Knowing when something was written helps to better understand answers to other questions - like why it was written, and how it relates to other texts from that time. Unfortunately, ancient authors rarely wrote the date at the top of the page when they started writing, which makes working out when something was written a somewhat challenging process. Today, Dr. Bart Ehrman is going to guide us through how biblical scholars tackle this challenging process, and look at why it is that the Gospel of ...
Feb 11, 2025•56 min•Transcript available on Metacast If I start talking about “the law”, many of you are going to have certain ideas pop into your heads - a police force, trials, prison. But what about if I’m talking about the law in a religious sense? Maybe you’ll think of the ten commandments, veiling women, or practices of abstinence. Today, Dr. Bart Ehrman talks about the Jewish Law as presented in the New Testament, exploring whether it’s possible to even keep it, and what agenda the NT authors had when talking about it.
Feb 04, 2025•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast The disciples were Jesus’ closest companions during his ministry, the collective Robins to his Batman. As such we might expect them to be more enlightened, more intelligent, more attuned to God’s divine plan than other people Jesus’ came across. The Gospel of Mark, however, seems to defy that expectation. Today, we talk about how the author of Mark portrays the disciples, how that treatment advances his aims for the gospel, and whether this portrayal is representative of a personal vendetta....
Jan 28, 2025•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast The question of how much of the Bible is historically accurate, and how much is myth or legend, is both interesting and important to a lot of people - believer and atheist alike. Some insist it’s accurate down to the last detail, while others label it as fairy tales from beginning to end. In this episode, Dr. Bart Ehrman unravels how scholars distinguish history from myth within the Gospels of the New Testament, why it’s important to do so, and exactly what a “myth” is....
Jan 21, 2025•55 min•Transcript available on Metacast Start talking about the Gospels, and most people will have a rough idea of what you’re talking about - a narrative account of Jesus’ life. Today, however, we throw all of that familiarity out of the window and talk about one of the most non-Gospel Gospels I’ve ever read, the enigmatic apocryphal Gospel of Thomas!
Jan 14, 2025•51 min•Ep 117•Transcript available on Metacast Is there a difference between how the New Testament is taught in church versus a university? In this episode, New Testament scholar Hugo Mendez joins us to explore the devotional approach to the Bible often found in churches and how it contrasts with the critical, historical methods used in academia. We discuss what surprises students about studying the New Testament in a classroom setting, whether one approach is ‘right,’ and how both can offer valuable insights for Christians, skeptics, and tr...
Jan 07, 2025•46 min•Ep 116•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, we sit down with Bible scholar John Edwards to explore how critical scholarship can deepen one’s faith. John shares his personal journey of reconciling faith and academia, offering insights into how studying the Bible critically can inspire and enrich Christian belief. Join us as we discuss the positive impact of Jesus and the Bible in the modern world.
Dec 31, 2024•39 min•Ep 115•Transcript available on Metacast What was the world like just before Jesus was born? In this special Christmas Eve episode, we explore the political, cultural, and religious climate of 1st-century Palestine with world-renowned archaeologist Dr. Jodi Magness. From Roman rule and Jewish life to messianic expectations, Dr. Magness helps us understand the historical backdrop that shaped the world Jesus entered.
Dec 24, 2024•53 min•Ep 114•Transcript available on Metacast Most Christians would likely agree that Jesus and the Gospels provide us with guidance for how we should be living our lives. People of non-Christian faith traditions, or those with no religious belief at all, might have a somewhat different response...but our guest today, Dr. Amy-Jill Levine, is here to talk about how non-Christians can find value in Jesus and the Gospels, and why they should take another look at the New Testament!
Dec 17, 2024•37 min•Ep 113•Transcript available on Metacast Most of us know the story: Jesus was born in Bethlehem but grew up in Nazareth. Both Matthew and Luke agree on this, but key details raise questions for scholars. Join Bart Ehrman and Megan Lewis as they dive into why the Gospel writers placed Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem. Was it historical fact or shaped by theology? Why does Luke have Mary travel 100 miles while pregnant? And why does Matthew’s story send the family fleeing to Egypt?...
