Beyond the Bible

The Gospel of Peter is a non-canonical Gospel that was lost to the world until the late 19th-century, when a portion of it was found buried with a monk. This portion, which consists only of the Passion Narrative, is an enigma. It resembles the Passion narratives in the canonical Gospels and overlaps with them at […]

The study of world religions continues to fascinate both student and scholar alike. There are many different methodologies (historical, phenomenological, sociological, etc.) that may be utilized in the exploration of world cultures and traditions. These methodologies have become especially important in the realm of biblical studies, which can help to shed light on the complex […]

Professor Bart D. Ehrman explores perhaps the greatest religious and philosophical issue that anyone can grapple with: the problem of suffering. A specialist in the New Testament and early Christianity, Ehrman will guide you through this complex topic, paying particular attention to the Bible’s viewpoint on the problem.

This presentation examines the origins of the biblical flood story, the character of Noah, and the legends of the Nephilim and giants passed down through Jewish literary tradition. The presentation compares these to Darren Aronofsky’s 2014 film Noah, highlighting points of congruence and departure in the film adaptation. This was part of The Genesis of […]

Christians, Jews, and Muslims are all spiritual heirs of a specific form of Judaism that arose and developed in the late 2nd Temple period. Along with Pharisees, Zealots, Sadducees, and Essenes—the Jewish groups that espoused a vision of the cosmos and the future such as that reflected in the apocryphal books of Enoch turned out […]

Go with Professor DeConick on a textual dig, as she brings to life Gnostic ritual practices from ancient sources. She considers whether ancient Gnostic initiation and its ritual therapies might characterize our earliest form of psychotherapy. The evidence suggests that, prior to Freud, Jung, the behaviorists, and the cognitive psychologists of our modern world, the […]

In this intriguing lecture, noted Biblical scholar and archaeologist Michael D. Coogan tackles the complex issue of Yahweh’s wives. According to Coogan, the issue of Yahweh’s wives, particularly the goddess Asherah, is a most interesting topic from the perspective of the history of religions, illuminated by both canonical and non-canonical sources, as well as archaeology. […]

Scholars have long known that a number of the earliest Christian writings are “forgeries”—books written by unknown authors claiming to be someone famous (e.g., one of the apostles). What is less known is that some of these forgeries were written to counter other books that were also forgeries. This lecture looks at two such “counter-forgeries”—one […]

New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman’s bestselling books have introduced the general public to some of the most challenging and controversial ideas of modern Biblical scholarship. Now, BAS Library members can watch or listen to four exclusive full-length lectures by Ehrman on topics ranging from forgeries and counter-forgeries in the New Testament to how and when […]