Rating: 
Summary: Best book on the historical Jesus
Review: Don't believe the Jesus Seminar's wacky notions? Found several faults with John Dominic Crossnan's left-wing theories? Think John Marco Allegro was way off and Jesus was in fact NOT really a mushroom? Then Bart Ehrman's first-class Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium is the book for you.Ehrman writes with an amazing combination of historical acumen, detail, and whit. That last is the most important. After untold dry, boring tomes about the historical Jesus, it's refreshing to read something from a learned scholar who knows the importance of a well-timed joke or two. The opening of the book is a perfect case of this, in which Ehrman gives a humorous run-down of the many people over the past 2,000 years who've declared that the world would end, but ended up just embarrassing themselves. The meat of the book is comprised of a thorough (yet accessible) synopsis of the historical pursuit of Jesus. Ehrman gives all the facts, from what documents exist to who presumably wrote them, which of course will be a lot of common knowledge to those familiar with these books, but will be fascinating for those who have never read a book about the historical Jesus. Ehrman is a follower of Albert Schweitzer's theory: namely, that Jesus was an apocalyptic prophet who believed Jehovah would return within his own lifetime. However, Ehrman doesn't completely follow Schweitzer's nihilistic theory, that Jesus put himself on the cross under the mistaken belief that his death would hasten Jehovah's arrival. Ehrman convincingly promotes this "apocalyptic preacher" theory. Along the way he also takes time to look at the views of others, namely John Dominic Crossnan. And though Ehrman is professionally polite when inspecting Crossnan's (and the Jesus Seminar's) notions, you can read the acid between the lines. One thing that bothers me is that Ehrman tries so hard not to step on any toes. Several times he reassures the reader that it's not his intention to put-down one's religious views; he's only looking at things from a purely historical view. After the in your face, love it or leave it approach of Crossnan and his ilk, this is admittedly a preferable tone, but still, Ehrman almost seems to pussy-foot around certain issues. What makes this my favorite historical Jesus book is the freshness Ehrman breathes into these well-told tales. It also serves as a great refresher course. With only a few sentences and paragraphs, Ehrman conveys what other, less-skilled scholars might take several volumes to get across. Ehrman also has me believing his thesis, that Jesus believed the end was coming, if not within his own lifetime, then within the lifetime of his followers - and, after he and his followers were gone but the Earth still remained, Christian copyists inserted words into his mouth, lessening the apocalypsis of his preachings.
Rating: 
Summary: The Thousand and one Jesus'
Review: Ehrman, with alacrity, speed, and wit whizzes through the various proofs of evangelistic efficacy and his own theories on Jesus as an Apocalyptic Prophet. His analysis is thorough, brief, and easily understood by non-professionals. I found the book an enjoyable oasis from more detailed, academic studies. While Ehrman's makes his argument of Jesus as the Apocalyptic, Prophet of the New Millennium, interesting, it is an old argument with which I do not fully agree.
This is a better book for the casual reader of theology than for the serious academic because the language is easy to understand and it is a short book (245 pages-ex-notes).
I have and will read more Ehrman for relaxation, simply because he writes well and with humor.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Book
Review: I am not much of a reader, don't have the time. So I don't finish many books that I start. If you ever wanted to read a book on a historical and logical scope of Jesus, READ THIS BOOK. It was fantastic. It was beautifully logical and it took you step by step in laymen's terms. It was an easy read, but so interesting and well researched.
Rating:
Summary: The best book in its field
Review: I have read many books about the historical Jesus. Ehrman's Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium is by far the best. Although a popular account, Ehrman presents evidence and evaluates it logically. His main thesis is that Jesus believed that God would intervene, destroy all evil, and establish a Kingdom of God on earth (rather than in heaven), and that this would occur during his lifetime. Ehrman concludes that many of Jesus' sayings and deeds are best explained by Jesus' assumption that the present world would soon end. People must repent and prepare for the imminent judgment. One consequence of this belief is that Jesus was not a proponent of family values. Ehrman stresses that apocalypticism was an ideology that tried to make sense of the suffering of the Jewish people, giving them hope for the near future. To me, Ehrman's arguments are far more persuasive than those of members of the Jesus Seminar who believe that Jesus was not an apocalypticist. Ehrman does not push unorthodox views, but presents consensus views of Bible scholars to the general public. Ehrman emphasizes Jesus' Jewish environment during the first century. He explains that Jesus was not unique except in his supposed resurrection. Christianity is based not on the actual resurrection of Jesus, but on belief in his resurrection. Written sources claim that healings and exorcisms were accomplished by other Jews in ancient times, and by Hebrew prophets. Ehrman also points out the diversity of Christian views during the first and second centuries. As any scholar taking a true historical approach must, he makes no evaluation of supernatural events. A special treat is Ehrman's sense of humor. A must read for those wishing to understand the historical Jesus, as opposed to a theological Jesus.
