Atheist Debates - Interview: Dr. Robert M. Price

Part of the Atheist Debates Patreon project: / atheistdebates
Dr. Robert Price teaches philosophy and religion at the Johnnie Colemon Theological Seminary. He has a PhD in Systematic Theology and a second PhD in the New Testament. A published author and recognized expert in the history of Christianity, biblical criticism, and theology, Dr. Price has also written books on the historicity of Jesus and the various Christ myth theories.
He has served as a fellow of the Jesus Seminar, the former editor of the Journal of Higher Criticism, a fellow of the Center For Inquiry's Committee on the Scientific examination of Religion and the advisory board of the Secular Student Alliance.
He graciously agreed to sit down with us to discuss the historicity of Jesus and how or if this topic has relevance in debates and discussions with Christians.

[@spinycrayfish]

I could listen to this guy talk for hours. Although I'm not too sure about his casual dismissal of Santa. Perhaps he doesn't own a mirror?

[@dainland432]

Sometimes we learn so much more about others before we know ourselves. Perhaps Dr. Price is in this camp when it comes to his glaring Santa like appearance.

[@mksuraj4606]

😁

[@tracyavent-costanza346]

LOOKING LIKE Santa, does not prove the existence of santa.

[@marcelluskellen5513]

i guess it is kinda off topic but do anybody know of a good site to watch newly released series online ?

[@claytonjordan7713]

@Marcellus Kellen Flixportal

[@alanw505]

You gotta love, Price. He did this interview all in one breath. : )

[@timmarrier]

Yes Robert is really amazing, and it's BECAUSE he's so genuine, honest and sincere. He's a fine example of someone who can appreciate conclusions drawn from observation and rational, logical thought. He is calm, collective and interested because truth is really so simple. It's rationalizing a lousy belief that gets difficult.I'm so happy the blur cleared up for me. Foride r the first time I felt real responsibility and empathy for others.

[@AlekTrev006]

I was just thinking that right now ! (watching it for the 3rd or 4th time) - he actually does keep going and going - and it's glorious. Easiest Patreon Project video for Matt ever :-) (But really enjoyable and informative to listen to)

[@isaacpowell1408]

Alan W That's Funny!😂😂😂😂

[@damianwhite9058]

Just what I was thinking.

[@peterrabbit1054]

😹😹😹😹

[@duke222222]

"Salvation by gullibility". What a great line - that just about sums it up.

[@Lover4_Life]

Great line indeed!!

[@rscotthudson1959]

"I don't want to just switch teams, I want to get out of the stadium." I love that line.

[@Fournier46]

Yeah totally my sentiment.

[@pianoman4413]

Dr. Robert Price, a powerhouse of knowledge. What a wonderful man....

[@Naked4Jesus]

It's always a pleasure to listen to Robert Price. Very informative and entertaining.

[@newclarence]

Thanks for the interview. Too bad you had such a hard time getting Bob to talk.

[@andybeans5790]

It's always like drawing blood from a stone, Dr Bob is just so secretive.

[@kylebuckles2692]

Robert Price is such a great speaker / communicator and a brilliant scholar. I could listen to him all day.

[@charlesdahmital8095]

And as always- The Price is Right!

[@DrReginaldFinleySr]

Glad that my friend Bob is still at it and going strong. It was my pleasure helping launch The Bible Geek. :-)

[@formerfundienowfree4235]

I discovered Bob through his debate with Phil Fernandez on your show. We are now good friends!!

[@pianoman4413]

Dr. Robert Price is absolutely my favorite guy to listen to! He is the best of the best!

[@ThatEphelGuard]

It's always a pleasure to hear him talk. Thank you for this!

[@FrancescoDiMauro]

"Is it salvation by gullibility?" ah ah! I love this guy!

[@thisisaguy]

I'm fairly certain I could listen to Robert Price lecture all day.

[@conradmarshall5856]

I've watched several videos by Robert Price, and I am always amazed at how long he can talk without interruption.

[@0gods]

I love Dr. Robert M. Price. . .a great voice for the messy and inconclusive nature of the Bible. . .

[@p.bamygdala2139]

“Non threatening” presentation of the skeptic arguments is a great tactic. I’m enjoying watching the various channels on KZbin using the very strategy, Street Epistemology. Thanks for a great interview!

[@stvbrsn]

Can't describe how much I love Bob. Learned, articulate, forthright, quick. A real raconteur in the vein of my main man, Terence McKenna.

[@monday5264897]

stvbrsn I like Bobby also

[@nontheistdavid]

"Ascpelius, the Marcus Welby of his day" rofl Not only is Price a genius he is also hilarious.

[@rhondah1587]

***** Yes and one would have to have a bit of age on them to get the reference to Marcus Welby. It was one of my favorite shows back in the day.

