Did Jesus Exist?

The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth

By: Bart D. Ehrman

Narrated by: Walter Dixon

Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

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

Jesus, a Jewish Apocalyptic preacher.

In this book Dr Ehrman with some (but in my view not compelling) success tries to argue that Jesus did exist as a man and was executed as apposed to the view common amongst some groups of atheists that Jesus (man, god or both) was simply a myth and never existed at all.

The first argument presented is that the vast majority of biblical scholars believe that Jesus existed falls particularly flat, there has been many times in many fields where the vast majority of scholars in a field have been found to be wrong. Its an unhelpful argument and should have been left out.

Dr Ehrman calls those who don't believe Jesus existed in any physical form Mythicists. While I think the book succeeds in disposing many of the arguments of the Mythicists, it does not present any compelling arguments in the other direction. In the end no significant proof is presented that Jesus did exist other than the biblical sources. While Dr Ehrman presents some very good analysis of the biblical sources and makes a good argument as to the more historically plausible sections, at the end of the day one has to rely on the flawed and biased biblical sources as proof Jesus existed.

Based on this evidence, my opinion is that Jesus probably existed, but I am far from certain. After listening to this book I am actually less certain than I was, I was shocked by the lack of non-biblical references to Jesus in material dating to the first century.

Where this book shines however is Dr Ehrman's argument of Jesus as a Apocalyptic preacher similar to John the baptist. Its a well thought out argument and the most plausible argument as to who and what Jesus was I have heard. If you have read or listened to Dr Ehrmans other books and are short on time, I would suggest skipping to the final few chapters.

Very interesting

Would you listen to Did Jesus Exist? again? Why?

No. I got the message.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Did Jesus Exist??

No particular moment.

Have you listened to any of Walter Dixon’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Did Jesus Exist?
Is Christ a made-up figure?

Any additional comments?

Interesting. I never knew, there was really so much evidence to be found.

Catholic who loves this book

my dad was trained by Jesuits to think to reason honestly. I owe this to my dad. this book has granted me a fair historical evaluation of Jesus who I love more following my listening to this book. so good, thanks to the author for a work I find credible.

A fascinating look at the historical Jesus

An entertaining and level-headed look at the historical Jesus. I learned why we know that Jesus existed, and a whole lot about the ancient world into the bargain.

I always believed that Jesus of Nazareth existed

What made the experience of listening to Did Jesus Exist? the most enjoyable?

A well modulated voice and clear diction

What did you like best about this story?

The amount of research and that was so easy to follow up on

What about Walter Dixon’s performance did you like?

yes, see above.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. I wanted to check his quotations while they were fresh in my mind

Great Historical Explaination of the Existance of

Would you listen to Did Jesus Exist? again? Why?

I would definitely listen again, there is a wealth of supporting and opposing views covered with a solid basis for the arguments.

Any additional comments?

Great historical view and information for the existence of Jesus. The facts and arguments for both sides are represented well with no bias. Historical supporting references are covered completely.

Not for the Layperson

I'm a fan of Ehrman, but, unfortunately a lot of what is said went over my head with regards to the sources. I understand the theory behind L, M, and Q, but a lot (not all or most) of what the author says with regards to L and M, in particular, just seemed like guesswork. I already had accepted that an historical Jesus existed, but I'm not sure Ehrman's explanations would sway even the undecided in the issue.

Popular history by a first class scholar

If you could sum up Did Jesus Exist? in three words, what would they be?

Thorough, informative, entertaining

What did you like best about this story?

Dr Ehrman knows his stuff, and lays out the facts clearly. He is respectful to his opponents, but he has the authority of scholarship behind him. The book is far from dry, as he writes in a similar style to a news article.

What about Walter Dixon’s performance did you like?

The narration was clear, and had enough change in pitch and intonation to give the illusion that I was reading a novel.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I found myself going back to this book instead of the novel I was reading concurrently.

Any additional comments?

I can't wait for his next book on why Jesus came to be regarded as God.

Deserves six stars

One of the best books I've read. Bart does a great job on the historicity of Jesus.

I agree. Jesus Existed.

What made the experience of listening to Did Jesus Exist? the most enjoyable?

Ehrman methodically gives plausible reasons leading to the conclusion that a man named Jesus did exist - and was the basis (somehow) for later stories about him.