Hello everyone and welcome to misquoting Jesus. Using biblical passages to try and win arguments

about modern life has always seemed a little bit odd to me, but for anyone who's been paying

attention to US politics for the last few decades, it's not surprising when a political

figure throws out some claim about what the Bible apparently says. Depending on who you listen to, the Bible is both pro-life and pro-choice, pro- and anti-immigrant,

pro- and anti-homosexuality.

The list really does go on.

So on today's episode, we're going to explore how people use the Bible to win arguments

and whether the Bible actually says what they say it does.

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.

In some segments of society, citing a Bible passage to strengthen your position in an argument

can be incredibly effective. But is this a practice that was known in early Christianity?

What kinds of arguments is the Bible commonly weaponized for? And when it is weaponized,

is what the text says actually misrepresented. Before we get into all of that, but how are you doing

this week? Yeah, I'm doing well, thanks, in England for the summer, and it's all going well.

England hasn't had these kind of heat spells that the U.S. has had earlier in the summer.

The problem is, as you know, even a little heat goes a long way in England

because people generally don't have air conditioning.

And it makes for a different kind of situation.

But right now we're doing just fine.

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