I have appreciated Ehrman's perspective on the New Testament—not agreed with, but appreciated. He challenges us to take a long, hard look at what we believe.
The Mythicists are a branch of Humanism that denies the physical existence of Jesus. Ehrman does a great job of using ancient sources to prove that there was a live person named Jesus who lived in the first century. He takes jibes at Christians by poking at some of our dearly held beliefs; he tells us that Jesus is not God, that nothing is “inspired,” that the gospels contradict and make claims that Jesus could not possibly have made, and that the Messiah was not supposed to suffer for our sins.
By taking the middle ground, both sides are left dissatisfied. The Mythicists’ argument is called weak and unsupported while the Christian view is denigrated. He reduces ancient texts to cold, hard facts, without life and breath. Kind of like this book. (Harper One)