Book Review: The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings

Abstract

     Utilizing a historical-critical perspective, Bart Ehrman provides a comprehensive introduction to the New Testament and many non-canonical writings. Chapter one is a broad look at the New Testament, including its canon and layout with an emphasis on early Christian diversity. Chapter two is a look of the New Testament world, historically, socially, and religiously, while chapter three focuses on its Jewish context and chapter four focuses on the Greco-Roman context. Chapter five examines the “Christian” Gospels from a literary perspective and chapter six treats Marks specifically. The Synoptic problem is addressed in chapter seven. Chapters eight and nine cover Matthew and Luke, respectively, while chapter ten discusses the Acts of the Apostles, Luke’s second volume. Chapter eleven deals with John’s Gospel and chapter twelve deals with John’s epistles and their relationship to Gnosticism.
     Chapter thirteen introduces the reader to non-canonical gospels and chapter fourteen addresses sources and problems with historical Jesus studies. Chapter fifteen is a brief excursus on history and miracles and chapter sixteen places Jesus in the context of first century Palestine. Chapter seventeen addresses Jesus’ role as an apocalyptic prophet and chapter eighteen surmises that Christianity began by deluded apostles instead of the resurrection of Jesus. Chapters nineteen through twenty-one introduce readers to Paul and his undisputed epistles while chapter twenty-two addresses his magnum opus, the epistle to the Romans. Chapter twenty-three examines possibilities in the origin of Christian tradition and chapter twenty-four covers the “deutero-pauline” epistles. Chapter twenty-five addresses the situation of women in early Christianity and chapter twenty-six, by examining the epistles to the Hebrews and of Barnabas, deals with “Christians and Jews.” Chapter twenty-seven treats early Christian apologetic writings, chapter twenty-eight deals with “Christians and Christians” (works like James and the Didache), chapter twenty-nine addresses early Christian apocalypses, and the epilogue presents the problem of textual criticism.

Strengths

     From the start, Ehrman’s writing and lucid and detailed. Written for the novice, Ehrman’s paragraphs take time to elaborate on important points but leave enough unanswered to whet the reader’s appetite. Without being condescending, the author assumes the reader’s ignorance in the areas of discussion, which is a great method for reaching students. Supplementing this quite well is the book’s aesthetically pleasing colors, maps, diagrams, and charts.
     The author, however, is not afraid to go into detail. One valuable insight he provides is clearing misconceptions about how Jews viewed the Torah (p. 39). Omitting recent discussions on “covenantal nomism,” Erhman simply states that the Torah was a joy for Jews to keep because it was the covenant between them and Yahweh. They had already been blessed and keeping the Torah was pleasant.
     Before the author commences his attack on the New Testament, two chapters that are especially profitable are chapters two and three which are dedicated to background studies in the Jewish and Greco-Roman world. These chapters certainly contain a latent disregard for Jesus and Christianity, but the material regarding other ancient religions is well-written and detailed. Along these lines, Ehrman’s summary of Gnosticism (p. 196-201) is detailed and cogent.
     Though Ehrman assumes the existence of Q, he does not attempt a subjective reconstruction of what this supposed document may have contained. Instead, he appears to use this to refer to material not in Matthew or Luke. In this he may be commended for his “conservative” view on the subject. On the other hand, at times he swings in the other direction, espousing the four-source theory (p. 94).
     Ehrman’s skepticism is hard to miss, but his occasional “defense” of Christianity is surprising. For example, Ehrman refutes the claim that Matthew or even Christianity in general is anti-Semitic (p. 118), though strangely on the same page he questions if Matthew was even a Jew (box 8.5). Likewise, the author argues against Paul being the true founder, second founder, or even co-founder of Christianity (p. 156), a surprising claim from a liberal scholar. Further, though Ehrman is not fearful of noticing supposed discrepancies in the Gospel accounts, he admits that the differences in the accounts of the temptation of Jesus in Matthew and Luke may be accounted for by different thematic purposes (p. 129-130).
     One of the best strengths of the book is Erhman’s illustration of different interpretive methods in his overviews of the New Testament books. For example, he used the literary-historical method for Mark, the redactional method for Matthew, and the comparative method for Luke. In this way, the author both summarizes the text and illustrates the use of these different methods, which saved another chapter that could have been devoted to these methods.
     One strength of this book especially appreciated by neophytes is the nice bibliography at the end of each chapter. While not overwhelming, each bibliography contains about eight books that direct students further in their interests and studies. Longer chapter have more works to reference, but good bibliographies are gold for students interested in learning more.

