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tanyev

(44,502 posts)
6. Have you read Armageddon by Bart Ehrman?
Fri Oct 13, 2023, 08:41 PM
Oct 2023

It puts the Book of Revelation in its proper historical context and analyzes how religious and political leaders have used it to create fear for their own benefit, for centuries. Here are a couple reviews from Amazon:

Ehrman does it again. He has taken the most incomprehensible work to have found its way into the New Testament and, putting into the context of its day, opened it up for us. Behold the materialistic believer’s guide to the end of times, a seemingly unfathomable fantasy in which Jesus is recast as the ”avenger”, a true super antihero hellbent on destroying all who fail to believe in him, but offering gold, jewels, comfort and luxury to his ”slaves”…for eternity on Earth. No longer a believer, Ehrman takes great pains to show us why the early Church Fathers were right to reject John of Patmos’ materialistic, vengeful, sickeningly cruel and violent fantasy. By comparing the Jesus of the gospels to that of Revelation, he makes an irrefutable case for rejecting the latter. Despite being a non-believer, Ehrman’s deep respect for the true message of Christianity makes this book not only acceptable but also a ”must read” for Christians and atheists alike.


Just as Dr. Ehrman has challenged conventional Christian beliefs in his previous books through his extensive biblical scholarship, in Armageddon he reveals the actual message of Revelation. Ehrman explains that the author of Revelation was writing in apocalyptic style about the destruction of the Roman empire and his belief in its replacement by a Christian empire of domination, revenge and destruction. Maybe most importantly, Ehrman shows how the message of Revelation’s author contradicts Jesus’s message as described in the four Gospels. Once again, through his extensive scholarship and expertise, Dr. Ehrman illustrates the very human nature of the Bible, a collection of writings often by anonymous authors and some even forgeries that often contradict each other.


Here's a link to the transcript of an interview with Ehrman for Fresh Air on NPR:

https://www.npr.org/2023/04/03/1167715957/armageddon-shows-how-literal-readings-of-the-bibles-end-times-affect-modern-time
I know how you feel, BlueKota. arkielib Oct 2023 #1
It's hard to walk away from something that was a part of your life BlueKota Oct 2023 #2
Same with the Baptists and other evangelicals. They have lost all credibility. arkielib Oct 2023 #3
In some ways, that kind of teaching in Catholicism wnylib Oct 2023 #15
I always had the feeling that what they taught in the school BlueKota Oct 2023 #16
Early childhood teachings are hard to break away from. wnylib Oct 2023 #17
Joseph Campbell with whom Bill Moyers held a series of discussions on The Power of Myth, summer_in_TX Nov 2023 #23
An Orthodox ☦️ priest reminded me a long time ago that after we are afforded the sprinkleeninow Oct 2023 #4
Thank you! BlueKota Oct 2023 #20
Well, in the Lutheran church that I grew up in, wnylib Oct 2023 #5
Thank you so much. BlueKota Oct 2023 #12
Have you read Armageddon by Bart Ehrman? tanyev Oct 2023 #6
This sounds fascinating. ShazzieB Oct 2023 #7
He's written quite a few books in a similar vein. tanyev Oct 2023 #8
I recommend looking up Bart Ehrman on You Tube. There are wnylib Oct 2023 #11
Bart Ehrman does a great job of explaining Revelation. wnylib Oct 2023 #9
I have not read it yet BlueKota Oct 2023 #13
It's true that mankind's ability to destroy has far outpaced the ability tanyev Oct 2023 #19
Many years ago -- more years than I care to admit -- I read a theory that Revelations was actually shrike3 Oct 2023 #18
Does God change His mind? WDLAL Oct 2023 #10
Thank you! BlueKota Oct 2023 #14
Some very different thoughts on Armageddon: progressive, sensible, Biblical, anti-war hvn_nbr_2 Nov 2023 #21
Fascinating - and different from any interpretation I've heard before. summer_in_TX Nov 2023 #22
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