Podcast · History

Misquoting Jesus with Bart Ehrman

by Bart Ehrman · English · History

"Misquoting Jesus" is the only show where a six-time New York Times bestselling author and world-renowned Bible scholar uncovers the many fascinating, little known facts about the New Testament, the historical Jesus, and the rise of Christianity. The show features Dr. Bart Ehrman and host, Megan Le

New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 42 min
Latest: 6 Oct 2026
Language: English

Latest episode

6 Oct 2026 · 57 minNew

How Apologists Use (and Misuse) Manuscripts

Do manuscripts prove the Bible never changed? Some Christian apologists have argued that the Great Isaiah scroll (1QIsaa) is proof of an unchanging Bible, that it's "Word for Word" identical to the later Masoretic Text. Some have argued that P52 – a small fragment of John's gospel – shows that eyewitnesses quickly wrote down gospels. In a debate with Bart a decade back, Daniel Wallace even referenced a first century Gospel of Mark, that turned out to be a stolen manuscript that was eventually dated much later. For some modern Christians and apologists, manuscripts are "proof" of something...…

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Earlier episodes 29 most recent

E206 · 29 Sep 2026 · 41 min

Was Daniel Jesus' Favorite Book?

The Book of Daniel is set in the sixth century BCE, during the Babylonian exile. It describes visions of empires rising and falling — and for a long stretch, the sequence tracks real history with remarkable precision. Kingdom after kingdom, exactly as it happened. Then, at a certain point, it stops being right. That break is one of the most important pieces of evidence. Bart joins host Megan Lewis to explain what Daniel gets right, where it goes wrong, and why the exact point of failure tells us when the book was really written. And Bart will talk about how this book and its ideas may have…
E250 · 22 Sep 2026 · 45 min

The KJV is a Literary Masterpiece, and a Disaster Study Bible

The King James Bible is arguably the most influential book in the English language, and Bart thinks it's a literary masterpiece. He also thinks it's one of the worst Bibles you can study from. In this episode of Misquoting Jesus, Bart and host Megan Lewis trace where the KJV came from, starting with William Tyndale, whose translation it largely reuses and who was burned at the stake for making it. They look at why its unicorns and cockatrices trip up modern readers, and why the words you think you understand, like "conversation," "strange," and "admiration," are more misleading than the ones…
E204 · 15 Sep 2026 · 38 min

Fixing Gospel Contradictions: 2nd Century to Now

Around 170 CE, a Syrian Christian named Tatian noticed what a lot of readers have noticed since: the four Gospels don't always agree. So he fixed it. Tatian wove all four into a single, seamless account of Jesus' life. And for roughly two hundred years, in the Syriac-speaking churches of the East, that harmony was the Gospel. Then the church came for it. Bishops collected copies and destroyed them. Tatian was condemned as a heretic. Today not a single copy survives in its original language — we know the text only through a commentary, some translations, and a sixth-century Latin Bible that…
E203 · 8 Sep 2026 · 44 min

Why Are There Four Gospels?

Most Christians are used to reading four Gospels. But why are there four? Why not one? Or twelve? The early Church thinker Irenaeus fought hard to keep Christians reading all four gospels, but it wasn't a foregone conclusion. In this episode, Bart unpacks how a four gospel new testament came to be, and what could have been the alternative.
E202 · 1 Sep 2026 · 40 min

Was Paul an Eyewitness of Jesus' Resurrection?

In a recent response to Wes Huff, Bart said the only eyewitness we know of who's converting people is Paul. A lot of people pointed out that Paul never met Jesus. Fair. But Paul is also the only person in the New Testament who tells us, in his own words, that he saw Jesus alive after his death. Everyone else reaches us secondhand. Bart unpacks what Paul actually claims to have seen, why Paul is the only person who claims to see a resurrected Jesus, and why the earliest firsthand evidence for the resurrection suggests visions.
E201 · 25 Aug 2026 · 42 min

How Bart Learned to Live Without God

For many religious people who deconvert, losing their faith leaves a giant hole in their lives. They can lose their community, their purpose in life, and their understanding of how the world works. What does life look like on the other side of deconversion, once the dust has settled? Today we're talking about how Bart lives without God. We also have our bonus segment at the end, which this week is listener's questions, where I'll be asking Bart - among other things - whether he uses early Christian art as a source for his research.
E200 · 18 Aug 2026 · 36 min

Where did Satan actually come from?

