AOH :: CONTRA10.TXT
Biblical Contradictions v1.0 (Christian Bashing)
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Christian Bible Contradictions
v1.0
by GWGA
Losing Faith In Faith: From Preacher To Atheist, by Dan Barker -- Chapter 23
PAUL SAID, "God is not the author of confusion," (I Corinthians 14:33), yet
never has a book produced more confusion than the bible! There are hundreds
of denominations and sects, all using the "inspired Scriptures" to prove
their conflicting doctrines.
Why do trained theologians differ? Why do educated translators disagree over
Greek and Hebrew meanings? Why all the confusion? Shouldn't a document that
was "divinely inspired" by an omniscient and omnipotent deity be as clear as
possible?
"If the trumpet give an uncertain sound," Paul wrote in I Corinthians 14:8,
"who shall prepare himself to the battle? So likewise ye, except ye utter by
the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken?
for ye shall speak into the air." Exactly! Paul should have practiced what he
preached. For almost two millennia, the bible has been producing a most
"uncertain sound."
The problem is not with human limitations, as some claim. The problem is the
bible itself. People who are free of theological bias notice that the bible
contains hundreds of discrepancies. Should it surprise us when such a
literary and moral mish-mash, taken seriously, causes so much discord?
Here is a brief sampling of biblical contradictions.
--
Should we kill?
- Exodus 20:13 "Thou shalt not kill."
- Leviticus 24:17 "And he that killeth any man shall surely be put to death."
* vs. *
- Exodus 32:27 "Thus sayeth the Lord God of Israel, Put every man his sword
by his side, . . . and slay every man his brother, . . . companion, . . .
neighbor."
- I Samuel 6:19 " . . . and the people lamented because the Lord had smitten
many of the people with a great slaughter."
- I Samuel 15:2,3,7,8 "Thus saith the Lord . . . Now go and smite Amalek,
and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both
man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass. . . . And
Saul smote the Amalekites . . . and utterly destroyed all the people with
the edge of the sword."
- Numbers 15:36 "And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and
stoned him with stones, and he died; as the Lord commanded Moses."
- Hosea 13:16 "they shall fall by the sword: their infants shall be dashed
in pieces, and their women with children shall be ripped up."
--
Should we tell lies?
- Exodus 20:16 "Thou shalt not bear false witness."
- Proverbs 12:22 "Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord."
* vs. *
- I Kings 22:23 "The Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all
these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee."
- II Thessalonians 2:11 "And for this cause God shall send them strong
delusion, that they should believe a lie."
Also, compare Joshua 2:4-6 with James 2:25.
--
Should we steal?
- Exodus 20:15 "Thou shalt not steal."
- Leviticus 19:13 "Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbor, neither rob him."
* vs. *
- Exodus 3:22 "And ye shall spoil the Egyptians."
- Exodus 12:35-36 "And they spoiled [plundered, NRSV] the Egyptians."
- Luke 19:29-34 "[Jesus] sent two of his disciples, Saying, Go ye into
the village . . . ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat:
loose him, and bring him hither. And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose
him? thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him. . . .
And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, Why
loose ye the colt? And they said, The Lord hath need of him."
(I was taught as a child that when you take something without asking for it,
that is stealing.)
--
Shall we keep the sabbath?
- Exodus 20:8 "Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy."
- Exodus 31:15 "Whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely
be put to death."
- Numbers 15:32,36 "And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness,
they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day. . . . And all
the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones,
and he died; as the Lord commanded Moses."
* vs. *
- Isaiah 1:13 "The new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot
away with; it is iniquity."
- John 5:16 "And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus and sought to slay him,
because he had done these things on the sabbath day."
- Colossians 2:16 "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in
respect of an holy-day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days."
--
Shall we make graven images?
- Exodus 20:4 "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness
of anything that is in heaven . . . earth . . . water."
- Leviticus 26:1 "Ye shall make ye no idols nor graven image, neither rear
you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone."
- Deuteronomy 27:15 "Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image."
* vs. *
- Exodus 25:18 "And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt
thou make them."
- I Kings 7:15,16,23,25 "For he [Solomon] cast two pillars of brass . . . and
two chapiters of molten brass . . . And he made a molten sea . . . it stood
upon twelve oxen . . . [and so on]"
--
Are we saved through works?
- Ephesians 2:8,9 "For by grace are ye saved through faith . . . not of works."
- Romans 3:20,28 "Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be
justified in his sight."
- Galatians 2:16 "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law,
but by the faith of Jesus Christ."
* vs. *
- James 2:24 "Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by
faith only."
- Matthew 19:16-21 "And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master,
what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he [Jesus]
said unto him . . . keep the commandments. . . . The young man saith unto
him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus
said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give
to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven."
The common defense here is that "we are saved by faith and works." But Paul
said "not of works."
--
Should good works be seen?
- Matthew 5:16 "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your
good works."
- I Peter 2:12 "Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that
. . . they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in
the day of visitation."
* vs. *
- Matthew 6:1-4 "Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen
of them . . . that thine alms may be in secret."
- Matthew 23:3,5 "Do not ye after their [Pharisees'] works. . . . all their
works they do for to be seen of men."
--
Should we own slaves?
- Leviticus 25:45-46 "Moreover of the children of the strangers that do
sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, . . . and they shall be your
possession . . . they shall be your bondmen forever."
- Genesis 9:25 "And he [Noah] said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants
shall he be unto his brethren."
- Exodus 21:2,7 "If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve:
and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing. . . . And if a man
sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the manservants
do."
- Joel 3:8 "And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the
children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far
off: for the Lord hath spoken it."
- Luke 12:47-48 [Jesus speaking] "And that servant, which knew his lord's
will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be
beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy
of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes."
- Colossians 3:22 "Servants, obey in all things your masters."
* vs. *
- Isaiah 58:6 "Undo the heavy burdens . . . let the oppressed go free, . . .
break every yoke."
- Matthew 23:10 "Neither be ye called Masters: for one is your Master, even
Christ."
Pro-slavery bible verses were cited by many churches in the South during
the Civil War, and were used by some theologians in the Dutch Reformed Church
to justify apartheid in South Africa. There are more pro-slavery verses than
cited here.
--
Does God change his mind?
- Malachi 3:6 "For I am the Lord; I change not."
- Numbers 23:19 "God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of
man, that he should repent."
- Ezekiel 24:14 "I the Lord have spoken it: it shall come to pass, and I
will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent."
- James 1:17 " . . . the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness,
neither shadow of turning."
* vs. *
- Exodus 32:14 "And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do
unto his people."
- Genesis 6:6,7 "And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the
earth . . . And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created
from the face of the earth . . . for it repenteth me that I have made him."
- Jonah 3:10 ". . . and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he
would do unto them; and he did it not."
See also II Kings 20:1-7, Numbers 16:20-35, Numbers 16:44-50.
See Genesis 18:23-33, where Abraham gets God to change his mind about the
minimum number of righteous people in Sodom required to avoid destruction,
bargaining down from fifty to ten. (An omniscient God must have known that
he was playing with Abraham's hopes for mercy--he destroyed the city anyway.)
--
Are we punished for our parents' sins?
- Isaiah 14:21 "Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of
their fathers; that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor
fill the face of the world with cities."
- Exodus 20:5 "For I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the
iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth
generation." (Repeated in Deuteronomy 5:9)
- Exodus 34:6-7 " . . . The Lord God, merciful and gracious, . . . that
will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers
upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and
to the fourth generation."
- I Corinthians 15:22 "For as in Adam all die, . . ."
* vs. *
- Ezekiel 18:20 "The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father."
- Deuteronomy 24:16 "The fathers shall not be put to death for the
children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers:
every man shall be put to death for his own sin."
--
Is God good or evil?
- Psalm 145:9 "The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his
works."
- Deuteronomy 32:4 "a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he."
* vs. *
- Isaiah 45:7 "I make peace and create evil. I the Lord do all these things."
- Lamentations 3:38 "Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil
and good?"
- Jeremiah 18:11 "Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I frame evil against you, and
devise a device against you."
- Ezekiel 20:25,26 "I gave them also statutes that were not good, and
judgments whereby they should not live. And I polluted them in their own
gifts, in that they caused to pass through the fire all that openeth the
womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know
that I am the Lord."
- Jeremiah 13:14 "And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers
and the sons together, saith the Lord: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have
mercy, but destroy them."
--
Does God tempt people?
- James 1:13 "Let no man say . . . I am tempted of God: for God cannot
be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man."
* vs. *
- Genesis 22:1 "And it came to pass after these things, that God did
tempt Abraham."
--
Is God peaceable?
- Romans 15:33 "The God of peace."
- Isaiah 2:4 ". . . and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword
against nation, neither shall they learn war any more."
* vs. *
- Exodus 15:3 "The Lord is a man of war."
- Joel 3:9-10 "Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war
draw near; let them come up: Beat your plowshares into swords, and your
pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong."
--
Was Jesus peaceable?
- John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you."
- Acts 10:36 "The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching
peace by Jesus Christ."