[@jasonnadal9721]

I listened to this 4 times in a row.

[@CulinarySpy]

I'd love if Price had spoken this way in his debate with Ehrman. He is ten times as intellectually honest and genuinely more interested in truth.

[@johndavis9591]

Robert Price the closest thing to the truth, what tremendous courage.

[@senorpoopEhead]

Great interview. I like how Price presents himself and how he approaches questions. Thanks!

[@CyberWeez]

Gotta luv ole Price...Nice interview Matt!!

[@RobDegrey]

I am such a huge fan

[@taifuhime]

I have nothing but the utmost respect for both of these men. What a fantastic interview.

[@mitchellhodgemeyer]

What a fascinating guy! Great to listen to.

[@kennachristine9528]

Dr. Price looks just like my dad, lol! Great guy, love listening to him. Thanks for having this, Matt! :)

[@eddieking2976]

Would love to sit down with Mr Price and have a beer over some deep theological questions.

[@LongshanMusic]

i agree, but make it a coke for him; bob doesn't drink.

[@sweetsweatyfeet]

Even though I know a lot more about the bible than the average Christian, Bob Price is one of those guys that makes me feel like I know nothing.

[@johnrubik4582]

Please keep these coming. Thanks for taking an interest in sharing the mechanics of the debate.

[@AlGhoul]

Great video! Great series, too!!

[@StevenWalker]

Hey Matt, I really enjoyed that interview, having never been exposed to Dr. Price before it was good to hear his take on mythicism. So thanks.

[@jerdal6825]

This my first Price talk after exhausting most of the Dawkins, Hitchens, and Ehrman talks. Im just sorry I didn't check him out sooner. Love this guy!

[@louisunger4505]

Though I disagree with Dr. Price' conclusions, he is yet highly intelligent and highly informed.

[@wandaru]

Price is a living Book. I've been following him for 2 years. Just luv this guy, he has stored data in his hard disk aka brain.

[@redshiftexperiment]

all these videos have been fantastic. this one was one of the most enjoyable. really enjoyed his discussion on the topic. really presents his ideas in an enjoyable way. Also, it helps that I agree with what he is saying.

[@crankysoldermeister]

Price is brilliant. I love listening to this guy. You too Matt. :-)

[@walexander8378]

I like listening to this guy. usually voices are not all that enjoyable but this is one

[@LaughinLoneStar]

Robert M Price. Wow. He's the real deal. I loved his final thoughts. His "get out of the stadium, instead of switching teams", I'm using that one. And, "if you're interested, here's why I can no longer use these arguments".

[@ian_b]

I never tire of listening to Bob Price.

[@billkeon880]

gotta love Price. The more I see of him, the more he is brilliant in my eyes. The gnostic example is particularly compelling.

[@daviddupoise6443]

Excellent!! Thank you so much for your work and excellent choices of guests. Please pass on my thanks to Dr. Price and others you have interviewed. I will do so indirectly by adding to my bookshelves and directly by contributing to your Patreon project. I encourage like-minded viewers to do the same please. Thank you so much.

[@MenwithHill]

Always great to listen to Bob. I can't recommend "The Bible Geek" enough. Give it a try.

[@TomMSTie1138]

Great interview, Matt. I became aware of Dr. Price in "The God Who Wasn't There" and have been a big fan ever since.

[@evilmadness8052]

Dr. Robert is a well informed person and I love this talks including one with Aronra. Which was a good one too. Well done video.

[@easleeps1]

Has Bart Ehrman ever debated Robert Price on the historicity of Jesus? I'd love to see that. I've seen Robert Price debate William Lane Craig on the historicity of Jesus' resurrection. That was a doozie. Price mopped the floor with Craig mostly because facts are on his side and William Lane Craig is a walking talking Special Pleading Fallacy.

[@atortarr]

eas leeps There's rumors that this might happen at some point...only problem is, Ehrman asks for a very large cost to do such debates/appearances.

[@scottbignell]

eas leeps All of the money Ehrman makes from debates he donates to charity. Yeah, what a "grubbing asshole".

[@OzymandiasRamsesII]

eas leeps Ehrman donates his debate/speaking fees to charity. Even the proceeds from his blog, which has a pay wall, all go to charity. I know you were joking, but I just want people to know that he's not just holding out for filthy lucre. Cheers, - Ozy

[@atortarr]

Ozymandias Ramses II Yeah I didn't mean to insinuate that he's a money-grubber or anything, just that it's expensive which therefore means it's hard to get the debate arranged.

