This needs to be preserved forever, before it falls down Facebook’s memory hole.
NPR posted a link on Facebook to a segment on All Things Considered in which Bart Ehrman discusses his new book, Did Jesus Exist?
Here’s the comment I posted on the comment thread to the link:
I’ve read several of Ehrman’s books (LOST GOSPELS and LOST CHRISTIANITIES are both very good), but I find his thesis here seriously flawed. Ehrman’s view is that because the New Testament is consistent with itself and portrays events in occasionally a poor light, then the events it chronicles must be true and it is legitimate as a source for historical truth. By that argument, because THE LORD OF THE RINGS is consistent with itself and occasionally paints Frodo in a bad light, then there must have been a Shire and Sauron nearly conquered the world thousands of years ago. What Ehrman conveniently ignores is that outside of the New Testament, there’s no evidence for the historical Jesus whatsoever, just as outside of THE LORD OF THE RINGS there’s no evidence for the historical Frodo Baggins whatsoever. 🙂
“The historical Frodo Baggins…” Sometimes, inspiration just strikes. 😆