How Do We Separate History from Myth in the Gospels?

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Episode Outline:
00:00 – Introducing myth, legend, and history in the Gospels
04:00 – How Bart once viewed the Gospels as fully historical
05:26 – Reading the Gospels closely and finding historical problems
06:57 – Defining history, myth, and legend
09:30 – How biblical scholars use the word “myth”
12:40 – A “true story” that did not happen
14:10 – The virgin birth as a story with theological meaning
21:46 – When Christians began questioning Gospel historicity
24:14 – How scholars evaluate whether Gospel stories are historical
33:41 – Examples of history, legend, and myth in the Gospels
40:47 – Why distinguishing history from myth matters

Episode Description
The question of how much of the Bible is historically accurate, and how much is myth or legend, is both interesting and important to a lot of people - believer and atheist alike. Some insist it’s accurate down to the last detail, while others label it as fairy tales from beginning to end. In this episode, Dr. Bart Ehrman unravels how scholars distinguish history from myth within the Gospels of the New Testament, why it’s important to do so, and exactly what a “myth” is.

Also watch these episodes:
The Genius of the Gospel of Mark
The Genius of the Gospel of Mark

The Gospel Truth: What Are the Gospels of the New Testament?
The Gospel Truth: What Are the Gospels of the New Testament?

Stories about Jesus Before the Gospels: Oral Traditions in the Early Church
Stories about Jesus Before the Gospels: Oral Traditions in the Early Church