Contradictions Our modern society has a hard time wrapping our minds around certain “perspective issues” with the Bible. We have so much recorded video, audio recordings, transcriptions, sensor readings, computer logs, phone records, and insurance documentation that we subconsciously presume its presence when we examine the lens of history. It can be discreditable or infuriating when we move back in time to an era where the most reliable measure of the seasons were temple priests and the most accurate source of tax documentation came from the individual organizational skills of the modern-day equivalent of a repo man. Add in the fact that literacy was a niche skill for the political and geekier part of the population, and we don’t have much to go on. With that said, the Gospels do have some so-called “contradictions” that do need clearing up. While they’re relatively benign, I can see it creating a crisis of faith in a newer believer if not properly addressed. Very often, they have mundane explanations: • Many times, Jesus will tell a parable or story, and it might have different details or placed differently in the story’s narrative. It’s only natural that he said these things dozens of times (like all teachers do). Like all human beings, they would have iterated in different forms. For the sake of simplicity, I grouped them together where they correspond to events that happened, since some of the accounts give Jesus’ stories without the context for why they arose, but they are often likely not the same event. • When there’s a differing chronology of events, it really depends on the writer’s narrative ordering. Luke and John were designed to be chronological, while Matthew expressed his story based on themes, and Mark was somewhere in between Matthew and Luke. John also makes things complicated by covering details that nobody else did, probably because he was a kid at the time and had a more personal experience with Jesus (“the disciple whom Jesus loved”). I preserved the chronology in the general order of Luke > John > Mark > Matthew, but I don’t know if the narrative order is as necessarily important as the legitimacy of the events themselves. I did make one concession for Pilate’s trial with John, since that event would have hard-coded it onto his memory as PTSD from him being a boy at the time. • When accounts differ while Jesus is in a crowd (which is rather frequent), there is a lot of chaos that no single account would be able to capture. This makes sense if someone is creating controversy by doing miracles while his religion’s leaders are trying to discredit him through public debate. When Jesus’ exact words differ, it makes complete sense that a gently-speaking person in a crowd, even with authority, will be misheard. • Another thematic pattern of error involves multiple events being concatenated into one simply by their similarity. There were actually two women who broke an alabaster jar open and anointed Jesus, both with people standing by wondering about it, and both with Jesus giving a veiled rebuke. Jesus cursed a barren fig tree twice as well, both ways between Bethany and Jerusalem. • Jesus was absurdly busy for a man in his time. For example, • Were there 2 demon-possessed men at the Gadarenes or 1? I’m fairly certain that if you’re in the middle of a crowd and there’s an echo in a valley, a crazy demon-possessed man will sound like 2 people and you won’t be able to see. • Were there 2 blind men healed or 1? Mark and Luke didn’t see it, but only heard it, while Matthew did see it. • Was Jesus’ robe purple or red? That depends if you have tritanopia color-blindness. • Were there 2 angels or 1 at the empty tomb? There were 2, but only John heard about the second one. Plus, as an added bonus, there was a misunderstanding from how the believers the angels’ message, and they first thought it was a corpse theft before they were corrected. • There are others, but most of the debate at this point comes from which way your bias leans while walking into reading it. If you’re trying to find a way that it didn’t happen, you’ll find one. For many of the above, most of the fallibility of these eyewitness accounts do prove (at least to me) that later collusion by these relatively uneducated Roman peasant citizens is very unlikely. It’s more likely that these events happened as the people recorded them. It’s also much more impressive that this ancient set of documents was so reliably and accurately reproduced across the entire known world. With the exception of the Greek majority and minority text differences (which are all relatively minor differences), these accounts are more reliable than what actually happened a few short centuries later to unseat the entirety of the Roman Empire. Spirit vs. Letter While I may wax theological here, I do want to dispel a certain myth that comes with being relatively new to Christianity. Creationism: https://www.facebook.com/groups/322864737904915/ Pantheists often say everything we know is only an illusion. - Since every copy needs an original, what is that illusion of? "Contradictions" in the bible: The Sabbath Day "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." - Exodus 20:8 "One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind." - Romans 14:5 The Permanence of Earth "… the earth abideth for ever." - Ecclesiastes 1:4 "… the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up." - 2Peter 3:10 Seeing God "… I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved." - Genesis 32:30 "No man hath seen God at any time…"- John 1:18 Human Sacrifice "… Thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God…" - Leviticus 18:21 [In Judges, though, the tale of Jephthah, who led the Israelites against the Ammonoites, is being told. Being fearful of defeat, this good religious man sought to guarantee victory by getting god firmly on his side. So he prayed to god] "… If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering" - Judges 11:30-31 [The terms were acceptable to god - remember, he is supposed to be omniscient and know the future - so he gave victory to Jephthah, and the first whatsoever that greeted him upon his glorious return was his daughter, as god surely knew would happen, if god is god. True to his vow, the general made a human sacrifice of his only child to god!] - Judges 11:29-34 The Power of God "… with God all things are possible." - Matthew 19:26 "…The LORD was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron." - Judges 1:19 Personal Injury "…thou shalt give life for life, Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. " - Exodus 21:23-25 "…ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also." - Matthew 5:39 Circumcision "This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised." - Genesis 17:10 "…if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing." - Galatians 5:2 Incest "Cursed be he that lieth with his sister, the daughter of his father, or the daughter of this mother…" - Deuteronomy 27:22 "And if a man shall take his sister, his father's daughter, or his mother's daughter…it is a wicked thing…." - Leviticus 20:17 [But what was god's reaction to Abraham, who married his sister - his father's daughter?] See Genesis 20:11-12 "And God said unto Abraham, As for Sara thy