Gospel authors shifted their Stories to fit their Christian Theological beliefs

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Agnostic Bible scholar Bart Ehrman and Christian Bible scholar Peter J Williams debate the reliability of the accounts of Jesus' life, death and resurrection.

Episode 3 | Season 2 of The Big Conversation

The Big Conversation is a unique video series from Unbelievable? featuring world-class thinkers across the Christian and atheist community. Exploring science, faith, philosophy and what it means to be human.

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SEARCH BY TAG : BART EHRMAN | 222 GOSPEL | 221 CHRISTIANITY | 236 CHRISTIAN | 883

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Who is Bart Ehrman?

Bart Ehrman (born 1955) is an American New Testament scholar focusing on textual criticism of New Testament, historical Jesus, and development of early Christianity. Ehrman has written and edited 30 books, including three college textbooks. He has also authored six New York Times bestsellers. He is currently the James A. Gray Distinguished [...]

What is Christian?

Christianity is a global religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, who followers believe is the Son of God. It's a monotheistic faith, meaning Christians believe in one God who exists in three co-equal persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit. Christianity is based on the Bible, with the Old [...]

What is Gospel?

Gospel is the Old English translation of Greek evangelion, meaning "good news". It originally meant the Christian message itself, but in the 2nd century it came to be used for the books in which the message was set out. The four gospels of the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are the main source of information on the life of Jesus.

Frequently Asked Questions

1.What do Synoptic Gospels say about Jesus?

The Synoptic Gospels portray Jesus as a prophet, hero and martyr - not as a God who became a Man, was sacrificed and rose again for the salvation of humanity.

2.What did Apostle Paul think of his fellow Gospel writers?

As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
(Galatians 1:9)

Paul would curse other gospel writers (James, Peter etc.) as if to say their was only one Christianity, one truth and that was his version.

3.How did Matthew (Gospel) support Apostle Pauline Christian doctrine?

It did not! Matthew (85 CE) was written for Jewish-Christians who observed the Law and did not wish to break away from Judaism. Matthew is in complete opposition to Pauline doctrine.

4.When were the Gospels written?

Not a single one of the Gospels were written by eyewitnesses.
Not one of the Gospels was written in the lifetime of Jesus, the earliest known Gospel recounting the life of Jesus came 30-35 years after his ministry - this being the Gospel of Mark.

5.What did Apostle Paul say about the other gospels?

Paul rebuked other gospel writers.

6.Who wrote John's gospel?

The writer of John is believed to be a Greek convert and he often shows a lack of knowledge of Judaism and the Torah; and even shows a disrespect for the Jews, as he uses the term "Jews" as a slur over 60 times in the Gospel of John alone.

7.What were the Apocryphal Gospels?

Apocrypha are works, usually written works, that are of unknown authorship, or of doubtful authenticity, or spurious, or not considered to be within a particular canon.

The Apocrypha (Greek for 'hidden away') are revered Biblical text which were excluded from the canon Bible. They were literally hidden away from the early Christians, and tell a very different story of Jesus.

Gospel of Nazoreans
Gospel of Ebionites
Gospel of Egyptians
Gospel of Peter
Gospel of Thomas
Gospel of Hebrews

8.What is the significance of the Gospel of Thomas?

Thomas is the most important non-canonical Gospel recently discovered in the last century. It positively features in current studies of Christian origins and the historical Jesus.

Gospel of Thomas with sayings of Jesus is thought to be earliest written record of his life produced within ten years of his death.

9.How was the Gospel of John viewed?

In the 2nd century, some Christians felt John gospel was so different in tone and approach in comparison to the other three synoptic gospels (Mark, Matthew, Luke); it should have been excluded from the cannon.

10.In 325 AD, did Emperor Constantine burn gospels, writings and religious text?

The books of Arius and his followers, after the first Council of Nicaea (325 C.E.), were burned for heresy by the Roman emperors Constantine, Honorius, and Theodosius I, who published a decree commanding that, "the doctrine of the Trinity should be embraced by those who would be called catholics; that all others should bear the infamous name of heretics".

11.Christianity and Hinduism revere their religious figures as gods or incarnations of God

According to Islam, all these righteous persons were mortal, human prophets of God, like Muhammad, having the same needs that every human being has. They all eventually died, as everyone must.

There are several reasons why they have come to be revered by their followers as 'gods'. One is that their words were misunderstood by the later generations, who mistook their figurative expressions in a literal sense. Another is that the details of their lives were not preserved accurately, and therefore a great many myths have grown up around them, and their works and deeds have been much exaggerated.