- Luke 2:14 " . . . on earth peace, good will toward men."
* vs. *
- Matthew 10:34 "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not
to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against
his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law
against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own
household."
- Luke 22:36 "Then said he unto them, . . . he that hath no sword, let
him sell his garment, and buy one."
--
Was Jesus trustworthy?
- John 8:14 "Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true."
* vs. *
- John 5:31 "If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true."
"Record" and "witness" in the above verses are the same Greek word (martyria).
--
Shall we call people names?
- Matthew 5:22 [Jesus speaking] "Whosoever shall say "Thou fool," shall be in
danger of
hellfire."
* vs. *
- Matthew 23:17 [Jesus speaking] "Ye fools and blind."
- Psalm 14:1 "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God."
--
Has anyone seen God?
- John 1:18 "No man hath seen God at any time."
- Exodus 33:20 "Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see
me, and live."
- John 6:46 "Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of
God [Jesus], he hath seen the Father."
- I John 1:18 "No man hath seen God at any time."
- Timothy 6:16 "Whom no man hath seen nor can see."
* vs. *
- Genesis 32:30 "For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved."
- Exodus 33:11 "And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man
speaketh unto his friend."
- Isaiah 6:1 "In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting
upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple."
- Job 42:5 "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye
seeth thee."
- Exodus 33:23 "And I will take away my hand, and thou shalt see my backparts."
--
How many Gods are there?
- Deuteronomy 6:4 "The Lord our God is one Lord."
* vs. *
- Genesis 1:26 "And God said, Let us make man in our image."
- Genesis 3:22 "And the Lord God said, Behold, the man has become as one
of us, to know good and evil."
- I John 5:7 "And there are three that bear witness in heaven, the Father,
the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one."
It does no good to claim that "Let us" is the magisterial "we." Such usage
implies inclusivity of all authorities under a king's leadership. Invoking
the Trinity solves nothing because such an idea is more contradictory than
the problem it attempts to solve.
--
Are we all sinners?
- Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."
- Romans 3:10 "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one."
- Psalm 14:3 "There is none that doeth good, no, not one."
- I King 8:46 "If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that
sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to
the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of
the enemy, far or near."
- II Chronicles 6:36 "If they sin against thee, (for there is no man which
sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them over
before their enemies, and they carry them away captives unto a
land far off or near."
- Ecclesiastes 7:20 "For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth
good, and sinneth not."
- I John 1:8-10 "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and
the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say
that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."
* vs. *
- Job 1:1 "There was a man . . . who name was Job; and that man was perfect and
upright."
- Genesis 7:1 "And the Lord said unto Noah, "Come thou and all thy house into
the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.""
- Luke 1:6 "And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the
commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless."
- I John 3:9 "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his
seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of
God."
--
How old was Ahaziah?
- II Kings 8:26 "Two and twenty years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign."
* vs. *
- II Chronicles 22:2 "Forty and two years old was Ahaziah when he began to
reign."
--
Should we swear an oath?
- Numbers 30:2 "If a man vow a vow unto the Lord, or swear an oath . . . he
shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth."
- Genesis 21:22-24,31 " . . . swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not
deal falsely with me . . . And Abraham said, I will swear. . . . Wherefore
he called that place Beersheba ["well of the oath"]; because there they
sware both of them."
- Hebrews 6:13-17 "For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could
swear by no greater, he swear by himself . . . for men verily swear by the
greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.
Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise
the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath."
See also Genesis 22:15-19, Genesis 31:53, and Judges 11:30-39.
* vs. *
- Matthew 5:34-37 "But I say unto you, swear not at all; neither by heaven
. . . nor by the earth . . . . Neither shalt thou swear by thy head . . . .
But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more
than these cometh of evil."
- James 5:12 ". . . swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth,
neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay;
lest ye fall into condemnation."
--
When was Jesus crucified?
- Mark 15:25 "And it was the third hour, and they crucified him."
* vs. *
- John 19:14-15 "And about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews,
Behold your King! But they cried out . . . crucify him."
It is an ad hoc defense to claim that there are two methods of reckoning
time here. It has never been shown that this is the case.
--
Shall we obey the law?
- I Peter 2:13 "Submit yourself to every ordinance of man . . . to the
king, as supreme; Or unto governors."
- Matthew 22:21 "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's."
See also Romans 13:1,7 and Titus 3:1.
* vs. *
- Acts 5:29 "We ought to obey God rather then men."
--
How many animals on the ark?
- Genesis 6:19 "And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort
shalt thou bring into the ark."
- Genesis 7:8-9 "Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of
fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth, There went in two
and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded
Noah."
- Genesis 7:15 "And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all
flesh, wherein is the breath of life."
* vs. *
- Genesis 7:2 "Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens,
the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the
male and his female."
--
Were women and men created equal?
- Genesis 1:27 "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God
created he him; male and female created he them."
* vs. *
- Genesis 2:18,23 "And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man
should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. . . . And Adam
said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be
called Woman, because she was taken out of Man."
--
Were trees created before humans?
- Genesis 1:12-31 "And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding
seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself,
after his kind: . . . And the evening and the morning were the third day.
. . . And God said, Let us make man in our image . . . And the evening and
the morning were the sixth day."
* vs. *
- Genesis 2:5-9 "And every plant of the field before it was in the earth,
and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused
it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. . .
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground . . . And the Lord God
planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had
formed. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that
is pleasant to the sight, and good for food."
--
Did Michal have children?
- II Samuel 6:23 "Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto
the day of her death."
* vs. *
- II Samuel 21:8 "But the king took the two sons of Rizpah . . . and the
five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul."
--
How many stalls did Solomon have?
- I Kings 4:26 "And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his
chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen."
* vs. *
- II Chronicles 9:25 "And Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses
and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen."
--
Did Paul's men hear a voice?
- Acts 9:7 "And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless,
hearing a voice, but seeing no man."
* vs. *
- Acts 22:9 "And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were
afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me."
In both verses "hear" is akouo and "voice" is phone. The fact that phone
is in two different cases is irrelevant since case flexibility is common
throughout the New Testament. For example, Matthew 26:65 and Mark 14:64
tell the same story using different declensions for "blasphemy," which
is not considered contradictory.
--
Is God omnipotent?
- Jeremiah 32:27 "Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there
anything too hard for me?
- Matthew 19:26 "But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this
is impossible; but with God all things are possible."
* vs. *
- Judges 1:19 "And 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."
--
Does God live in light?
- I Timothy 6:15-16 " . . . the King of kings, and Lord of lords; Who only
hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach . . ."
- James 1:17 " . . . the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness,
neither shadow of turning."
- John 12:35 "Then Jesus saith unto them, . . . he that walketh in darkness
knoweth not wither he goeth."
- Job 18:18 "He [the wicked] shall be driven from light into darkness, and
chased out of the world."
- Daniel 2:22 "He [God] knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light
dwelleth with him."
See also Psalm 143:3, II Corinthians 6:14, and Hebrews 12:18-22.
* vs. *
- I Kings 8:12 "Then spake Solomon, The Lord said that he would dwell in the
thick darkness." (Repeated in II Chronicles 6:1)
- II Samuel 22:12 "And he made darkness pavilions round about him, dark
waters, and thick clouds of the skies."
- Psalm 18:11 "He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about
him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies."
- Psalm 97:1-2 "The Lord reigneth; let the earth rejoice . . . clouds and
darkness are round about him."
--
Does God accept human sacrifice?
- Deuteronomy 12:31 "Thou shalt not do so unto the Lord thy God: for every
abomination to the Lord, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods;
for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to
their gods."
* vs. *
- Genesis 22:2 "And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom
thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for
a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of."
- Exodus 22:29 "For thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe
fruits, and of thy liquors; the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give
unto me."
- Judges 11:30-39 "And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If
thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hand, 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. So Jephthah passed over
unto the children of Ammon . . . and the Lord delivered them into his hands.
. . . And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his
daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: . . . And
it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her
father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed."
- II Samuel 21:8-14 "But the king [David] took the two sons of Rizpah
. . . and the five sons of Michal . . . and he delivered them into the
hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them in the hill before the Lord:
and they fell all seven together, and were put to death in the days of
harvest . . . And after that God was intreated for the land."
- Hebrews 10:10-12 " . . . we are sanctified through the offering of the
body of Jesus Christ . . . But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice
for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God."
- I Corinthians 5:7 " . . . For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us."
--
Who was Joseph's father?
- Matthew 1:16 "And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born
Jesus."
* vs. *
- Luke 3:23 "And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being
(as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli."
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--
What is wisdom's worth?
- Proverbs 4:7 "Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and
with all thy getting get understanding."
* vs. *
- Ecclesiastes 1:18 "For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that in-
creaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow."
- I Corinthians 1:19: "For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent."
--
Here is the order in the first (Genesis 1), the Priestly tradition:
Day 1: Sky, Earth, light
Day 2: Water, both in ocean basins and above the sky(!)
