Bart
Ehrman recounts an anecdote from a few years back from a
class he taught as a new testament
scholar and a professor at UNC Chapel HIll. On the first day of class,
in a large lecture hall filled with mostly believers:
"How many of you here would agree to the proposition that the bible is the inspired word of god?"
Whooom - all of the hands in the room go up.
"How many of you here have read the da Vinci Code by Dan Brown?"
Whooom - almost all of the hands go up.
"How many of you have read the bible cover to cover?"
A few hands go up.
"I can understand why you might want to read a book by Dan Brown. But you're telling me that you think the creator of the universe wrote a book filled with instructions on how to live your life, complete with examples, and yet you haven't read it..."
If I were in his class, I would have countered, "yeah, but it wasn't his best work."
Frankly, I'd rather there was a disclaimer on the front: "All characters portrayed within this book are fictitious and any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental."
"How many of you here would agree to the proposition that the bible is the inspired word of god?"
Whooom - all of the hands in the room go up.
"How many of you here have read the da Vinci Code by Dan Brown?"
Whooom - almost all of the hands go up.
"How many of you have read the bible cover to cover?"
A few hands go up.
"I can understand why you might want to read a book by Dan Brown. But you're telling me that you think the creator of the universe wrote a book filled with instructions on how to live your life, complete with examples, and yet you haven't read it..."
If I were in his class, I would have countered, "yeah, but it wasn't his best work."
Frankly, I'd rather there was a disclaimer on the front: "All characters portrayed within this book are fictitious and any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental."
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