12.What is Christianity?

Christianity is a religion which was originally preached by Jesus, but today is based entirely on Paul's teachings.

13.How did the Early Jewish-Christians practise their religion?

The Jewish-Christians practised three daily prayers, male circumcision, ritual washing for purity, fasting, attention to clean/unclean foods, giving charity and pilgrimage to a central temple.

14.Why did Christians turn away from the original message of Jesus?

By the time the New Testament (Mark, Matthew, Luke, John) was written their was a strong trend towards showing how Jewish beliefs were inadequate and no longer valid; reinforced by the wish to break free of strict Jewish laws especially circumcision, ritual purity and dietary code.

Judaism had to be shown as 'the inferior enemy' if the new Christianity was to succeed.

15.What did early Jewish-Christians think of Apostle Paul?

Paul's popularity was in decline between 55-66 CE because missionaries from the Church of Jerusalem publicly rejected his innovation and claim to be an Apostle.

16.When was Christianity born?

After 70CE, Christianity became a new movement. Western Christian writings after 70CE are a product of that transformation. Christianity became a Mithras-type saviour cult whose hero was not a myth but a real man.

Anyone who questioned Jesus' divinity were viewed as ignorant and inferior, including early Jewish-Christians, Jews, Jesus' closest friends and even family.

17.Were the early Christians Jews?

Yes. Jesus himself and his immediate followers observed all Jewish law, customs and practise.

18.Did Saul kill the early Jewish-Christians?

Prior to becoming a Christian, Saul of Tarsus hated Christians. He made it his goal to capture, then bring Christians to public trial and execution.

1 And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.
2 And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.
3 As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.
(Acts 8:1-3)

Saul believed that he was serving God by finding Christians, throwing them into prison, and even executing them when possible.

19.How did the early Jewish-Christians view Jesus' resurrection?

Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:
Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
(Acts 2:22-24)

The early Christians assumed Jesus had been raised by God, and not that he was God.

20.Who seperated Christianity from Judaism?

It was Paul's dramatic conversion to Christianity that resulted in the seperation of Christianity from Judaism. Within months of his disappearing, Jesus' teachings were changed.

21.What happened after Apostle Paul converted to Christianity?

After his conversion, Paul who was the enemy to Christians suprisingly did not go back to Jerusalem to meet learn from, or even apologise to the Apostles.

Instead he went to Arabia, and then returned to Damascus, Syria. After three years, Paul returned to Jerusalem when he spent fifteen (15) days with Peter and met James. He did not meet any of the other Apostles.

22.What dramatic experience made Apostle Paul convert to Christianity?

Their are a number of varying versions of Paul�s vision as he describes it to various different people of different races.

And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
Acts 9:4

And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
Acts 26:14

And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.
Acts 9:7

And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me.
Acts 22:9

In the above accounts, their are a number of obvious contradictions: 1. ACTS 9:4, it is stated that only Paul fell to the ground on seeing the light. Verse 7 says that others with him stood speechless.

2. ACTS 26:14 says they ALL fell to the ground.

3. ACTS 9:7 states that the people who journeyed with Paul didn't see anyone but heard a voice.

4. ACTS 22:9 says that those who were with Paul saw the light but DID NOT hear the voice of the speaker.

23.How did Matthew (Gospel) support Apostle Pauline Christian doctrine?

It did not! Matthew (85 CE) was written for Jewish-Christians who observed the Law and did not wish to break away from Judaism. Matthew is in complete opposition to Pauline doctrine.

24.Where is Pauline Christianity today?

Pauline Christianity forms the majority of Christians today. It is the dominant and acknowledged mainstream Christian doctrine upheld.

In recent developments, many Christian scholars are considering the disturbing possibility the early Jewish-Christian church was actually correct and the Pauline 'Trinitarian' Christian theology is error and heresy.

25.How was Christianity made appealing to pagan idol worshippers?

In order to increase the number of Christian converts, Christian missionaries deliberately adopted pre-existing pagan holy places, shrines, special days and even pagan statues of God.

Pope Gregory I (540-604 CE), a famous Christian leader encouraged accomodating pagan customs and beliefs. So if pagans worshipped a Tree or Spirit abiding in it, rather than shun the pagan worship, he urged priests to somehow link the worship to Jesus Christ, and allow them to continue their Tree or pagan idol worship.