Day 3: Plants
Day 4: Sun, Moon, stars (as calendrical and navigational aids)
Day 5: Sea monsters (whales), fish, birds, land animals,
creepy-crawlies (reptiles, insects, etc.)
Day 6: Humans (apparently both sexes at the same time)
Day 7: Nothing (the Gods took the first day off anyone ever did)
Note that there are "days", "evenings", and "mornings" before
the Sun was created. Here, the Deity is referred to as "Elohim", which
is a plural, thus the literal translation, "the Gods." In this tale,
the Gods seem satisfied with what they have done, saying after each
step that "it was good."
The second one (Genesis 2), the Yahwist tradition, goes:
Earth and heavens (misty)
Adam, the first man (on a desolate Earth)
Plants
Animals
Eve, the first woman (from Adam's rib)
--
What is the destiny of the righteous?
- Psalms 92:12: "The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree."
* vs. *
- Isaiah 57:1: "The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart."
--
How long would David's land be in famine?
- II Samuel 24:13: "So God came to David, and told him, and said unto him, shall
seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land? Or will thou flee three
months before thine enemies, while they pursue thee?"
* vs. *
- I Chronicles 21:11: So God came to David, and said unto him, Thus saith the
Lord, "Choose thee. Either three years of famine or three months to be
destroyed before thy foes, while that the sword of thine enemies overtaketh
thee;
--
Who moved David to number Israel?
- II Samuel 24: "And again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel,
and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Isreal and Judah."
* vs. *
- I Chronicles 21: "And Satan stood up against Isreal, and provoked David to
number Israel."
--
Can any man enter heaven?
- II Kings 2:11 "And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven."
- John 3:13 "No man hath ascended up to heaven but he that came down from
heaven, ... the Son of Man."
--
Who was at the Empty Tomb?
- Matthew 28:1 "In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward
the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary
to see the sepulchre."
* vs. *
- Mark 16:1 "And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary
the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that
they might come and anoint him."
* vs. *
- John 20:1 "The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early,
when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone
taken away from the sepulchre."
Who went to the tomb ? Matthew-2 Marys; Mark-2 Marys and Salome; Luke-at
least 5 women; John-Mary Magdalene, What was seen? Matthew-Earthquake with angel
sitting outside on the recently-moved stone; Mark-Stone already moved and a
young man sitting inside; Luke-Stone already moved with two men standing
inside; John-Stone moved. No one seen on 1st visit, but two angels sitting
inside after two earlier visits. When did the woman/women leave to go to the
tomb ? Matthew-Towards dawn; Mark-Very early; Luke - At early dawn; John -
Still dark (NB. John states it was still dark when Mary arrived at the
tomb). What did man/men/angel/angels say? Matthew - Jesus was risen and
disciples to go to Galilee; Mark - As Matthew; Luke - Jesus had risen: John -
Asks why Mary is crying. What do the women/woman do next? Matthew - they run
away but meet Jesus who repeats angel's instruction; Mark - They flee and
say nothing to anyone. This obviously contradicts the other three in which
the women do go and tell the disciples (original Mark ended at 16:7); Luke -
They go and tell disciples; John - Mary meets Jesus and they talk. What is
1st conversation with the risen Jesus? Matthew - Women on way from tomb;
Luke-The two disciples on road to Emmaus; John-Mary Magdalene.
--
Is Jesus equal to or lesser than God?
- John 10:30 "I and my Father are one."
- John 14:28 "Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come
again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said,
I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I."
--
Which was created first? Beast or Man?
- Genesis 1:25-26 "And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and
cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after
his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let us make man in our
image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the
sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the
earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth."
* vs. *
- Genesis 2:18-19 "And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man
should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. And out of the ground
the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air;
and brought them un to Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever
Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof."
--
How was Mary impregnated?
- Acts 2:30 "Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had
sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the
flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne."
* vs. *
- Matthew 1:18 "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as
his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was
found with child of the Holy Ghost."
--
Where was the fowl created from?
- Genesis 1:20-21 "And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the
moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the
open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living
creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after
their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was
good."
- Genesis 2:19 "And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the
field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he
would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was
the name thereof."
--
Is the Earth supported?
- Job 26:7 "He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the
earth upon nothing."
* vs. *
- Job 38:4 "Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the
earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding."
--
How orderly were things created?
#1: Step-by-step. The only discrepancy is that there is no Sun or Moon
or stars on the first three "days".
* vs. *
#2: God fixes things up as he goes. The first man is lonely, and is
not satisfied with animals. God finally creates a woman for him.
(Funny thing that an omniscient god would forget things)
--
How satisfied with creation was he?
#1: God says "it was good" after each of his labors, and rests on the
seventh day, evidently very satisfied.
* vs. *
#2: God has to fix up his creation as he goes, and he would certainly
not be very satisfied with the disobedience of that primordial couple.
(Again, funny thing that an omniscient god would forget things)
--
What was Moses's personality like?
- Numbers 12:3 "Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were
upon the fact of the earth."
* vs. *
- Num.31:14, 17, 18 "And Moses was wroth...And Moses said unto them, "Have ye
saved all the women alive? ... Now therefore kill every male among the little
ones, and kill every woman, ... But all the women children ... keep alive for
yourselves."
--
What happened to Judas?
- Acts 1:18 "Now this man (Judas) purchased a field with the reward of
iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his
bowels gushed out."
* vs. *
- Matthew 27:5-7: "And he (Judas) cast down the pieces of silver in the temple,
and departed, and went and hanged himself. And the chief priests...bought
with them the potter's field."
--
Was Jesus' first sermon on a plain or a mountain?
- Matthew 5:1,2 "And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when
he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught
them, saying...."
* vs. *
- Luke 6:17,20 "And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the
company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people...came to hear him..
And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples and said..."
--
What were Jesus' last words?
- Matthew 27:46,50 "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice,
saying, "Eli, eli, lama sabachthani?" that is to say, "My God, my God, why
hast thou forsaken me?" ...Jesus, when he cried again with a loud voice,
yielded up the ghost."
* vs. *
- Luke 23:46 "And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, "Father, unto
thy hands I commend my spirit:" and having said thus, he gave up the ghost."
* vs. *
- John 19:30 "When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, "It is
finished:" and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost."
--
What is the genealogy of Jesus?
In two places in the New Testament the genealogy of Jesus son of Mary (PBUH)
is mentioned. Matthew 1:6-16 and Luke 3:23-31. Each gives the ancestors of
Joseph the CLAIMED husband of Mary and Step father of Jesus(PBUH). The first
one starts from Abraham(verse 2) all the way down to Jesus. The second
one from Jesus all the way back to Adam. The only common name to these two
lists between David and Jesus is JOSEPH, How can this be true? and also
How can Jesus have a genealogy when all Muslims and most Christians believe
that Jesus had/has no father?
Jesus was physically descended from David - Romans 1:1-3. The genealogy in Matt
1:1-16 only relates to Joseph who had nothing to do with the conception. The
genealogy in Luke 3:23-38 again only mentions Joseph and therefore physical
Davidic descent must be shown through Mary - Jesus' only contact with
humanity if virgin born. However, Luke 1:36 says Mary was related to
Elizabeth who was of the Aaronic line (Luke 1:5) and therefore not the Davidic
line, so with virgin birth, Davidic descent, a strict prerequisite for
messiahship is prevented. In sum, Jesus couldn't be the Christ.
--
What was Jesus' prediction regarding Peter's denial?
- Matthew 26:34 "Before the cock crow"
- Mark 14:30 "Before the cock crow twice"
--
How many times did the cock crow? And where was Jesus at the time?
- Mark 14:72 "And the second time the cock crew. And Peter called to
mind the word that Jesus said unto him, Before the cock crow
twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. And when he thought thereon, he
wept."
* vs. *
- Matthew 26:74-75 "Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know
not the man. And immediately the cock crew. And Peter remembered the word of
Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
And he went out, and wept bitterly."
* vs. *
- Luke 22:60-1 "And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And
immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew. And the Lord turned, and
looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said
unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice."
* vs. *
- John 13:38 "Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake?
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, still thou hast
denied me thrice."
* vs. *
- John 18:27 "Peter then denied again: and immediately the cock crew."
--
Who killed Saul?
- I Samuel 31:4-6 "Then said Saul unto his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and
thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me
through, and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore
afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it. And when his
armourbearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise upon his sword, and
died with him. So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armourbearer, and all
his men, that same day together."
* vs. *
- II Samuel 1:15 "And David called one of the young men, and said, Go near,
and fall upon him. And he smote him that he died."
--
How many beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount?
- Matthew 5:3-11 "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed
are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do
hunger and th irst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed
are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart:
for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be
called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for
righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye,
when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of
evil against you falsely, for my sake."
* vs. *
- Luke 6:20-23 "And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed
be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are ye that hunger now:
for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.
Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you
from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil,
for the Son of man's sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for,
behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their
fathers unto the prophets."
--
Who bought Potter's field?
- Acts 1:18-19 "Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity;
and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels
gushed out. And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch
as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The
field of blood."
