Misquoting Jesus Podcast
Most Early Christians Believed “Heresies”
Show notes
Links Mentioned in this Episode:
- https://www.bartehrman.com/bss - The inaugural Biblical Studies Symposium: An intimate one-day gathering where eight leading scholars tackle the biggest questions about how the Bible came to be, capped by a live closing debate on whether the Gospels are based on eyewitness testimony.
*Episode Outline:*
– How Early Christian Conflicts Shaped the New Testament
– Orthodoxy, Heresy, and Proto-Orthodoxy Explained
– What Did Early Christian Heretics Believe?
– Was Early Christianity More Diverse Than We Think?
– Lost Gospels, Alternative Scriptures, and the Nag Hammadi Library
– How Theological Debates Shaped the New Testament Canon
– Did Scribes Change the Bible to Fight Heresy?
– Outsmart Bart: Eve, Herod Archelaus, and the Number of the Beast
*Episode Description:*
The modern perception of early Christianity is often one of a unified movement with beliefs passed directly from Jesus to his apostles. But as Dr. Bart Ehrman explains in this episode of Misquoting Jesus, the first centuries after Jesus's death were filled with competing Christian groups fighting to define the true faith.
Dr. Ehrman explores *orthodoxy*, *heresy*, and the historical term *proto-orthodoxy*:
- *Orthodoxy:* The doctrines that eventually became mainstream Christianity, including belief in one God, Christ's divinity and humanity, salvation through his death and resurrection, and the authority of specific scriptures.
- *Heresy:* A term used by the winning side to describe beliefs that differed from its own, often involving fundamental disagreements about God, Jesus, and salvation.
- *Proto-Orthodoxy:* The groups and beliefs of the second and third centuries that paved the way for the established Orthodox Church of the fourth century.
The proto-orthodox were just one faction among many. Followers of Marcion believed in two Gods: the judgmental God of the Old Testament and the loving God of Jesus. Some Gnostic groups envisioned hundreds of divine beings and taught that salvation came through secret knowledge (*gnosis*), rather than Jesus's death and resurrection. Others believed Jesus only appeared human and never truly suffered.
German scholar Walter Bauer challenged traditional church history, arguing that in many regions, beliefs later labeled heretical were actually the earliest and most widespread forms of Christianity. In these places, proto-orthodoxy was the minority position.
These theological conflicts profoundly shaped the New Testament in two ways: the formation of the *canon* and the *alteration of manuscripts*.
1. *The Formation of the Canon:* The New Testament's 27 books were selected over centuries of debate. Competing groups used their own sacred texts, including the Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of Peter, and Gospel of Mary. As proto-orthodoxy gained influence, a key criterion for inclusion was whether a text supported orthodox beliefs. The Apocalypse of Peter, for example, was eventually excluded, possibly because it promoted universal salvation—a view later church fathers rejected.
2. *The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture:* Dr. Ehrman explains how scribes sometimes altered biblical texts to support proto-orthodox theology and counter competing beliefs. One example is Luke –44, where Jesus experiences intense agony in Gethsemane, receives comfort from an angel, and sweats "great drops of blood." This passage is absent from the oldest and best manuscripts of Luke and was likely added by a later scribe to counter *docetic* Christians, who denied that Jesus was fully human and truly suffered. The addition reinforced the belief in Jesus's humanity and suffering.
*Also watch these episodes:*
1. Who Chose the Books of the New Testament?
https://youtu.be/9Rm1VJk1Qfk?si=PiotbgFSfTg7rCRo
2. How Wild Can it Get? The Diversity of Early Christianity
https://youtu.be/0acFfFMnXGs?si=ruld7CwZTApIkLqb
3. Who Changed the Bible, and Why?
https://youtu.be/6_SYtc98cTY?si=HkJxYcbJrH-bhHA2
#NewTestament
#EarlyChristianity
#BiblicalHistory
#BibleManuscripts
#GospelOfThomas
#Gnosticism
#BiblicalCanon
#TextualCriticism
Find your path New to biblical scholarship? - https://www.bartehrman.com/bss - The inaugural Biblical Studies Symposium: An intimate one-day gathering where eight leading scholars tackle the biggest questions about how the Bible came to be, capped by a live closing debate on whether the Gospels are based on eyewitness testimony.