26.Should Christians celebrate Jesus on 25th December?

Celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ on 25th December is a good example of pagan practise which has been adopted or 'Christenized'. Any believing Christian would avoid the Christmas celebration given its Sun-Baal connections, as 'Jehovah Witness' Christians do.

27.Does the Christian Trinity come from pagan Triadic dieties?

Does the Christian Trinity come from pagan Triadic dieties? Yes. The core teachings of the Trinitarian Christian churches today do not come from Jesus.

The three-in-one Gods are pagan concepts that existed long before Jesus arrived. Later on, Christians adopted this concept and instantly made Christian doctrine an appealing alternative to the pagan God worshipping masses.

28.How did Christianity start?

The road from Jesus to the Christian religion that finally emerged in the fourth century, with its myth of Jesus as the son of God solidly in place, is a very long and twisty path.

Christianity was not born of an immaculate conception. It was the product of myriad moments of intellectual labor and negotiated social agreements by the people investing in the experiment.

This discovery has been difficult for many Christians to accept. That is because the traditional picture of Christian beginnings starts with a Jesus who knows in advance what is required of him and his disciples in order to establish the Christian religion.

- Who Wrote the New Testament, Burton Mack, p45

29.Who were the early Christians?

Many scholars object to using the term 'Christian' for the early followers of Jesus. They were still fully Jews who believed that Jesus was the Messiah.

Christianity was a later development, when the believers in Jesus developed their own religion with distinctive Christian beliefs and practices (such as baptism, eucharist, weekly meetings, and so on).

30.What does the Quran say about Jews and Christians?

The Jews say "The Christians have nothing [true] to stand on," and the Christians say, "The Jews have nothing to stand on," although they [both] recite the Scripture. Thus the polytheists speak the same as their words. But Allah will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection concerning that over which they used to differ.
[Quran 2:113]

31.Do Christians worship Mary?

Yes. Some Christians do worship Mary. Even today, the abstract of that is found in churches where she is called upon as THEOTOKOS in Greek which means "Mother of God", God bearer, one who give birth to God.

There was an idea that Mary was not the mother of God and counsels tried to change her name from THEOTOKOS to CHRISTOTOKOS, or from "Mother of God" to "Mother of Christ" - but this change was rejected.

32.What did Apostle Paul achieve by his Christian conversion?

1. Paul managed to defeat Jesus' Jewish-Christian followers whom he was persecuting by establishing a new version of Christianity which preached exactly what the high priest suggested; that murdering Jesus was not a bad idea after all

2. He defeated Jesus and Peter, the rock on whom Jesus promised to build his church and so became himself the rock of a new church (and Christianity later)

33.I am a Christian and I know my sins are forgiven and I am going to Heaven

34.How did the Christian Trinity come about?

The concept of a dual human and divine nature in the person of Jesus is known as the Hypostatic Union, an essential component of modern Trinitarianism.

Yet it wasn�t until the Council of Chalcedon that we see the emergence of an official doctrine of the Trinity in a form that is recognisable with what Christian Trinitarians believe in today. This took place in the fifth century, over 400 years after Jesus!

The evangelical theologian and Professor Wayne A. Grudem sums this up as follows: "A precise understanding of how full deity and full humanity" argues Grudem, "could be combined together in one person was formulated only gradually in the church and did not reach the final form until the Chalcedonian Definition in 451 AD

Source: [Grudem, Systematic Theology: Chapter 26 � The Person of Christ, 1994, p. 554.]

35.Does the Quran tell Jews and Christians to refer to their Scriptures (Torah and Bible)?

When the Quran refers to the previous Scriptures (Torah, Gospel etc.), this is understood to mean the original revelations sent to Moses and Jesus, and not the 'corrupted' versions we have today

36.Do all Christians believe Jesus was God or Son of God?

The early Jewish-Christians such as the Ebonites, the Cerinthians, the Basilidians, the Capocratians, and the Hypisistarians. The Arians, Paulicians and Goths also accepted Jesus as a prophet of God.

Even in the modern age there are churches in Asia, in Africa, the Unitarian church, the Jehovah's witnesses, and even the majority of todays Anglican Bishops do not worship Jesus as God.

37.Why did early Christians have church synods and councils?

Priests and bishops would often come together and vote on Christian theological matters due to the disunity, differences and conflict within the Christian denominations.

38.There is only one Bible with one Christian doctrine?