* vs. *
- Matthew 27:6-8 "And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is
not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of
blood. And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's
field, to bury strangers in. Wherefore that field was called, The field of
blood, unto this day."
--
Who bears guilt?
- Galatians 6:2 "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of
Christ."
* vs. *
- Galatians 6:5 "For every man shall bear his own burden."
--
Do you answer a fool?
- Proverbs 26:4 "Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou
also be like unto him."
* vs. *
- Proverbs 26:5 "Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise
in his own conceit."
--
How old whas Jehoiachin when he began to reign?
- II Kings 24:8 "Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign,
and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. And his mother's name was Nehushta,
the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem."
* vs. *
- Chronicles 36:9 "Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign, and
he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem: and he did that which was
evil in the sight of the Lord."
--
Where was Jesus three days after his baptism?
- Mark 1:12 "And immediately the spirit driveth him into the wilderness."
* vs. *
- John 1:35 "Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples;"
--
Who judges whom?
- I Corinthians 3:15 "The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he
himself is not subject to any man's judgment:"
* vs. *
- I Corinthians 4:5 "Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait
till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and
will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his
praise from God."
--
Whom did they see at the tomb?
- Matthew 28:2-5 "And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the
angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back
the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like
lightning, and his raiment white as snow: And for fear of him the keepers
did shake, and became as dead men. And the angel answered and said unto
the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.
* vs. *
- Mark 16:5 "And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on
the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted."
* vs. *
- Luke 24:4 "And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout,
behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:"
* vs. *
- John 20:12 And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and
the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sometimes, the bible is confusing on purpose:
- Matthew 12:30 "He that is not with me is against me; and he that
gathereth not with me scattereth abroad." (default is against)
- Mark 9:40 "For he that is not against us is on our part." (default is for)
- Luke 9:50 "And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against
us is for us."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The bible is incorrect in some statements. Here are a few scientific facts that
the bible misconstrues:
Fact: The bat is NOT a bird.
- Leviticus 11:13-19 "And these are they which ye shall have in abomination
among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the
eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray, And the vulture, and the kite after
his kind; Every raven after his kind; And the owl, and the night hawk, and the
cuckow, and the h awk after his kind, And the little owl, and the cormorant,
and the great owl, And the swan, and the pelican, and the gier eagle, And the
stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat."
- Deuteronomy 14:11-18 "Of all clean birds ye shall eat. But these are they of
which ye shall not eat: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray, And the
glede, and the kite, and the vulture after his kind, And every raven after his
kind, And th e owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after
his kind, The little owl, and the great owl, and the swan, And the pelican,
and the gier eagle, and the cormorant, And the stork, and the heron after
her kind, and the lapwing, an d the bat."
--
Fact: Rabbits do NOT chew their cud.
- Leviticus 11:6 "And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth
not the hoof; he is unclean unto you."
'Gerah', the term which appears in the MT means (chewed) cud, and also perhaps
grain, or berry (also a 20th of a sheckel, but I think that we can agree that
that is irrelevant here). It does *not* mean dung, and there is a perfectly
adequate Hebrew word for that, which could have been used. Furthermore, the
phrase translated 'chew the cud' in the KJV is more exactly 'bring up the
cud'. Rabbits do not bring up anything; they let it go all the way through,
then eat it again. The description given in Leviticus is inaccurate, and
that's that. Rabbits do eat their own dung; they do not bring anything up and
chew on it.
--
Fact: Insects do NOT have four feet.
- Leviticus 11:21-23 "Yet these may ye eat of every flying creeping thing
that goeth upon all four, which have legs above their feet, to leap withal
upon the earth; Even these of them ye may eat; the locust after his kind,
and the bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the
grasshopper after his kind. But all other flying creeping things, which have
four feet, shall be an abomination unto you.
--
Fact: Snails do not melt.
- Psalms 58:8 "As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away:
like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun."
--
Fact: What? We've never seen ringstraked(?) cattle!
- Genesis 30:39 "And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth
cattle ringstraked, speckled, and spotted."
--
Fact: These people knew the Earth was round. They should also know that you
can't see all the sides of a sphere without moving.
- Isaiah 40:22 "It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the
inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a
curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in."
- Matthew 4:8 "Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high
mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of
them."
Astromical bodies are spherical, and you cannot see the entire exterior
surface from anyplace. The kingdoms of Egypt, China, Greece, Crete,
sections of Asia Minor, India, Maya (in Mexico), Carthage (North
Africa), Rome (Italy), Korea, and other settlements from these
kingdoms of the world were widely distributed.
--
Fact: Snakes, while built low, do not eat dirt.
- Genesis 3:14 "And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou
hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the
field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of
thy life"
Many of the bible's controdictions are in numbers:
--
Solomon's overseers
550 in I Kings 9:23
250 in II Chron 8:10
--
The mother of Abijah:
Maachah the daughter of Absalom 2 Chron 9:20
Michaiah the daughter of Uriel 2 Chron 13:2
--
When did Baasha die?
26th year of the reign of Asa I Kings 16:6-8
36th year of the reign of Asa I 2 Chron 16:1
--
How old was Ahaziah when he began to reign?
22 in 2 Kings 8:26
42 in 2 Chron 22:2
--
Who was Josiah's successor?
Jehoahaz - 2 Chron 36:1
Shallum - Jeremiah 22:11
--
Other times, they were incorrect on some words:
What was the color of the robe placed on Jesus during his trial?
scarlet - Matthew 27:28
purple John 19:2
--
What did they give him to drink?
vinegar - Matthew 27:34
wine with myrrh - Mark 15:23
--
God creates animals and then man - Gen 1:25-26
God creates man and then the animals - Gen 2:18-19
--
Arpachshad's son was Shelah - Gen 11:12
Arpachshad's grandson was Shelah - Luke 3:35-36
--
Terah's lifespan.
Acts 7:4 states Terah was dead when Abraham left Haran. According to Gen
11:26, Terah was 70 when Abraham was born and Abraham was 75 when he left
Haran. Therefore he lived 70 years (ie. his age when Abraham was born)
plus 75 years (Abraham's age when he left Haran - Terah was dead at
this time according to Acts 7:4) - 145 years in total. However, Gen
11:32 states he lived 205 years.
--
God promises Abraham the land of Canaan to live in - Gen 17:8
God did not allow Abraham to live in the promised land - Acts 7:5, Heb 11:8,9,13
--
Jacob's offspring in Egypt totalled 70 - Gen 46:26-27, Ex 1:5
Jacob's offspring in Egypt totalled 75 - Acts 7:14
--
Jacob was buried in a cave in Machpelah's field that was bought from Ephron the
Hittite - Gen 50:13
Jacob was buried in a tomb at Shechem bought from the sons of Hamor - Acts 7:15-
16
--
The Hebrews dwelt in Egypt for 430 years - Ex 2:40
The Hebrews dwelt in Egypt for 400 years - Acts 7:6
--
God's plague kills 23,000 - Num 25:9
God's plague kills 24,000 - 1 Cor 10:8
--
The Hebrews' journeying - Mount Hor (where Aaron dies), Zalmonah, Punon - Num
33:37,38,41,42
The Hebrews' journeying - Beeroth Benejaakan, Moserah (where Aaron dies),
Gudgodah, Jotbathah - Deut 10:6,7
--
Solomon's reign.
Acts 13:16-22 numbers the years from when the Hebrews left Egypt to David
beginning his reign as 40 (Wilderness) + 450 (Judges) + 40 (Saul) = 530
years. According to 1 Chron 29:27, David reigned 40 years, so Solomon became
king (when David died) 530 + 40 years (of David's reign) = 570 years.
However, 1 Kings 6:1 states Solomon's 4th year of rule (when he began the
Temple building) was 480 years after the Hebrews left Egypt, ie. he began
his rule 476 years after the Hebrews left. In sum, there is a
contradiction of 94 years.
