Misquoting Jesus

By: Bart D. Ehrman

Narrated by: Richard M. Davidson

Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

When world-class biblical scholar Bart Ehrman first began to study the texts of the Bible in their original languages he was startled to discover the multitude of mistakes and intentional alterations that had been made by earlier translators. In Misquoting Jesus, Ehrman tells the story behind the mistakes and changes that ancient scribes made to the New Testament and shows the great impact they had upon the Bible we use today. He frames his account with personal reflections on how his study of the Greek manuscripts made him abandon his once ultraconservative views of the Bible.

Since the advent of the printing press and the accurate reproduction of texts, most people have assumed that when they read the New Testament they are reading an exact copy of Jesus's words or Saint Paul's writings. And yet, for almost fifteen hundred years these manuscripts were hand copied by scribes who were deeply influenced by the cultural, theological, and political disputes of their day. Both mistakes and intentional changes abound in the surviving manuscripts, making the original words difficult to reconstruct. For the first time, Ehrman reveals where and why these changes were made and how scholars go about reconstructing the original words of the New Testament as closely as possible.

Ehrman makes the provocative case that many of our cherished biblical stories and widely held beliefs concerning the divinity of Jesus, the Trinity, and the divine origins of the Bible itself stem from both intentional and accidental alterations by scribes -- alterations that dramatically affected all subsequent versions of the Bible.Bart D. Ehrman chairs the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is a widely regarded authority on the history of the New Testament.

©2005 Bart Ehrman (P)2006 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

"Engaging and fascinating." (Publishers Weekly)

More Backup!

Love this book because it gives me more reasons to back up why religion is such a waste of time. Would have given a 5 star, only giving 4 for the Audible version because the reader Richard Davidson is so painful to listen to. I know if I was reading the physical book I would have enjoyed the read better. His voice is rough and he speaks so harshly. It's clear that he is reading rather than just talking to an audience. Other than that, I'm very grateful Dr. Ehrman chose to write this book.

Thought Provoking

A thoughtful and refreshing examination of how the current New Testament came to be. Before this book I had always assumed the words of the Bible were set in stone and unchanged over time. Overall this is an interesting examination of Christianity that has helped me understand and feel closer to my religion.

insightful and well referenced.

pleasant to listen to and well balanced. thorough, clear arguments, non biased, and properly segmented.

A STRONG CHALLENGE FOR MY FAITH!!!!

Definitely challenging my beliefs and understanding, concerning what scripture is and is not. This book allowed me to realize we walk by faith and not by sight or facts. Thanks to all involved, because of this work my faith has been increased. Not in the writ, but because of the understanding of how all that is came to be. The faith He used is the faith needed of all humanity thru obedience to bring salvation to all thru Jesus The Christ. Thank you all, for a well presented body of work that reminds me that it is by faith through grace and not of works least anyone should boast...

Comments from a reader

Reading this book will make you educated on the subject of religion and to see it for what it truly is. It is not enough to just read the Bible, you must also know history and be able to heavily analyze text. By reading this book my life has changed.

Wow and thank you!

This is great! I read the Bible daily, and constantly searching for the truth and understanding the culture in which it was written,this was extremely helpful! Some reviewers asked, does he believe in Christ? He totally believes in Jesus are not people are call human Lee wrote the Bible, but like so many of us just wants know the truth. I don’t believe that the Bible is in fallible, while still loving, breathing, speaking, and following Jesus! Great book!

a compelling history of the bible before printing

I adore this author. I grew up a Christian, but had a hard time with the notion of the authority of this book. my feelings were inklings of what this book elaborates upon in great detail. the benefit I get from reading the Bible has gone up dramatically since I was exposed to this fresh perspective.

Extremely well written.

This is an excellent read. Specially, for those who are seeking the truth. Highly recommended it.

Engaging listen on textual criticism

An enjoyable presentation of a usually boring subject. This book added life to the topic and made it much easier to understand. It is worth the listen regardless of your current views. Bravo.

HOW JESUS CAME TO SPEAK IN RED ENGLISH WORDS!

This is a serious book, well-narrated and a not difficult listen for regular lay-persons of any religious preference. The author is quite neutral, matter-of fact, though with a Protestant born-again background. You could sit there with your King James on your lap, scribbling furious notes. Or you could just keep knitting and listen twice as I did. I don't like the title at all. It suggests a flippancy or jokester element that is not in the book. We are all misquoting Jesus simply because the original texts are lost and nobody had a tape recorder running when Jesus was teaching. His first listeners and everyone since have done the best they could. Really.

The author is a fine scholar who built on his youthful passion for Bible study and went so far as to learn the original languages and immerse himself in the absorbing study of ancient documents, second-guessing the old scribes, reasoning through all the whys and wherefores. What this book does is impress the lay-person with how much he doesn't know, can't know, and has to trust the scholars about. Mr. Ehrman gives fascinating specific examples of the kinds of mistakes that were made over centuries of copying -- some accidental, some deliberate tweaking in a time before printing presses or copy machines. There was no respect for copyright. If material was being dictated, a word that sounded similar might be substituted inadvertantly.

I majored in English, so studied Chaucer and Shakespeare. I understood that the King James Bible was not telling me to go in my clothes CLOSET to pray among the boots and tennis shoes, although that could be a good place. I also came through a rigorous Sunday School and Bible study regimen as a kid. One college required four units of religion for graduation. That expanded my understanding. A visit to the un-Holy Land helped as well. This author does not speak down to anyone. He manages to include all of us as his friends and fellow students. I stayed interested. I can only imagine how difficult it would be to decide where to stop in taking up this study. Does an eager young person learn Latin, Greek and Hebrew and start studying old documents -- or does she learn enough to appreciate the more thorny passages, the major puzzles, and then proceed to ministerial life? This is the stuff of entire lifetimes! I have to think of the people who want to learn the computer, starting with bits and bytes and ones and zeros. They don't understand that they can learn to click a mouse and be gaming on FaceBook by suppertime! At any rate, this is a book I think the whole family would enjoy together, although I would never ever insist any child sit and listen! The old folks could play it on a road trip and the kids pick up a bit by osmosis. Even a teen would best find this subject gently for himself. The author gives a history of this study of Biblical texts so that we can investigate further to our heart's content. Huge subject! Absorbing listen!