{"id":3880,"date":"2022-02-24T17:16:06","date_gmt":"2022-02-24T17:16:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bartehrman.com\/?page_id=3880"},"modified":"2024-04-15T20:48:20","modified_gmt":"2024-04-15T20:48:20","slug":"jesus-before-the-gospels","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bartehrman.com\/jesus-before-the-gospels\/","title":{"rendered":"Jesus Before the Gospels"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Jesus<\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus Before the Gospels<\/h2>\n

By Bart D. Ehrman<\/h5>\n

Publisher: HarperOnePublication Date: March 1, 2016Language: EnglishISBN-10: 0062285203ISBN-13: 9780062285201Format: Hardcover<\/strong>, 336ppDimensions: 6 x 1.09 x 9 inches<\/span><\/p>\n

Affiliate Disclaimer: We may earn commissions on products you purchase through this page at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting our site!<\/em><\/p>\n

REVIEWS<\/h2>\n

\u201cEhrman provides an intriguing overview of memory studies and introduces readers to a variety of important pioneers and studies. . . . Ehrman concludes that \u2018the historical Jesus did not make history; the remembered Jesus did.\u2019 An intriguing new angle on the well-worn field of \u2018historical Jesus\u2019 studies.\u201d\u2014Kirkus Review<\/p>\n

\u201cWill the real Jesus please stand up. Ehrman has established himself as one of the foremost voices in the historical Jesus debates. In this, the latest of a long list of influential books, he combines his ideas about Jesus with cutting-edge research from cognitive psychology, cultural anthropology, and sociology. He states that his intent is to provide complicated academic theory, dating back a century, in a form which is both interesting and accessible to general audiences. He more than succeeds in achieving his goal. Was Jesus actually more zealot than apocalyptic prophet? Did Jesus have siblings? Are the \u201cGnostic Gospels\u201d really Gnostic? Are traditional gospel teachings based on distorted memories? How reliable is eyewitness testimony? Who were the real authors of the canonical gospels? What impact does collective Christian memory have on the world we live in today? Ehrman offers more insight and information than answers when tackling these questions. By doing so, he is positioning this book to bring an entirely new audience to a thoughtful examination of what has previously been accepted as the truth about Jesus. Highly recommended.\u201d\u2014Anna Jedrziewski of SpiritConnectionNewYork.org<\/p>\n

DESCRIPTION<\/h2>\n

Many believe that the Gospel stories of Jesus are based on eyewitness testimony and are therefore historically reliable. Now, for the first time, a scholar of the New Testament,\u00a0New York Times<\/em>\u00a0bestselling author Bart D. Ehrman (Misquoting Jesus<\/em>; and\u00a0Jesus, Interrupted<\/em>), surveys research from the fields of psychology, anthropology, and sociology to explore how oral traditions and group memories really work and questions how reliable the Gospels can be.<\/p>\n

Focusing on the decades-long gap between when Jesus lived and when these documents about him began to appear, Ehrman looks to these varied disciplines to see what they can tell us about how the New Testament developed. In the book, Ehrman examines:<\/p>\n