Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why

#45Title: Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why
Author: Bart D. Ehrman
Publisher: HarperCollins
Year: 2005
Genre: New Testament history and criticism
242 pages (book club edition)

Clear, straightforward, and easy to follow. The premise (that the New Testament contains both deliberate and accidental textual changes) is not very radical if the reader accepts the assertion that the New Testament is rendered by humans, even if divinely inspired. Judging from the reviews available on the web, for some this premise is more outrageous than for others. Ehrman uses interesting examples, such as looking at the form of a section of text to determine which elements are likely to be intrusions. (Those readers who have become familiar with chiasmus through the structure of the Harry Potter series will appreciate the example from Luke.)

Ehrman assumes that the reader has some knowledge of New Testament criticism--he doesn't talk much about the history of the writing of the Gospels, for example). This may be confusing for people who are not familiar with the writing and redaction of the New Testament. In addition, the "bible" of the title is misleading. Ehrman is only addressing the New Testament, not the Torah/Old Testament.

I'd have wished for Ehrman's recommendation for the best contemporary New Testament available, since I won't be reading it in Greek any time soon.