The ability to read and write is almost taken for granted in the modern Western world. I certainly don't think twice about being able to read a book or a road sign or write a script for a podcast. Not so for the ancient world. And the name of the Apostle Peter is given to several texts, including First and Second Peter found in the New Testament. But would a rural

fisherman from Galilee have been able to write well enough to compose whole texts? Is it likely

that he would have learned to write in later life? And if he didn't write, then who composed the

works attributed to him? We'll be getting into all of that and so much more.

Welcome to Misquoting Jesus with Bart Ehrman.

The Only Show, where a six-time New York Times bestselling author and world-renowned Bible scholar,

uncovers the many fascinating, little-known facts about the New Testament,

the historical Jesus, and the rise of Christianity. I'm your host, Megan Lewis. Let's begin. The ability to read and write in the ancient

world was very clearly restricted to the wealthy. So why are so many written works attributed to

the Apostle Peter? Was he a rarity, a literate peasant, or is something

else going on here before all of that? But hi, how are you doing today? Doing well. Glad I'm in

England rather than the US for climate, if nothing else. Yeah, there was, I actually, last week,

no, two weeks ago, when I was driving to pick up my daughter from summer camp, had to pull over because there was a fire on the grass in the middle, like the central strip going down the highway, there was just a patch of grass on fire there and then the other side of the road. So I had to pull over and call the fire department. It's just been so hot and so dry here. Everything is just like a tinderbox. Yeah. No, I tell you, and the thing is it's not going to get any better. It's heading in a certain direction. Yeah, okay. God help us. It's not the direction that gives us more rain.

Yeah.

So how is London?

Are you enjoying yourself?

How does one not? I mean, I'm sure I've said this. I mean, London's one of the great cities in the world, and it's inexhaustible, and there's so much to do here. I mean, you know, I don't do it. I'd sit around reading my books and writing.

But if I wanted to do things, there's all sorts of things.

One thing I am doing this summer, it's what usually when I come to London for a stretch, I'll have a special dinner with some of my people on my blog. It gives me a chance to hang out of London all day. Then I go and have a blog dinner. So these are just people. I just write a note to people. people who are on my blog, I just said to know, okay, I'm going to be in London and let's gather for dinner this night. And I'll maybe do seven or eight people just enough to keep a conversation so it doesn't get out of hand with too many people. I do that most places that I go these days. And it's a lot of fun because just meeting people from different backgrounds who do different things. And often I'll do two or three of these things in London over the summer because you get different people and they're interested in the stuff we do, the stuff we do on the podcast, the stuff I do on my blog. And it's lovely, lovely things. I'm looking forward to that in the next one. It sounds like fun. I hope to be able to catch one of them one day. Yes, I hope so. Our trips to the UK so far haven't really coincided. And my family are much further north, so I'm not around London very much these days. One day. People listening to us don't know. We've never met each other face to face. No. Wow. we could trade glasses. We could.

That would confuse some people.

That would confuse some people.

No, I don't think the hair might be a giveaway.

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