I'll be interviewing Bart Ehrman tomorrow for Bnet regarding his latest book, Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible (And Why We Don't Know about Them).
If you've got a question you think I should ask, leave a comment.
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Find out more about Tony, his books, and his speaking schedule at his website.
In response to Billy Kangas's question of Ehrman selectively communicating his ideas, especially on television, the answer is obviously so in light of TV's 30 minute time limit (commercials, show, etc). It is not the appropriate forum to discuss a single issue in depth and TV actually shoots far more footage than it uses and so "TV" edits what it wants to show and not Ehrman.
If you want a more detailed explanation, read his "popular" books meant for the layman, or if you have the background or inclination, the more highly technical works aimed at academics. Of course, you could purchase a number of his works on the Teaching Company as well.
What are Bart's answers to the "7 worldview questions" of Jim Sire (see "the universe next door") and why are they more believable than the answers of Christian theism?
Yeah I understand Peter. I do have a great deal of respect for Bart most of the time. I have read a few of his books and listened to almost all his teaching company courses. He is in general a very balanced person, and has been a great voice in clarifying many conspiracy theories (i.g. "Truth and Fiction")
I have simply been disappointed in most of his interviews. The level handed approach seems to go out the window, and I'm not sure why.
I have not read the book yet so I could not ask something directly related to that. I like a lot of Ehrman's premises but don't usually arrive at the same place he does. One thing I would love to hear him talk more about is the idea of "Christianities" rather than "Christianity." Specifically, it seems he is very critical of a very narrow view of "Christianity" when it suits his arguments and does not consider a lot of Christian voices who would agree with much of what he says. And since I believe he is too intelligent to pretend he does not know about those voices sometimes his arguments seem just a little too disingenuous. As contemporary Christianities wrestle with pluralism it seems he could be much more helpful by not just being critical with the narrow Christianities he rejects but speaking more positively about Christian theologians he thinks are doing good things.
Most importantly, where and when is this interview going to be available?
Peace,
JM
"Specifically, it seems he is very critical of a very narrow view of "Christianity" when it suits his arguments and does not consider a lot of Christian voices who would agree with much of what he says."
Why don't we get more specific instead of random generalities, which quite frankly confuses me since I have not a single clue to what he is referring.
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