wife…I bless her, and give thee a son also of her…" - Genesis 17:15-16 Trusting God "A good man obtaineth favour of the LORD…" - Proverbs 12:2 Now consider the case of Job. After commissioning Satan to ruin Job financially and to slaughter his shepherds and children to win a petty bet with Satan. God asked Satan: "Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause." - Job 2:3 The Holy Lifestyle "Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart…" - Ecclesiastes 9:7 "…they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not…" - 1 Corinthians 7:30 Punishing Crime "The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father…" - Ezekiel 18:20 "I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation…" - Exodus 20:5 Temptation "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man." - James 1:13 "And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham…" - Genesis 22:1 Family Relationships "Honor thy father and thy mother…"- Exodus 20:12 "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. " - Luke 14:26 Resurrection of the Dead "…he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more. " - Job 7:9 "…the hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth…." - John 5:28-29 The End of the World "Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom. " - Matthew 16:28 "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. " - Luke 21:32-33 "And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light." - Romans 13:11-12 "Be ye also patient; establish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh." - James 5:8 "Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time." - 1 John 2:18 "But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer." - 1 Peter 4:7 ive also found some on "https://www.patheos.com/blogs/crossexamined/2018/10/top-20-most-damning-bible-contradictions/" I will also need explanation on these things(basically an ELI5/Explain Like I'm 5): - The trinity(like how the son isnt the father but both are god and so on so forth) - Is the old testament still valid if its in the Bible? - When was the new testament compiled? - What's the right sect? --- Frequent Q&A: Why would God allow the world/me to suffer? - We are reaping the consequences of our sin condition that came from the Fall (Genesis 3). - God has permitted suffering to bring godliness, though we don't know why in this life ([1 Timothy 3:16](https://www.bible.com/bible/206/1ti.3.16)). If God is all-loving but also knows what we'll do, why do people go to hell? - An all-loving God gives a choice and freedom to choose against the right decision. If you need to accept Jesus, what happens to babies that die? - Jesus said the kingdom of heaven goes to children ([Matthew 19:14](https://www.bible.com/bible/206/mat.19.14)). - On the principle that [God](https://icould.fail/god/) is [just and fair](https://gainedin.site/justice/), He won't judge them the same way as us. The Bible promotes slavery/incest/rape/polygamy/etc, why would God permit that? - Our sin condition had taken root by the time He gave the Law. - The Law made a better life for slaves/women/rape victims/etc. by giving them previously unseen [rights and liberties](https://gainedin.site/boundaries/). - Jesus was one of the greatest advocates of minorities and women ([John 4](https://www.bible.com/bible/206/jhn.4)). Most apologetics studies should be a sincere attempt to intimately understand the truth more thoroughly. NOTE: PULL FROM THE BEGINNING OF GOSPEL SPLICE Educated non-believers may point out any of [these supposed Bible contradictions](http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/). - Most of them are trying to defend a view instead of learning the truth. - 90% of the "contradictions" have an easy explanation: 1. A this/that explanation for something that is both/and (though it may require some thought to find it). 2. Cultural norms of the time which are foreign to the reader. 3. Differing eyewitness accounts, which prove the apostles didn't collude. [Alleged Bible Contradictions](http://www.bible-apologetics.com/bible-contradictions.htm) [List of Apparent Bible Contradictions | Thy Word is True](https://www.thywordistrue.com/contradictions#solved) [Answering Bible Difficulties](https://defendinginerrancy.com/bible-difficulties) ### Evangelists [Cliffe Knechtle](https://newcanaansociety.org/new-canaan/team-member/cliffe-knechtle) [Home - David J Lynn](https://davidjlynn.com) [Ray Comfort - Living Waters](https://livingwaters.com/team/ray-comfort) [Off The Kirb Ministries](https://www.offthekirb.co.uk) While good apologetics is contextual to the situation, some tried-and-true logical refutations are difficult to sidestep that validate Christianity over any other belief system. - Scripture itself is an utterly unstoppable force to validate God's truths ([Hebrews 4:12](https://biblehub.com/hebrews/4-12.htm)). - However, that requires that someone even imagines it's *possible* that the Bible itself has any authority in the first place. - Without that validation, you'll likely need to dive into the details around [philosophy](https://gainedin.site/philosophy/), [another religion's theology](https://gainedin.site/religion/), or [scientific studies](https://gainedin.site/science/). Polytheism ---------- Consult [Socrates' Euthyphro](https://classics.mit.edu/Plato/euthyfro.html) for a clear refutation of polytheism. The short version: 1. Good things are what the gods want. 2. However, the gods themselves want opposing things (e.g., the god of war wants [war](https://gainedin.site/war/), but the god of peace wants [peace](https://gainedin.site/boundaries/)). 3. Either there are no good things (since a god is satisfied in either case), or one of the gods isn't really as important as the other. 4. At the end of this, there must be one god above all other gods, an "unknown God" above all others. This set of ideas was partly the basis for why Socrates was put to death, and also the precedent for the Areopagus in [Acts 17:19-34](https://biblehub.com/acts/17.htm). - The approach Paul uses could be easily adapted as well. Pantheism --------- Pantheists often state that everything is an illusion. - The logical reality, then, is that an illusion is based on something, so it begs the question: what is the illusion of? "Modern" Christian Updates -------------------------- There are *many* religions/cults that indicate the following set of assertions: 1. God delivered some degree of truth to Jews and, later, Christians. 2. However, there are missing components that take away from what God was trying to say. 3. The answer lies in [leader] who is now trying to set the record straight with [cult doctrine]. This is a highly contextual conflict based on the leader's history and ideas, but there is [incriminating evidence for each one](/conflicts#cults). Atheism: Scientific ------------------- The distinction for most atheists depends heavily on whether they trust the scientific *process* or the scientific *community*. - If they trust [the scientific *process*](https://gainedin.site/science/), then they'd eventually have to admit that anything scaling back to millions of years is certainly impossible to reproduce. - If they trust [the scientific *community*](https://notageni.us/science/) (which they usually do), then their framework of thinking is built on a certain type of "faith" in the manifold [specializations](https://gainedin.site/specialization-cities/) within that community. The prevailing belief is the following: 1. The universe came into existence through a single point in space (a "singularity") that exploded to create all the matter in space now (i.e., "the Big Bang theory"). 