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A review by the_games_a_foot
Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew by Bart D. Ehrman
5.0
This book was very well thought out, organized, and executed. Dr. Ehrman has enough knowledge, being an acknowledged expert in the field of Early Christianity, to easily go over a lay reader's head or a students. Yet, this work is accessible as some scholarly works are not. The numerous examples of surviving texts and their content to prove points show that while much, too much, has been lost to the tides of time; we have managed to reclaim some of a shared past as a race.
I have read some of the reviews for this book, and some are quite negative. That is the right of the reader, as always. I am able to see where they get their objections, but I heartily do NOT endorse it. One thing in particular that irritated me was the accusation that Dr. Ehrman engaged in fruitless forays into "what-if" territory. While I do acknowledge that he does make use of the what-if scenario at several points in both the early chapters and then in the final chapter, he doesn't base his thesis claims in them. He uses them as a tool to get the reader to step away from the reality of the current world and think about what might have changed if things had gone another way.
It is not fruitless to do this-- it often leads to insights to the thinking of a culture that believed that what they believed was true and their perception of the world, their emotions, intellect, living, and writings would have reflected this belief. The key to what-if scenarios is to not make assertions off of them that is not backed up by the facts available or interpretation of these facts. Dr. Ehrman does not engage in the fallacy of using this fantasy world to validate his claims.
I know I will be visiting this book time and again as I go through my graduate schooling in religious studies. It will be a staple on my book self for years to come. Thank you Dr. Ehrman.
I have read some of the reviews for this book, and some are quite negative. That is the right of the reader, as always. I am able to see where they get their objections, but I heartily do NOT endorse it. One thing in particular that irritated me was the accusation that Dr. Ehrman engaged in fruitless forays into "what-if" territory. While I do acknowledge that he does make use of the what-if scenario at several points in both the early chapters and then in the final chapter, he doesn't base his thesis claims in them. He uses them as a tool to get the reader to step away from the reality of the current world and think about what might have changed if things had gone another way.
It is not fruitless to do this-- it often leads to insights to the thinking of a culture that believed that what they believed was true and their perception of the world, their emotions, intellect, living, and writings would have reflected this belief. The key to what-if scenarios is to not make assertions off of them that is not backed up by the facts available or interpretation of these facts. Dr. Ehrman does not engage in the fallacy of using this fantasy world to validate his claims.
I know I will be visiting this book time and again as I go through my graduate schooling in religious studies. It will be a staple on my book self for years to come. Thank you Dr. Ehrman.