In the Old Testament, Satan is a minor figure at best, and one fully under the control of YHWH. He appears briefly in the New Testament, notably in the temptation of Jesus. How did Christianity take those minor references and end up with the lord of all evil?
E199 · 11 Aug 2026 · 45 min

What Moody Bible College Didn't Prepare Me For

Those familiar with Dr. Bart Ehrman's career trajectory will know that he attended Moody Bible Institute, where he received his early training in textual criticism - but what is a "bible institute", exactly, and why do people attend them?
E198 · 4 Aug 2026 · 36 min

Was Jesus Actually John's Disciple? (Q&A)

Did you know that Jesus wasn't the only apocalyptic prophet traveling around Galilee during the 1st century CE? If the answer is "yes Megan, of course!", then you probably know something about John the Baptist. But what do we really know about him, and what impact did his teachings have on the historical Jesus?
E197 · 28 Jul 2026 · 59 min

Bart Fact Checks Apologist Wes Huff

Last year, Wes Huff was a relatively unknown Christian apologist. Then he went on The Joe Rogan Experience, one of the biggest podcasts in the world, and spent more than three hours talking with Joe Rogan about biblical manuscripts, the New Testament, the historical Jesus, and the case for Christianity. The interview exploded online. It now has more than 8 million views on YouTube alone, over 40,000 comments, and it essentially launched Wes into apologetics stardom overnight. Wes is smart, articulate, and clearly very knowledgeable when it comes to manuscripts and textual criticism. But as…
E196 · 21 Jul 2026 · 43 min

Did Jesus Actually Believe in Heaven?

Did you know that Jesus didn't believe in the soul, heaven, or hell? As an apocalyptic Jew, these ideas would have been completely foreign to him. So where on earth did Christianity get the idea that a life well-lived would be rewarded with a place in paradise for your soul? Today, we're talking about where the idea of heaven came from.
E195 · 14 Jul 2026 · 43 min

8 Bible Myths Many Christians Believe

Have you ever heard a Christian say something about the Bible and wondered exactly where they were getting their information from? Today we are talking about the most common claims Christians make about the Bible that are not actually based in reality.
E194 · 7 Jul 2026 · 41 min

Who Really Chose the Books of the New Testament?

Have you ever read something in the New Testament, maybe the Book of Revelation, and wondered why on earth it's included in the Bible? Why were these specific books included, and why are they considered inspired by God while the non-canonical writings are just the work of humans? Today we're talking about the formation of the New Testament, using listeners' questions.
E193 · 30 Jun 2026 · 44 min

John's Rewritten Gospel: What Did Scribes Change?

Did you know that scribes made changes to all of the books of the New Testament? Some of them were accidental, but some of them were very deliberate. The gospel of John is no exception - but what was changed, and why?
E192 · 23 Jun 2026 · 39 min

Three Myths Atheists Believe

Atheists often accuse people of religious faith of uncritically accepting a bunch of myths - but do atheists do the same? How closely do people actually examine their dearly-held views and beliefs, regardless of their religious persuasion?
E191 · 16 Jun 2026 · 34 min

Did Jesus Suffer During His Crucifixion? (Depends Which Gospel You Read!)

In the gospels, Jesus' suffering is on a sliding scale - from sweating blood, to calmly accepting his fate. What did Jesus think about his own suffering, and is it even possible to answer that question from the evidence we have?
E190 · 9 Jun 2026 · 39 min

This 1,700-Year-Old Song Is the Oldest Christian Music We Have

Ever wondered what the first Christian praise and worship service sounded like? Join us as Dr. Charles Cosgrove unveils the mystery of the Oxyrhynchus Hymn, the earliest known Christian hymn with musical notation!
E189 · 2 Jun 2026 · 45 min

Why No One Can Prove the Resurrection

The resurrection of Jesus is probably one of the most well known stories from the New Testament. But how do historians deal with this miraculous event? Should it be discounted in its entirety, or can it be investigated using the historical method? Today, we're talking about what historians can and can't say about the resurrection.
E188 · 26 May 2026 · 40 min