2. Over trillions of years, matter clumped together via gravity, which created stars and planets over time. 3. One planet (Earth) had a perfect combination of events that created life as a small microbe (often involving a comet striking to create the specific circumstances). 4. Over billions of years, that life evolved into increasingly advanced species, with the less fit species dying off and the more fit species surviving (i.e., "macro-evolution"). 5. Finally, mankind was a branch of primates that descended from the trees and started forming into increasingly complex social structures. Either way, they will have to explain a few things: 1. How can the singularity defy the laws of science? - The First Law of Thermodynamics implies that all the energy of the universe was contained in a singularity, but something had to keep it in that state of containment for it to create a critical explosion. - The Second Law of Thermodynamics refers to entropy decay, but the Big Bang was a pronounced *increase* in order that worked against entropy. 2. How did everything in the universe get to where it's at? - Why are planets and stars spherical when they should be more elliptical from the gravitational pull that created them? - How did any of the stars' [nucleosynthesis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nucleosynthesis) get above plutonium in time to create elements like uranium to create the earth? 3. Irreducible complexity: Why is everything vastly complex, but there aren't intermediate stages present? - For example, there's a liver that fulfills hundreds of purposes, and a heart that pumps blood, and dozens of other critical organs, so the evolutionary . Atheism: Philosophical ---------------------- Most atheistic philosophy has two mechanisms contained within it: - Moral relativism - the view that *all* [morality](https://gainedin.site/morality/) is completely relative - Nihilism - the view that [meaning](https://gainedin.site/meaning/) itself doesn't exist Besides the general hopelessness and meaninglessness it generates, the trouble with that philosophy comes from a few problems: 1. It presumes the universe as an uncaring and uninvolved existence (which contrasts what *anyone* who believes in God would otherwise believe). 2. The value system holds a hard assertion that there is nothing to be found in all that meaninglessness except self-created human endeavors, which disregards the value of traditional frameworks strictly on utility alone. Even whil Carl Jung was an atheist, his philosophy and psychoanalytical approach can prove useful, since it articulates the utility of God and worship even while denying its truth. Bible Defenses -------------- There are quite a few "contradictions" stated in the Bible, though many of them are simply contradictions at face value. - Often, there is *tremendous* wisdom in finding how those two verses are *not* contradictions. - Emphasis added below to easily indicate the allegations. The Sabbath Day - **Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy**. - [Exodus 20:8](https://biblehub.com/exodus/20-8.htm) - One person considers one day more sacred than another; **another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind**. - [Romans 14:5](https://biblehub.com/romans/14-5.htm) - Within context, "every day alike" means that *every* day is being regarded as holy, not *just* the Sabbath day. The Earth's Permanence - Generations come and generations go, but **the earth remains forever.** - [Ecclesiastes 1:4](https://biblehub.com/ecclesiastes/1-4.htm) - But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. **The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire**, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. - [2 Peter 3:10](https://biblehub.com/2_peter/3-10.htm) - There's a specific perspective to be addressed here: Ecclesiastes is part of the group called "wisdom books", which are intentionally poetic. - It's very easy to see the imagery, and the earth *absolutely* outlives each of us and even [our legacies](https://gainedin.site/legacy/). - By contrast, Peter's letter to the Church is very explicitly describing what *will* happen, without any uncertainty. - In fact, the concept goes farther to refute the ideas of the time of the New Testament, specifically Greek atomism (that the universe's atoms were effectively immortal). Seeing God - So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, "It is because **I saw God face to face**, and yet my life was spared." - [Genesis 32:30](https://biblehub.com/genesis/32-30.htm) - **No one has ever seen God**, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known. - [John 1:18](https://biblehub.com/john/1-18.htm) - We have to clearly define the word "seen", [more on the idea at GotQuestions here](https://www.gotquestions.org/seen-God.html). Human Sacrifice - **Do not give any of your children to be sacrificed** to Molek, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD. - [Leviticus 18:21](https://biblehub.com/leviticus/18-21.htm) - Jephthah made this vow to the LORD: "If indeed You will deliver the Ammonites into my hand, then **whatever comes out the door of my house to greet me on my triumphant return** from the Ammonites will belong to the LORD, and **I will offer it up as a burnt offering**." - [Judges 11:30-31](https://biblehub.com/judges/11.htm) - This is a clear distinction between what God *wants* versus what man *gives*. - Jephthah made a severe mistake by offering up "whatever" comes from his house to greet him, not really thinking through the consequence. - This is more an example of the kinds of foolishness we can fall into when we get excited than anything else. - Reading further, he followed through on his word against all convention, and he was regarded as *faithful* for that second decision in [Hebrews 11:32](https://biblehub.com/hebrews/11-32.htm), which holds a separate standard than the first decision he made through giving a promise. The Power of God - "... with God all things are possible." - Matthew 19:26 - "...The LORD was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron." - Judges 1:19 Personal Injury - "...thou shalt give life for life, Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. " - Exodus 21:23-25 - "...ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also." - Matthew 5:39 Circumcision - "This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised." - Genesis 17:10 - "...if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing." - Galatians 5:2 Incest - "Cursed be he that lieth with his sister, the daughter of his father, or the daughter of this mother..." - Deuteronomy 27:22 - "And if a man shall take his sister, his father's daughter, or his mother's daughter...it is a wicked thing...." - Leviticus 20:17 - [But what was god's reaction to Abraham, who married his sister - his father's daughter?] See Genesis 20:11-12 - "And God said unto Abraham, As for Sara thy wife...I bless her, and give thee a son also of her..." - Genesis 17:15-16 Trusting God - "A good man obtaineth favour of the LORD..." - Proverbs 12:2 - Now consider the case of Job. After commissioning Satan to ruin Job financially and to slaughter his shepherds and children to win a petty bet with Satan. God asked Satan: "Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause." - Job 2:3 The Holy Lifestyle - "Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart..." - Ecclesiastes 9:7 - "...they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not..." - 1 Corinthians 7:30 Punishing Crime - "The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father..." - Ezekiel 18:20 - "I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation..." - Exodus 20:5 Temptation - "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man." - James 1:13 - "And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham..." - Genesis 22:1 Family Relationships - "Honor thy father and thy mother..."- Exodus 20:12 - "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. " - Luke 14:26 Resurrection of the Dead - "...he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more. " - Job 7:9 - "...the hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth...." - John 5:28-29 The End of the World - "Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom. " - Matthew 16:28 - "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. " - Luke 21:32-33 - "And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light." - Romans 13:11-12 - "Be ye also patient; establish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh." - James 5:8 - "Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time." - 1 John 2:18 - "But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer." - 1 Peter 4:7 ### 1\. Christians sin, just like everyone else (or do they?) Everyone knows that no human except Jesus lived a sinless life. The Bible says: > Indeed, **there is not a righteous man on earth** who continually does good and who never sins (Ecclesiastes 7:20). > > **All have sinned** and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). This is standard Christian dogma, but things get confusing when you read the opening verse of Job, which says of Job, "This man was blameless and upright." Even as his life was going to hell because of Satan and God's little experiment, Job was vindicated in his belief that he had nothing to apologize for. We see another example in Noah, who was also "blameless" (Genesis 6:9). But the sinless net goes a lot wider than that, because (plot twist!) ordinary Christians don't sin. > **No one who is born of God sins**; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him (1 John 5:18; see also 1 John 3:6, 3:9). So which is it---are all people sinners, or are Christians the exception? #### **Addendum: But why worry about sin? Every one of us is already saved.** Paul draws a parallel between the man who got us into this mess (Adam, who ate the forbidden fruit and gave mankind Original Sin) and the one who got us out (Jesus, whose perfect sacrifice saved us all). > For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous (Romans 5:19). We didn't opt in to get the sin of Adam, and we needn't opt in to get the salvation of Jesus. No belief is necessary. Paul assures us we're good. ### **2\. The women spread the word of the empty tomb (or did they?)** Women discovered the empty tomb of Jesus and returned to tell the others. > The women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples (Matthew 28:8). > > When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others (Luke 24:9). Or did they? Mark has a different ending. > Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. **They said nothing to anyone**, because they were afraid. (Mark 16:8) And that's how the original version of the gospel of Mark ended. ### **3\. All Christians are united in what they believe about Jesus (right?)** > [Jesus said,] I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that **all of them may be one**. . . . I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one---I in them and you in me---**so that they may be brought to complete unity**. (John 17:20--23) > > I appeal to you . . . that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that **there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united** in mind and thought. (1 Corinthians 1:10) That's a nice thought, but has any prayer failed more spectacularly? Christianity is more than just Roman Catholics and Baptists and Methodists and maybe a few more---there are now [*45,000* denominations](http://www.internationalbulletin.org/issues/2015-01/2015-01-028-johnson.pdf), and Christianity is fragmenting at a rate of two new denominations per day. (h/t commenter Greg G.) ### **4\. No one can see God (or can they?)** > No one has ever seen God (1 John 4:12). > > No man has seen or can see [God] (1 Timothy 6:16). But Adam and Eve saw God. So did Abraham and Moses: > **The Lord appeared to Abraham** near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day (Genesis 18:1). > > **The Lord would speak to Moses** face to face, as one speaks to a friend (Exodus 33:11). ### **5\. God's rules keep changing** God made an ["everlasting covenant" with Abraham](https://www.patheos.com/blogs/crossexamined/2018/04/the-bible-story-reboots-have-you-noticed/), but then he tore that one up and made [another one with Moses](https://www.patheos.com/blogs/crossexamined/2018/04/the-bible-story-reboots-have-you-noticed-2-of-2/). The New Testament continues the confusion. It can't decide whether to look backward and honor existing law or to tear it up yet again because it says both. First, Jesus commits to the existing law: > Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; **I have not come to abolish** them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. (Matthew 5:17--18) But then the book of Hebrews weaves a legal case that argues that Jesus is a priest in the line of Melchizedek, which ought to take priority over the existing priesthood in the line of Aaron. Here it quotes an Old Testament declaration of God to justify a new covenant. > The days are coming, declares the Lord, when **I will make a new covenant** with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. (see Hebrews 8:6--13) Jesus is a dramatic change to Judaism, and there must be some logic to justify Christians changing their worship day, dropping the sacrifices, worshiping a new guy in addition to Yahweh, and so on. That rationalizes away one problem, but the overall problem---the various sub stories don't fit together in the overall plot---remains. (More: "[The Bible Story Reboots. Have You Noticed?](https://www.patheos.com/blogs/crossexamined/2018/04/the-bible-story-reboots-have-you-noticed/)") ### **6\. Faith saves (or do works save?)