In this chapter, Ehrman gives us an introduction to Judaism, Christianity and then Christian Scriptures. I don't have a whole lot of earth-shattering disagreements with Ehrman in this chapter--at least not compared to the last. Having said that, there are still a few inaccuracies that ought to be brought out.
Ehrman begins the chapter by talking about Judaism as a "religion of the book"--in other words, Judaism is grounded in Scripture. In the process of explaining the history of Judaism, Ehrman makes the statement that "there was only one Temple...they (Jews) could perform their religious obligations of sacrifice to God only at the Temple in Jerusalem." (18) This is simply not true.
Most people consider Judaism to begin with God's covenant with Abraham. Abraham is believed to have lived around 2000 BC. The Jerusalem Temple didn't show up until around 957 BC. What about those 1000 years in between? Well, we have altars in Abraham's time that sacrifices are offered up on. Also in the period between Abraham and the Temple we have the traveling tabernacle, where sacrifices are offered. For Ehrman to say that it was only in the Temple that sacrifices were made is not true--sacrifices were made at least 900-1000 years before the Temple was even constructed.
If Ehrman can't even get this simple fact of Jewish history right, what else might he have gotten wrong?
Throughout the chapter, Ehrman makes a big deal of the fact that early Christians were from lower classes and illiterate. What Ehrman isn't as happy to explain is that most everybody in that time and place was illiterate. Literacy and being upper class went hand in hand. With money came education, and sometimes not even then! So to be lower class and illiterate was the normal state of affairs. There is no reason to believe that this fact makes Christianity any less likely to be true.
If Ehrman can't get simple facts about the history and culture of Judaism and Christianity correct, why should we trust him with anything more technical?
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