Before Genesis: What the Old Testament Borrowed from Mesopotamian Stories

The Old Testament wasn't written in a cultural vacuum, but who and what influenced its writers. Today we're talking about the cultural background of the Old Testament and how the literature and societies of the surrounding cultures impacted its creation.
E187 · 19 May 2026 · 42 min

5 Evangelical Truisms that Aren't True

Love him or hate him, if you're listening to this podcast then you're probably familiar with some of Dr. Bart Ehrman's beliefs - but how familiar are you with the ideas he used to hold when he was an evangelical Christian?
E186 · 12 May 2026 · 43 min

Is the Trinity Really in the Bible?

The doctrine of the Trinity - that there's one single God who is father, son, and holy spirit - is central to modern Christianity. But is it even in the Bible?
E185 · 5 May 2026 · 44 min

Do the Dead Sea Scrolls Actually Prove the Bible Never Changed?

The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls shook the field of biblical studies to its core. But did they actually change how we view the Old Testament? Today we're talking about the Dead Sea Scrolls, what they are, what they can tell us about the editorial history of the Old Testament, and whether they really show the perfect error-free transmission of the Hebrew Bible.
E184 · 28 Apr 2026 · 39 min

Did Jesus Actually Believe in Hell?

Hell – the fiery eternal torment known from many Baptist pulpits – is maybe the ultimate consequence for misbehaviour. But is it an afterlife that is present in the Bible? Today, Dr. Bart Ehrman joins me to to discuss what Jesus believed about life after death, where the idea of hell came from, and whether we can even find it in the Bible.
E183 · 21 Apr 2026 · 42 min

Is the Rapture Really in the Bible – or Was It Invented Later?

The Rapture, the ascent of Jesus' faithful flock to heaven at the end of the world is enthusiastically anticipated by many evangelical Christians. But is this expectation grounded in what the Bible actually says? Today, Dr. Bart Ehrman joins me to talk about the Rapture, what it is and whether it actually appears in the Bible.
E182 · 14 Apr 2026 · 41 min

The One Verse That Made Bart Question Everything

Different Christian denominations have different beliefs about the Bible, and those who leave the faith have different ideas again. Today, Dr. Bart Ehrman joins me to talk about how his changing beliefs impacted his views on the Bible, and why he finally changed his mind about all of them.
E181 · 7 Apr 2026 · 37 min

Why Christians Keep the 10 Commandments (But Ignore the Rest of the Old Testament)

The 10 Commandments are the most famous laws in the Bible, despite the fact that most people can't name more than a few. Today, I'm joined by Bart Ehrman to discuss why the 10 commandments are so famous, and why Christians still see them as important, even though most of the other 600 Old Testament laws are ignored.
E180 · 31 Mar 2026 · 36 min

What Really Happened After the Crucifixion?

Easter is fast approaching, and while children everywhere are looking forward to chocolate eggs, the minds of many Christians are turning to Jesus' resurrection. Today, Dr. Bart Ehrman joins me to answer audience questions about Jesus' crucifixion, and what happened after.
E179 · 24 Mar 2026 · 44 min

Did Christians Invent Jesus' Teachings?

We've been talking a lot about the revolutionary message of altruism in Jesus' teachings recently - but how do we know what the historical Jesus actually taught? Today, Dr. Bart Ehrman joins me to discuss exactly how scholars reconstruct his message.
E178 · 17 Mar 2026 · 34 min

The Surprising Truth Behind "Love Thy Neighbor"

Jesus' most famous commandment might be to "love thy neighbour" - but what exactly does "love" mean, and how do you love your neighbour? Today, Dr. Bart Ehrman joins me to talk about the different meanings of love in the New Testament, and how that informs our understanding of Jesus' teachings.

About Misquoting Jesus with Bart Ehrman

Misquoting Jesus with Bart Ehrman is a English history podcast from Bart Ehrman. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.

Publisher: Bart Ehrman
Language: English
Category: History
New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 42 min
Latest episode: 6 Oct 2026
Feed: RSS — paste into any podcast app
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1650657462

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