It is, of course, IMPOSSIBLE to become expert in all this.  But my view is that — especially in the Humanities — knowing a lot about a lot of things is better than knowing a CRAZY amount about far fewer things.  It’s a big world out there, and none of it is in isolation from everything else.  In our program, students get a lot of breadth (compared to other programs), and develop a specific area of depth (especially in their dissertation); we think this makes them better scholars and more prepared teachers.

At the end of the day, I think I’m glad I got the deep training I did.  But I also regret not being trained more broadly.  I do have to admit, though, that at the time, I had zero interest in being trained more broadly.  I was a New Testament guy.  Luckily I’ve been in a position that has allowed me to expand over the years, and like the known universe, the possibilities of expansion appear to be inexhaustible and I’m happy to go there.  And I think it’s too bad none of us has another 4-5 billion years to do so (that is, before the sun wipes us all out).    [/mepr-show

-Bart Ehrman