Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why (Paperback)Bart D. Ehrman
BuzzFlash.com's Review (excerpt)
BuzzFlash's The Progressive Marketplace just offered the most recent book of religious scholar Bart D. Ehrman, a professor at Duke University, who makes the case that the Bible is a document more like a quilt (with more than its share of inconsistent and even clashing narratives) than a consistent literal divine narrative.
And BuzzFlash readers have ordered Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible (And Why We Don't Know About Them) in large numbers. Clearly our community is interested in testing faith against fact.
As a result of the reader interest in this subject, we are also offering Erman's "Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why," which was written a couple of years back but is still riding high on Amazon's bestsellers (#286 as of the date of this review).
This book is a great companion piece to "Jesus, Interrupted."
"Booklist" notes "To assess how ignorant or theologically manipulative scribes may have changed the biblical text, modern scholars have developed procedures for comparing diverging texts. And in language accessible to nonspecialists, Ehrman explains these procedures and their results. He further explains why textual criticism has frequently sparked intense controversy, especially among scripture-alone Protestants. In discounting not only the authenticity of existing manuscripts but also the inspiration of the original writers, Ehrman will deeply divide his readers." Although we suspect BuzzFlash readers will almost all be on one side of that divide.
"Offers a fascinating look into the field of textual criticism and evidence that Scriptures have been altered." -- Charleston Post & Courier
"One of the unlikeliest bestsellers of the year." -- Washington Post
"Whichever side you sit on regarding Biblical inerrancy, this is a rewarding read." -- Dallas Morning News
An online reviewer:
This is a great read. I enjoyed the story of Ehrman's own inevitable journey out of fundamentalism and his scholarship seems impeccable.
Another online reviewer:
Bart D. Ehrman obviously believes the Bible is such a popular book because most buyers feel it contains God's own inspired words. Many foolish or simple-minded people would even go so far as to declare that every word in the Bible is inspired by God. The problem with this latter viewpoint, as Ehrman most insightfully points out, as that we no longer have access to the original, "inspired" words. The New Testament's were lost nearly 2,000 years ago. I always ask people who stand on the rock of the Bible's inerrancy, "What Bible?" The majority cite the King James version. A few brave souls claim that all Bibles are the same. So I ask what version they use. Good old King James usually surfaces again in most cases, although a few will prefer the Revised Standard. What it boils down to, as Ehrman states in his concluding chapter, is that many Fundamentalists believe that God inspired the King James translators, rather than the Bible's original authors. Yes, many people honestly feel that Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul and Peter often misunderstood the Holy Spirit and got God's words wrong. And that being the super-patient, super-tolerant God that He is, He then waited 1,600 years to correct Paul and company's idiotic mistakes!
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