Bible Quote by Bart D. Ehrman
““One of the most amazing and perplexing features of mainstream Christianity is that seminarians who learn the historical-critical method in their Bible classes appear to forget all about it when it comes time for them to be pastors. They are taught critical approaches to Scripture, they learn about the discrepancies and contradictions, they discover all sorts of historical errors and mistakes, they come to realize that it is difficult to know whether Moses existed or what Jesus actually said and did, they find that there are other books that were at one time considered canonical but that ultimately did not become part of Scripture (for example, other Gospels and Apocalypses), they come to recognize that a good number of the books of the Bible are pseudonymous (for example, written in the name of an apostle by someone else), that in fact we don't have the original copies of any of the biblical books but only copies made centuries later, all of which have been altered. They learn all of this, and yet when they enter church ministry they appear to put it back on the shelf. For reasons I will explore in the conclusion, pastors are, as a rule, reluctant to teach what they learned about the Bible in seminary.””
About This Quote
Source Book: “The Question of God” by Bart D. Ehrman, 2016
Seminaries teach critical biblical analysis, yet many pastors revert to traditional teachings, avoiding scholarly insights in ministry.
In simple terms: Pastors often ignore academic biblical criticism when preaching.
Bridge scholarly findings with pastoral practice.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- seminary curriculum
- pastoral training
- church sermons
- faith education
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- How can pastors responsibly integrate critical scholarship?
- What obstacles prevent academic insights from reaching congregations?
Congregations may resist complex biblical truths, causing tension.