Dec 10, 2024•45 min•Ep 112•Transcript available on Metacast When you picture the story of Jesus’ birth, you might think of Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem, a stable, shepherds, and wise men. But have you ever wondered which details come from which Gospel—and why the accounts differ? Join Bart Ehrman and Megan Lewis as they explore questions like: Were Mary and Joseph from Nazareth or Bethlehem? Did they flee to Egypt after Jesus’ birth, or go straight home? And can these accounts be reconciled into one story?...
Dec 03, 2024•41 min•Ep 111•Transcript available on Metacast As you can probably tell from my incredibly strong accent, I (Megan) am an immigrant to the United States. As such, the US immigration system has been a rather large feature in my adult life…but I’ve never before considered the relationship between American immigration and the Bible, or more specifically, the book of Revelation. It’s never really occurred to me that such a relationship even exists. In contrast, my guest today has written an entire - and absolutely fascinating - book on the subje...
Nov 26, 2024•34 min•Ep 110•Transcript available on Metacast The book of Revelation is by far the most violent book of the New Testament. The blood-soaked narrative calls for the death and destruction of non-believers and even of many Christians. Some Christians over the reveled in the horrific torments and the rivers of blood described in the book; but what would the historical Jesus have thought of it? Would the Savior who instructed his followers to love their neighbors, to give up all their worldly possessions for those in need, and to care deeply for...
Nov 19, 2024•30 min•Ep 109•Transcript available on Metacast How would you respond if I told you that, actually, Judas was the only disciple who understood what Jesus was doing on earth? Or that I said that Jesus is unrelated to the God who created the world? Or that the God who created the world is not the same as the one who created humans? From a modern Christian point of view, those are blasphemous statements - some more so than others, yet they are all paraphrasing an early Christian Gnostic text, known as the Gospel of Judas. Join us today on Misquo...
Nov 12, 2024•48 min•Ep 108•Transcript available on Metacast Writings attributed to the apostle Paul make up a large swathe of the New Testament, and have been of fundamental importance in the development of Christian theology. However, there are some serious questions over whether Paul actually wrote everything attributed to him. What texts do scholars think are not as…legitimate as they could be, and what texts do experts think were actually written by the man himself?
Nov 05, 2024•45 min•Ep 107•Transcript available on Metacast The Apostle Paul is a central figure in early Christianity, and features strongly in the New Testament in his own letters, and as a character in the Acts of the Apostles. But is the Paul of Acts the same man as the Paul of the Epistles? Does the writer of Acts change Paul's character and teachings, and why?
Oct 29, 2024•38 min•Ep 106•Transcript available on Metacast A Second-Anniversary LIVE Q&A! Listeners ask their questions, and Bart tries to answer them. Rapid fire for an hour!
Oct 23, 2024•49 min•Ep 105•Transcript available on Metacast The Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles are widely understood to be a two-volume set, written by a single author. Given that we’ve spoken before on Misquoting Jesus about how difficult it is to identify authors of ancient texts, why are scholars so sure that these two texts share the same author? Who was that author, and why write two books when they could have written one?!...
Oct 15, 2024•41 min•Ep 104•Transcript available on Metacast Pontius Pilate is a relatively minor figure in the gospels of the New Testament, but one who plays a vital role as the Roman official in charge of Jesus’ sentencing. Given that he’s the face of Rome in the New Testament Gospels, he’s presented in a surprisingly positive light! The same is true for his appearances in some other early Christian writings. To try and get to the bottom of exactly why the official representative of the big, bad Roman empire is presented as such a sympathetic figure, w...
Oct 08, 2024•47 min•Ep 103•Transcript available on Metacast The phrase "synoptic gospels" is thrown around a lot in Biblical scholarship, but what does it mean, and why are they important? Are they as similar as people seem to think, and what do non-academics get wrong about them? Today, Megan is joined by Dr. Mark Goodacre, professor of Religious Studies and expert in all things synoptic, to answer these questions and to investigate some of his favorite differences between these fascinating texts....
Oct 01, 2024•38 min•Ep 102•Transcript available on Metacast Many people in the modern western world view reincarnation as a belief predominately from eastern religions - especially buddhism and hinduism. Believe it or not, reincarnation was also a theological concept for some early Christians! How does what early Christians taught about reincarnation differ from what we understand it to be? Was it a common idea, or did those who espoused it receive pushback and censorship from their fellow Christians? Why isn’t reincarnation still a widely held view in C...