--
Saul inquired of God, but God did not answer him - 1 Sam 28:6
Saul died because he did not seek guidance from God - 1 Chron 10:13,14
--
Jesse had seven children - 1 Sam 16:10-13
Jesse had eight children - 1 Chron 2:13-15
--
David slays Goliath - 1 Sam 17:4,7,50
Elhanan slays Goliath - 2 Sam 21:19
--
Joram his son, Ahaziah his son, Joash his son, Amaziah his son, Azariah his
son, Jotham his son - 1 Chron 3:11,12
Joram the father of Uzziah, and Uzziah the father of Jotham - Matt 1:8,9
--
Asa removes the high places - 2 Chron 14:2
Asa did not remove the high places - 1 Kings 15:11-14
--
Uzzah dies at the threshing-floor of Nacon - 2 Samuel 6:6
Uzzah dies at the threshing-floor of Chidon - 1 Chron 13:9
--
David takes 1700 horsemen - 2 Sam 8:4
David takes 7000 horsemen - 1 Chron 18:4
--
David destroys 700 chariots - 2 Sam 10:18
David destroys 7000 chariots - 1 Chron 19:18
--
Joab's numbering of the army. 1,100,00 soldiers in Israel; 470,000 soldiers
in Judah - 1 Chron 21:5
Joab's numbering of the army. 800,000 soldiers in Israel; 500,000 in Judah
- 2 Sam 24:9
--
David buys the land for the altar from Ornan for 600 shekels of gold - 1 Chron
21:24-25
David buys the land for the altar from Araunah for 50 shekels - 2 Sam 24:24
--
The Temple pillars were 18 cubits - 1 Kings 7:15
The Temple pillars were 35 cubits - 2 Chron 3:15
--
The molten sea held 2000 baths - 1 Kings 7:23,26
The molten sea held 3000 baths - 2 Chron 4:2,5
--
The wicked will die prematurely and will suffer -Psalm 55:23, Proverbs
10:27, Job 18:5,11,18,19
The wicked lifespan is long and they enjoy life - Psalm 73:3-5,12, Job 21:7-9
--
Man is to be holy - Leviticus 11:44, 19:2, 20:7
Only God is holy - Revelation 15:4
--
Drinking alcohol is acceptable - Deuteronomy 14:26, John 2:7-11, 1 Timothy
5:23
Drinking alcohol is not acceptable - Proverbs 20:1, 23:31-34, Hosea 20:1
--
The captain takes 5 men of the king's council - 2 Kings 25:19
The captain takes 7 men of the king's council - Jeremiah 52:25
--
Baasha dies and his son Ela begins his reign over Israel - this was in the 26th
year of king Asa of Judah - 1 Kings 16:6,8
In the 36th year of Asa's reign, Baasha attacks Judah 2 Chron 16:1
NB. 2 Chron has Baasha still fighting 10 years after 1 Kings says he died!
--
The infancy narratives....
According to Luke 2:21-39, Jesus is taken to the Jerusalem Temple eight days
after he is born; the family then go up to Nazareth. In Matthew 2:14-23, after
being born the family flee in Egypt and stay there until Herod dies; even on
returning, they avoid Judea and go up to Nazareth.
--
Jesus began ministry after John the Baptist is imprisoned - Mark 1:14,15,17.
Jesus's began ministry whilst John was free and before imprisoned - John 1:28-
29, 3:25-30
--
Jesus baptised - John 3:22
Jesus did not baptise - John 4:2
--
The exorcism of Legion - being 2 men - Matt 8:28
The exorcism of Legion - being 1 man - Mark 5:1,2
--
The healing on leaving Jericho was 1 blind man - Mark 10:46,47
The healing on leaving Jericho was 2 blind men - Matt 20:29,30
--
Respect for parents taught - Exodus 20:12, Leviticus 19:3, Deuteronomy 5:16,
Ephesians 6:1-2
Disrespect and rejection of parents taught - Matt 8:21-22, 10:37, 19:29, 23:9,
Luke 12:51,53, 14:26
--
People choose not to come to Jesus - John 5:40
People can only come to Jesus if God wills it - John 6:44
--
Jesus judges - John 5:22,27, 9:39, 2 Corinthians 5:10
Jesus does not judge - John 8:15, 12:47
--
Christians to hate their brothers - Luke 14:26
Whoever hates their brother cannot have eternal life - 1 John 3:15
--
Jesus refuses to give signs - Matthew 12:38,39, Mark 8:12, Luke 11:29
Jesus did give signs - John 3:2, 20:30, Acts 2:22
--
One of the disciples was lost - John 17:12
None of the disciple were lost - John 18:9
--
Jesus refers to David eating the consecrated bread in the time of Abithar -
Mark 2:25,26
In fact David ate the consecrated bread in the time of Ahimelech - 1 Sam 21:1-6
--
Disciples being sent out not to wear sandals - Matthew 10:9,10
Disciples being sent out to wear sandals - Mark 6:8,9
--
No man can retain the spirit after death - Eccles 8:8
Peter restores spirit of Tabitha after death - Acts 9:37,40
--
Believers not to worry about providing for family -Luke 14:26,33, 18:29,30
Believers must provide for family - 1 Timothy 5:8
--
The law/commandments to remain for ever - Matthew 5:17-19, Luke 16:17
The law has ended - Romans 7:4, Eph 2:15, Col 2:14
--
Simon and Andrew's home was in Capernaum - Mark 1:21,29
Simon and Andrew's home was in the same place as Philip's - Bethsaida - John
1:44
--
God has given all things into Jesus' hands - John 3:35
God has not given all things into Jesus' hands - Matt 20:23, John 5:19
--
The anointing and entry into Jerusalem...
Matthew and Mark detail how Jesus rode into Jerusalem in Matt 20:1-13, Mark
11:1-11. It was after this that he was anointed at Bethany - Matt 26:6-16,
Mark 14:3-11. But in John he is anointed (12:1-8) and it is after this
that he rides into Jerusalem (12:12-15).
--
The Last Supper.
The Synoptics make it clear this was the Passover meal - Matt 26:19, Mark
14:16, Luke 22:13. However in John, the meal was held on the day before the
Passover - 13:29, and after the meal the Passover had still not begun -
18:28, and after the trial, it was the day ("Preparation") for the
Passover. The Passover was on the day after Jesus was crucified (ie.
because the Passover fell on the Saturday sabbath, it is therefore
called a 'high day') - John 19:31.
--
Peter is warned he will deny Jesus after the last supper and having left
the upper room - Matt 26:20-34, Mark 14:17-30
Peter is warned he will deny Jesus during the last supper before leaving
the upper room - Luke 22:33-39, John 13:37-38/ 18:1
--
Jesus' trial before the sanhedrin was at night and in morning he was taken to
Pilate - Matthew 26:57-68, 27:1-2
Jesus' trial before the sanhedrin and being taken to Pilate was in the
morning - Luke 22:66-71, 23:1
--
Simon of Cyrene carries Jesus' cross - Matthew 27:32
Jesus carries his cross - John 19:17,18
--
Both robbers revile Jesus - Matt 27:44
Only one robber reviles Jesus and the other believes -Luke 23:41-43
--
Jesus tells the believing robber he will be with him in paradise that day - Luke
23:43
Jesus was in the grave following his death and did not ascend to heaven - Acts
2:24,31, John 20:17
--
The confirmation Jesus is dead.
In Mark 15:43-45, Joseph of Arimathea asks Pilate for Jesus' body, and Pilate
is unaware of whether he is dead; only after sending a centurion and
receiving this confirmation does he allow Joseph to take the body.
However in John 19:31-33,38, Pilate actually authorises the leg-
breaking to ensure they have all died and then authorises Joseph to remove
the body. NB. Mark 15:42 states it was evening, ie. the sabbath had already
begun (the Jewish 'day' beginning at 6pm), when Joseph asks for the body.
However, burial was not allowed on this day, showing the fictitiousness of the
story.
--
The time between the resurrection and ascension ?
Matthew-At least the time to reach Galilee (60-70 miles north); Luke-clearly one
day only (see 24:13,33,36,50 - it is made very clear that Jesus rose, made
all his appearances and ascended back to heaven on the same day); John-at
least a week accepting John 20 as the original end to the Gospel, but with
the John 21 appendix this means it was even longer as this has a
Galilean appearance; Acts-40 days. An attempt to reconcile John's visit of
just Mary Magdalene whilst still dark with the Synoptics where there are
several women and it is daytime, is by saying John's was an earlier one, ie. the
one in the Synoptics was a second one. However this cannot be so as John
has Mary Magdalene seeing the empty tomb (20:1) and in the Synoptics when the
women go to the tomb they ask about who would roll the stone away (Mark
16:3). However Mary Magdalene was with them (Mark 16:1) and she had already
seen that the stone had been moved away and therefore they would already know
this from her 1st visit.
Furthermore, Luke makes any appearance at, or journey to Galilee
absolutely impossible as it has everything happening in the area of Jerusalem
with the disciples being told to stay there until Pentecost, and the
conclusion being Jesus' ascension from nearby Bethany. This is made clear - in
Luke the first appearance is to the two travelling to Emmaus (10 miles
West of Jerusalem) and 24:13 states this was "that very day"; the two then
go "that same hour" to the eleven in Jerusalem (24:33); Jesus then appears
whilst they are still explaning what they had seen (24:36). Jesus then
tells them to stay in Jerusalem until Pentecost (24:49).
As Luke 24:51 has the ascension on the same day as the resurrection this
prevents any Galilean appearances by Jesus to the eleven as in Matt and John.
Luke's account makes nonsense of Matt having Jesus tell the women to instruct
the disciples to go up to Galilee (Matt 28:10) if he was going to see them
himself later that day (as in Luke and John), and furthermore see them in
Jerusalem. Also, Luke makes it clear that the eleven were told to stay in
Jerusalem from the day of the resurrection to Pentecost, but Matt has
them travelling up to Galilee (28:16) as does John (21:1ff).
Important to note is Mark 16:7, ie. that the women 'said nothing to
anyone' - all three Gospels contradict this by them telling the disciples
which then leads into their accounts. Because of Mark 16:7, this is
really made impossible.
