Person
An American scholar of the New Testament (b. 1955), whose books on its manuscripts are often cited in Muslim-Christian argument.
What it means
Bart Ehrman was an evangelical Christian, and is now an agnostic. His Misquoting Jesus (2005) sets out how scribes changed the New Testament text in copying. Other scholars, including conservative Christians, say that he overstates the effect of the variants.
What the sources say
Some Muslims quote him to support the view that the Gospels were altered. Careful Muslim writers note that he himself says most variants are trivial and that the reconstruction of the early text is secure in the main. His work shows that the history of the text is more complicated than either side sometimes assumes.