Weaknesses 

     Right out of the gate, Ehrman assumes that division in early Christianity was normative (p. 2, 13). As the Nag Hammadi library and the legacy of Marcion reveal, there was a diversity of beliefs within Christianity, but Ehrman overstates his case. Many forgeries do not invalidate the possibility of an authentic belief or faith. Ehrman’s presupposition reminds one of Baur’s fateful presupposition based on Hegel’s philosophy.
     Though Ehrman’s textbook is obviously written with undergraduates in mind, his ambiguous citations are troublesome. “Some scholars,” “most scholars,” “many scholars” are frequently referenced but rarely specifically (p. 7, 142, 293, for example). Granted, this is an introductory work, but citations such as occasional endnotes may be helpful to substantiate his claims.
     Ehrman’s skeptical presuppositions are hard to miss because the evidence he presents is often “lop-sided.” Though he presents material well and raises good questions worthy of discussion, he frequently ignores rational answers that “many scholars” have provided, allowing reader to see his side only. On page 11 (box 1.5), Ehrman raises his familiar argument concerning textual variants and scribal errors. Likewise, he ignores rational solutions to the problem of dating the death of Jesus in light of Mark and John (p. 63-65). Other examples are his frequent references to figures “like Jesus” such as Apollonius of Tyana (whom he mentions more than once), Honi the Circlemaker, and Hanina ben Dosa, but the author neglects to provide reasons the accounts of these men differ considerably from Jesus. Along these lines, the author places Christianity and Judaism right alongside the “myths” and “traditions” of other ancient religions (chs. 2-3). Comparative studies are valuable, but Ehrman shows at best ambivalence toward the Judeo-Christian religion (p. 39).
     Other times Ehrman is skeptical without even giving his own reasons. For example, he questions that Luke wrote the Gospel of Luke (p. 57), but who would fabricate that an obscure figure like Luke would have written a Gospel account? Likewise, the author doubts that Mark wrote the Gospel of Mark yet gives no evidence that he did not. This is certainly strange in light of the support of Markan authorship from the early Church Fathers.
     One of the author’s methods of undermining trust in the reliability of the New Testament is by emphasizing the lack of reliability in oral tradition (p. 59). Truly, oral tradition carried the Gospel abroad for about three decades before the Gospels were written, but this certainly does not mean details were easily overlooks or glossed. Luke’s great attention to detail should not be overlooked, nor should modern lack of memorization be read back into the first century. Papias actually preferred the spoken word to the written word. It may be said that an uneducated Jew, due to the immense memorization he was required to have at home, received an education comparable to others.
     The author attempts to disregard Mark’s account of Pharisaical resistance to Jesus by arguing the Pharisees were not as populous in the time of Jesus to “stand at every wheat field to spy out itinerant preachers on the Sabbath” (p. 80, box 6.3). However, about a century before Jesus, Alexander Jannaeus, upon his deathbed, counseled his wife to win the support of the Pharisees (Josephus, Antiquities, 13:400). Though this was the high point of Pharisaical influence, they remained the “popular party.”
     Strangely, Erhman argues that Luke did not think salvation is through Jesus’ death and resurrection, citing repentance and remission of sins as the reasons for salvation (p. 154). However, he neglects that Acts 2:38 records Peter preaching that repentance and baptism must be done “in the name of Jesus.” Further, salvation is only in the name of Jesus (Acts 4:12).

Summary 

     Ehrman’s textbook on the New Testament is an easy to read and aesthetically pleasing book. It is full of good research, valuable illustrations, and profitable discussions. However, many of the conclusions of the book are hasty and unwarranted. Regrettably, the author’s skepticism outweighs his scholarship.

Biographical Information for Bart D. Ehrman 

     Ehrman is a graduate of Wheaton College and received his Masters of Divinity and Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary. He taught at Rutgers University for four years before moving to University of North Carolina in 1988. He is currently James A. Gray Distiguished Professor of Religious Studies at UNC. He has published many popular books including The Lost Gospel of Judas Iscariot (2006), Studies in the Textual Criticism of the New Testament (2006), Misquoting Jesus (2005), and Jesus, Interrupted (2009). He has also published many scholarly articles and served various posts within the Society of Biblical Literature.