--
Luke also has Jesus appearing to "the eleven" on the same day as the
resurrection (24:33-36), but John states Thomas was missing on this
appearance and it was a week later that Jesus actually appeared to all eleven
- - with Thomas then being present (20:24,26).
--
The chronology of Paul's life.
Acts
(1)Paul converted on the way to Damascus (9:1-8).
(2)He goes to Ananias in Damascus and stays there 'several days' (9:20).
(3)After 'some time'*, Paul goes to Jerusalem (9:23,26) and meets the
apostles there (9:27).
(4)Paul preaches in Jerusalem, but due to threats to kill him, he is sent to
Tarsus (9:30).
(5)Relief to Jerusalem and Judea taken by Paul & Barnabas (2nd visit)
(11:30)
(6)Paul goes to Jerusalem (3rd time) (12:25)**
(7)Paul goes to Jerusalem (3rd or 4th time) (15:1ff).(vii)
Galatians.
(1)Paul is converted (1:16).
(2)He does not go to Jerusalem, but to Arabia and then Damascus (1:17)
(3)After 3 years, Paul goes to Jerusalem, meeting only Cephas and James there
(1:18-19) staying only 15 days.
(4)He then goes to the regions of Syria and Cilicia (1:21).
(5)14 years later, Paul goes to Jerusalem with Barnabas and Titus (2:1).
(6)Paul confronts Cephas at Antioch (2:11).
(7)No further information.
* The 'some time' in Acts 9:19 is not clear as to how long this was; different
translations render this 'some time passed' (Jerusalem), 'after a number
of days' (Moffatt); the literal Greek is "'many' with the view of being
sufficient"; however it is rendered, it is difficult to reconcile this
with the three years of Gal 1:18.
** It is not clear whether 12:25 is a return to Jerusalem, or a return
to Antioch from Jerusalem; if the former, and the Acts 15 visit is the
Gal 2:1-10 one, then in Acts it would be the fourth visit, whilst Paul
states it was only the second. Paul's method of counting in Gal. is not
absolutely clear, ie. whether his 14 years in Gal 2:1 is 14 years after his
starting point in Gal (ie. his conversion) or 14 years after the first
Jerusalem visit 3 years after his conversion which he had mentioned
immediately beforehand (ie. a total of 17 years after his
conversion).
--
Numerous others problems arise when trying to reconcile the two accounts,
eg. Acts has Paul in Jerusalem and Judea in his early life (21:17 then
22:3) and as a persecutor of the church there (7:58, 9:1-2,13,21,
26:10) which makes Paul's comment that (Gal 1:22) he was not known by sight
by the churches in Judea even after his time in Jerusalem, Syria and Cilicia
(1:17- 21) appear impossible. Furthermore when Paul has a dispute with
Peter at Antioch about Gentile fellowship in Gal 2, why does he not remind him
of what was agreed at the Acts 15 conference on this very subject ?
--
Abraham was justified by faith - Rom 4:1-5
Abraham was justified by works - James 2:22-24
--
Elijah and Moses appear many centuries after they died-Mark 9:2-4
Only God is immortal - 1 Tim 6:15-16
--
Jesus to be buried for three days and nights - Matt 12:40
Jesus buried for one day and two nights - Mark 15:42,43, John 20:1
(These texts show the burial did not take place until Friday night and the
tomb was empty before Sunday morning). Jesus is NOT dead for "three days
and three nigh ts" whether present-day or Jewish time-reckoning is used.
--
In summary:
The Bible presents an interesting picture of God, ie. a god who never changes
(Malachi 3:6) but actually does frequently change his mind and even regrets
what he's done ("repents") - Gen 6:6,7, Ex 32:l4, l Sam l5:35, 2 Sam 24:l6,
l Chron 21:l5, Jer l8:8,l0, 26:3,l3,l9, 42:l0, Ezek 24:l4, Joel 2:l3, Amos
7:3. Although it is to be noted that Numbers 23:l9 and l Samuel 15:2
say that God never repents..... It states God is "spirit", ie. non-physical
(John 4:24) and yet he is always called 'him' or 'he' as if he had a male
body, but it also says that although spirit, he has feet (Psalm l8:9), arms
(Jer 27:5), wings (Psa 36:7), hands (Job 27:ll), eyes (Deut 8:3), a mouth
(Isa l:20), ears (2 Chron 6:40), nostrils (Ex l5:8) and legs (Gen
3:8). He also uses a razor - - Isa 7:20. He also occasionally roars
(Joel 3:l6) and sometimes he even whistles (Isa 5:26) !!! Although he
has never been seen (John l:l8), he has actually been seen (Isa
6:l), and he even revealed his rear to Moses (Exodus 33:21-22)..
Christians argue that it is through Adam's sin that evil exists and
furthermore it is because of his transgression that all humans must die; this
is clearly taught by Paul in Rom 5:12,17,18 and is the central
theology of Christianity; however, this wholly contradicts 2 Kings 14:6,
Ezekiel 18:20, Jeremiah 31:30 that state a person will NOT suffer for an
ancestor's wrongdoing. If the God of the Bible is truly God, then there is a
dilemma; for God to be God, he has to be omnipotent, responsible for the
creation of everything; this includes evil; if he did not create evil,
then he was not wholly creative, and therefore cannot be God. In fact
the Bible does actually say God commits evil, eg. Exodus 32:l4, 2 Sam
24:l6, 1 Chron 21:l5, Jer l8:8, 26:3,l3,l9, Jonah 3:l0. Furthermore he
sends lying spirits (l Kings 22:23, 2 Chronicles l8:22) and deliberately
deceives people (2 Thessalonians 2:ll). And not only this, he admits to being
responsible for the creation of evil and misery - Isaiah 45:7, and
that he has deliberately made people so he can destroy them - Proverbs l6:4.
Christians blame the devil for evil, but the devil and his desire for
power (that supposedly resulted in his fall) must have come from God in the
first place if he created everything; there is also the "awkward" point that he
is hardly mentioned in the Old Testament - just Job 1:6-12, 2:1-7 where he is
called "a son of God" (!), in 1 Chron 21:1 where he incites the census
(although 2 Sam 24:1 says God did this !), and Zechariah where he is only a
prosecuting attorney (3:1-3). It is also argued that man has free will to
choose; firstly, what about those who have never heard the Christian gospel
(and some might feel they are fortunate !), or are incapable (ie. the mentally-
ill/retarded) or die in infancy; secondly, considering man's eternal destiny
depends upon this, one would have thought God would have made as better job
of it it, ie. a less contradictory and a clearer Bible (that doesn't even
mention God is a Trinity !), and not literally thousands of sects (all
saying different things) making up the Christian church; thirdly, if man
chooses through this supposed free will to reject the gospel, but then
spends eternity in hell for this, where is the free will here ?
God is hardly consistent - He condemns killing (Exodus 20:l3) but orders
it (Exodus 32:27); he encourages wisdom (Proverbs 4:7) but condemns it (l
Corinthians l:l9); he protects the righteous (Proverbs 12:21) but
does not (Hebrews ll:36-37); he cuts off the wicked (Proverbs l0:27) but
does not (Job 21:7-9); he commands respect for parents (Exodus 20:l2) but
encourages hatred for them (Luke l6:9); he blesses peace (Matthew 5:9)
but brings war (Matthew l0:34, Revelation l9:ll). It continues by saying God
will keep the earth (Ecclesiastes l:4), but will destroy it (2 Peter
3:l0); is invisible and unseen (John l:l8, l Timothy 6:l5-l6) but has been
seen (Amos 9:l, Deuteronomy 5:24); he lives in dazzling light (l Timothy
6:l5-l6), but lives in darkness (l Kings 8:l2)......
Christians maintain that God cares for the world, he is personally
involved in it, he has sent his prophets, he has even taken on human form
himself and lived and died as a human being, he has sent his Holy Spirit,
his Word (the Bible) and manifests himself through his church; however, how
is it that so much suffering prevails in the world ? The Bible has Jesus
comparing humans' compassion with God's; he supposedly pointed out
that even a human being 'evil as they are' would not let their child
starve or suffer (Matthew 7:9-13) so (therefore) we can look forward to
much more more from God. This is the real nonsense; no human being would
allow the suffering that goes on in the world today to continue if they
could stop it, but a supposedly caring, loving, omnipotent god does
nothing... What is one supposed to make of a deity that allows so much
suffering to go on which even a mere frail feeble inconsistent
'evil' human would stop if they could ?
--
The Accuracy of the Gospels
On examination of passages arising in the four Gospels,
it can be seen that the narrative is composed to suit
the theological viewpoint of the evangelist. When
comparing a narrative with its parallel in
another Gospel, or when a narrative only appears in
one Gospel, it becomes obvious that the
evangelists had their own beliefs and attitudes,
and these sometimes become obvious. It is clear that
the authors of the Gospels shaped, remoulded, selected
and adapted the material available to them to suit
their purpose. From this it can be seen that the
evangelists selected and adapted the material
available to them, so they could write with a special
purpose and objective in mind.
