Bart's Biography


BART D. EHRMAN, PH.D., M.DIV.

Bart Ehrman is the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He began his teaching career at Rutgers University, and joined the faculty in the Department of Religious Studies at UNC in 1988, where he has served as both the Director of Graduate Studies and the Chair of the Department.

Professor Ehrman completed his M.Div. and Ph.D. degrees at Princeton Seminary, where his 1985 doctoral dissertation was awarded magna cum laude. An expert on the New Testament and the history of Early Christianity, has written or edited thirty books, numerous scholarly articles, and dozens of book reviews. 

Bart Ehrman on Bible Secrets

In addition to works of scholarship, Professor Ehrman has written several textbooks for undergraduate students and trade books for general audiences. Six of his books have been on the New York Times Bestseller list: Misquoting JesusGod’s ProblemJesus InterruptedForged; and How Jesus Became God. His books have been translated into twenty-seven languages.

Bart Ehrman at Book Signing

Editorial Positions 

Professor Ehrman has served as President of the Southeast Region of the Society of Biblical literature and chair of the New Testament textual criticism section of the Society. Among his editorial positions, he has served as associate editor for the Journal of Early Christian Studies, book review editor of the Journal of Biblical Literature, and editor of the monograph series The New Testament in the Greek Fathers (Scholars Press). He currently serves as co-editor of the series New Testament Tools, Studies, and Documents (E. J. Brill), co-editor-in-chief for the international journal of early Christian studies, Vigiliae Christianae, and area editor (early Christianity) for the Encyclopedia of Ancient History.

Awards & Appearances 

Professor Ehrman has been the recipient of numerous academic awards, grants, and fellowships, including the UNC Undergraduate Student Teaching Award (1993), the Phillip and Ruth Hettleman Prize for Artistic and Scholarly Achievement (1994), the Bowman and Gordon Gray Award for excellence in teaching (1998-2001), the Pope Spirit of Inquiry Teaching Award (2008), and the Religious Liberty Award from the American Humanist Association (2011).

Professor Ehrman has featured widely in television, radio, and print media, including The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report, CNN, Discovery Channel, History Channel, National Geographic, BBC, Fresh Air, Talk of the Nation, The New Yorker, Time Magazine, Newsweek, the New York Times, and the Washington Post. He now lives in Durham NC with his wife Sarah (and dog Billy).

Bart Ehrman on CNN Special

James A. Gray 

Distinguished Professor

Books Translated Into 

27 Different Languages

Academic Awards

Grants & Fellowships

Featured on 

CNN, BBC, NYT