Well, we have been on a little break. Not entirely intentional, but a result of travel, end of semester and a quiet Easter season. We did not get the normal shock story for Easter this year. The closest we came was Bart Ehrman's Jesus, Interrupted book. By his own admission, there is nothing new here. Just old issues being repackaged is what he gave us. However, the result has now been picked up by CNN.com (see News We Are Watching sidebar for entry). Ehrman is portrayed as one who "debunks" the Bible and fundamentalism. Pretty stereotypical stuff. Now there are issues in the things he raises, but these issues have been discussed by those who regard the Bible with much more respect and credibility than Ehrman's work implies.
I am currently in Jordan. Let me give you an angle on all of this most people miss. Material like that from Erhman is soaked up like a sponge here in the Middle East. Radicals among Muslims take this material to argue that the Bible has been distorted and is not all Chrsitians claim for it. The result is that these kind of "academic" discussions turn into social and political propaganda here. Our happy agnostic, as Ehrman presents himself, is actually doing great damage to the understanding of Christianity in this part of the world. His supposed neutrality on things historical is not neutral at all. What he does is an encouragement to many. Just something to be aware of in a world that is far more connected than we tend to think.
Thanks for the post, Dr Bock.
The effect of much of Ehrman's work - as parroted through the internet (often sensationalised and out of context) fuels a number of aggressive anti-Christian polemics amongst Muslims.. They believe Ehrman's 'Misquoting Jesus' is an antidote against the Bible. Their arguments are generally fallacious such as the belief that the existence of textual variants necessitates wholesale corruption of the entire Biblical text beyond recognition. Interpolations include inventing the divinity of Jesus and the crucifixion while all clear references to Muhammad were edited out.
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