Call forgery by its right name

Why should someone write in the name of Peter, or Jesus?
This is a question that matters deeply to the author. This is not a book by one of Christianity's many enemies. Nor is this a lightweight romp to poke fun at people's beliefs.
Bart D Ehrman painstakingly distinguishes between false attribution (which may have been made in good faith) through scribal insertions and plagiarism to "pseudepigraphy" -- which he makes the strongest case for calling by its right name: forgery. As he says: "Whoever added the final twelve verses of Mark did not do so by a mere slip of the pen."
Scholars have defended pseudepigraphy as writing "inspired by" (say) Peter or Paul. But these "inspired" forgers often contrived to make Peter or Paul say things they hadn't -- and wouldn't. Things which conspicuously contradicted the apostles' views expressed elsewhere. Pseudo-Paul's controversial prohibition against women speaking out in church is a case in point, as is the vitriolic anti-semitism of the so-called "Gospel of Barnabas" (Barnabas being Paul's close companion, best-placed to know his real views).
No claim is ever made, or refuted, without several citations from classical authors, as with the often-heard opinion (never supported by evidence) that writing under the name of a famous person was condoned in the ancient world. It wasn't: the author quoting well-known classical authors such as Horace enraged on finding themselves its victims, plus citing instances where people caught at it were censured, dismissed or severely punished.
The book is well summed-up in the author's own words: "It may seem odd to modern readers, or even counter-intuitive, that a religion that built its reputation on possessing the Truth, had members who attempted to disseminate their understanding of the Truth through deceptive means. But it is precisely what happened. The use of deception to promote the Truth may well be considered one of the most unsettling ironies of the early Christian tradition."

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1 person found this helpful

Informative and enjoyable

Another Bart Ehrman book I've thoroughly enjoyed. I learned plenty along the way and enjoyed the writing and presentation style. I got slightly frustrated with the repetition of certain points and phrases, sometimes word-for-word, particularly in the first half of the book. I also felt that the author slightly over-played some of his arguments and played down (though didn't ignore) one or two more credible counter-arguments, but perhaps that's always going to be the case (and is probably more true for other authors who stick to a far more conservative line!). Nonetheless, I was hooked through to the end. Now it'll no doubt be another all-too-long wait for his next book!

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5 people found this helpful

Outstanding!

Bart Erhman is a storyteller and I enjoyed this book, as I did some of his other popular titles. Forgery was the bread and butter of early Christians, and they did it with aplomb.

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1 person found this helpful

Interesting but repeats itself a lot.

This book is interesting, however it could have been half as long and still get the point across.

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Excellent book

Excellent content and narration. Very enlightening and informative. As with all of Prof. Ehrmans books and lectures, could not stop listening.

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1 person found this helpful

Very impressive

Even though the narator is not Bart Ehrmann, I simply loved it. It is so refreshing to listen to an unbiased scholarly masterpiece.

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