tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759844.post115099852172687864..comments2024-03-21T14:59:20.729-04:00Comments on NT Blog: Bart Ehrman on the Colbert ReportMark Goodacrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05115370166754797529noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759844.post-1154000763997031312006-07-27T07:46:00.000-04:002006-07-27T07:46:00.000-04:00Read 'evangelical'.Bart Ehrman is a good example o...Read 'evangelical'.<BR/>Bart Ehrman is a good example of why I'm uneasy with the media-scholarship relationship. The recent 'National Geographic' article on the GosJudas and the recent Da Vinci Code kerfuffle are two examples of what I hope is not ideology at work but may be. Namely:<BR/>-If you want a scholar to provide a quote that confirms the prejudices of the wo/man in the street, Elaine Pagels will be happy to oblige 100% of the time. Yet what about the times when her scholarly integrity might prevent her from doing so, as one would have thought it would? <BR/>-If you want a scholar to provide a more balanced point of view, yet to maximise emphasis on ('spin' towards) the more risque elements, look no further than Bart Ehrman.<BR/>For example, Ehrman must know that the NT is in a better position textually than the vast majority of other ancient writings. But would one guess this from his writings? On the contrary, the main message that comes across is the opposite: the NT is a special case not because of the strong MS evidence but because of the extent of corruption of the text (as though corruption were not a more general problem in ancient texts). How honest is this?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759844.post-1151497004598893412006-06-28T08:16:00.000-04:002006-06-28T08:16:00.000-04:00The choice of surname is a bit close to the bone, ...The choice of surname is a bit close to the bone, as one of the best-known evangalical nutritionists is Don Colbert.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759844.post-1151074290082342752006-06-23T10:51:00.000-04:002006-06-23T10:51:00.000-04:00Mark, Thanks for this. I caught the Colbert Report...Mark, Thanks for this. I caught the Colbert Report interview, but missed your post and the interview on the Daily Show. You are right that the interview on the Daily Show is better in terms of Ehrman's content.<BR/><BR/>Ehrman is easy to read and with his appearance on shows like these, perhaps more people will find his books.Whit+https://www.blogger.com/profile/11230181113950441099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759844.post-1151027410155890642006-06-22T21:50:00.000-04:002006-06-22T21:50:00.000-04:00"If he is attempting to make fun of Ehrman, then i...<I>"If he is attempting to make fun of Ehrman, then it just comes across as bullying"</I><BR/><BR/>Of course it comes off as bullying. Colbert is deliberately pretending to be an obnoxious, egotistical blowhard, after the fashion of Bill O'Reilly or Sean Hannity. Come on, in the name of the show, he even pretentiously mispronounces "Report" with a silent "t."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759844.post-1151017028125059102006-06-22T18:57:00.000-04:002006-06-22T18:57:00.000-04:00The Stephen Colbert character (as opposed to the r...The Stephen Colbert character (as opposed to the real man) is a right-wing evangelical Christian. The show is primarily concerned with caricaturing, and so making fun of, the American Christian right-wing. They usually have a liberal-minded guest for Colbert to lay into. The object of the joke is not the guest, but the segment of society that is being caricatured. I would have thought that people who watch the show are liberal-minded people who want a good laugh at the religious-right.<BR/><BR/>I don't know Bart Ehrman, but I didn't think that he looked flustered at all. It seemed to me that he was aware of the sort of programme that he was on and went with the flow. He even gave as good as he got at the end.<BR/><BR/>As far as Colbert not allowing Ehrman to finish his points -- well, what else would one expect from the Stephen Colbert character?Violahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14141614252355533198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759844.post-1151010233128714462006-06-22T17:03:00.000-04:002006-06-22T17:03:00.000-04:00Actually, I though it was pretty funny. There were...Actually, I though it was pretty funny. There were a couple places where I would say that Erhman wasn't prepared for the kind of thing that Colbert was going to do, and there were a few where Colbert wasn't allowing Ehrman to finish his points, but overall I thought it was as good as you're going to get in this format. <BR/>Ehrman's closing line was exactly the sort of thing he needed to say, too.Jeremy Piercehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03441308872350317672noreply@blogger.com