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 bestselling author Bart D. Ehrman dares to call it what it was: literary forgery, a practice that was as scandalous then as it is 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 in the 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.
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About the Author
Bart D. Ehrman is the author of more than twenty books, including the New York Times bestselling Misquoting Jesus and God's Problem. Ehrman is the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and is a leading authority on the Bible and the life of Jesus. He has been featured in Time and has appeared on Dateline NBC, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, CNN, the History Channel, major NPR shows, and other top media outlets. He lives in Durham, N.C.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
60 of 64 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Faith is a profoundly emotional issue with its own dynamics as Eric Hoffer makes clear in The True Believer, a seminal study on the nature of belief and mass movements. Another valid insight is that of the metaphysician Ernest Holmes who warned against destroying or undermining a person's faith if it gives them comfort and helps them seek what is good and right: "Every person's religion is an answer to the cry of the soul for something which is real, something which may be relied upon - a resting place for which everyone instinctively feels a need."
Thus, the pursuit of truth may be a perilous enterprise that leads to painful places. Giving up certainties takes courage. In this investigation, Ehrman approaches the subject with empathy. Both non-canonical works and those eventually included in the New Testament are subjected to scrutiny. That is appropriate since when these were written, no canon existed.
It is no secret to most scholars in the field: Many of the books of the New Testament were composed by authors who lied about their identities, deliberately impersonating famous characters such as Peter, Paul and James. That is deception; a book written by someone who lies about his identity is a forgery.
In order to avoid this harsh reality, most Christian theologians employ the word "pseudepigrapha" when referring to these forgeries. Yet the word literally means "writing inscribed with a lie." Scholars may claim that it was an acceptable practice in the ancient world to write a book in someone else's name. Not so: the author cites Polybius, Martial and Diogenes Laertius in this regard.
Only 7 of the 13 letters of Paul of Tarsus were written by him. In the ancient world, books like that were called "pseudoi" (lies).... Read more ›
Thus, the pursuit of truth may be a perilous enterprise that leads to painful places. Giving up certainties takes courage. In this investigation, Ehrman approaches the subject with empathy. Both non-canonical works and those eventually included in the New Testament are subjected to scrutiny. That is appropriate since when these were written, no canon existed.
It is no secret to most scholars in the field: Many of the books of the New Testament were composed by authors who lied about their identities, deliberately impersonating famous characters such as Peter, Paul and James. That is deception; a book written by someone who lies about his identity is a forgery.
In order to avoid this harsh reality, most Christian theologians employ the word "pseudepigrapha" when referring to these forgeries. Yet the word literally means "writing inscribed with a lie." Scholars may claim that it was an acceptable practice in the ancient world to write a book in someone else's name. Not so: the author cites Polybius, Martial and Diogenes Laertius in this regard.
Only 7 of the 13 letters of Paul of Tarsus were written by him. In the ancient world, books like that were called "pseudoi" (lies).... Read more ›
21 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Bart Ehrman lived up to my expectations once again. This book is well researched and sheds light on who did or did not write certain books of the Bible and how this book came to us down through history. As a student and teacher of the Bible for almost 65 years I would encourage the reader to shed preconceived cultural indoctrination and look at the facts as the author presents them. Many of the beliefs we hold today are based on the writings of unknown authors and need closer examination.
44 of 49 people found the following review helpful
By Sphex
TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Bart Ehrman is a biblical scholar with a knack for shaping a wealth of learning into a form that's accessible to the lay reader. In this fascinating book, he concentrates on the part forgery played in the early church, arriving at a startling conclusion: from the first to the twenty-first centuries, "Christians intent on establishing what was right to believe did so by telling lies, in an attempt to deceive their readers into agreeing that they were the ones who spoke the truth". In short, throughout history, Christians "have seen fit to fabricate, falsify, and forge documents" in the name of their religion.
