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What are readers saying about Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible (And Why We Don't Know About Them)?
| Reviews of Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible (And Why We Don't Know About Them) - Page 1 of 1 | «1»
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Matthew posted a review at 2009-04-14 10:37:28.
(Language: English)
   
This is great book to show the other side of the bible. Any church picks and chooses sections of the bible to make their case and back up there faith. Reading the same story in various gospels opens your eyes to all the errors or disagreements of the Bible. This books also tracks the evolution of human need for god like justice on Earth and after world. Jews follow the law and nothing happens. Jesus comes along and preaches the end of time for the Romans and the paradise for his followers on Earth in this generation. Jesus dies and Paul picks up the message and runs with it. Paul dies,the kingdom doesn't come and there are a bunch of Christians out there. What do you do? Evolve to heaven and hell up in the sky and down below as the final reward or punishment. Once Christianity is leveled to par with all other world religions, one can start back down the path of looking for the ultimate truth.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-04-15 01:36:06.
(Language: English)
I debated whether to give this book 4 or 5 stars, I love and admire his work, this volume should really be read as a supplement to Misquoting Jesus, however compared to Misquoting Jesus, this book is less subject focused, i.e it went from a book about textual discripency to biblical history to religious ethics to personal experience. I agree with the sentiment and historical approach to religion, I still wish this volume provide more scholarly and academic information than it does, maybe I am too greedy. I remain the author's most loyal fan and disciple.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-04-06 09:00:21.
(Language: English)
Ehrman spills the beans on what is taught in mainstream theology schools, but yet is not told to the general, church-going public. The book is very accessible, geared toward the general public. I didn't understand the lack of an index, and I would have liked some more annotation (I'm used to both of these in books of this type.) Nevertheless, a good read. Couldn't put it down until the end.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-12-27 11:59:48.
(Language: English)
Contradictions ignored by churches
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Scott posted a review at 2010-02-07 08:11:19.
(Language: English)
Regardless of your interest in Christianity or early Christians this book will still give you that eye opening revelation into the world of historical fraud and manipulation. This book is weaved extremely well in digging out some of the misconceptions about the New Testament (ie. when it was written, by who, why, and how things do not correlate with each other, and also historical events.) The author expresses that this could have just as easily been written about the Old Testament so that opens the can of worms with regards to Jewish ancient texts and history. I have to admit this book did increase my wish to read more on the first 100 years of Christianity and also about what else was going on during that period (ie. Roman, pagan, etc.)
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-12-22 12:58:11.
(Language: English)
Excellent overview of New Testament contradictions and introduction to basic biblical scholarship. Why don't more Christians know this (and their pastors tell them?)?
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-10-08 08:04:57.
(Language: English)
This book took more than a few pages of, "yeah, you already said that...20 times!". Once he got past the disclaimers and started laying out "facts", well... Have to say that I have been a "seeker" since my formative years and this book reaffirmed my empirical view of the Universe- not surprising. On top of that, my book list doubled. Recommended for evangelicals, agnostics and seekers alike. Talk about putting ideas in perspective...well done and thank you Bart Ehrman - you made me think.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-10-29 09:30:58.
(Language: English)
Excellent biblical scholarship! I would invite any and all who are interested in Christianity and its origins to read this book. Also gives a little insight into the clergys opinion of us laymen.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-08-14 08:56:35.
(Language: English)
By analyzing discrepancies between gospel stories, Bart Ehrman tells us why the Gospels need to be read on their own. His solid biblical scholarship is taught in seminaries but never makes it to the average churchgoer. May rock those who are not familiar with the widely-accepted historical-critical method of biblical study.
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Edward posted a review at 2009-06-12 06:55:45.
(Language: English)
"Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible" by Bart Ehrman is a well written and well organized analysis of The New Testament using historical (biblical scholarship) techniques. I think the first half of the book, where Ehrman points out significant issues and differences between the various books of The New Testament, is much better than the second half where, in my mind, he presents many historical anecdotes as he strongly hypothesizes about how the early Christian church developed and how that development impacted the Bible. If you are a Christian who has not encountered biblical scholarship before, many of the ideas in this book would be very startling to you.
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Laura posted a review at 2009-04-19 12:10:09.