** Protestant Christianity often emphasizes that faith alone (*sola fide*) justifies God's forgiveness. Many verses support this. > For it is by grace you have been saved, **through faith**---and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God---not by works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8--9). > > We maintain that a person is **justified by faith apart from the works of the law** ([Romans 3:28](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%203%3A28&version=NIV)). That seems clear enough until we find the opposite claim elsewhere in the Bible. The clearest example to me is the Parable of the Sheep and Goats in Matthew 25, but there's more. > Will [God] not repay everyone according to **what they have done**? ([Proverbs 24:12](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs%2024%3A12&version=NIV)) > > What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no **deeds**? ([James 2:14](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James%202%3A14-26&version=NIV)). > > For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to **what they have done** (Matthew 16:27). > > The dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, **according to their works** (Revelation 20:12). For something so important as getting into heaven and avoiding hell, the New Testament is surprisingly unclear. #### **Addendum: Or maybe it's *repentance* that saves . . . or maybe baptism?** What if it's repentance? > **Repent**, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord (Acts 3:19). > > **Repentance for the forgiveness of sins** will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem (Luke 24:47). Or baptism? It was so essential a ritual that Jesus did it. > Repent and **be baptized**, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). > > We were therefore buried with him **through baptism** into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life (Romans 6:4). ### **7\. The different genealogies of Jesus** The Messiah had to be of the line of David (Jeremiah 33:15--17; Isaiah 9:7), so two gospels provide genealogies of Jesus to validate this requirement. The problem is that we only need to go back one generation, to Joseph's father, to find a problem. > **Jacob** [was] the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah (Matthew 1:16). > > Jesus . . . was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph, the son of **Heli** ([Luke 3:23](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%203%3A23&version=NIV)). There is just one unique male biological line that would terminate in Joseph, so at least one of these genealogies is wrong. And it's hard to imagine that an ordinary Joe like Joseph would have a reliable record of his genealogy going back generations. Worse, Joseph wasn't the biological father of Jesus, so his genealogy is irrelevant. If being in the line of David is a requirement, then having a god for a father makes you ineligible. The most common rebuttal is to say that the Luke genealogy is for Mary, but the text makes clear that it's for Joseph. Anyway, why would you provide the genealogy of the parent from whom descent from David wouldn't count? We're seeing the incompatible clash of two ideas: Jesus inherits David's throne and Jesus was the son of God. ### **8\. Does God prevent harm to good Christians?** In response to a church shooting, where good Christians were doubtless praying to God but still got shot, Christian apologist Greg Koukl pushed back against the idea that anyone should be surprised (I responded [here](https://www.patheos.com/blogs/crossexamined/2018/01/2-tragedies-produce-2-different-approaches-prayer/)). In fact, he assures us, Jesus *promised* persecution. > Do not be surprised at **the fiery ordeal** that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. (1 Peter 4:12--13) Koukl said, "There is . . . no rationale, no line of thinking that if God does exist that only good things happen to people, particularly people who believe in God, especially Christians." In fact, the Good Book says precisely that: > **No harm** overtakes the righteous, but the wicked have their fill of trouble (Proverbs 12:21). > > If you make the Most High your dwelling---even the LORD, who is my refuge---then **no harm** will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. (Psalm 91:5--10) When Christians desperately praying for their lives *in a church* are gunned down, atheists are right to point out that this makes one question God's existence. ### **9\. When is the End?** A 2013 poll found that [41 percent of U.S. adults](https://religionnews.com/2013/09/11/shock-poll-startling-numbers-of-americans-believe-world-now-in-the-end-times/) think that we're now living in the end times. But ask for the precise date, and the standard response is to point to this verse: > But about that day or hour **no one knows**, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father (Mark 13:32; see also Matthew 24:36). Harold Camping was hilariously wrong about his prediction of the Rapture® on May 21, 2011 ([here](https://www.patheos.com/blogs/crossexamined/2011/09/only-21-more-shopping-days-till-the-end-of-the-world/), [here](https://www.patheos.com/blogs/crossexamined/2011/10/no-apologies-or-even-admission-of-failure-from-camping/)), and fellow Christians pointed to that verse. But Brother Camping had a comeback with this passage: > You know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. **But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.**  You are all children of the light and children of the day. (1 Thessalonians 5:1--5) *Some* people won't know, the children of darkness. But the enlightened ones will know. (Or not, if Jesus was correctly quoted.) ### **10\. Jesus finds a new home for Mary. But why?** While on the cross, Jesus was concerned about his mother and made provisions for her to be taken care of after he was gone. > When Jesus saw his mother standing there beside the disciple he loved, he said to her, "Woman, he is your son." And he said to this disciple, "She is your mother." And from then on this disciple took her into his home. (John 19:26--7) That's a nice gesture, but why was it necessary? Mary had other sons. Tradition holds that James, the leader of the church and supposed author of the epistle of James, was the brother of Jesus. And then we have this: > Isn't [Jesus] the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother's name Mary, and aren't his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? (Matthew 13:55) Mary had lots of sons who could support her. ### **11\. Do people deserve punishment for their ancestors' sins?** The Bible demands intergenerational punishment so that children must be punished for their parents' sins. > I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, **punishing the children for the sin of the parents** to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me (Exodus 20:5). > > [God justified a calamity to the people:] It is because **your ancestors** forsook me (Jeremiah 16:11). But the opposite claim is recorded in the Bible as well. > **Fathers shall not be put to death for their children**, nor children put to death for their fathers; each is to die for his own sin (Deuteronomy 24:16). > > Everyone will die for their own sin; whoever eats sour grapes---their own teeth will be set on edge (Jeremiah 31:30). > > The one who sins is the one who will die (Ezekiel 18:4). Where does this leave Original Sin? This is the idea that we're born fallen and deserve hell because of Adam's sin, which infects us all. What foundation remains for Original Sin if it is undercut by the Bible itself? ### **12\. What day was Jesus crucified on?