Bart Ehrman & Jesus, Interrupted - Commonwealth Club

On Monday, March 21, 2011 Bart Ehrman gave a lecture at the San Francisco Commonwealth Club of California, underwritten by The Bernard Osher Foundation. Moderator was Alan Jones, Dean Emeritus, Grace Cathedral. The appearance was largely related to Bart Ehrman's printed release of "Jesus, Interrupted." Bart Ehrman takes you on a journey to the ancient world and the forgery battles that have raged through the centuries. Ehrman contends in the lecture that the New Testament is riddled with contradictions about the life of Jesus and his significance. He provides compelling evidence that early Christianity was a collection of competing schools of thought and that the central doctrines we know today were the inventions of theologians living several centuries after Christ.

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.

© Copyright 2011. Bart D. Ehrman and Craig A. Evans. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized use, re-posting and/or duplication of this video without express and written permission from Bart D. Ehrman is strictly prohibited.

[rayjr]

Bart is the heavyweight champion of NT scholars. Undefeated! He helped in my transition out of religion and Christianity, I owe him a big thank you. I wasn’t looking to leave but the truth shall set you free.

[elainejohnson]

8:40 to get passed the "Pop quiz" that Bart talks about at the beginning of just about every lecture he gives.

[a--zmusic]

Bart's Usual Introduction - 4:00
Lecture starts - 8:20

[DesignWonk]

Beautiful. "If you were in charge, would I be safe?" I'm not a believer, but that's an unassailable litmus test. What a thoughtful member of the clergy.

[ralphciardella]

I took his class while I was at Rutgers back in the mid 1980s. Very nice guy. He’s come a long way since then.

[psyekl]

I normally skip the Q&A portion due to the simplicity and predictability of the questions and common audience. In this case I'm glad I stuck around.

[ispinozist]

Starts at 8:40 (if you want to skip past the introduction and the story Bart starts every lecture with)

[arthurmontana]

I wish Christian scholars were as honest as Dr. Ehrman. Frankly, I've never heard one who I can discern as intellectually honest

[stevenfeduk]

Ehrman's face, with the bringing up of Lee Strobel, is gold.
Wish I could at least become familiar with all those those pop quiz questions.
Thanks for sharing this!

[MegaAli]

Dr. Bart D. Eahrman is the most legitimate New Testament scholar in Tew Testament Historical analysis and texual criticism. He is unmatched in his intellectual integrity and academic scholarship. What, would we ever do without his honest scholarship. And I say this as a Muslim and Gulf war veteran.

[matmason]

Bart, this was a fascinating talk and I was particularly impressed with how you responded to the questions at the end. Recommended viewing.

[jlynn]

Bart always comes across as the most honest and sincere in these debates

[tebogomartinmasegela]

Wow, I love this guy. I wish a lot of africans can be exposed to his material.

[JosephNordenbrockartistraction]

Thank you Bart Ehrman for asking people to be more intellectually honest and less bias.

[Shermanbay]

Although my interest is more in the Ehrman camp, I was impressed with Dr. Jones' demeanor and his insightful and respectful contribution to the dialogue.  And his erudite English accent didn't hurt!

[slumberzzzz]

I love this guy
His lectures are so succinct and informative
Must have taken a lot of effort

[CyeOutsider]

Good lecture and some good follow up questions.  Thanks for posting.

[Carelock]

Lee Strobel is not an atheist turned christian. He already was doing a skit in his church where he put the bible “on trial.” He didn’t do most of this research, and it all began right before his book was released in 1998.

[neuropsychdoc]

Outstanding lecture and follow-up discussion. Thank you.

[smoothmicra]

The 'moderator'  with the white hair and beard deal gets on my nerves. I'd rather hear questions from the audience.