's book, "Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why." The book which made the New York Times Best Seller list, introduces lay readers to the field of textual criticism of the Bible. Ehrman discusses a number of textual variants that resulted from intentional or accidental manuscript changes during the scriptorium era. James White provides a detailed rebuttal to counter Bart's claims.

Bart D. Ehrman is the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He came to UNC in 1988, after four years of teaching at Rutgers University. At UNC he has served as both the Director of Graduate Studies and the Chair of the Department of Religious Studies. A graduate of Wheaton College (Illinois), Professor Ehrman received both his Masters of Divinity and Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary, where his 1985 doctoral dissertation was awarded magna cum laude.

James White is the director of Alpha and Omega Ministries, a Christian apologetics organization based in Phoenix, Arizona. He is a professor, having taught Greek, Systematic Theology, and various topics in the field of apologetics. He has authored or contributed to more than twenty books. He is an elder of the Phoenix Reformed Baptist Church.

Copyright © Bart D. Ehrman and James R. White. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized use, re-posting and/or duplication of this media without express and written permission from Bart D. Ehrman and James R. White is strictly prohibited. Video production copyright American Vision, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

[bluegrasskid]

I don’t think Dr. Ehrman expected this much of a challenge. Both are very scholarly in their debate and it’s much appreciated this day and age. Well done, gentlemen!

[garyjames]

This debate was instructive. Dr. White knew that he was up against a formidable opponent for textual criticism.

[ZOMBAYELLER]

I love the experts in the comment sections of these videos

[smoovemove]

Amazing debate they we’re both going at it. Two intellectual scholars both very educated and knowledgeable going back and forth great debate

[taowaycamino]

Damn, this "back and forth" bethween this two is so technical that I have no idea what in the world all this distinctions make reference to!  Thanks for the video though.

[johnfargher]

They dont like each other .Thats clear.

[redhawkmillenium]

Best moment in the debate: James giving Bart the P52 tie. Bart seems genuinely thrilled by it!

[dynamic]

Great debate and I've learned tremendously from both Dr.Bart Ehrman and Dr.James White.

[HowardHughes]

Perhaps I am slightly biased as a theist (everyone is slightly biased), but I think that James White won this particular debate. I think that Bart was actually had a stronger showing against William Lane Craig than he did against James White.

[Sgman]

I don't even know if White is making good points during Ehrman's examination because Ehrman consistently fails to actually address the point being made.

[nerdysister]

One of the greatest debates ever in tone, professionalism, scholarship, and argument. Excellent job on both sides!

[ryanhunter]

I just find it interesting that Bart Ehrman plainly states, "Yes, the Bible misquotes Jesus." Of course, this statement implies that he knows what Jesus actually said in the first place...

[scipio]

Bart started off nice and respectful and seemed to grow very irritable and condescending

[uncleanunicorn]

If you claim the miracle of divine inspiration, that sets a higher standard of evidence. Apart from the grammatical mistakes, if the story of the woman taken in adultery can be fabricated, then what else did the writers lie about in the earliest manuscripts we don't have?

[Newlife]

Well that's the point though isn't it, if your expected to base your eternal salvation on what a book says, shouldn't that book be reliable? Shouldn't its authorship be verifiable? People murder, martyr, and go to war over what this book says. I'd venture that thousands, if not millions of people have been tortured or lost their lives because of this book. Unlike other scholarly works, the accuracy of the new testament can mean life or death or even an eternity of damnation. For these reasons, I think it needs to be held to a higher standard than any other piece of historical record. And Ehrman's findings perfectly articulate why I value my soul and the souls/lives of others over this blatantly unreliable "record".

[Century-sq]

I'm a college math professor giving a lecture to a couple dozen people. They are all taking notes. Some people are writing a lot, some people are writing a little less. Some leave out certain parts, others add in those parts. I ask to see their notes if they want extra credit for class by the end of the semester. I expect to see accuracy and good clarification on what I have been lecturing. I see what they have written and even though their words differ from what I originally said and there are some things that were and were not included by some, they ALL have the same basic meaning of what I was teaching in the subject of math. They all get an A and 30 extra credit points.

Is what I was teaching inaccurate and not reliable just because the students differed on what to include in their notes? In high school, I studied with my peers using each other's notes and even though the notes all had different word structures in them, the basic idea was still there resulting in me getting an A+

[ahmedjea]

39:04 Wrong claim, The Quran hasn`t textual variations even though there are too many ways to write the same word in Arabic, that is why they start using diacritical marks "Tashkeel or Harakat", There are different ways of recitation but all they lead to the same meaning.

[yusuffaith]

I have so much respect for Dr. Bart Ehrman and he clearly won the debate.

Dr. White tried to use the cross examination session as an opportunity to pressurise Dr. Ehrman into attacking the Qur'an by making a false analogy between the Bible and the Qur'an. Unlike the Bible, the Qur'an was preserved both in the oral form and written form. Hundreds of early Muslims memorised large portions of the Qur'an in its original language and would recite these during their daily prayers.

The majority of the text was even written during the lifetime of Muhammad by the likes of Zaid ibn Thabit (Muhammad's adopted son). This is remarkably different to the Bible which is said to be written many decades after Jesus, for example the Gospel of John around 90-100AD.

The Qur'an was first compiled in the written form within one year after Muhammad by the leader Abu Bakr whilst hundreds still memorised and recited the Qur'an. This is remarkably different to the bible which was first compiled 300 years after Jesus.

The point about Uthman was completely irrelevant to the debate and also a misrepresentation. Uthman died around 30 years after Muhammad. All that happened was that the text was standardised: "txt u l8r" would have become "text you later". The oral form did not change. The overwhelming majority of Muslim and Non Muslim scholars agree that the Qur'an we have today is at the very least a faithful representation of Uthman's standardised version, which would have been within 30 years after Muhammad. The Gospel of John was not even written within 30 years after Jesus.

Dr. Bart Ehrman should be applauded for his intellectual honesty and it is irrelevant if Muslims "use" his books. Ultimately, truth is truth no matter where it comes from.

Keep up the good work Dr Bart Ehrman!

[Ggeg]

36:55 Ehrman asks a legitimate question? OK, but there is enough of the text of the NT where there's complete agreement between the manuscripts and if we go by that alone, we still have enough knowledge of God to know Him enough to come to Him, be saved and have a relationship with Him.
By Ehrman's standards of perfection, I would have to ask for a refund from the college I went to, they told me when I read Plato that it was what Plato actually wrote

[tombstone]

great debate, love listening to all of these.