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Summary: Historical Jesus lived and Religion based Jesus lives
Review: I have spent long long hours reading version after version of the bible. I decided to do some independent study. See what historians have to say about Jesus. This book makes absolute sense. It a mind bender, an eye opener. Jesus thought that his kingdom was of this world not the next. Goes against all of my religion's doctrine. I can't say I believe it; but I can't say I don't either. Wonderful. Just wonderful. Wait till bible class next Sunday. I hope they don't ask me to leave again.
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Summary: Seen any good miracles lately?
Review: In 1835 German theologian and historian Richard Strauss published his meticulously researched 1,500 page skeptical bombshell: " Life of Jesus Critically Examined ", which became the canon of 'The Higher Criticism '. Ehrman's book is a fairly well writen, if somewhat flip, pop retelling: Since the gospel states Peter walked on water until his faith wavered, and since, being human, he must have had specific gravity; Straus concluded that if you simply have enough faith you should fly like a bird. Ehrman writes: "You may think so, but Straus doesn't. And frankly, until I see you zipping through the air, I think I agree with him." Fair enough. All supernatural events are dismissed a priori, which at least is honest on the part of the author but begs the question: Why read on? Whether you agree or disagree, the case is closed, so what insights are to be provided? A hint comes from the author's disdain, not of believers, but of bestselling writers (including members of the " Jesus Seminar" schol of P.R. ) that have peddled Jesus in their image: Jesus the Marxist, The Gay Magician, The Feminist, The Cynic, The Palestinian Peasant, ad infinitum, ad naseuam. Ehrman believes himself to be on solid ground when he presents Jesus as an apocalyptic prophet , following Albert Schweitzer's 1906 study. Though Schweitzer's book inferred jesus was insane, Ehrman sidesteps the issue of madness, but embraces the view that he preached the imminent end of the world. Emphasis on IMMINENT, hence, 'Take no thought of tomorrow' etc, etc. The author's thesis that the evangelists invented stories to prove scriptural prohecy is well argued. e.g; Luke and Mathew not only contradict each other in the birth narrative, but through wildly different paths, go out of their way to assert Jesus's birth occurred in Bethlehem fulfilling prophecy but straining credulity, not only by disagreement, but by Luke's device of throwing a census ordered by Augustus Caesar--which noit only has not been recorded in any official record, but, had it happenned as luke describes, would have necessitated the entire Roman Empire uprooting itself for a weekend to return to their ancestral homes. (As Will Durant observed, the evangelists shared with Plato the belief, that Truth be conveyed, at the expense of accuracy. No one, no matter how brave, could have expired as calmly as he depicts Socrates death. Hemlock is not a placid way to go. A bit better than a glassfull of liquid Drano, but not by much. ) The problem with this book is that the author paints himself into a corner. Just how much of the NT do you edit out to fit your 'he was just an apocaliptic prophet' agenda? Even in the most liberal synagogue, any rabbi who would announce that 'Before Abraham was, I am ' or that he was personally present when Satan fell from heaven, or that ' You have heard it said '(By Moses!) But never mind that, because I say unto you upon my authority that. . .would likely find himself incarcerated at the nearest assylum for the bewildered. Ehrman does not provide sound reasons for these outrageous statements. He tells us that that Jesus was a Jew. ( And all these years I thought he was Irish!) and therefore he couldn't have said them. this 'argment by default' could easily be used on The Buddha. After all, if he was not who he said he was, if he did NOT attain supreme enlightenment, than he was merely a Hindu , who thought the Torah, er. . . I mean the Vedas, had gotten too rigid, and was a great rabbi, or as the Hindus say, guru. And a pretty good hand at yoga. No more. This book won't fly like a bird, but it is a bit lightweight.
