First published 2014
Bart Ehrman investigates how early Christian scribes changed biblical manuscripts during the heated theological battles of the first centuries. His study connects the social upheavals of early Christianity with the physical transmission of sacred texts. Ehrman demonstrates that scribes regularly modified the documents they copied, inserting changes that supported orthodox positions against heretical rivals. The author examines specific alterations made to emerging New Testament writings, showing how theological disputes shaped the very words that survived. He reveals the dynamic relationship between copyists and their source materials in an era when reproduction meant potential transformation. This updated edition contains a new afterword that reviews two decades of subsequent scholarship in biblical studies. The book illuminates both the intellectual conflicts of early Christianity and the practical realities of ancient textual transmission.
Genres: history, religion, non-fiction, christianity, church-history, academic
Vibes: thought-provoking
Tropes: academic-research
Period: 1st-century, 2nd-century, 3rd-century, 4th-century
328 pages · ebook · Oxford University Press, USA