Did Jesus Rise From the Dead? A Debate.

Interesting Times with Ross Douthat

New York Times Opinion

Journalism, New York Times, Ross Douthat, News, Society & Culture

4.0 • 7.2K Ratings

🗓️ 2 April 2026

⏱️ 84 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Even if you don’t believe he walked on water, the teachings of Jesus still have a certain power. My guest this week, the New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman, calls himself a “Christian atheist.” I asked Ehrman to come on the show to explore Jesus’ message, discuss how the Bible has shaped the morality of the Western world and explain what even the biggest skeptic can learn from one of mankind’s oldest texts.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey listeners, so New York Times opinion is hiring.
0:04.4	We are looking for an audio engineer that would work closely with this show.
0:08.9	The role will be based in D.C., and notwithstanding this episode will not require an encyclopedic knowledge of the New Testament.
0:16.8	So if you or someone you know may be interested in applying, the link for the job posting is in the description for this week's episode.
0:25.6	From New York Times opinion, I'm Ross Douthit, and this is interesting times. Did Jesus actually rise from the dead, or heal the sick, or turn water into wine.
0:55.3	How close do the gospel stories take us to what really happened at the beginning of Christianity?
1:02.3	This is one of the world's great religious debates, and also one of its most intense historical
1:07.8	detective stories. And my guest this week has spent his career as a leading participant,
1:13.7	joining the skeptical side as a New Testament scholar
1:16.6	after growing up as a believing Christian.
1:19.9	His latest book is called Love Thy Stranger.
1:23.7	It describes how Jesus' teaching reshaped the moral conscience of the West.
1:29.3	And it proves its own point, you might say,
1:32.1	since the author is an agnostic who's urging people to listen more carefully to Jesus.
1:38.4	Bart Ehrman, welcome to interesting times.
1:41.7	Well, thanks for having me.
1:51.2	Music Welcome to interesting times. Well, thanks for having me. So it's the week of Easter.
1:53.0	It's Holy Week for Christians.
1:54.5	This episode will appear on Holy Thursday, so just before Good Friday, just before Easter.
2:00.7	And we're appropriately going to talk
2:02.9	about Jesus as a historical figure, as a religious figure, how those two aspects fit together,
2:11.2	which are questions that have been central to your own work, your scholarship, and your celebrity as an academic and popular writer.
	...

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