Wow! VERY disappointed. Was hoping for better

Would you try another book from The Great Courses and/or Professor Bart D. Ehrman?

Yes to the great courses - in fact, I have listened to several and have several more in my wishlist. My reviews of them have been favorable.

No to Ehrman. He is too subjective and far and away too repetitive. His theological, ideological and historical perspectives could have been stated in about half the time, which would make the actual material only take 1/4 of the time recorded.

In other words, he is awfully wrapped up in his own views and his (almost arrogant) take on history the early church and Christianity.

I understand that the church and Christianity was a theological and spiritual evolutionary process. There are certain paths taken that could have gone another direction - so state it once and move on. Not everyone is an impressionable, malleable college freshman who needs to be convinced that Prof. Ehrman's understanding is the only correct one.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Please, Modern scholar - stop this man before he teaches again!

What three words best describe Professor Bart D. Ehrman’s voice?

understandable, tolerable and average

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No - it would make a lousy movie - but the biased take is just fanciful enough to make it as a History Channel 'documentary'

Any additional comments?

Honestly - I cannot recommend this book to Christians, agnostics or atheists. It is so biased toward his 'Historical Jesus' claims that the authority or genuineness of any writings from the Church Fathers cannot come through untarnished.

Overall, I thought this was one of the worst Modern Scholar lectures I have ever listened to and I have listened to a lot from them.

19 people found this helpful

Helpful, biased, informative, broad

I'm impressed with Ehrman's breadth, but his depth is lacking. He manages to give an overview of a vast range of topics, but he often selects narrow possibilities and makes them probabilities and then builds whole theories on them, without properly considering other options or acknowledging the potential flaws in his conclusions. But overall I enjoyed hearing his insights into the writings of the earliest Apostolic fathers and their impact on the development of early Christianity.

14 people found this helpful

Typical Ehrmanish account of the Apostolic Fathers

Would you try another book from The Great Courses and/or Professor Bart D. Ehrman?

Definitely yes. I have tried a few Great Courses and found them to be very interesting and informative. I have read or listened almost all prof. Ehrman's popular books. At this point it feels that a lot of what he teaches is just presented in new packaging.

What aspect of Professor Bart D. Ehrman’s performance would you have changed?

I think he sometimes fall over his words and begins to 'uhm' especially when he says something that might be a bit controversial. It could be that speaking to an imaginative crowd could enhance his uncertainty.

Was After the New Testament: The Writings of the Apostolic Fathers worth the listening time?

Yes, though a lot seems to be ideas that I have come across in some of his other works. I hoped to learn more about the Apostolic Fathers than the brief summaries he would give of each book. That said, there are some very interesting comments and facts that made it worthwhile.

Any additional comments?

While not the best Great Courses lectures series, it is well worth the time to listen to.

10 people found this helpful

Academically sterile and vague treatment of Christianity

As the title of my review states, this treatment of the early Christian church is vague and excludes common acceptances of doctrine and protocol doctrine. For example, he claims that Jesus was a follower of John the Baptist which is why he was baptized and this is just not supported by the Bible nor how any Christian denomination believes that relationship. There are so many statements that go completely against what is commonly believed and every vague statement makes it sound like these are facts and that the beliefs are in error. This is not a good course for a believer who wants a primer on the early church.

6 people found this helpful

Intriguing and engaging

I found this lecture series to be a really helpful guide into early Christianity in terms of development of doctrine, hierarchy, and the rise of orthodoxy. While he may challenge certain people's faith through the lecture, I think the work is in the end a growing experience for both the believer and nonbeliever.

4 people found this helpful

Very interesting topic, professor lacked

In comparison to other Great Courses I have listened to, I think that the Teaching Company could have found someone to do a better job. Not that Prof. Ehrman did a poor job - far from it! But performance was not outstanding, which I understood to be the main objective of the "great" courses.

He is extremely knowledgeable and does a great job of communicating many of the interesting relationships and points of significance in the documents.

However, he came across as very proud; quite puffed up, like so many academics, about himself and his interpretation of the ancient writing, which is so far superior to that of any to come before him. This, to me, took away from the content. Pity.

I may just have an allergy to inflated academics...so take what I say with a grain of salt.

Overall, good job!

3 people found this helpful

I would like my money back if I can't download thi

What did you love best about After the New Testament: The Writings of the Apostolic Fathers?

Who knows??? Audible won't download it.

What was one of the most memorable moments of After the New Testament: The Writings of the Apostolic Fathers?

When will you download it?

Which character – as performed by Professor Bart D. Ehrman – was your favorite?

You should not sell something that can't be downloaded properly

Any additional comments?

Anyone else have this problem???

1 person found this helpful

Title is a slight misnomer

The author knows the Apostolic Fathers., but misunderstands the scholarship on the historical Jesus and dating of New Testament documents. He presents as near fact theories about textual criticism (although he didn't use the term) that were recognized as flawed and dated 30 years ago and builds his dating and theories on top of those. He routinely chooses his own terminology to drive a biased agenda, such as repeatedly claiming orthodoxy means "right opinion" (which is an interpretation of the term, not the definition) before slipping toward the end of the lecture series and calling it "right belief" which is closer but still lacking and slightly inaccurate, as orthodoxy means right worship/doctrine. That is simply one example. I've been pleased with the other two Great Courses I've listened to on theology and Christian history, a subject I teach myself, but this one came up lacking.

Great Work

Personally it seems in unbiased. Good for people who want to expand on information without limiting history to their emotions and feelings.

Great insight into early Christianity

DR Ehrman does an excellent job of identifying important writings of Christianity’s Apostolic Fathers. Those authors are believed to have been companions or followers of the apostles of Jesus. Most modern Christians have never heard of these fathers, but they had important influence in shaping the early church.