The Triumph of Christianity: A Conversation with Bart Ehrman

Published: April 1, 2018, 12:27 a.m.

b"Bart Ehrman asks how did a religion that began with a small group of illiterate day laborers become the dominant religion of the Roman Empire in just three centuries? What was gained and what was lost when the Roman Empire became the Christian Roman Empire?\\nThis is the second part of series on Revisioning Christianity. Different scholars bring different views to help us understand the history of Christianity and its future. How did Christianity become empire\\u2019s religion? Was Christianity a hoax? Is it believable today? Does it yet have a message to inspire peace and justice?\\xa0\\xa0John Shuck's five guests include\\n1)\\xa0John Dominic Crossan, who with his wife, Sarah Sexton Crossan have just released\\xa0Resurrecting Easter: How the West Lost and the East Kept the Original Easter Vision.\\n2)\\xa0John Shelby Spong, author of the newly released,\\xa0Unbelievable: Why Neither Ancient Creeds Nor the Reformation Can Produce a Living Faith Today,\\n3)\\xa0David Skrbina, author of the newly released,\\xa0The Jesus Hoax: How St. Paul\\u2019s Cabal Fooled the World for Two Thousand Years,\\n4)\\xa0Angela Yarber, creator of the\\xa0Holy Women Icons Project, and this week,\\n5)\\xa0Bart Ehrman, author of the newly released,\\xa0The Triumph of Christianity: How A Forbidden Religion Swept the World,\\xa0\\xa0\\nBart Ehrman is a leading authority on the New Testament and the history of early Christianity. He is the author of more than 30 books and is Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.\\xa0He has been on my program three times previously. Previously we discussed his books, Did Jesus Exist? Jesus Before the Gospels, and How Jesus Became God. Today we explore the question, \\u201cHow did Christianity triumph?\\u201d His book is The Triumph of Christianity: How a Forbidden Religion Swept the World."