** The synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) say that the Last Supper was the Passover meal and that Jesus was crucified *after* the Passover meal. > On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?" (Matthew 26:17) Three verses later, Jesus is at the Passover meal, the Last Supper. But in John, the order is reversed: it's the crucifixion and *then* the Passover meal. > Now it was the day of Preparation [the day of preparing lambs for the Passover meal], and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies [of Jesus and the two thieves] left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. (John 19:31) A "historical account," as the gospels are claimed by some to be, should get the order of important events correct, and the Passover meal and the crucifixion are both important events. ### **13\. Who should the disciples convert?** At the end of the gospel story, Jesus has risen and is giving the disciples their final instructions. > **Make disciples of all the nations**, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). This is the familiar Great Commission, and it's a lot more generous than what has been called the lesser commission that appears earlier in the same gospel: > These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "**Do not go among the Gentiles** or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel." (Matthew 10:5--6) This was *not* a universal message. We see it again in his encounter with the Canaanite woman: > [Jesus rejected her plea to heal her daughter, saying] "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel." > > The woman came and knelt before him. "Lord, help me!" she said. > > He replied, "**It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to the dogs**." (Matthew 15:24--6) You might say that a ministry with limited resources had to prioritize, but that doesn't apply here. Don't forget that Jesus was omnipotent. Going back to the Old Testament, we don't find an all-inclusive message there, either. The Israelites were God's "Chosen People," and God had harsh things to say about neighboring tribes. > No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants may enter the assembly of Jehovah, not even in the tenth generation (Deuteronomy 23:3). God also forbids intermarriage with these foreign tribes (Deut. 7:3; Ezra 9:2, 10:10; Nehemiah 13). Let's revisit the fact that Matthew is contradictory when it says both "Make disciples of all nations" and "Do not go among the Gentiles [but only] to the lost sheep of Israel." There are [no early papyrus copies](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_New_Testament_papyri) of Matthew 28 (the "Make disciples of all nations" chapter), and the earliest copies of this chapter are in the codices copied in the mid-300s. That's almost three centuries of silence from original to our best copies, a lot of opportunity for the Great Commission to get "improved" by copyists. I'm not saying it was, of course; I'm simply offering one explanation for why the gospel in Matthew has Jesus change so fundamental a tenet as who he came to save. ### **14\. Jesus should've returned already.** Jesus promised to return within the lifetimes of those listening to him. This Apocalyptic message (Apocalypticism claims that the end times are very close) is found in the three synoptic gospels. It takes a passage in Isaiah 13 that predicts calamity for Babylon---that the sun and moon will darken and the stars will fall---and repurposes it as a prediction of the end. It also predicts: > [All people on earth will] **see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory**. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds. (Matthew 24:30--31) The prediction ends saying that this will all happen soon. > **This generation will certainly not pass away** until all these things have happened (Matthew 24:34). Let me emphasize those two points: "these things" will happen soon (within months or years, not centuries), and "these things" are obvious and world-destroyingly calamitous. The popular Christian response that this referred to the fall of the Temple won't fly. Earlier in the same gospel, we find other references to the imminent coming of the Son of Man: > When you are persecuted in one place [as you spread the gospel], flee to another. Truly I tell you, **you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes**. (Matthew 10:23) > > **Some who are standing here will not taste death** before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom (Matthew 16:28). It's been a lot longer than one generation. Jesus made a mistake. ### **15\. Jesus promises that prayers are answered** Jesus says a lot about prayer, and he makes big claims for it. > Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you (Matthew 7:1). > > Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours (Mark 11:24). > > He who believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do (John 14:12). Apologists say that Jesus isn't like a genie, but they need to reread their Bibles. Jesus really does say, "Ask, and ye shall receive"---it's in John 16:24. He says it without caveats. That promise has been tested uncountably many times, often by desperate people, but if Jesus answers, it's indistinguishable from chance. (More on prayer [here](https://www.patheos.com/blogs/crossexamined/2013/05/does-prayer-actually-yknow-work/) and [here](https://www.patheos.com/blogs/crossexamined/2012/10/prayer-doesnt-work-as-advertised-2/).) ### **16\. There are two incompatible Ten Commandments** You know the story: Moses got the Ten Commandments from God on Mt. Sinai in Exodus 20. The list of commandments had the familiar rules---no blaspheming, no murder, no lying, no stealing, and so on. Moses returns, only to find that the Israelites, impatient and anxious during his long absence, had made and were worshipping a golden calf, a familiar object of worship from Egypt. Moses smashed the tablets in his rage, 3000 Israelites were killed in the opening round of punishment, and Moses eventually went back up for a duplicate set (Exodus 34), which was put in the Ark of the Covenant. Except that it *wasn't* a duplicate set. It's a list that very few Christians are familiar with. For example, number 5 is "The first offspring from every womb belongs to me." Number 7: Celebrate the Feast of Weeks. Number 10: "You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk." *This* set is referred to as the "Ten Commandments" in Exodus, not the other set. We can debate which set fundamentalists should try to illegally place on government property, but despite God's assurance, these are two very different sets of rules. (More [here](https://www.patheos.com/blogs/crossexamined/2014/02/the-irrelevant-wisdom-of-the-ten-commandments-2/) and [here](https://www.patheos.com/blogs/crossexamined/2017/01/atheist-monument-critique-ten-commandments-and-ten-punishments-2/).) ### **17\. There are two creation stories in Genesis** There are also two creation stories at the beginning of Genesis. First is the six-day creation story that enumerates the things God created day by day, after which God rested. Next is an older creation story, the one about the Garden of Eden. Apologists try to harmonize these