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465 of 521 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Erhman does it again, bringing decades-old scholarship to public., March 23, 2011
This review is from: Forged: Writing in the Name of God--Why the Bible's Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are (Hardcover)
If Ehrman's previous books, especially Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why (Plus) and Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible (And Why We Don't Know About Them), are any guide, "Forged" will be dismissed in one of two ways. The more progressive Christians will say that Ehrman is not saying anything new, that they have known forever that several of the books in the New Testament were not written by who they claim to be written by. The more conservative Christian will simply dismiss the scholarship as the desperate attempt of a person who hates Christianity and God to find some way of dismissing his message. This second group will also have a mountain of shop-worn workarounds that they think plausibly answer academic scholarship.
"Forged" was not written for scholarly progressive Christians or obscurantist conservative Christians. It was written for the large number of people who more or less accept Christianity as true, or at least a pleasant and socially useful belief system, but who have some questions, perhaps some doubts, and are curious to learn more about their scriptures. Secondarily it is written for people like Erhman himself (and incidentally, me) who were evangelical Christians with a religiously inspired commitment to truth, who find that our dedication to the truth is leading us away from the religion itself. This is how Erhman starts "Forged," with another brief take on his "testimony"--a move from devout evangelical at Moody, to a skeptic at Wheaton, to a critic at Princeton. I think it's an effective reminder that sometimes, contrary to what some Christians think, it is virtue (in the form of truth-loving) rather than some vice that brings us to the point of rejecting Christianity.
Because of his history (not in spite of it), Ehrman writes with understanding and sympathy about what believers take as true about the New Testament, while pulling no punches in taking on the nature of ancient forgery, how it was viewed by scholars and the public during the ancient period, the motivations and intents that might lead to forgery, and so forth. He sets the stage with an historical perspective, then launches into punchy, popularly oriented chapters on why it is widely held that several of the books claimed to be written by an apostolic figure almost certainly were not. Selecting the most interesting and compelling bits of information for such likely forgeries as 1 and 2 Peter, the pastorals of Paul, and others, he makes a breezy but forceful case that the view of many conservative Christians is too simplistic to reflect reality.
And of course he is well-aware of how evangelical scholars have responded to the kind of case he's making (the progressives who say this is old hat are not entirely wrong--the argument has been around in one form or another for many years, but what has been largely missing is lay accessibility), and gently picks apart their apologia. He ends the book with a section that is not on forgery per se, but on the way scribal interpolations amount to sort of further dishonesty within the New Testament pages. This is followed by a reiteration of the theme that begins "Forged"--the importance and virtue of truth. It's hard not to read between Ehrman's lines the disappointment and pique of someone who for many years had been hoodwinked by pious fraud. I attended a Bible college not dissimilar to Ehrman's Moody Bible Institute, and in the course of learning about the Bible were made only dimly aware of critical scholarship--that it existed, not what it said. We were taught that criticism could only be for one reason: people were uncomfortable with the rigors and demands of submitting to Jesus and scriptural authority, and were seeking loopholes. How shocking to discover that people who should have known better, who had an avowed and radical allegiance to truth, would work so hard to distract us from a thorough search for truth and hide from us the works of those seekers who came before us. We can be grateful that Ehrman is putting this digested, reader-friendly scholarship into the hands of so many people who care enough about what's true that they're willing to challenge their own comfortable assumptions.
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179 of 212 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Fantastic Forged!, March 25, 2011
This review is from: Forged: Writing in the Name of God--Why the Bible's Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are (Hardcover)
I don't often write reviews, but seeing how basically everyone who has reviewed it so far hasn't even read it, I thought I would help out people who were actually interested in purchasing it.
As usual, Ehrman takes a topic that could potentially bore one to tears and makes it accessible and fascinating. Like all of his popular works, this book was engaging, enlightening and very easy to read. After reading for awhile, I was always surprised how much progress I had made.
As for the content of the book, it is just what you would expect. While he does touch on forgeries a bit in other books (Jesus Interrupted, for example), he really goes into a lot of depth on what went on in the early Christian church, and how people would go about trying to get their views heard, the tricks they used, and how modern scholars work to see through the lies.
It truly is fascinating to learn about how many different viewpoints were being thrown around at that time. Apparently, forgery was so rampant, that some authors would develop little tricks to catch and dissuade forgers. But then forgers would turn around and condemn forging texts, just so people wouldn't get suspicious of their own forgeries!!
One thing that I always appreciated with Ehrman's work, is that he touches on early Christian texts that most people have never heard of. He discusses Gnostic forgeries, anti-Gnostic forgeries, as well as gospels I have never heard of. I was very amused to learn that there exists a "Gospel of Pilate" (forged of course). And it is always amusing to hear that scholars agree that some books of the Bible are forgeries, such as first and second Timothy.
Anyway, the book is filled with fascinating bits, such as ones I just mentioned, and it really helps to see just how fascinating Biblical history really is. I learned a lot, and I am very happy that Ehrman continues to write for non experts like myself. Lastly, I thank Ehrman for including an index. Jesus, Interrupted didn't have one, and it drove me nuts.
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113 of 157 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another excellent read from Ehrman..., March 25, 2011
This review is from: Forged: Writing in the Name of God--Why the Bible's Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are (Hardcover)
I see Ehrman has been successful at getting the Christians to post some one star reviews. Not surprising.
I have read several of Ehrman's books and have found them all to be excellent attempts at unearthing the truth. The fact that he was a devout Christian himself at one time only offers credibility to his work. If you believe the Christian Bible is the infallible and unerring word of god then Ehrman is probably not your author. Perhaps you would be better to stick with comic books and horoscopes. If, on the other hand, you are a seeker of evidence and a rational thinker then Ehrman is a great resource.
Pay no attention to the single star reviews. Believers (i.e. "make-believers") will always attempt to burn books and quell reason. If you are a make-believer and your mind is seeking some intellectual freedom and reason then buy this book. I would bet 100:1 odds that the single star reviewers never even read the book.
Keeping writing Bart and I'll keep buying your books and enlightening my mind.
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