Straight White American Jesus The Sunday Interview: Did Jesus Invent Western Morality with Dr. Bart Ehrman
Apr 12, 2026
Dr. Bart Ehrman, New Testament scholar and author of Love Thy Stranger, explores how ancient Judaism and Jesus’ radical universalism reshaped Western moral instincts. He traces shifts from tribal obligations to demands to care for strangers. Conversations cover apocalyptic urgency, communal vs intramural charity, Christianization’s ethical spread, and modern humanitarian echoes.
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Ancient Religions Separated Worship From Ethics
- Greek and Roman religions separated cultic worship from ethics and accepted social domination as moral.
- Bart D. Ehrman contrasts this with Judaism where law ties worship to obligations toward fellow Israelites, making care a religious duty.
Love Your Neighbor Meant Duty Not Feeling
- Leviticus 19.18's command to love your neighbor meant care for any fellow Israelite, not merely affection.
- Ehrman emphasizes this is behavioral duty: feed, clothe, and assist your neighbor as you would yourself.
Apocalyptic Vision Expanded Neighbor Love Universally
- Jesus' apocalyptic worldview universalized Jewish neighbor-love because the coming judgment would affect the whole world.
- Urgency of imminent end led Jesus to demand radical charity like selling all possessions for the poor.
