For almost 1;500 years; the New Testament manuscripts were copied by hand––and mistakes and intentional changes abound in the competing manuscript versions. Religious and biblical scholar Bart Ehrman makes the provocative case that many of our widely held beliefs concerning the divinity of Jesus; the Trinity; and the divine origins of the Bible itself are the results of both intentional and accidental alterations by scribes. In this compelling and fascinating book; Ehrman shows where and why changes were made in our earliest surviving manuscripts; explaining for the first time how the many variations of our cherished biblical stories came to be; and why only certain versions of the stories qualify for publication in the Bibles we read today. Ehrman frames his account with personal reflections on how his study of the Greek manuscripts made him abandon his once ultra–conservative views of the Bible.
#94263 in Books Hitchens; Christopher 2009-05-05 2009-05-05Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.00 x .47 x 5.31l; .35 #File Name: 0060837063208 pagesHarper Perennial
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A great look at a very complicated man.By Andrew MaileAn excellent; digestible; exploration into the entwined world and mind of one of America's leading founding fathers. Plus; it reverberates to this day; as the author makes a strong link between today's jihadists and the Barbary pirates. This book is well worth the effort and should be considered for the modern curriculum of all students of world history and Geo-politics.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. It's OK. But not a lot of depth.By BetaGeek320After reading a few of his books I was sort of surprisedthat his writing style is; well; not quite as good as I would have expectedwhen compared to his verbal style in dozens of lectures;documentaries; debates; and interviews of Hitch I watched on YouTube.At-least in the few books I read; I found his style a bit arch and anachronistic in affect;as though; not only was he writing of Jefferson; but as a contemporary of Jefferson.He also; is full of asides; that tend to make the content a little too"ramble-y" for my taste. Or perhaps his writing is too conversational for my liking.Or maybe he was simply hung-over several times while writing this or that bookor article. ;^). It's no secret that he liked his scotch; and would write whilewhile his blood-alcohol concentration was all over the map.Never the less; the guy was an original; and I really enjoy his stuff.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Does the Hard Copy Have References?By Alex McGuireThe American Revolution is; by far; my favorite historical period. I'm also a big fan of Hitchens; so I was really looking forward to great read; Unfortunately; I found it a bit rambling; and just a rehash of the same standard; conventional wisdom we've seen dozens of times before. I was also somewhat taken aback that Hitchens;and his editor; thought that references were unnecessary. There were many instances; throughout his narration; that.I was wish that he had cited his original source. This was not a very scholarly "historical" effort; in my humble opinion.
