{"product_id":"journeys-to-heaven-and-hell-tours-of-the-afterlife-in-the-early-christian-tradition-9780300271041","title":"Journeys to Heaven and Hell: Tours of the Afterlife in the Early Christian Tradition","description":"\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling scholar's illuminating exploration of the earliest Christian narrated journeys to heaven and hell\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"[An] illuminating deep dive . . . An edifying origin story for contemporary Christian conceptions of the afterlife.\"--\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e From classics such as the \u003ci\u003eOdyssey\u003c\/i\u003e and the \u003ci\u003eAeneid\u003c\/i\u003e to fifth-century Christian apocrypha, narratives that described guided tours of the afterlife played a major role in shaping ancient notions of morality and ethics. In this new account, acclaimed author Bart Ehrman contextualizes early Christian narratives of heaven and hell within the broader intellectual and cultural worlds from which they emerged. He examines how fundamental social experiences of the early Christian communities molded the conceptions of the afterlife that eventuated into the accepted doctrines of heaven, hell, and purgatory. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Drawing on Greek and Roman epic poetry, early Jewish writings such as the \u003ci\u003eBook of Watchers, \u003c\/i\u003e and apocryphal Christian stories including the \u003ci\u003eActs of Thomas\u003c\/i\u003e, the \u003ci\u003eGospel of Nicodemus\u003c\/i\u003e, and the\u003ci\u003e Apocalypse of Peter\u003c\/i\u003e, Ehrman demonstrates that ancient tours of the afterlife promoted reflection on matters of ethics, faith, ambition, and life's meaning, the fruit of which has been codified into Christian belief today.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBart D. Ehrman\u003c\/b\u003e is the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has written or edited thirty-three books, six of which were \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e best sellers. He lives in Durham, NC.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Yale University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50568487665938,"sku":"9780300271041","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_b453e6ea-cd55-47ae-9fcb-bf11b5d67d3e.jpg?v=1731944056","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/journeys-to-heaven-and-hell-tours-of-the-afterlife-in-the-early-christian-tradition-9780300271041","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}