Quotes by Bart Ehrman

“For most people, the Bible is a non-problematic book. What people dont realize is that theyre reading translations of texts, and we dont have the originals.”

“Given the circumstance that (God) didnt preserve the words, the conclusion seemed inescapable to me that he hadnt gone to the trouble of inspiring them.”

“I just began to lose it. It wasnt for lack of trying. But I just couldnt believe there was a God in charge of this mess.”

“Theres not a single scholar on the face of the Earth who buys any of it.”

“Often they think of him as somebody who was greedy, avaricious, who was more interested in making money than in being faithful to his master.”

“Traditionally in Christian circles, Judas in fact has been associated with Jews. Of being traitors, avaricious, who in fact, betray Jesus, who are Christ-killers. And this portrayal of Judas of course also leads then to horrendous acts of anti-Semitism through the centuries.”

“Were confident this is genuine ancient Christian literature.”

“In the ancient world, Christianity was even more diverse than it was today.”

“Hes the good guy in this portrayal. Hes the only apostle who understands Jesus.”

“The idea in this gospel is that Jesus, like all of us, is a trapped spirit, who is trapped in a material body. And salvation comes when we escape the materiality of our existence, and Judas is the one who makes it possible for him to escape by allowing for his body to be killed.”