two, saying that the Garden of Eden story is just an in-depth look at the last day of creation, but details in the two stories disagree. The 6-day story says that humans can eat from every tree, while the Eden story says that one is forbidden. The 6-day story has plants and animals before humans, while the Eden story has the opposite. And so on ([more](https://www.patheos.com/blogs/crossexamined/2016/08/illogic-of-the-garden-of-eden-story-2/)). ### **18\. There are even two Flood stories** You see the trend: the Old Testament often has two different, incompatible stories. Each was too precious for ancient editors to discard, so both were jammed together somehow. The two Ten Commandments stories are separated by over a dozen chapters, the two creation stories are back to back, and they're interleaved in the Flood story. In Flood story 1, the older story, Noah takes seven pairs of all clean animals plus one pair of all the others. Once on board with his family, it rained for forty days and forty nights, and everything outside the ark was killed. Noah sent out a dove to scout for dry land. On the second try, it returned with an olive leaf. Back on dry land, Noah sacrificed one of every clean animal to Yahweh, and Yahweh promised to never again destroy life on earth (with a flood, anyway). In story #2, God is named, not Yahweh, but Elohim, and specifics about the design of the ark are given. With just one pair of each animal plus provisions, Noah (now 600 years old) and family go into the ark. This time, the water comes, not from rain, but from "the fountains of the great deep" and "the windows of the heavens." Water had covered the earth for 150 days when Elohim made the water recede. This time it was a raven that helped scout for dry land, and they were back on dry land after a year in the ark. God told them to "be fruitful and multiply." A leading explanation of the Old Testament's many story pairs is the Documentary Hypothesis. It answers a lot of questions and proposes four original documents that were merged to make the Pentateuch, the Bible's first five books. Read more on the two Flood stories and the Documentary Hypothesis [here](https://www.patheos.com/blogs/crossexamined/2017/10/dismantling-noah-story/). ### **19\. Resurrection contradictions** Forty percent of the gospels focus on the last week of Jesus's life, from the triumphant entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to the crucifixion, resurrection, and final teachings, and they differ on many points. A popular Christian response is to say that just because only Matthew wrote about the dead coming out of their graves and walking around Jerusalem doesn't mean that it didn't happen. (Yeah---the other gospel writers must not have thought that Jesus causing the dead to reanimate and walk around Jerusalem, seen by many, wasn't worth writing about.) Or that just because John says "Mary Magdalene went to the tomb," that doesn't mean that many other women weren't also with her as Luke says ("Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them"). Or that just because only Matthew has Jesus riding on two donkeys, that doesn't mean the other gospels' reference to just one disagrees. (Yeah, it pretty much does.) Or that Paul's reference to 500 eyewitnesses to the risen Jesus might've been compelling to him, but it wasn't worth writing about in any gospel ([more](https://www.patheos.com/blogs/crossexamined/2014/04/500-eyewitnesses-to-the-risen-christ-9-reasons-why-its-not-likely/)). From who Peter denied Jesus, to Jesus's last words, to who the women saw at the tomb, to whether Mary Magdalene recognized Jesus or not, to how many days Jesus stayed after his resurrection, the various accounts differ. (More [here](https://www.patheos.com/blogs/crossexamined/2014/04/contradictions-in-the-resurrection-account-4/).) ### **20\. Jesus forgets the plot** At some point the three persons of the Trinity---Yahweh, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit---agreed that Jesus should live as a human on earth. Jesus was born as a divine being (except in Mark, where he becomes divine with his baptism) and lives out a life that ends with crucifixion. Just before that, he prayed with his disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane. To the few disciples with him, he said, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death" (Matthew 26:38). Then he prays, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup [he's referring to the upcoming crucifixion] be taken from me." He prays this three times. The story is the same in Mark, and in Luke, an angel strengthens Jesus. Why did Jesus go off-script? He was part of the Trinity that decided this, so how could he be second-guessing the plan now? We can look for a human comparison. It wouldn't be surprising for an ordinary human to have second thoughts before a suicide mission, but in this story we're talking about a god. Even if agony were a thing that he could perceive, why would an omniscient being question a plan that he knows is perfect? The puzzle vanishes if we reinterpret the Jesus story as legend. ### **21\. Jesus predicts his death and resurrection, but everyone forgot** Some of these aren't contradictions so much as plot holes---two plot elements that can't coexist. This is an example. The gospels clearly and repeatedly show Jesus predicting his death and resurrection. Here are just a few of more than ten examples: > [Jesus said,] "We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will deliver Him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and **crucified**. And **on the third day He will be raised to life**." (Matthew 20:18--19) > > Then He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and that **He must be killed and after three days rise again**. (Mark 8:31) They know that Jesus will soon be crucified, and they know how long until he's raised from the dead. But if everyone knows this, why then are they morose after the crucifixion? Why are women going to the tomb with spices, expecting to find a dead body? Why does the empty tomb surprise them? And why wasn't there a crowd to witness the miraculous event themselves---if not the multitudes that welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday just a week earlier, then at least his inner circle? You see what I meant about the plot hole---a good editor would've noticed that a straightforward consequence of Jesus's many clear declarations about rising again would've brought people eager to see the promise fulfilled---or at least unsurprised when it was. (*h/t* [Debunking Christianity](http://www.debunking-christianity.com/2019/01/did-jesus-predict-resurrection.html)) ### **22\. Jesus and the zombies** Clear your mind of that problem and let's review the empty-tomb story from a different angle. The women visit the tomb of Jesus to apply spices to the body and are shocked to see the tomb empty. They run back to tell the male disciples (or not, according to Mark) who are likewise astonished. Later that evening, Doubting Thomas, who surely performed more laudable actions in his life than just doubt, did what he's best known for. But why would it have been astonishing, on Sunday morning, to find Jesus risen from the dead? Remember this incident: > [At the moment