Matt's author, using Mark as a source, wanted to show
Jesus' mission was to the Jews, as their own messiah,
but the author of Luke, also using Mark as a source,
wanted to picture Jesus in a way that his
Hellenistic readers would understand and relate to.
The author of John, possibly using Mark or a Ur-
Markus, as a source, or the source of Mark for some
of his information, wrote from a highly individual
viewpoint and in this Gospel, the writer's
personal interpretation and authorship becomes most
apparent.
Before the resurrection in Matt however, Jesus is
shown as being solely for the Jews; Jesus is pictured
as the Jewish messiah, the descendent of Abraham
and the Son of David; his life fulfilled the OT
prophesies and expectations. On occasions the OT texts
are wrestled from their context and used very
artificially in Matt. Whilst pro-Jewish, the author
writes against certain Jewish groups which he felt
particular hostility towards. In Luke, Jesus is the
saviour of the world - to Jew, Samaritan and Gentile.
Luke's author makes it clear that from the very
beginning, not only Israel, but the world was
blessed by Jesus' appearance on earth. (2:l4,32). In
Luke, Jesus' coming was vital in world history and
history, both past and present had to be shaped around
the years of Jesus' life on earth. Jesus' coming
in Luke influences history as is shown by Jesus'
comment in Luke l6:l6 that the law and prophets were
only 'until John'. From this point a new phase in
history begins.
Luke's author was clearly sympathetic to the poor
and outcast; he includes material that teaches this
and which is only found in Luke, eg. the woes against
the wealthy (6:24,25), the story of Lazarus and the
Rich man (Luke l6); there is one case where Luke is
detailing the same material as Matt, but a clear
change is made to uphold his view towards the poor -
"Blessed are the poor in spirit....Blessed are
those who hunger and thirst for righteousness..." (Matt
5:3,6) but in Luke this is "Blessed are you
poor....Blessed are you that hunger now..."
Here, as can be clearly seen, the evangelist has
deliberately changed the wording to suit either his
spiritual theology (Matt) or his social theology
(Luke). In Luke there is the call by Jesus to care for
the outcast with the promise of reward for doing this
(l4:12-l4), and there is also Jesus' teaching that the
despised classes (in this case a tax collector) were
more sincere and pleasing to God than the so-called
religious teachers (l8:l0-l4).
It has been argued that the Gospels contain 'pillar
passages', ie. statements that conflicted with early
church theology and belief which created problems for
the early church, but despite this, the fact that these
were included shows that the evangelists faithfully
recorded these and that they wrote a reliable account
of Jesus' life. One such passage is Mark 3:21 where it
is stated that Jesus' family went out to 'seize him'
because of the accusations of insanity. At first
sight this does appear that the author has included
something that puts Jesus' family in a bad light
and it certainly clashes with the church's belief
that Jesus' family later became members of the church
(eg. Acts l:l4) and were later held in high esteem.
However, some commentators believe this is not
necessarily connected with mental instability, and
furthermore, the author may have had in mind the
'prophesy' of Isa 53:3 that the servant would be
despised and rejected of men; indeed Jesus does remind
the disciples that he would suffer contempt (9:l2).
In Mark there is the statement that Jesus could not
work miracles because of unbelief (6:5) and indeed
Matt (l3:58) modifies this, and Luke omits it
altogether, but this is not necessarily a passage
that reduces Jesus' stature; Mark repeatedly
emphasises the need to believe in Jesus for his power
to be able to manifest itself - eg. Mark 5:34,
l0:52.
Because some passages were included in the Gospels and
these may have embarrassed the church does not
necessarily lead to the conclusion that the
evangelists recorded an accurate historical account of
Jesus' life; this is particularly so in view of the
situation in the early church which was not uniform
and was very fluid.
The principal motive of each evangelist in producing a
'Gospel' was for the preaching of the early church;
the Gospels were not intended to be for general and
public circulation and reading. It is clear that they
did write as theologians and not historians and
therefore they cannot be viewed as trustworthy
(ie. reliable and accurate) historians.
In John, hostility against Judaism reaches a peak; by
the end of the first century, Christianity was no
longer deemed to be just a schism in Judaism.
By this time there was an official cursing of the
Christians ('Minim') in the synagogues. The Gospel of
John therefore coincides with the mutual feeling
between the Jews and early Christians at the time
of being written. In John, the Jews are pictured
as slow, dull-witted, aggressive and hypocritical,
deviating from the original faith. They are prepared
to murder (l2:l0-ll) and are pictured as ignorant of
God's word (5:38-40), without God's love (5:42),
accused by Moses (5:45), potential murderers (8:40),
children of the devil who was a murderer and liar
(8:44) and they are even reported as making several
attempts to kill Jesus (8:59, l0:31). The author puts
words into their mouths which could not have been
spoken; the statement of 'We have no king but Caesar'
by the chief priests (l9:l5) would have been a
denial of all Jewish theology and history apart from
the fact that a Jewish leader making this statement
would soon encounter the fury of the nationalist
Zealots. The author comes very close to preventing
Jesus from being a Jew himself when he writes of Jesus
speaking to the Jews of 'your father Abraham' (8:56),
'your law' (l0:34). He continues his polemic in having
the Jews even asking for leg-breaking after Jesus had
died (l9:31) which results in Pilate instructing this
even though it conflicts with Mark which describes
Pilate as being unaware of Jesus' death (l5:44-45).
John also writes about the expulsion of Christians
from the synagogues and the possibility of
executions (9:22, l6:2), which did not exist in the
time that Jesus supposedly lived, but did exist in the
closing years of the first century when the Gospel was
written (ie. the official cursing of the 'Minim'
inserted into the synagogue service under
Rabbi Gamaliel, ca. 85 CE).
Another indication that the evangelists have composed
stories about Jesus without historical foundation is
their interpretation of what they considered to be
Old Testament 'prophesies'. Because the author of
John understood the Hebrew parallelism of Psa
22:l8 as two completely separate actions, he has the
soldiers carrying out two separate actions
(l9:23-24). The other evangelists who did not
misunderstand this, only have one action in the
disposal of Jesus' clothes (Matt 27:35, Mark l5:24,
Luke 23:34). In the same way, the author of Matt
misunderstood the parallelism of Zech 9:9 and had two
animals involved in Jesus' entry into Jerusalem
(21:2-7) when in fact there is only one animal being
spoken about. The other evangelists do not make this
mistake and therefore only have one animal - Mark
l:2-7, Luke l9:30-35, John l2:l4-l5-16
These examples show that the evangelists, rather than being
historians, were only interested in the theology of what they were writing
about. In these two cases they have deliberately introduced details to
'agree' what they felt to be an OT prophecy. One commentator admits that
the whole of Jesus' trial is based on O.T. prophesy; therefore rather
than the Christian statement that the life of Jesus 'fulfilled'
O.T. prophesies (although in reality few are actual 'prophesies'), the very
reverse is true - Jesus' earthly life was built up on these
'prophesies'. John gives the picture of the Logos in full control of every
situation with his power being considerably greater than the
Synoptics, eg. whilst the Synoptics record resurrections of people
who had only just died (eg. Matt 9:l8), Jesus resurrects a man who had
been dead for four days (ll:l7), the blind man healed was not like the
man who had once seen in the Synoptics (Mark 8:24), but had been blind
from birth (9:l), Jesus carries his own cross (l9:l7) and does need
not this to be carried for him as in the Synoptics (eg. Matt
27:32). Again, the theological view of John's author completely
overshadows any desire to present a historical account; his account is to
show that Jesus was the Son of God and historical facts are not
relevant. In the same way, the author of Matt is keen to show that
Jesus was the Jewish Messiah, while the authors of Luke and Mark are
more concerned with portraying a Jesus who would be acceptable to
Gentiles. Mark, almost certainly the first Gospel, includes a number
of errors which not only show that the author was not an eyewitness
to the events he so vividly describes (and also, was not based on
anyone else's account who was an eyewitness), but also that details such
as features of the Jewish religion, geography and chronology were only
secondary to his purposes. Mark (1:2) has a quotation from Malachi
3:l and Isaiah 40:3, but he attributes both to Isaiah
(furthermore he interfered with the poetry by changing the
location of the wilderness), there is a chronological error in
naming Abiathar as the high priest (2:26), Herod is called a king
when he was in fact a tetrach and this is followed by an error
about Philip's wife (6:l4,l7), he attributed a custom of the strict
Pharisees to all the Jews (7:3), his mention of Dalmanutha in 8:10
indicates he was not very familiar with Palestine, there is a reference
by Jesus to women divorcing their husbands, a custom not possible in
Palestine (l0:12), together with an error over the timing of the Passover
and the Feast of Unleavened Bread (l4:l,12). On occasions, the
author seems to be confused about Palestinian life.
The errors contained within Mark were 'corrected' by
the authors of Matthew and Luke, and sometimes by
later copyists, particularly when they involved
important theological points. It was the same
situation with each of the four evangelists; each one
had a particular motive, each one had a specific
theological belief and each one had a certain group of
people in mind for whom their Gospel was intended.