Bible versions translate verses with different explanations. For example, in JUDE 1:5, who saves and then destroys the people of Egypt?

17 Bible versions state the "Lord" did
7 Bibles state "Jesus"
1 Bible claims "God" did

These differences give rise to different Christian theological views.

The Bible verse is at http://biblehub.com/jude/1-5.htm

39.Does the Old Testament teach the Christian Trinity?

The Old Testament does not teach the Trinity, or even set forth the Messiah would be God. There is no evidence of anyone knowing about, or believing in, the Trinity in all the Jewish literature before Christ, including the Old Testament, the Jewish targums and commentaries, the Apocrypha or other apocryphal literature, or the Dead Sea Scrolls.

40.What is the Christian Trinity?

Orthodox Christian theologians define the doctrine of the Trinity is that the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God, and together these 'three Persons' make one God; and these three are co-equal and co-eternal, the Son having been 'eternally begotten' of the Father, and Jesus being simultaneously 100% God and 100% man.

Today, many Christians think they are Trinitarians simply because they believe in the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit - but that is not the Trinity!

41.What do Christian 'Trinity' scholars say about the Old Testament?

The distinguished Trinitarian scholar Bertrand de Margerie in his book The Christian Trinity in History (p.3) writes:

"�contemporary exegetes [Bible teachers] affirm unanimously that the Old Testament did not bring to the Jewish people a clear and distinct Revelation of the existence of a plurality of persons in God. In this they agree with the clear and frequent affirmation of Fathers such as Irenaeus, Hilary, and Gregory of Nazianzus: that the doctrine of the Trinity is revealed only in the New Testament."

So any person who lived before Jesus' ministry did not have to believe in the Trinity to be saved because the Trinity is not mentioned in the Old Testament.

42.What do Christian scholars say about the Trinity?

Scholars freely admit that the Trinity is never presented as a complete doctrine in the New Testament, but rather is built from scattered Bible verses.

In the NT there is no explicit statement of the doctrine�.
Evangelical Dictionary of Theology (p. 1112)

�it is not a Biblical doctrine in the sense that any formulation of it can be found in the Bible�.
New Bible Dictionary (p.1221)

The New Testament does not present a systematic presentation of the Trinity. The scattered segments from various writers that appear throughout the New Testament reflect a seemingly accepted understanding that exists without a full-length discussion.
Holman Bible Dictionary (p.1372)

Theologians admit the New Testament does not define the Trinity. Furthermore, there is no clear teaching that salvation depends on the belief in the Trinity.

43.When did Catholic Christianity become official religion of Rome?

In 380 AD, Catholicism became the state religion of Rome. A calendar of feast days was set: Christmas - to mark the birth of Jesus; Easter - to mark the death and resurrection.

44.What happened to Christians who questioned their creed?

Porphyry (3rd century philosopher) wrote a 15-volume refutation of Christianity, the gospels and resurrection
Celsus (2nd century philosopher) rejected the impossible concept of the resurrection

The imperialistic power of the church, and its stranglehold on intellectual endeavours was such that the above books and many more perished in the pious book burnings in the 4th century. Today, our knowledge of these books is limited and known through the refutation books which had to quote the destroyed books.

Once Christianity was established as the state religion, it became dangerous, as a subject of Rome, to question the doctrinal version of events.

45.Can Christians eat swine and pork?

Many Christians believe that Jesus abolished the Old Testament dietary laws. The dietary interpretation of Jesus' words (i.e. swine pig consumption) does not exist in the Textus Receptus Bible, the authoritative Greek New Testament text that was accepted by the Christian Church until about 100 years ago.

This parenthetic interpretation of Jesus words was obviously a comment that some Bible scribe wrote in the margin of the text. Later scribes accidentally or deliberately incorporated the marginal comment into the text itself, so the statement appears only in corrupted texts.

But the statement does not appear in the Textus Receptus, so the KJV says nothing about Jesus "declaring all foods clean."

God had clearly prohibited pig, swine and pork in the Old Testament. This verse was over whether or not 'unwashed hands' caused clean food to become unclean.

46.Many Christians believe that Jesus abolished the Old Testament dietary laws

47.Can Christians eat pork?

Christians claim that God told Peter, many years after Jesus' crucifixion, that established thousand year old dietary laws no longer applied.

At the time, Peter understood that the vision had nothing at all to do with a change in the dietary laws; but applied to the Gentile men.

48.Can Christians eat pork?

