Did Jesus Even Claim to be God? Bart Ehrman Says No...

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Thanks to Bart Erhman for pointing out that people don't have to be lying and instead just be mistaken. It always bothers me when people say if it's not true, then the witnesses were lying. It's a silly binary.

It's enjoyable to listen to a civilized discussion, with no fake drama. This was an hour well spent.

I love it when Bart switches into professor mode, letting Alex think through something :D

It’s amazing what you learn about Christianity outside of the church.

I like Bart he’s very down to earth. And good challenging questions for him Alex. Great interview very informative

I absolutely love this conversation and it merits at least a second listen The pertinent questions framed so simply and precisely and the crystal clear logic of Bart’s answers make hit such an informed and informative conversation. These two are wonderful and I can’t praise them enough. Two smart, honest scholars elucidating these issues so t gf at we too can see as clearly as possible. So helpful and so easy to follow.

6:04 Did Jesus think the world was about to end? 12:50 Did Jesus claim he was God? 30:00 Did Jesus contradict trinitarianism? 32:39 Did John make up Jesus' divinity? 35:41 Are the birth narratives forged? 42:08 Mistakes and mistranslations in the New Testament 1:01:03 Responding to William Lane Craig on the resurrection 1:26:25 Who did Jesus claim to be? 1:29:40 Outro

I appreciate so much how genuinely you seek to understand and fairly represent views opposed to yours. I’m a Christian and have adored this channel for the last several years I have been a fan. These are incredibly compelling objections to Christianity. Keep up the good work!

I could seriously listen to Ehrman talk to hours. His voice is so peaceful and reassuring. And also he speaks straight up facts.

Back in university, I took a course about the beliefs of the early church. The central question was about the consistency of their beliefs. Did they stay the same or do we see a change in what they believed? At the time, I remember looking at Bart Ehrman's views and not finding them too compelling. That probably had a lot to do with my current faith at the time and the biases of my Orthodox professor. He did give a nice balance of views on each topic we discussed in all our classes and provided a lot of opportunity for genuine discussion and disagreement, but his own passion for the topics was also impossible to ignore. Listening to this podcast now years later when my certainty in my faith has been completely shattered and rendered me entirely agnostic, I'm surprised how much I want to believe in the divinity of Jesus. I have my fair share of criticisms over what Christians claim to believe and their contradictions with reality or the way they live, but the incarnation was the most wonderful idea to me. When in contrast with Islam, I find a God who took on the human experience and shared in literal communion with us to be far more compelling than a God who is too far above us to be disgraced in such a manner. I have come to think a less fundamental view of the Bible is the only proper reading of it. People who see the God of the Old Testament as a a depiction of God's people wrestling with their understanding that becomes more and more clear and then revealed fully in The Word, that is Christ made sense....though no understanding of the Bible or Christianity has fulfilled the part of me that wonders why. Why are there so many disagreements from people genuinely seeking after Truth, not just in Christianity but in general? And with the same certainty I once had in personal experiences and beliefs, others are certain with experiences and beliefs that contradict my own. How can these disagreements be reconciled except to say God only wants some people to know Truth? But then how can you truly know that you have found it? I dont think it's possible for me to ever be sure again, but I think more and more, I am finding myself comfortable in what Dustin Kensrue of the band Thrice called "The Grey," and learning how to live with doubt in a world that demands you to be certain and so binary. It is facinating to me that people call it a relationship and yet so much of it is stories and second and third and fourthhand accounts of God. How much of God do you have to get right to be having a relationship with him? How much do you have to get right to even be "allowed" to communicate with him?

I really enjoy Bart Ehrman but I'd like to add a little bit to the discussion. The reason the gospels exhonerate Pilate is because Pilate represents Rome and the Christians want to show the Romans that they don't blame them, they blame the priestly heirarchy of the Jews for their Messiah's death.. They didn't want to become an anti-Rome cult in Rome's eyes. You can also see this in 'The Epistle of Paul to the Romans' in which you find verses that say that you must not oppose your leader because he was selected by Jehovah. Not something you see in any of his other letters. Another possible reason for the strange story of the godly impregnation of Mary is that Jesus is named 'the son of god' in many passages and the term 'son of god' is a common colloquialism for a king or messiah of Israel (Psalms 2) - see both David and Soloman. This went from a colloquialism to literal as the pagans tried to understand the whole 'son of god' thing.

Impressive. Very nice. Let's see Paul Allen saying no.

Thank you both for the informative content. I think this was an excellent interview/conversation. Alex had some great questions and respectfully challenged some of Dr. Ehrman's positions, but made sure to give Bart time to speak and thoroughly explain why he holds the views that he does. Keep up the great work!

Love that these two connected - been following both for years.

18:01 I’m sorry, but what Bart says here is just flatly incorrect. Mark 14:61b-64 say this: “Again the high priest asked him, ‘Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?’ ‘I am,’ said Jesus. ‘And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.’ The high priest tore his clothes. ‘Why do we need any more witnesses?’ he asked. ‘You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?’ They all condemned him as worthy of death.” This is just about the most blatant claim to divinity that an ancient Jew could make… Claiming to be the Messiah was not blasphemous. The Sanhedrin had never condemned someone of blasphemy for claiming to be the anointed one prior or after. The Old Testament describes several people as anointed. It was claiming to be the Son of Man who rides on the clouds that was considered blasphemy. This is a direct allusion to Daniel 7, where a divine figure rides on the clouds and is given heavenly authority by the Ancient of Days. “Riding on the clouds” is a near-east motif of divinity (Deuteronomy 33:26, as well as the Baal Cycle). Bart’s supposition that Christ was condemned merely for political reasons falls apart when you look at the behavior of the Sanhedrin. He was handed over to Pilate by the Jewish authorities primarily because he claimed special divine status.

Get Bart Ehrman’s course, “Did Jesus Call Himself God?”: www.bartehrman.com/godman See all of Dr. Ehrman’s courses here: www.bartehrman.com/alex

"A claim isn't evidence. Evidence is when you try to substantiate a claim." "Historians don't make exceptions on religious grounds " Perfect. This is a fundamental principle of the scientific method. This is very applicable to the current rebirth of the alien/UAP craze.

Is it just me or does Bart have enormous hands??

The quran says in chapter 5 about jesus: 5:116: "And [beware the Day] when Allah will say, 'O Jesus, Son of Mary, did you say to the people, "Take me and my mother as deities besides Allah?"' He will say, 'Exalted are You! It was not for me to say that to which I have no right. If I had said it, You would have known it. You know what is within myself, and I do not know what is within Yourself. Indeed, it is You who is Knower of the unseen.'" 5:117: "I said not to them except what You commanded me – to worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. And I was a witness over them as long as I was among them; but when You took me up, You were the Observer over them, and You are, over all things, Witness."