[@scottbignell]

Southpaw Σ:3 Price needs to go ahead with the crowd funding thing he's been talking about. Ehrman has said he'd be happy to debate him. I reckon Price could easily raise the money. I'd put in for it. Not sure what's stopping him. If it goes ahead, I hope it's more of a 'conversation' than a formal debate (which often boils down to 'debate tactics'). I still think there was a historical Jesus, but I think Price could ruffle some of Ehrman's confidence on the issue. Price and Ehrman are two of my favourite scholars. Would love to see them go head to head.

[@jonathanpeden9930]

A fascinating video.

[@selfish-perverse-n-turbulent]

OMG! Dr. Price cites Galaxy Quest?! 19:38 My absolute favorite scholar ever! Carrier has got to up his game.

[@ceesvegh4904]

Good stuff!

[@Longtack55]

Thanks Matt. You, Price and Barker are the shit!

[@winston2015]

Love Price !!!

[@leespaner]

He is the best in content and delivery.

[@litestuf]

An intelligent source in the forest hidden by the tree. A light in the dark.

[@TruthSurge]

Let's word it this way: The Jesus of the gospels never existed. When almost every miracle Jesus does in the gospels is taken from previous literature, and the epistles are generally devoid of anything remotely resembling the Jesus of the gospels (in all of Paul's letters he mentions precisely NONE of Jesus' miracles or teachings) then I could say without much hesitation that the Jesus of the gospels never existed. Was there A teacher figure prior to the gospels being written? Was there a hero figure prior to the gospels? Was there a traveling prophet? A doomsayer with "woe to Jerusalem" on his tongue? Yes, these TYPES were there. JESUS was not. Just my opinion after studying the topic for many years and reading a couple of Mr. Price's books as well, including "The Christ Myth and it's Problems".

[@isaacpowell1408]

TruthSurge However you have to admit the belief in JESUS The Christ has, does, and will change lives for the better. It works!

[@TruthSurge]

it may work for a small percentage of people but I think the opposite happens more often. CHristianity doesn't make people any better or nice or give them anything more than any other religion gives their constituents. Obviously, it doesn't work. Prayer has never worked because there is no one to answer them.

[@WilhelmDrake]

How does believing in the existance of a miracle working superman change one's life for the better? Scripture seems to contradict your claims. "The devils also believe, and tremble" (James 2:19)

[@JamesRichardWiley]

If Jesus wants peace on earth and he his Yahweh's son why can't they work together to bring peace?

[@jmtnvalley]

Dr. Price brings up some very good questions.

[@peterrabbit1054]

Love Dr price's humor, so entertaining 👍

[@mistou26]

Second speech i listen from this so learned guy. Very very interesting. I would even say pasionating.

[@GENESIS-3]

Robert M. Price is priceless again!

[@rchuso]

Galaxy Quest. :-) I hadn't considered the obvious comparison. That's good.

[@NickLitten]

could listen to this chaps accent all day.... raspy with a slice of hazzard county... epic beard and professorial glasses...

[@greenakutabi]

Price and Ehrman debated this this. I think Ehrman won the debate but that's just because he's a better debater. This is the setting where Price shines. He brought up a lot of great points. I appreciate the interview.

[@MrsJMW]

Great last min advice about exchange of ideas!!!

[@qutbimclub-presidenthayden7382]

Matt, thank you for your work. This channel is great ammunition for Socratic questioning of my indoctrinated family. So far I have my sister waking up and leaving a cult. Only three family members to go.

[@geraldbrienza4474]

“Stuck in the middle with you brand of scholarship.” Perfect.

[@janemorris5088]

Incredibly broad knowledge about the historicity of Jesus. Extremely interesting.

[@synoge]

Price is cool as hell. Although some of his political/social views are a little to Conservative for me. He enjoys watching Fox news, I would love to see him have a spirited talk with Bill O'Reilly. He really needs to do more debates.

[@thoughtprocess4306]

Forrest Gump is full of references to actual historical figures and events. Yet, who among you believes the movie Forrest Gump is a detailed historical account of the life and times of Forrest Gump?

[@superslammer]

Fantastic

[@andybeans5790]

Oh wow, I never knew you interviewed Dr Bob! Saving this to watch later. Was this around the time of the debate you chaired with Bart Ehrman?

[@stupidtreehugger]

Robert! LOOK AFTER YOURSELF. DON'T EAT SO MUCH. SLEEP MORE. A WALK OR TWO WOULDN'T KILL YOU. YOU LOOK LIKE WARMED-UP SHISHKEBAB. WE WANT YOU ALIVE FOR MANY YEARS TO COME YOU WONDERFUL MAN! BIG HUG!

[@roobookaroo]

+Alexander LegisNonScriptae Excellent comment. It may be too late to change his lifestyle towards healthier habits. He speaks clear and strong, because that is what he is exercising all the time: his thinking and his talking. But he does not exercise his body. He can barely hold his chest and head. He seems to have lost all muscle power. I was thinking: this man is not going to live long.

