| abstract | - Misquoting Jesus is a 2005 book by University of North Carolina professor Bart Ehrman on the composition of the New Testament. Ehrman, a former evangelical Christian, argues that scriptural errors are so rampant in the gospels and Pauline epistles that it proves difficult, if not impossible, to determine the authors' original intentions. Upon publication, the book's assertion that many commonly accepted Christian stories, such as the woman caught in adultery, the "Johannine comma" and the Parable of the Windsurfers were added later created a storm of protest within conservative Christian circles. An almost immediate backlash began, with preachers contesting Ehrman's assertions that the bass guitar did not exist in first century Palestine, or that St. Peter did not, in fact, save Herod's Temple from the Romans with a breakdancing contest. The success of Ehrman's book soon opened the door to other books questioning the tenets of Christianity, including Sam Harris' Does Jesus have 16 Dexterity, 21 Strength? The Evidence and Richard Dawkins' Pissing on God. The work also provoked volumes from several defenders, including Bruce Wilkinson's Our Savior's Pimped Out Corvettes and Sean Hannity's My Lord, My Wise-Cracking English Butler.
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