(Language: English)
Good fun. Not as interesting as Misquoting Jesus, which was a fascinating glimpse into how the bible became the bible. To some extent, this was a religious autobiography in the form of a quick and easy to read exploration of some specific contradictions or ambiguities in the received text. He seems to suggest that a lot of the contradiction comes from the fact that “Within three hundred years Jesus went from being a Jewish apocalyptic prophet to being God himself; a member of the trinity.” That story looks really different depending on the role Jesus plays in it. I love the test he gives in his undergraduate class, recited at 269-70. “You’re talking to someone about religion and, as sometimes happens, she turns on the steam. ‘Look,’ she says, ‘the New Testament is full of contradictions; we can’t know what the man Jesus actually did; the apostle Paul turned Jesus’ simple preaching of the coming Kingdom into a complicated theological system of sin, judgment, and redemption; and most of the NT writers actually believed that the end was coming in their own lifetime. The book is misogynist and anti-Semitic and homophobic and has been used to justify al sorts of horrendous acts of suppression over the ages; just listen to some of the televangelists! This is a dangerous book!” “How do you respond?” Puts its thumb on it right there.
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Matthew posted a review at 2009-04-14 10:09:56.
(Language: English)
This is great book to show the other side of the bible. Any church picks and chooses sections of the bible to make their case and back up there faith. Reading the same story in various gospels opens your eyes to all the errors or disagreements of the Bible. This books also tracks the evolution of human need for god like justice on Earth and after world. Jews follow the law and nothing happens. Jesus comes along and preaches the end of time for the Romans and the paradise for his followers on Earth in this generation. Jesus dies and Paul picks up the message and runs with it. Paul dies,the kingdom doesn't come and there are a bunch of Christians out there. What do you do? Evolve to heaven and hell up in the sky and down below as the final reward or punishment. Once Christianity is leveled to par with all other world religions, one can start back down the path of looking for the ultimate truth.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-03-12 07:43:02.
(Language: English)
This is a book I've been wanting for most of my life. A very accessible historical-critical view of the New Testament. The author presents some the internal inconsistencies of the books of the NT along with some explanation as to how they likely came about and what you might learn from them. There's also discussion of which books became canon, which didn't, how they were selected, who selected them and their motivations in making the selection. The author is a long-time professor and is agnostic today. This was important to me, as I wasn't interested in a history whose ultimate aim was to recruit me to one faith or another. He seemed to have a history of genuine interest in the field, having entered as an evangelical. His stated motivation in writing the book was to spread to the average person on the street the historical-critical teaching that most pastors receive in seminary but for some reason usually choose to withhold from their congregations. Ever since I was a kid I remember thinking of the bible as a book that must have been sold in the check-out lines in ancient supermarkets. That's absurd of course, but that's all anyone would ever tell me - they'd never correct me with the 'real' story. This book seems to have scratched that itch for me quite well. It hasn't changed my opinion that christianity is a human construct. But it has given me a much more solid basis and depth of appreciation for it as a human construct.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-12-31 04:19:45.
(Language: English)
Well-written, even for those not versed in critical Biblical studies. Ehrman is one of the nation's top Biblical critics, and was once a preacher himself. This work takes a historical critical view of the Bible, taking great care to inform those of us who have been in the church (even high ranking church members) why we don't know about the contradictions he points out. He does side-by-side readings of the gospels to show how, historically, they do not match. Ehrman reminds us that what we consider the Bible was written, just as any other piece of literature, by people with a purpose. Great read- quite fascinating.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-11-14 11:42:00.
(Language: English)
This has had a profound affect on how I think about the scriptures, and the origins of Christianity...
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-06-11 03:15:04.
(Language: English)
Super interesting. The publisher's subtitle of the book suggests more controversy than the book actually contains. The book isn't really about "hidden contradictions," it's about the open differences of fact and perspective that emerge upon careful comparative reading of the various books of the new testament. Ehrman encourages what I think is a salutary practice: thoughtful, openminded, fearless reading of the authors for what the authors themselves had to say, without trying to shoehorn their diverse perspectives into any one orthodox schema.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-09-23 09:38:15.
(Language: English)
Bart Ehrman's book is an extremely interesting read that explains the historical development of the New Testament over the the first 400 years of Christianity. Ehrman clearly explains "what became Christianity represents a series of rather important departures from the teachings of Jesus. Christianity, as has long been recognized by critical historians, is the religion about Jesus, not the religion of Jesus (p. 267). This Aramaic (the language of Jesus) and Ancient Greek speaker lays out the explanations of many of the developments and conflicts of theology between the different books of the Bible in a clear concise manner. Ehrman explains that all of the leading theological institutions that train ministers have taught the development of the bible by men and its conflicting stories for the last 200 years. At the end of the book he does explain why he thinks most church leaders do not teach what they know and accept to their congregations. Ehrman further explains that knowing the historical story behind the Bible's development does not have to destroy faith, but can enhance better understanding and make one a better Christian.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-07-22 05:40:25.
