Back in 2005, Dr. Bart D. Ehrman wrote Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible And Why, and it became
a bestseller. Ehrman’s works are often appealed to by the skeptical in the media to undermine the traditional, orthodox view of Scripture. A Princeton grad, Ehrman studied under the leading light Bruce Metzger, with whom I’m familiar because when he was alive he so often appeared in programs produced by Evangelicals in defense of the reliability of the New Testament, although he himself ran in the circles of the theologically liberal. Ehrman was originally a student at Moody Bible Institute, but began to lose his faith in the preservation of Scripture, then the inspiration of Scripture, and now I think he has even become an agnostic.
Last week, Reformed Baptist elder and Christian apologist James White faced off with Dr. Ehrman in a debate on the claims of his book. You can read a little about the debate here, and you can purchase the debate for $15.00 on CD here, and for $6.00 on mp3 here. Sometimes you have to listen fast, but it’s well worth the effort. While Ehrman seems to hold his own pretty well, later, on White’s webcast, The Dividing Line (haven’t found the link to the program yet), he points out how much of Ehrman’s defense is based on the logical fallacy of appeal to authority, which authority, of course, would be Ehrman’s own credentials. You gotta check this out, and pass the info on to those who spend too much time listening uncritically to the History Channel and the Discovery Channel and other popular forms of skepticism in the media.
The Misadventures of Captain Headknowledge 
Have you heard of Michael Rood? I have been listening to some cd’s provided to me about his teaching, ” The Jonah Code and the seventy weeks prophecy of Daniel.
He seems to have a clear grasp of the extant manuscripts prior to Constantine’s era and for me makes some arguments hard to refute regarding Jesus repeated claim that He would spend “three” days and “three” nights in the earth like Jonah did in the great fish’s belly.
He also points to the writings of post first century, pre-Constantine and thereafter where there are some interesting discrepancies in just how old Christ was when He did things and how many years He lived and how long His ministry was.
You can google “Michael Rood” and his website will come up.
Took a look at the Wikipedia article on Rood, and I’m afraid I’m going to have to say, his is not the kind of teaching I would personally give the time of day to, no matter how compelling his arguments. The vein he’s in is rather similar to the Judaizers, although I’m sure he’s bright enough, this side of the New Testament, to stop short of saying you’re justified by keeping the Old Testament Mosaic Law. But you never know how it might slip in through the cracks one day, if it doesn’t yet.
For those who, like me, have been unaware of Michael Rood, here’s what Wikipedia records about him:
Michael Rood is a self-proclaimed Messianic preacher who “traveled the globe exhibiting … Bible-confirming archaeology, and proclaiming that the “Feasts of the LORD” are precise prophetic shadow pictures by which our Creator has revealed the Messiah, and His plan for the created universe. Through his multi-media seminars, … dubbed “A Rood Awakening!”, Michael has invited hundreds of thousands of people around the world to “Leave your western, Gentile mentality behind, and explore the Scriptures (from Genesis to Revelation) from a Hebrew, or Jewish, perspective”, and return to the faith of the First Century followers of Messiah Y’shua (Jesus).”[1]
He is an advocate of the use of the Hebrew Lunar and Agricultural Calendar. Michael Rood’s teaching is aired on Sky Angel satellite television.
Rood is a former U.S. Marine [this part, I don’t mind–jdc 🙂 ].
Michael,
Just read Rood’s rude representation of his wrangling with the hordes of hell who dare “touch the Lord’s anointed,” by criticizing him on the Internet. I gladly join their ranks, and accept Rood’s anathema. In my humble opinion, this is nothing but typical charismatic tearing down of traditional Word-based Christianity in order to exalt his “fresh work of the Spirit.” Blah, blah, blah. . .
Here are the paragraphs that entertained me most:
The first to admit that he is a not-so-mild-mannered reporter of the miraculous acts of the Almighty, Michael Rood fights a never ending battle for truth, justice, and the American way of Creator-given rights – rights that no religious or civil tyrant has the authority to alienate from the people. He has survived the barbarous brainwashing of Christianesque cults, as well as the torturous tests of traditional Churchianity. For those attempting to navigate the minefields of man-made religion in the search for truth, Michael offers sage advice that comes from a lifetime of experience – not from an unsoiled manual copied in cloistered convents, nor from dogmas dictated in denominational didactories.
Michael Rood, a former U.S. Marine, declared war on every self-serving, man-made religious system on the planet. He began his final assault on March 4, 1996, and the full-scale retaliation against him commenced with the covert manufacturing of lies, which were then fed to ignorant false witnesses manning the long-range guns of the Internet. In the safety of anonymity and across international borders, the hordes of hell (often attired as sincere civilian Christians) repeatedly fire barrages of counterfeit propaganda upon innocent believers who are searching for truth, but often find themselves hunkered down with Sergeant Rood in the trenches of reality. Michael’s new video website (www.ARoodAwakening.tv) is an oasis, your R&R, where you can step away from the battlefield to watch, hear, and think for yourself.
When I wade through the personality, which did take me back a bit and just focused on what he was teaching and then did my own research on it, thinking through it carefully, I began to see some things that were being confirmed by two others.
He is a bit eccentric but once you get past that and see what he sees laying out some Biblical thoughts and how they come together, you might realize what I do.
I was most keen on how he laid out timelines according to NASA’s program and astronomy.
He has some eloquent thoughts on particular passages in the New Testament exegesis that I haven’t found with others that makes perfect sense.
Anyway, your thoughtful analysis is very important to me as your approach to studying is far more excellent than mine!
Thank you for your input!
I appreciate the vote of confidence, Michael, and please overlook my lack of “scholarly restraint” in my expression of my opinion about material such as Rood’s.