[@krishnahollowell821]

I was an orphan, so I daydream about my parents and what they would be like....Mr. Price fits my fantasy birth father mold to the 19th power💪🏻

[@bonusflaps1749]

I can empathize to a degree. I grew up without a dad and a mostly-absent mother. Sorry to hear you were an orphan. I hope you have a good life now.

[@timmarrier]

39:02 - I've been doing this ever since I realized it was the only thing that actually seemed to make progress one weekend arguing with a close relative who was half-out but still vehemently defending our childhood christian indoctrination. They simply have no good defensive offense for any part of their faith. Well said, Bob.

[@RoboKestrel]

Bob Price is such a badass.

[@SierraSierraFoxtrot]

I love the asymmetric framing of this video. Makes it much more personal than a vanilla talking head.

[@SummersTimeEntertainment]

A great video to share with a Christian or Muslim! Excellent job!

[@fairwitness7476]

16:30 "...is it salvation by gullibility?...." Sounds about right to me.

[@formerfundienowfree4235]

Bob is our good friend. He dedicated his last book to us!! ❤️❤️💜💜💙💙

[@theleninistplaysgames1682]

I've been a big fan of Price's fiction and especially his H. P. Lovecraft scholarship but this is good stuff too

[@anthonycostine5067]

A tour de force here from Dr Price.

[@ManDuderGuy]

Bigtime

[@AbdulHannanAbdulMatheen]

👏🙂 Very interesting

[@elainejohnson6955]

"It comes down to a non-falsifiable gas bag!" - Robert M. Price

[@TrevorLentz]

Epic Galaxy Quest reference. LOL

[@bonnie43uk]

Good to hear Robert Price mention the similarities between the Jesus stories and Homer's Odyssey, if anyone hasn't seen it, check out TruthSurge's "Excavating the Empty tomb" series on KZbin, well worth a watch.

[@tayzlor]

Love dr price

[@drstrangelove09]

I wish that Price had been like this in his debate w/ Ehrman... I found him to be much more convincing in this interview than in the debate. I think that maybe he felt attacked in the debate.

[@charlesdahmital8095]

Loved his first point through the two minute mark. I have always held that a third party contemporary witness would be awesome. What I have looked for is evidence such as- Three wise men/or Kings and the entourages made a many months long journey of a life time to see the King of Kings. Arriving from different lands then returning home with tales of out running Herod's army after having seen the new King. Yet none of them has ever been found to have written down anything about their journey. Not even those who stayed home wrote of their leaders\wise men leaving for months to see the new King. Nothing

[@TheDrunkardHu]

My question is: When is he going to finish Winds of Winter?! We've waited long enough!! I kid, I kid. :)

[@greyeyed123]

Five years later, and that joke still works. When is he going to finish Winds of Winter?

[@GaudioWind]

I've recently read the three first Gospels again and except for the beginning and end of the story it seems quite plausible that they are describing a charlatan of that time. So, I think this Jesus character has probably existed and later some people added a few mythological details to make the whole story more appealing.

[@weslewis8748]

😂 "non-falsifiable gas bag"...that was great!

[@abelcainsbrother]

We need to put a picture of the shroud of Turin next to Robert Price and Richard Carrier.

[@abelcainsbrother]

ajs1031 Go ahead and try to prove it is a sixth century fraud because you won't be able to because no man can show how the image was put on the shroud by man.And once the evidence is laid out about why it cannot be reproduced by man and the many ways it leads us to believe that the image on the shroud was produced by Jesus Christ himself as he rose from the dead it will be evidence for Jesus Christ.Real physical historical evidence that Jesus existed and performed miracles and rose from the dead just as the bible says that atheists ignore. My faith in Jesus is not blind faith.

[@utah133]

What a perfect analysis of Ehrman! An atheist who can't admit it!

[@ellasmith9280]

Dr Price is often times unintentionally hilarious 😂

[@JohnDee0]

Salvation by Gullibility ...Love it lollllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

[@judofright4206]

dont forget zarathustra was born of a virgin impregnated by a beam of light & went to hades for opposing zeus (demiurge). mithra was part of the zoroastrian faith & became the official god of the roman empire. sound familiar?

[@RonJohn63]

5:11 I've thought this same thing for some time, but it's the first time I've heard someone else say it. (Not that I think that Price just thought it, since I learned long ago that I have no unique ideas.)

[@lightseeker131]

Information monster he’s awesome

[@JamesWrightTellingOnGod]

Always a great combination, Dr. Robert Price and Matt Dillahunty...

[@drezworthy]

Robert Price is the man

[@unstoppableify]

every time matt starts talking Dr. Price looks like he's turning into a zombie and dying.....whoa...its really FUCKING weird.....