The History of the Bible: The Making of the New Testament Canon, Prof. Bart D. Ehrman (12 Lectures / 30 Minutes Per Lecture / 6x CD - The Great Courses)
 
In these 12 lectures, Professor Bart D. Ehrman provides a historical roadmap of how a diverse collection of early Christian writings eventually coalesced into the 27-book New Testament. Rather than approaching the text from a theological or devotional perspective, Ehrman treats the Bible as a historical artifact, examining the socio-political and ecclesiastical pressures that influenced which books were deemed "orthodox" and which were excluded as "heretical." The course begins by contextualizing the oral traditions of the first century and moves through the physical process of how ancient manuscripts were copied, altered, and preserved by scribes over hundreds of years.
The core of the series focuses on the criteria of canonicity- The specific standards early church leaders used to decide which gospels and epistles carried divine authority. Ehrman highlights the intense debates surrounding now-familiar books like Revelation and Hebrews, as well as lost or rejected texts like the Gospel of Thomas and the Apocalypse of Peter. By the end of the 360-minute journey, listeners gain a clear understanding of the "human" side of biblical history, learning how the New Testament was not a single, spontaneous event, but the result of centuries of rigorous debate, conflict, and editorial selection.
 
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