Ehrman acknowledges that this will sound odd to many, believers and non-believers alike. After all, this is a religion with a reputation for possessing not just the truth, but the Truth. In contrast with other ancient religions (more interested in proper practices than whether or not their beliefs were true), the "Christian religion came to be firmly rooted in truth claims, which were eventually embedded in highly ritualized formulations, such as the Nicene Creed" and "Christians from the very beginning needed to appeal to authorities for what they believed". If Jesus said it, if Paul said it, if James said it, that was enough to settle the matter in hand. If you wanted your views to carry more weight, put them in a document and attach the name of an established authority (producing books in the name of Peter, for example, "was a virtual cottage industry in the early church"). In other words, forgery (pseudepigraphal writing "in which an author knowingly claims to be someone else") was far from unusual, and we know of over a hundred writings "from the first four centuries that were claimed by one Christian author or another to have been forged by fellow Christians".... Read more ›
Ehrman acknowledges that this will sound odd to many, believers and non-believers alike. After all, this is a religion with a reputation for possessing not just the truth, but the Truth. In contrast with other ancient religions (more interested in proper practices than whether or not their beliefs were true), the "Christian religion came to be firmly rooted in truth claims, which were eventually embedded in highly ritualized formulations, such as the Nicene Creed" and "Christians from the very beginning needed to appeal to authorities for what they believed". If Jesus said it, if Paul said it, if James said it, that was enough to settle the matter in hand. If you wanted your views to carry more weight, put them in a document and attach the name of an established authority (producing books in the name of Peter, for example, "was a virtual cottage industry in the early church"). In other words, forgery (pseudepigraphal writing "in which an author knowingly claims to be someone else") was far from unusual, and we know of over a hundred writings "from the first four centuries that were claimed by one Christian author or another to have been forged by fellow Christians".... Read more ›
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Kevin
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Fascinating and informative to the point of being shocking - even to an aged sceptic like myself. Clear and readable prose; well argued and equally well evidenced insofar as I, a non-expert, could judge.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Bart produces a very good product. I have read most of his books. I am a believer myself, and I enjoy having my brain rocked by a true biblical scholar, as you seem to get right down to the awkward nitty gritty of the New Testament. I found it interesting to discover the truth about the various scanky forgeries in my beloved bible, although I don't agree with everything that Bart says, or I'd be an agnostic, as he is.
9 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
An excellently researched book from a great authority on the New Testament.
Together with another book,Burton L Mack's The Lost Gospel: The Book of Q & Christian Origins, and "Forged", I was able, once and for all, to sort out for myself the Jesus Christ conundrum.
How could it be that such an influential organization such as the Christian Church (all be it with all its internal differences) have come about, if the Gospels are not historic but only mythical?
Bart D Ehrman's "Forged" goes along way to explain this while convincingly insisting that there was in fact an historical character who unwittingly started it all.
Bart D Ehrman's "Forged", along with Burton L Mack's The Lost Gospel: The Book of Q & Christian Origins which sets out the original Q Gospel, you too might be set free from the puzzlement experienced in trying to have, as Mark Twain put it "faith in believing what you know ain't so".
Together with another book,Burton L Mack's The Lost Gospel: The Book of Q & Christian Origins, and "Forged", I was able, once and for all, to sort out for myself the Jesus Christ conundrum.
How could it be that such an influential organization such as the Christian Church (all be it with all its internal differences) have come about, if the Gospels are not historic but only mythical?
Bart D Ehrman's "Forged" goes along way to explain this while convincingly insisting that there was in fact an historical character who unwittingly started it all.
Bart D Ehrman's "Forged", along with Burton L Mack's The Lost Gospel: The Book of Q & Christian Origins which sets out the original Q Gospel, you too might be set free from the puzzlement experienced in trying to have, as Mark Twain put it "faith in believing what you know ain't so".
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Read
An interesting take on past bible history.
Some people are aware that it is mainly a forged piece of history, very contradictory in a lot of places. Read more
Some people are aware that it is mainly a forged piece of history, very contradictory in a lot of places. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mrs Christine McGill
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great biblical critique
Fantastic writer making what could be a dull subject in some authors hands very interesting, informative and easy to read. Highly recommended
Published 6 months ago by Billy Blair
1.0 out of 5 stars
Same ole, same ole.
Once again Ehrman ploughs the same old furrow, and once again he has NOTHING of any significance to say. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Kriss Mascard
2.0 out of 5 stars
Bible-bashing is a lucrative business...
Bart Erhrman is one of the most competent New Testament manuscripts scholars today. He used to be engaged in serious objective studies about the New Testament. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Stephane
1.0 out of 5 stars
"Probably" Forged
Two of the reasons I gave this book one star:
1. There is nothing substantively new in this book that Ehrman has not written before.
2. Read more
1. There is nothing substantively new in this book that Ehrman has not written before.
2. Read more
Published 23 months ago by JeremiahA
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