Sep 24, 2024•36 min•Ep 101•Transcript available on Metacast Welcome everyone to a very special episode of Misquoting Jesus - our 100th episode! In keeping with our centesimal celebration (hey, it's a word!), we’re going to be exploring the world of Christianity 100 years after Jesus’ death. Was Christianity still a small, persecuted offshoot of apocalyptic Judaism, or had it spread far and wide? Was it still an apocalyptic religion, and what theological disagreements had occurred? Megan has the questions, and Bart, as always, has the answers....
Sep 17, 2024•45 min•Ep 100•Transcript available on Metacast The Bible is frequently invoked in the ongoing national debates about abortion, almost always to show that abortion is murder and strictly forbidden. Is that true? This episode is not meant to resolve the issue about whether abortion should ever be considered a legitimate procedure or not. The focus is on what the Bible actually says. Does it condemn abortion? Does it indicate that the fetus is to be considered a human with human rights, so that abortion constitutes murder? When, according to th...
Sep 10, 2024•42 min•Ep 99•Transcript available on Metacast New manuscripts discoveries in Biblical studies are often outed as forgeries, But sometimes -- rarely -- they turn out to be authentic. How do scholars distinguish between fact and fiction, especially when they only have access to photographs or copies? Is it possible for a text to pass all authenticity tests and still be a clever forgery? Today we’re back with Dr. Morton Smith and the Secret Gospel of Mark to discuss he discovered an actual ancient document with unknown information about Jesus,...
Sep 03, 2024•44 min•Ep 98•Transcript available on Metacast When a scholar claims to have discovered a new text from early Christianity, it can send shockwaves through the academic community. In the case of the "Secret Gospel of Mark," the shockwaves are still being felt today after over 65 years later. And scholars still can't agree on whether the text in question is authentically ancient, a modern forgery, or something else. There are huge implications. The traces of this "secret Gospel" allegedly discovered in 1958 by Morton Smith, a professor of anci...
Aug 27, 2024•47 min•Ep 97•Transcript available on Metacast Why do so many Christians claim that other Christians are not really Christians? Is there a definition written in the sky somewhere? Here we talk about the history of the problem, from its very beginning. Among other things we'll discuss why some biblical scholars today refuse to use the word "Christian" for the apostle Paul, the members of his churches, and for followers of Jesus in the first century altogether; and we'll ask whether there is something about "Christianity" in particular that le...
Aug 20, 2024•42 min•Ep 96•Transcript available on Metacast The Antiquities of the Jews, written by the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus in 93 CE, is our most important resource for knowing about the history of Israel around the time of Jesus and his earliest followers. This twenty-volume work contains two brief references to Jesus himself, and are in fact the only two mentions of Jesus in any non-Christian writing of the entire first century. But there are many questions surrounding these statements. Are they authentic to Josephus? Were they added to h...
Aug 13, 2024•33 min•Ep 95•Transcript available on Metacast Jesus is usually credited with starting the Christian movement, but were his ideas orignally his? It appears that John the Baptist preached a similar message and that Jesus was originally a follower of his. So who started Christianity? In this episode we consider what we can know about John, why he engaged in his ministry, and what influence he had on his follower Jesus. If John started the movement, why isn't there a religion in his name?...
Aug 06, 2024•40 min•Ep 94•Transcript available on Metacast Anyone familiar with American politics and the empty rhetoric used to promote divisive views is never much surprised when politicians appeals to the Bible to support their own social agendas. Depending on who you listen to, the bible is both pro life and pro choice, pro and anti immigrant, pro and anti homosexuality…the list goes on. On today’s episode, we explore how people use and, oh so frequently misuse, ancient texts of Scripture to promote their agenda, and consider the question of whether...
Jul 30, 2024•45 min•Ep 93•Transcript available on Metacast On this week’s Misquoting Jesus, we’re turning the metaphorical table and Bart is interviewing Megan! Everyone watching is familiar with Dr. Bart Ehrman, renowned New Testament scholar and New York Times bestselling author…but who on earth is Megan? How did she make her way from the study of ancient Mesopotamia to host a New Testament and Early Christianity podcast? If she's an academic, why doesn’t she work in a university somewhere? Where does she get all of her glasses? Stay tuned for all of ...
Jul 23, 2024•47 min•Ep 92•Transcript available on Metacast 
