The Ehrman Project
Those interested in the work of Bart Ehrman (either supporters or detractors) may find interesting a new site called The Ehrman Project. The site describes itself as:
As a scholar, professor, and author, Dr. Bart Ehrman has undeniable influence over students and much of the American public. Yet there are equally qualified scholars who deal with the same issues and come to very different conclusions than Dr. Ehrman. The Ehrman Project is a website dedicated to engaging the ideas that Dr. Ehrman is famously expounding in the complex and nuanced realm of Biblical scholarship. It is not intended to answer all of Dr. Ehrman's claims nor answer the ones it does completely. Rather it is intended to give small snapshots that will potentially motivate viewers to research more information on the particular topic.
After interacting with many students over the years, Miles O’Neill, a campus minister at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, began considering an online resource in response to Dr. Ehrman’s popular claims. Dustin Smith, a Religious Studies major of UNC-CH, enrolled in Dr. Ehrman’s New Testament course in the spring of 2009. Soon after, Mr. O’Neill and Mr. Smith started collaborating together on The Ehrman Project. With the help of numerous students, colleagues, professors, and friends, EhrmanProject.com was able to launch in early 2011.
I have only had a cursory look at it thus far, but found entertaining the videos by Ben Witherington (on the canon) and Dom Carson (on biblical inerrancy). Also featured are Darrell Bock, Dan Wallace, and Michael Kruger.
I don’t know how Ehrman’s books are being received by his peers.
But I can say that I encounter atheists online a lot, who read his books. My experience is that the effect of them on these people is to encourage them to believe that ancient texts are not transmitted to the present (or not translated reliably, which for practical purposes is the same thing). In other words, far from creating respect for textual criticism, and interest in ancient literature, he is in fact inculating in them a belief that it is merely rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic.
For those interested in encouraging interest in and the study of the literature of antiquity this is more than a little irritating.
But I at least console myself with the thought that he must get very stupid emails rather a lot. Perhaps we all get the correspondents that we deserve… 🙂