Peter, Paul, & Mary Magdalene

Version: Unabridged
Author: Bart D. Ehrman
Narrator: Grover Gardner
Genres: History, Religion & Spirituality, Ancient, Christianity, History
Publisher: Tantor Media
Published In: May 2006
# of Units: 10 CDs
Length: 12 hours, 30 minutes
Ratings:
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Overview

Bart Ehrman, author of the bestsellers Misquoting Jesus and Truth and Fiction in The Da Vinci Code, here takes readers on another engaging tour of the early Christian church, illuminating the lives of three of Jesus' most intriguing followers: Simon Peter, Paul of Tarsus, and Mary Magdalene.

What do the writings of the New Testament tell us about each of these key followers of Christ? What legends have sprung up about them in the centuries after their deaths? Was Paul bow-legged and bald? Was Peter crucified upside down? Was Mary Magdalene a prostitute? In this lively work, Ehrman separates fact from fiction, presenting complicated historical issues in a clear and informative way and relating vivid anecdotes culled from the traditions of these three followers. He notes, for instance, that historians are able to say with virtual certainty that Mary, the follower of Jesus, was from the fishing village of Magdala on the shore of the Sea of Galilee; but there is no evidence to suggest that she was a prostitute, and little reason to think that she was married to Jesus.

Vibrantly written and leavened with many colorful stories, Peter, Paul, and Mary Magdalene will appeal to anyone curious about the early Christian church and the lives of these important figures.

Selected Reviews

ehh .. it was ok ....

by Dana Livermore
  • Book Rating: 3/5

Very interesting book!

by Mary Richards
  • Book Rating: 4/5

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Read All 3

Reviews (3)

ehh .. it was ok ....

Written by Dana Livermore from Dover, NH on April 9th, 2008

  • Book Rating: 3/5

So, I have read several books like this, which talk about christian figures and what we can know about them from the Bible and non canonical christian writings from biblical times ... and this touches upon all the points. The author writes with some sense of humor, which is nice, but there are word for word repetitions from chapter to chapter that make you wonder if he was being lazy. The material requires that he introduce several sects of Christianity found heretical by the later church, which he describes well enough, but, for instance, with the Gnostics he repeats several times that they felt this world to have been the result of some "cosmic catastrophe" which seems a strange way to describe what some (most) Gnostics believed - then again, this is not a book about gnosticism ... just that the nag hammadi texts were mostly gnostic and here we find a lot of material where Mary and Peter represent two differing world views .... anyway ...

Very interesting book!

Written by Mary Richards on February 21st, 2008

  • Book Rating: 4/5

This is a very interesting topic, and a decent book. I enjoyed it a lot. The only problem I had with it was that it was very repetitious. Even within the three main parts (Peter, Paul, and Mary) some of the same points are stated and restated multiple times, and then if those same points included one of the other people, they would be recounted again in that person's section. That got to be fairly boring. But overall, this is a very good book, and I am interested in reading others of Ehrman's work.

Too much agenda

Written by Anonymous on October 22nd, 2007

  • Book Rating: 1/5

I rented this to learn more about other early Christian literature outside the Bible. I would have preferred a discussion about what each source contains and perhaps commentary on its reliability. I found this book to be long, and the organization confusing. Beyond that, the author seems to have an agenda to discredit the Bible. He allows for no alternative understandings/interpretations when it suits his purpose, but then allows for alternative understandings when it helps his argument. As a Christian, I found this one-sided and disturbing.

Selected Reviews

ehh .. it was ok ....

by Dana Livermore
  • Book Rating: 3/5

Very interesting book!

by Mary Richards
  • Book Rating: 4/5

More...

Read All 3

Author Details

Author Details

Ehrman, Bart D.

Bart D. Ehrman is the author of more than twenty books, including the "New York Times" bestselling "Misquoting Jesus" and "God's Problem". Ehrman is the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and is a leading authority on the Bible and the life of Jesus. He has been featured in "Time" and has appeared on "Dateline" NBC, "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart", CNN, the History Channel, major NPR shows, and other top media outlets. He lives in Durham, N.C.