The One Verse That Made Bart Question Everything

Episode Description

This episode takes listeners on a personal and intellectual journey through Dr. Bart Ehrman’s evolving relationship with the Bible. Beginning with his upbringing in the Episcopal Church—where the Bible was respected but not the central focus—Bart traces how a conversion experience in high school propelled him deep into fundamentalist evangelical Christianity. Here, the Bible became the central, inerrant Word of God and the guide for every aspect of faith and life.

Bart reflects on his years at Moody Bible Institute and Wheaton College, noting how his views sharpened on issues of inerrancy and inspiration, especially surrounded by communities which championed the Bible as error-free, divinely inspired, and the direct foundation for doctrine and salvation. He discusses the gradual realization of discrepancies, contradictions, and the pressures of defending biblical literalism.

A significant turning point comes during his postgraduate studies at Princeton Theological Seminary. Ehrman details the intellectual struggle of recognizing errors in the biblical text—even as his professors, some deeply devout, acknowledged these issues as part of a more nuanced understanding of inspiration. This process, far from being a lightning-bolt moment over a single misconstrued verse, involved broader social and intellectual shifts, including changes in his political worldview and understanding of biblical contextualization.

Throughout the episode, Bart and Megan tackle misconceptions about his deconversion—especially the oversimplified narrative that discovering a single biblical error led to his loss of faith. Instead, Bart illustrates how intellectual honesty, changes in beliefs about inspiration, and decades of scholarly investigation led him to see the Bible as a deeply human, significant historical text rather than an inerrant divine guide.

The episode concludes with a lively Q&A addressing questions about the crucifixion of Jesus, the rise of Christianity, biblical languages, and the development of the New Testament canon. Bart’s candor, humor, and scholarship make for a compelling exploration of why reconsidering one’s faith and beliefs about the Bible can be both transformative and intellectually fulfilling.

Episode Outline:

00:00 Intro — Bart on how his views of the Bible changed over time
03:57 Bart’s Episcopal upbringing and what he believed about the Bible as a kid
05:22 Becoming a born-again evangelical and why the Bible became central
08:43 Genesis, Revelation, and how evangelicals treated biblical authority
11:08 Moody Bible Institute and Bart’s intense immersion in Scripture
13:19 Course announcement: Judaism before Jesus with Dr. John J. Collins
16:09 Wheaton, Princeton, and the first major cracks in biblical inerrancy
31:03 Listener Q&A — Jesus’ crucifixion, when the Gospels became Scripture, and what language Bart reads the Bible in

3 Key Takeaways
- Spiritual Journey is a Process, Not a Moment: Bart’s change in beliefs was a gradual process shaped by new evidence, intellectual environment, and personal reflection—not a single, dramatic revelation.
- From Inerrancy to Inspiration to Human Text: Bart evolved from seeing the Bible as a literally inerrant source, to viewing it as divinely inspired but humanly flawed, to finally embracing its full humanity after his faith shifted.
- Changing One’s Mind is Valid: The journey of faith and scholarship can—and should—be dynamic, open to change when confronted by new evidence or perspectives.

Also watch these episodes:

Why the Doctrine of Inerrancy Contradicts the Gospels?
Why the Doctrine of Inerrancy Contradicts the Gospels

Does Biblical Scholarship Destroy Faith?
Does Biblical Scholarship Destroy Faith?