Blog #1 Chelsey Richter

While reading Chapter 30 from the Ehrman book, I couldn't help but to associate the material with Martin Luther's translation of the New Testament (NT) from Greek to German during the Reformation. After Martin Luther translated the NT for the masses to interpret its teachings, he entered into a state of depression; realizing instead of quieting the Holy Roman Catholic (HRC) Pope; he unconsciously created hundreds of independent "popes" who claimed  that their translation of the Bible's New Testament was the [only] way. In the conclusion of Chapter 30, Ehrman says "Historians are no more qualified to answer questions of ultimate truth than anyone else. if historians do answer such questions, they do so...in their capacity as believers or philosophers, or theologians (or skeptics)," [1].Thus, somewhat agreeing with Luther's take on his realization that maybe the translation of the New Testament should have stayed in the control of the HRC church. Translating the NT for the masses offered too many opportunities for the public to twist words or interpret words differently frWhile reading Chapter 30 from the Ehrman book, I couldn't help but to associate the material with Martin Luther's translation of the New Testament (NT) from Greek to German during the Reformation. After Martin Luther translated the NT for the masses to interpret its teachings, he entered into a state of depression; realizing instead of quieting the Holy Roman Catholic (HRC) Pope; he unconsciously created hundreds of independent "popes" who claimed  that their translation of the Bible's New Testament was the [only] way. In the conclusion of Chapter 30, Ehrman says "Historians are no more qualified to answer questions of ultimate truth than anyone else. if historians do answer such questions, they do so...in their capacity as believers or philosophers, or theologians (or skeptics)," [1].Thus, somewhat agreeing with Luther's take on his realization that maybe the translation of the New Testament should have stayed in the control of the HRC church. Translating the NT for the masses offered too many opportunities for the public to twist words or interpret words differently from it's [original] meaning or purpose and therefore creating (x) amount of "new" protestant religions. According the Ehrman, "we don't have the originals  of ANY of the writings from the NT. There are surviving copies of the NT, all of them filled with mistakes," [2]. Ehrman acknowledges that these [mistakes] are both accidental but some were/are intentional, [3]. Without the original texts, who can say whether or not which ever translation is or isn't accurate.


Ehrman, Bart D. The New Testament. Fourth Edition. New York: Oxford, 2004

[1] B.D. The New Testament (3; New York; Oxford; 2004), 498
[2] B.D. The New Testament (3; New York; Oxford; 2004), 492-3
[3] B.D. The New Testament (3; New York; Oxford; 2004), 487