Rating: 
Summary: the wrong kind of book
Review: Ironically enough, the first thing that Ehrman writes in this book is that the problem with modern Jesus research and literature is that while there are a lot of books written about Jesus, there aren't enough of the right kind of books written about him. This book, however, barely enlightens the reader to much at all concerning Jesus. He takes an overly casual (and sometimes even flippant) tone throughout much of the book which causes me to think that he is laughing at history almost as much as he is trying to explain it. Jesus, the so-called "apocalyptic prophet of the new millenium" is nowhere to be found in this book. Ehrman devotes only a few chapters about the sayings of Jesus that can (and in Ehrman's view, should) be interpreted apocalyptically. The entire first half of the book is devoted to the New Testament's history of canonization, the synoptic problem, other works about Jesus (a la The Gospel of Thomas - Ehrman considers such works almost entirely useless), and various other issues, many of which have little relevance to Jesus "the apocalyptic prophet of the new millenium." These topics would be an important part of a book about the New Testament, and mentioning these topics can also be relevant as a part of an introduction to why the author thinks the way he does. (This is one thing that Ehrman does very well - he gives reasons for why he thinks the way that he does and is completely open to the reader disagreeing with him.) However, devoting half the book to these topics does a disservice to the reader, the writer, and the book. (In fact, the book feels like two independent works stuck together in one binding - Ehrman seriously switches gears when he goes from the New Testament to the apocalyptic Jesus and there seems to be little connection between the two.) So, who exactly is this apocalyptic prophet of the new millenium? I'm not really sure that Ehrman knows. He deals a bit with Jesus' sayings about the temple and an even greater bit with his sayings about the kingdom of God. Ehrman's view seems to be that Jesus expected the messianic age to begin within his own lifetime and that God would very soon break into the realm of human history and bring about the punishment of the sinners and the reward of the righteous. Ehrman does note that for Jesus the kingdom consisted of a reversal of the order of things on earth. In the coming kingdom, for example, the last would be first and the first would be last. However, I don't feel Ehrman went into much depth concerning the apocalyptic aspect of Jesus. What about the Dead Sea Scrolls and the eschatology contained within them? Or, what about the Pseudepigrapha? Does the Talmud contain anything that could enlighten us? By using this other literature, can we learn more about Jesus' views of the end? Certainly, there must be something that can be learned. Ehrman doesn't even begin to touch this literature, though. Ultimately, Ehrman attempts to write an introduction that is both casual, flippant, and barely scratches the surface of the historical Jesus. Simply put, this is the wrong kind of book.
Rating:
Summary: The sky is falling
Review: Last night I celebrated my completion of Bart Ehrman's tome Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium. It took a bit of searching before I could find a scholar such as Bart Ehrman, but now that I've found one I'm eager to explore the whole of his writings. He is like my pet historian now. I will name him Squishy and he will be mine and he will be my Squishy. In this book Ehrman takes on the staggering task of trying to find the true historical Jesus. Giving his reasons for rejecting the Jesus Seminar's attempts of doing the same by rejecting the gospel accounts and relying strictly on outside evidence, (Ehrman covers exactly how scarce this evidence is) he instead dissects the gospels to try to understand Jesus's original message. Throughout the book Ehrman paints a pretty clear and logical picture of the popular view among historians, that the probability is Jesus was one of many apocalyptic Jewish prophets living in that era, his only unique characteristic being that some people believed he was resurrected by God (and later, that he was God). He believed that the end of the world would be coming during his lifetime, when a cosmic judge known as "The Son of Man" would ride down from the heavens, destroy all evil and establish a physical "Kingdom of God" on Earth in which the lower-class would rule over the rich and pious. Ehrman then illustrates how Jesus's teachings and ethics make perfect sense in this context. Prominent throughout the book is Bart Ehrman's trademark... the exteme care in not offending the faithful. He handles the topic with wit and sensitivity, reassuring the reader that he is not attempting to undermine anyone's faith, but merely to illustrate what is historically probable based on the materials we have to work with. On the downside, in order to preserve this view of Jesus one must edit out huge portions of the gospels, and while Ehrman does a good job justifying which parts are likely true and which are probably made up, the question still arises how you can trust what's left in a religious text after you've stripped out the parts that are obviously false. In the end, we still can't really know anything for sure... this message seems to be written between the lines of every page in this book. The book feels like it's more of an answer to the many other Jesus books on the market that try to paint him as some kind of early Marxist or gay rights advocate. And I believe that's this book's true purpose: To present to the layperson the limited information an honest critical review of the gospels gives us about the historical Jesus while keeping him in his own context, as a Jew living in the first century, instead of as a screen to project your world view onto... whether it's cynicsm, feminism, Marxism, Republicanism, Christianity or any other modern belief structure.
Rating:
Summary: Facinating but...
Review: Mr. Erhman's book is fascinating and, considering its subject, easy read. However I think the best scholarship would acknowledge that there other valid theories which are accepted by other mainstream scholars. Mr. Ehrman is quite wide of the mark on this point.
Rating:
Summary: For A Beginner
Review: Not all historical Jesus books were created equal. Bart Ehrman has provided here a distinctly beginner's book which, along with its jokey language in an attempt to put the reader at ease, prods the surface of Jesus studies without getting too much under the surface. What Ehrman gives us is, I imagine, something like his "historical Jesus 101" course: basic orientations to the gospels, the historical context, the sources for Jesus, an image that would seem to fit Jesus as a historical figure and how this might all fit together. We get some interesting additions in chapters on Jesus' "afterlife" and a retrospective "then and now". But its all still beginner's stuff. But thats not bad if you're a beginner and this book would serve you well if you were.
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