Did Jesus Exist?

The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth

By: Bart D. Ehrman

Narrated by: Walter Dixon

Large numbers of atheists, humanists, and conspiracy theorists are raising one of the most pressing questions in the history of religion: "Did Jesus exist at all?" Was he invented out of whole cloth for nefarious purposes by those seeking to control the masses? Or was Jesus such a shadowy figure - far removed from any credible historical evidence - that he bears no meaningful resemblance to the person described in the Bible?

In Did Jesus Exist? historian and Bible expert Bart Ehrman confronts these questions, vigorously defends the historicity of Jesus, and provides a compelling portrait of the man from Nazareth. The Jesus you discover here may not be the Jesus you had hoped to meet - but he did exist, whether we like it or not.

©2012 Bart D. Ehrman (P)2012 HarperCollins Publishers

Another Great Ehrman Book

First I should say that I am a big fan of Bart Ehrman and have several of his books - so this one was right up my alley. Ehrman does a wonderful job of going piece by piece through the various evidences we have for the existence of Jesus, all the while making it enjoyable to read. I learned a lot about how historians go about making judgments about historical people, places, and events - all of which is super interesting and can be applied to all areas of history.

Educational

Interesting book and well preformed. You get a overview of the state of scholarship in the field

Very helpful

Addressed most of my questions in an helpful and thorough manner. This book surpassed my expectations

a great read for the atheist christophiles..

the author addresses all the issues which touch upon the question, but also explains why they are (or arn't) important. both mythicists views and the life of Jesus, the jewish apocalyptic preacher are explored, and it was scholarly enough to get me reading more. i wish the "works cited" of the book was also available somewhere for further reading.

Typical Ehrman....Absolutely on point!

Ehrman provides an incredibly clear overview of the scholarly consensus on the historical Jesus of Nazareth. I am unspeakably grateful to him for using logic as a razorblade to cut through all the unfounded nonsense out there on the origin of the Christian movements. This book completely changed my outlook on the faith that is so common to our country.

Fantastic

Any additional comments?

A great work by the fantastic Bart Ehrman where he gives detailed account of all the evidence for the historicity of Jesus, against the "Myhthisist" point of view. Exactly the kind of study I was looking for. Many thanks to Porf. Ehrman for this work. The narrator is excellent.

understanding

So much is misinterpreted in life and the Bible is only one. it is ok for their to be a Jesus that was Jewish.

Jesus Did Exist, But Not the Jesus We Expected

What did you love best about Did Jesus Exist??

The author followed the evidence wherever it led. He was very convincing and his arguments were clear.

What three words best describe Walter Dixon’s performance?

The reader did a fine job. However, 30+ minutes were inexplicably repeated near the end, which was quite jarring. I was not sure where the repeat ended and the new material began. That is why I did not give the performance a higher rating.

Any additional comments?

Although Ehrman concludes that a historical Jesus did live and was crucified by Pilate, he also concludes that this Jesus did not espouse many of the things we have been taught. For example, Ehrman concludes that Jesus was a Jewish apocalyptic who believes the Kingdom of Heaven would arrive in his lifetime, and so urged people to forsake their families and livelihoods in preparation. This is not the Jesus who values marriage and the family.

I am glad that I heard this side of the story.

Ehrman presents an indisputable case

Any additional comments?

Ehrman presents an indisputable case for the historicity of Jesus. This man's knowledge on the New Testament and early church history is staggering. I've read a number of his books multiple times and still find myself learning something new with each reading.

Ehrman's arguments are so strong, that for one to deny the historicity of Jesus would require a leap of faith equal to believing in Christ's divinity. Thus it shows the biases of mythicists like Richard Carrier, who are obviously intelligent enough to asses the evidence objectively, yet deny it in order to sell books.

The greatest shortcoming to this audio version is the rather drab and robotic narration, but I did eventually get used to it. This is not a book for Christian fundamentalists, nor is it for militant atheists, rather it's for the objectively intelligent reader who really want's the facts regarding the existence of the historical Jesus Of Nazareth.

I’m convinced there was a historic Jesus

Compelling evidence of an historic Jesus with well thought out logical points. I’m incredulous by the vitriol of some of these negative comments which make me wonder if they even listened to the book. Perhaps listening when already biased for a different opinion insures that they will hear only what they wish to hear without being objective. Isn’t this the true definition of BIGOTRY? I would recommend this book to anyone wishing to explore the historicity of Jesus.