of Jesus's death,] the earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus' resurrection and went into the holy city and **appeared to many people**. (Matthew 27:51--3) Here's the chronology. Jesus died on Friday evening, and at that moment many worthy dead people came to life. Jesus resurrected (he was to be "three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" [Matt. 12:40], which Friday evening to Sunday morning isn't, but let's ignore that), and then the newly undead people left their tombs to walk around Jerusalem. Next, the women found the empty tomb, and then word spread among the male disciples. The gospels differ over whether the women were the first to see the risen Jesus at the tomb (Matthew and John), or the disciples were the first see him Sunday night (Luke), or nobody sees him (Mark). Finally, a week later, Doubting Thomas saw Jesus. Though the zombies are never connected to the Jesus story, the literary goal is easy to imagine. The resurrection of Jesus was the first fruits of his triumph over death, with the zombie resurrection in Jerusalem a demonstration to emphasize the point. The problem is that surprise is an important part of this story, but no one would be surprised by a risen Jesus once they'd seen the crowd of undead. What's one more, particularly when he was the instigator of the process? Word of the remarkable sight of walking dead would've traveled quickly through Jerusalem. When the women returned, breathless with the news of having seen Jesus (or just the empty tomb), the disciples could've replied that Jerusalem was crawling with zombies, so what's one more? Or, if that news hadn't reached the disciples by the time the women returned, everyone in the city would've surely heard by the time Doubting Thomas finally saw Jesus a week later. Knowing of the zombies days earlier, how could Thomas have been surprised that Jesus had risen as well? Jesus showing his wounds and Thomas touching them for confirmation wouldn't have happened. About a wide range of Christian commentaries on this passage, Patheos blogger [Neil Carter said](https://www.patheos.com/blogs/godlessindixie/2015/03/29/the-greatest-story-never-told/), "Almost none of them think this really happened." Nevertheless, the contradiction remains: Thomas, knowing about the zombies as everyone in Jerusalem surely did, would've dropped his demand that Jesus prove that he really rose from the dead. (*h/t* to [Neil's post](https://www.patheos.com/blogs/godlessindixie/2015/03/29/the-greatest-story-never-told/), which is where I learned about this contradiction.) #### **23\. Women brought spices to the tomb (or not)** The importance of spices from a plot standpoint is that they're the motivation for the women's visit to the tomb on the Sunday after Jesus's crucifixion. You need to get someone there to discover the empty tomb. > When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome **bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body**. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, "Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?" (Mark 16:1--3) Several commenters (and the author of Mark himself) have noted another plot hole: why would the women bother to make the trip with no way to roll back the stone at the doorway? The previous verse makes clear that the women had watched the burial and knew about the stone. But set that aside. The gospel of John tells a different story about who applied the spices. Rewind to Friday afternoon: > With Pilate's permission, [Joseph of Arimathea] came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. **Taking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices**, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. (John 19:38--40) Seventy-five *pounds* of spices? Have you ever carried a 75-pound backpack or lifted a 75-pound weight at the gym? That sounds like an impractical weight and a pointlessly extravagant gift, but let's set that aside as well. Now the story has *men* applying the spices. In John's story, the women (or woman) goes for no reason: "Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb" ([John 20:1](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2020%3A1&version=NIV)). No reason, that is, except as a literary prop to discover the empty tomb. As an aside, note that a body encased in an enormous mound of spice bound in place with linen strips (I'm envisioning the [Michelin Man](https://www.michelin.com/wp-content/themes/michelin/public/img/bibendum-salut.svg) oozing aloe and smelling of myrrh) is not what the [Shroud of Turin image](https://www.patheos.com/blogs/crossexamined/2014/04/shroud-of-turin-easter-miracle-or-hoax-debunked/) shows, and John talks about *strips* of linen rather than the Shroud of Turin's long sheet, so John's story can't coexist with such a relic. Depending on the gospel you pick, women go to the tomb to apply spices Sunday morning (but didn't actually use them) *or* men successfully apply the spices Friday afternoon. #### **24\. Peter's denials** This example is of less importance, but it's well-known and shows yet another set of contradictions. At the Last Supper, Jesus said that his disciples will scatter once he is taken away, but Peter protested that he wouldn't. Jesus tells Peter that he will disavow him three times before the rooster crows, and indeed that's what happens. But read the accounts, and the story differs in each of the gospels. - In Mark, Peter is accused of being one of Jesus's followers by a slave girl, then the same girl again, and then a crowd of people (Mark 14:66--71). - In Matthew, it's a slave girl, another slave girl, and then a crowd of people (Matthew 26:69--73). - In Luke, it's a slave girl, a man, and then another man (Luke 22:54--60). - In John, it's a girl at the door, several anonymous persons, and one of the high priest's servants (John 18:15--17, 25--27) We can try out a popular Christian tactic and try to resolve contradictory accounts by claiming that they're both true. For example, - there were wise men (Matthew) *and* shepherds (Luke) at the birth of Jesus, - there was one angel (Matthew and Mark) *and* a second angel (Luke and John) at the empty tomb, and - Mary Magdalene (John) *and* other women (the other gospels) went to the tomb. Allowing for synonymous descriptions (Mark's slave girl could've been John's girl at the door, for example) and squashing these confrontations together, we have Peter denying Jesus to a slave girl, another slave girl, a crowd, a man, another man, and perhaps more. That's a lot more than Jesus's promised three. ## creationism The Christian Creation Conclusion List and indicate all facts per the biblical account Canopy theory Rock strata is flood State seco ndary conclusions IQ of first ppl Technology development Indicate final practical results We've been here before Jasher was right about transgenics Things like antikythera mechanism, ancient battery, pyramids Cite Lost world museum Answers in genesis ## goliath as a nephilim kept the fallen genes Noah had it in his bloodline ## reduced complexity Describe the necessary functions for life Indicate how they can't have arisen through chance for life to have arisen by chance, its improbability means it would have had to have arisen multiple times