Forged

Writing in the Name of God - Why the Bible's Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are

By: Bart D. Ehrman

Narrated by: Walter Dixon

Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

It is often said, even by critical scholars who should know better, that “writing in the name of another” was widely accepted in antiquity. But New York Times best-selling author Bart D. Ehrman dares to call it what it was: literary forgery, a practice that was as scandalous then as itis today. In Forged, Ehrman’s fresh and original research takes readers back to the ancient world, where forgeries were used as weapons by unknown authors to fend off attacks to their faith and establish their church. So, if many of the books inthe Bible were not in fact written by Jesus’s inner circle - but by writers living decades later, with differing agendas in rival communities - what does that do to the authority of Scripture?

Ehrman investigates ancient sources to:

• Reveal which New Testament books were outright forgeries.
• Explain how widely forgery was practiced by early Christian writers - and how strongly it was condemned in the ancient world as fraudulent and illicit
• Expose the deception in the history of the Christian religion.

Ehrman’s fascinating story of fraud and deceit is essential reading for anyone interested in the truth about the Bible and the dubious origins of Christianity’s sacred texts.

©2010 Bart D. Ehrman (P)2011 HarperCollins Publishers

Energetic and iconoclastic as usual

Bart Ehrman appears to write his books so that you can pick up any one of them without having read the previous ones. To some extent this results in repetition of basic principles, because many of his conclusions start from the same place. This one has less repetition of earlier material than some of his books. And while some may object to the term "forgery" in this context, he supports his conclusions with voluminous evidence; the terms may vary, but he is, like it or not, very much within the mainstream of 21st-century Biblical research. His main original contribution here is to go back to what ancient authors actually said about books falsely attributed to certain people: turns out the frequent argument that "attributing your book to your teacher or to someone famous was accepted practice in the ancient world" is simply not true. Ehrman shows his usual energy in following through on this idea. Clear exposition, well-narrated.

An Excellent Piece of Scholarship

If you enjoy theological histories, or if you just really love semantics, this book is for you. Feel like Christianity is missing the story behind the story? Fill in the blanks! Bugged by the self-righteous or Holier Than Thou? Arm yourself! Curious about why the modern world believes certain things the way we do? Educate yourself! Interested in esoteric archaeology and don't know where to dig? X marks the spot! Whatever your reasons for digging deep into early Christianity, there's something for everyone.

This isn't an easy read, and I certainly don't recommend plowing through it. Mr. Ehrman is a top notch scholar, and he gives you the benefit of his labors as straightforward as he can, and while he doesn't expect you to be the expert he is, it's still on you to keep up. This isn't the kind of book you listen to while doing other things. But don't let that scare you. It's only as complex as you want to make it. I'd suggest taking it slowly, in bite-size segments, letting the information marinate a bit before moving on to the next chapter. You'll make it to the bottom of the rabbit hole with confidence if you're willing to actively listen.

Aha!

Ehrman nailed it with this one. For those who mistakenly assume the Bible is the "Word of God" this will be a hard slap in the cheeks. For those who have the courage to think for themselves and examine other people's assumptions, this is a wonderful book. From my perspective, this is Ehrman's best...but I'm a fan. If you thought the Bible was super natural in origin, I dare you to read this.

Excellent work

Dr. Ehrman kills again in this awesome book that is highly educational for those seeking truth. Read magnificently by the narrator. I’m still going to buy a hard copy to study in the near future. Priceless purchase.

A must read for anyone who values the Bible.

I learned so much about a book I thought I knew. The Bible makes so much more sense now.

New information that I had never thought about. Incredible knowledge presented clearly by the author

I love learning new things. This book broadly extended my knowledge of canonized as well as extrabiblica ancient books regarding the origins and spread of Christianity.

The Willing Suspension of Disbelief

There's an old saying in jounalism, to the effect that you should believe nothing of what you hear and only half of what you read. And it's probably the belief in the written word that has led human beings to stray from healthy skepticism into revealed religion for all of recorded history. No one would have remembered nor even known about the inane mutterings of a tribe of Bronze age desert wanderers had they not had the temerity to write down stories about their imaginary friend.

Bart Ehrman has it right, I think, at least partly right. We humans are credulous beings. Once people had written documents, the forging could commence, perpetrated by people who wanted control over the minds of other people. "This is what happened, see, it's all here for you to read!" Let the revelations begin.

Bart started life as a fundamentalist christian, but as this book proves, his inquisitive and logical mind could hardly sustain that. This book is a great read, and I'm sure even Bart would say it's worthy of a healthy dose of informed skepticism.

I expect no less

Where does Forged rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I liked it as far as Bart D. Erhmen's Biblical history goes, he is a scholar and the scholarship here is solid,

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

The conclusion of the book isn't surprising, with an well argued premises

What does Walter Dixon bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Clear pronounciation.

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

No, the book is 8 hours + long, you would not want to finish this in a single sitting.

Any additional comments?

There are considerable overlap in scholarship this book has with Misquoting Jesus, Peter Paul and Mary Magedelen.

Sub par for the author

I have read many of Prof. Ehrman's other books, and I have enjoyed all of them. While I still enjoyed this book and received some gain from it, I felt like something was different. For whatever reason, this book felt as though it had a more skewed ratio of personal, rather than scholary, commentary.

When were the books of the Bible written?

I loved this book. The author analyzes the books in the New Testament and comes to some very interesting conclusions. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are not the authors of those books. But who was--and when were they written? The author also makes a case for calling the content of some of the books "forgeries." That may not work for some people, but I think his reasoning is sound.

I had to get used to the reader. He does a good job, but he's not a favorite. Anyone wanting a different take on the conventional wisdom of the New Testament will enjoy this book.