*Episode Outline:*
– How Early Christian Conflicts Shaped the New Testament
– Orthodoxy, Heresy, and Proto-Orthodoxy Explained
– What Did Early Christian Heretics Believe?
– Was Early Christianity More Diverse Than We Think?
– Lost Gospels, Alternative Scriptures, and the Nag Hammadi Library
– How Theological Debates Shaped the New Testament Canon
– Did Scribes Change the Bible to Fight Heresy?
– Outsmart Bart: Eve, Herod Archelaus, and the Number of the Beast
*Episode Description:*
The modern perception of early Christianity is often one of a unified movement with beliefs passed directly from Jesus to his apostles. But as Dr. Bart Ehrman explains in this episode of Misquoting Jesus, the first centuries after Jesus's death were filled with competing Christian groups fighting to define the true faith.
Dr. Ehrman explores *orthodoxy*, *heresy*, and the historical term *proto-orthodoxy*:
- *Orthodoxy:* The doctrines that eventually became mainstream Christianity, including belief in one God, Christ's divinity and humanity, salvation through his death and resurrection, and the authority of specific scriptures.
- *Heresy:* A term used by the winning side to describe beliefs that differed from its own, often involving fundamental disagreements about God, Jesus, and salvation.
- *Proto-Orthodoxy:* The groups and beliefs of the second and third centuries that paved the way for the established Orthodox Church of the fourth century.
The proto-orthodox were just one faction among many. Followers of Marcion believed in two Gods: the judgmental God of the Old Testament and the loving God of Jesus. Some Gnostic groups envisioned hundreds of divine beings and taught that salvation came through secret knowledge (*gnosis*), rather than Jesus's death and resurrection. Others believed Jesus only appeared human and never truly suffered.
German scholar Walter Bauer challenged traditional church history, arguing that in many regions, beliefs later labeled heretical were actually the earliest and most widespread forms of Christianity. In these places, proto-orthodoxy was the minority position.
These theological conflicts profoundly shaped the New Testament in two ways: the formation of the *canon* and the *alteration of manuscripts*.
1. *The Formation of the Canon:* The New Testament's 27 books were selected over centuries of debate. Competing groups used their own sacred texts, including the Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of Peter, and Gospel of Mary. As proto-orthodoxy gained influence, a key criterion for inclusion was whether a text supported orthodox beliefs. The Apocalypse of Peter, for example, was eventually excluded, possibly because it promoted universal salvation—a view later church fathers rejected.
2. *The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture:* Dr. Ehrman explains how scribes sometimes altered biblical texts to support proto-orthodox theology and counter competing beliefs. One example is Luke –44, where Jesus experiences intense agony in Gethsemane, receives comfort from an angel, and sweats "great drops of blood." This passage is absent from the oldest and best manuscripts of Luke and was likely added by a later scribe to counter *docetic* Christians, who denied that Jesus was fully human and truly suffered. The addition reinforced the belief in Jesus's humanity and suffering.
*Also watch these episodes:*
1. Who Chose the Books of the New Testament?
https://youtu.be/9Rm1VJk1Qfk?si=PiotbgFSfTg7rCRo
2. How Wild Can it Get? The Diversity of Early Christianity
https://youtu.be/0acFfFMnXGs?si=ruld7CwZTApIkLqb
3. Who Changed the Bible, and Why?
https://youtu.be/6_SYtc98cTY?si=HkJxYcbJrH-bhHA2
#NewTestament
#EarlyChristianity
#BiblicalHistory
#BibleManuscripts
#GospelOfThomas
#Gnosticism
#BiblicalCanon
#TextualCriticism
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