(Language: English)
In this book Bart Ehrman shows how the historical-critical method reveals contradictions in the Bible obscured by a devotional approach to Scripture. As Erhman notes religious scholars will not find much of anything new in regard to his own claims about the Bible. But those accustomed to approaching Scripture in the devotional manner found in many conservative churches are likely to find in Jesus, Interrupted information that will challenge the veracity of their views about inerrancy. The book is engaging and personal as Erhman describes how the study of the Bible transformed his own views about it.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-04-11 09:09:26.
(Language: English)
My umpteenth Ehrman book. His scholarship and textual criticism, as well as his wit suit me just fine. Not much new here except Ehrman tends to point fingers at pastors who have been taught Biblical criticism, but refuse to teach its elements to their congregations. His final chapter is his statement of faith -- actually, it seems out of place in this book, but given the controversy that surrounds this man, I cannot blame him for getting his side of his story out. This would be a good start for anyone who has an interest in Biblical criticism, but limited exposure to these kinds of ideas.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-08-10 06:18:35.
(Language: English)
This is a great introduction to historical study of the Bible. It is easy to read and tackles many major issues that you can chew on (either privately or with friends!) for many a good debate. Ehrman handle the historical Jesus in one chapter, which left me wanting more on this topic. I also loved the sections on comparing gospels, and delving in to what each says about this "familiar" story. A great book for those who have and those who have not read the Bible, and for anyone interested in learning more about early Christianity.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-04-14 11:52:37.
(Language: English)
This is not for anyone who wants to use the Bible as a basis for their faith or religion. It very clearly shows way too many problems and contradictions. For someone like me who is interested in the Bible as literature and from a historical perspective. This is a must read.
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Jim posted a review at 2010-09-09 01:15:37.
(Language: English)
Not something new for me. But truly a good summary of "apparent but hidden" contradictions found in the New Testament. A faithful Christian would not be torn by it but it gives him or her a deeper and true understanding of the Bible and Christianity.
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Sean posted a review at 2010-12-04 02:46:12.
(Language: English)
Interesting look at how a Jewish apocalyptic prophet became the figurehead for an antisemitic religion.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-07-20 12:36:58.
(Language: English)
I enjoyed this book. It built on what I had learned from my undergraduate religious studies courses about the New Testament. The book provdied a lot of information about contradictions in the New Testament and provided a brief but mostly clear description on a variety of other topics from Early Christian History to the various communities that tried to make sense of Jesus and his teachings in the first and second centuries. I did not find the book to be offensive and I felt that his interpretations were not at all out of the mainstream. It is clear, however, that he has a bone to pick with Evangelical Christians and he is clearly disappointed by pastors who fail to teach the historical critical Bible to their congregations. I do recommend this book, but it is helpful to have at least some working knowledge of the New Testament before reading this book.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-04-01 05:33:20.
(Language: English)
Basically, this book is a regurgitation of Bart Ehrman's other books "Misquoting Jesus," "Lost Christianities" etc. However, in this book, Bart Ehrman has moved on from his area of expertise (New Testament Textual Criticism), and has moved onto attempting to lay out an exegesis of the Bible and the contradictions that exist between the authors. This book is sadly only a one-sided view on the topics it discusses. Its like watching only CNN or only Fox news at election time. Strangely enough, for a book that is meant to be one of the best scholarly works on the textual criticism of the New Testament, this book has suprisingly few footnotes, no Scripture index, and no bibliography. Another strange thing about this "scholarly" book is the number of times the author appeals to the emotions of the readers to prove his point. For anyone looking for a book that just throws out overarching and absurb claims with no serious exegesis of the Biblical text... then this book is for you! For example on page 12, Ehrman states, "The authors of Job and Ecclesiastes explicitly state that there is no afterlife." Now, for anyone who has seriously studied the Bible, that assertion of Ehrman's is just ludicrous. Job has the most explicit passage about the afterlife in the entire Old Testament (Job 19:25-27). And to say that the author of Ecclesiastes (King Solomon) did not believe in the afterlife is doing eisegesis on certain passages of Ecclesiastes, not to mention that it is an anachronistic argument to begin with. Plus it shows that Ehrman misses the entire thrust of Ecclesiastes. It would be as if I authored a book of right-wing republican politics that did not mention Jesus at all, and then some person comes along and reads the book and says "The author obviously did not believe in Jesus."
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