Which creatures did God create to be received as food? Did God create swine, shellfish, rats, maggots, lizards, bats, and moles to be received as food?

Obviously this verse refers to every creature which God created to be received as food (kosher and clean) as established in Old Testament law and other Bible verses.

49.Can Christians eat pork?

The above verse when read in context with previous verses re-affirms God's dietary laws and not abolish them. Even if this verse applies to dietary law it means "do not worry about man-made regulations concerning food and drink." The entire passage is dealing with man-made regulations of human origin.

50.Can Christians eat pork?

Jesus said these words when he sent out seventy Torah-observant Jews.

Should we understand that Jesus allowed his disciples to eat non-kosher, unclean meat? Ofcourse not!

Jesus' disciples would be lodging in Torah-observant Jewish homes, where kosher laws were observed. The disciples understood Jesus when he said, "eat such things as are set before you." He simply meant to be content with the food your host provides.

51.What life did Apostle Paul lead before his miraculous conversion to Christianity?

Paul was known as Saul was a prosecutor and law enforcer for the Romans, the Caiaphas. He was hostile towards Judaism.

52.Who was the founder of Christianity?

Jesus was not the founder of Christianity as we know it today. Most of the New Testament does not even concern the historical Jesus. Paul defines what has became known as Christianity today.

53.What did Apostle Paul do after his miraculous conversion to Christianity?

After his vision, Paul in his own words went into the desert of Arabia for a period, seeking no instruction. These accounts reflect a change in Paul's status: in his own view, he had received a revelation from Jesus/God directly and that elevated his status far higher than Jesus' twelve disciples.

54.What happened when Rome chose Christianity as the state religion?

The Romans adopted the Roman Catholic version of Christianity; and chose the teachings of Paul over Jesus.

55.Did Jesus ever preach Christianity?

No. Neither Jesus or his twelve disciples had any intention of founding a new religion. They believed in maintaining their new faith within the confines of Judaism.

56.What are the origins of Christian church music?

Saint Ambrose (334-397), a keen advocate of church music is credited with introducing it into christian worship.

57.How did early Catholics learn about Christianity?

Early Catholics were taught Christianity by the priests, nuns and at Catholic schools - and not through Bible study. The priests role was to pass on Christian beliefs and practise to his congregation. The priest acted as an intermediary between God and the people; as mankind was regarded as inherently sinful.

Catholics were discouraged from individual Bible study and pushed towards conforming with traditional Church teachings.

58.When was the word 'Christian' first ever used?

When Paul was joined in his missionary by Peter, Antioch became the first outreach centre for the Gentiles; it was here the term 'Christian' was first used.

The author of Acts (Luke, the companion of Paul) is assigning the term Christian to the disciples, all of whom were observant and respectful of Jewish Law.

59.What did Apostle Paul do after he converted to Christianity, on the road to Damascus?

According to historical records, Paul converted to Christianity between 1 to 3 years after Jesus' crucifixion. Following this mystical encounter, Paul disappeared from the scene to emerge 13 years later (47-60 CE) as Paul, a missionary to the gentiles.

60.Was Jesus a Catholic Christian?

Jesus was a Jew and the origins of Christianity are as a reform movement within Judaism. In contrast to this, the Catholic Church believes Jesus' mission was not only for Jews but the whole world.

61.How did Early Christians view the Old Testament?

The superior authority of Christ meant that while the authors of the NT embraced the OT as 'God-breathed' and thus would never feel free to reject any portion of it, they were equally convinced that the ultimate God-intended meaning of any given passage, and of the OT as a whole, was only found when seen in relation to Christ.

For example, for one or more of the Gospel authors, Jesus's birth fulfills Israel's longing for a messiah, his exodus out of Egypt fulfills Israel's exodus out of Egypt, his temptations in the desert fulfills Israel's trials in the desert, his twelve disciples fulfill the mission of the twelve tribes of Israel, his five sets of teachings in Matthew fulfill Moses�s Pentateuch, his sufferings fulfill the call of Israel to be a suffering servant, and his resurrection is the fulfillment of Israel's calling and longing for restoration.

62.In the past, how were the Christians viewed?

Paul's Christianity had a universal ambition; it aspired to bring salvation to the world.

Christianity had to reject the Hebrew representation of scripture, written in the obscure, provincial tongue only the Jews spoke, and to announce the miraculous new revelation of Septuagint, the eternal bible reincarnated in a language that everyone understood.

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