On occasions, the reason for relating a story not found
in the other three Gospels, or for making a drastic
change in it is not altogether clear. All four Gospels
have the story of Jesus being anointed by a woman;
Matt (26:6-l3) and Mark (l4:2-ll) have this after
the entry into Jerusalem, but John has this before,
while Luke has it long before the arrival in
Jerusalem during the early ministry (Luke 7:36-50).
Whilst Luke has the woman anointing Jesus' feet as
does John (l2:3), Matt and Mark have the woman
anointing Jesus' head. Other minor differences
occur, eg. Jesus tells Peter of his denials after
leaving the room where the last supper was eaten,
on the way to Gethsemane in Matt (26:30-35) and
Mark (l4:26-31), but in Luke (22:33-34/39) and
John (l3:37-38/l8:l), Jesus tells him before
leaving.
In Luke, Jesus is assaulted before the questioning by
the Sanhedrin and the questioning takes place the
following morning (22:63-71), but in Matt
(26:57-68/27:l) and Mark (l4:53-65/l5:l) the
assault is immediately after the questioning and this
all takes place before the morning. Presumably there
was a reason for the differences which occur in all
four Gospels, but they have been lost in time.
Differences such as these may arise because of the
evangelist wishing to convey a particular point
which is not obvious, or they may simply arise
because of the way the material/tradition was
transmitted and reached the evangelist.
When certain passages are examined, it can be seen what
the evangelist had in mind and furthermore, what he
personally viewed as important. The author of Matt
wanted to show that Jesus' mission was to the
Jews. In l5:21-28, Jesus' objection to healing the
Gentile woman's daughter is much more obvious than in
Mark (in Mark, the only time Jesus is called 'Lord'
is by this woman - 7:28; here Mark has used the story,
which in Matt is anti-Gentile, to show that it was a
Gentile who recognised who Jesus was). Matt also adds
that Jesus said that he had only come 'to the lost
sheep of the house of Israel'. The author of Luke, not
only pro-Gentile, but endeavouring to portray Jesus
as humane, omits the whole story.
Jesus instructed his disciples not to go anywhere
near Gentiles or Samaritans, but to go to 'the lost
sheep of the house of Israel' in Matt l0:5-6, but
Mark does not include this (6:7ff) and nor does Luke
(9:lff). Luke contradicts this by saying that Jesus
wanted to enter Samaria. but was prevented from
doing so by the inhabitants (9:52-53); also in Luke,
Jesus heals a Samaritan (l7:ll-l6), and Jesus'
mission to the Samaritans, which is precluded in
Matt, goes even further in John when Jesus goes into
Samaria and many are converted there (4:4,5,39-42).
It is generally accepted that the seventy
disciples sent out in Luke l0:l was a Gentile mission.
Not only did the authors of Matt and Luke correct the
errors in Mark, and the author of John reinterpret the
oral and written material that was the basis for the
Synoptic Gospel account, they also clearly made
considerable changes to Mark. Although some
corrections and changes are to make the account more
authentic, the principal cause for the changes is
clearly theological. This can be traced in all
four Gospels, from beginning to end.
Matt begins with a genealogy tracing Jesus back to
Abraham through David (l:l-16) - to show Jesus as the
Jewish Messiah, but Luke has this going back to
Adam (3:23-38) to show Jesus' coming was to save all
mankind and not just Israel. This fact is announced
just after the birth in Luke also - 2:28,32. The
author of Mark begins his Gospel very abruptly,
whilst the author of John begins his Gospel by
stating that Jesus was the pre-existent Logos,
and it is this portrayal that runs throughout John.
To the end of the Gospels, the personal theological
belief, manner and motivation of each author still
manifests itself; in Mark the resurrection
narrative ends as abruptly as the Gospel begins;
the resurrection appearances are not detailed possibly
because the whole message of Mark is faith (Mark
16:9-20 is generally acceprted to be a later addition
to avoid the abrupt ending).
In Matt, the last appearance by Jesus to the
disciples is on a mountain; this may be an attempt
to connect Jesus' departure with Moses' (NB. In Matt,
Jesus teaches about the law on a mountain - 5:l,l7-42,
which recalls Moses receiving the law on the
mountain; in the Lukan parallel, Jesus did not
teach on a mountain, but rather 'he came down and
stood on a level place' and this did not relate to
the law - 6:l7-49; this in itself is an example of how
the evangelists adapted material to illustate a
theological point). The author of Matt endeavoured to
show that Jesus did not come to 'end' Judaism, but was
a fulfilment of it. In Luke, Jesus' departure is in the
area of Jerusalem where the disciples are to remain,
ie. where it all began.
In John the emphasis was to instil faith in those who
already believed but felt distanced from Jesus by being
second or third-generation Christians (20:29,31).
What has to be borne in mind is the fact that the
evangelists were not only producing their narratives
from isolated disconnected sayings and stories, many of
which had survived down to their time only through
oral tradition, their narratives were also related to
the Jesus they believed in, pictured through their
own personal experience; their account was also
shaped for the people for whom it was intended. The
Gospels would also reflect the evangelists' own
culture and background. They also had to deal with
factors which had only emerged during their time, eg.
why Jesus had not returned, why Judaism had
rejected its Messiah, how Christianity could be
related to Judaism, how Christianity could show that
Jesus was the one foretold in the Old Testament, and as
the church became distanced from the time that Jesus
supposedly lived, the rising importance of the
disciples/apostles.
The evangelists cannot therefore be viewed as
trustworthy historians as they saw historical
information only as a basis for the 'Good News'
they were attempting to declare. This information only
served as a background for the story they wanted to
tell. As the Gospels are not biographies of Jesus'
life, but rather, compositions for preaching and/or to
satisfy the need of a particular Christian community,
their value as "historical" documents is 'nil'.
The source of Matthew and Luke, although there is
still disagreement over this, appears to have been a
mixture of,
(a)the Q document; in fact the authors of Matthew and
Luke may not have used the same document, ie. due to
difference in time and area, one evangelist may have
seen a different (eg. expanded) Q document; the term
'Q' is also used to denote oral as well as written
tradition, and,
(b)Mark; it appears they most probably used the
canonical Mark, and not an earlier edition, and,
(c)their own sources. Both Gospels mainly follow the
order in Mark.
In the case of Luke, more than one-third is material
not found in Mark, but almost one-third of Mark is
not found in Luke. The non-Markan material is
principally inserted into two places in Luke, ie.
6:20-8:3 (the small insertion) and 9:51-l8:l4
(the large insertion) although there is non-Markan
material found in the sections that do repeat Mark
(eg. Luke 3:23-4:l3, 4:l6-30).
In the case of Matthew, half of Matthew is not found in
Mark, whilst over a half of this material is found in
Luke; the remainder appears to be Matthew's author's
own material.
This leads to numerous questions, eg. did the
authors write, but then expand on them when coming
across Mark (Kummel considers this unlikely with Luke
due to the Markan omissions), or whether their special
material was actually found in Q, but because the
other evangelist chose not to use it, this results in
it appearing to be material only available to them.
It is also argued that the special material in some
cases was not written, but oral tradition; some have
gone as far as suggesting that the material found
in only one Gospel, without parallel in another
could even be the author's own thoughts, ie. they
composed stories that they believed would teach the
readers about a subject they considered important, eg.
Luke's story of Lazarus and the Rich Man (Luke l6).
A brief examination of both Matt and Luke will show
that the authors were sympathetic to certain ideas,
and introduced these into their Gospels, either by
simply rephrasing or rearranging the material, or by
using stories that supported their particular
ideas. Matthew's author clearly wished to show that
Jesus' mission was only to the Jews (l0:5,6,
l5:24); in the case of the Canaanite woman
(l5:22-28), Jesus' hostility is far greater in Matt,
than in Mark (7:24-30), but Luke's author chose to
omit this altogether. In Matt the Gentile
mission was really only authorised after the
resurrection (28:l9); it is at this point where the
pro-Jewish line is concluded; after the
crucifixion the Jews are pictured as being particularly
hostile - eg. approaching Pilate to authorise a guard
on the tomb (27:62-66) and the Jews bribing guards
to say the disciples had stolen the body
(28:ll-l5); the historicity of both incidents has
been questioned.
Before the resurrection in Matt however, Jesus is
shown as being solely for the Jews; Jesus is
pictured as the Jewish messiah, the descendent of
Abraham and the Son of David; his life fulfilled the
OT prophesies and expectations. On occasions the OT
texts are wrestled from their context and used very
artificially in Matt. Whilst pro-Jewish, the author
writes against certain Jewish groups which he felt
particular hostility towards. In Luke, Jesus is the
saviour of the world - to Jew, Samaritan and
Gentile. Luke's author makes it clear that from the
very beginning, not only Israel, but the world
was blessed by Jesus' appearance on earth. (2:l4,32).
In Luke, Jesus' coming was vital in world history
and history, both past and present had to be shaped
around the years of Jesus' life on earth. Jesus'
coming in Luke influences history as is shown by
Jesus' comment in Luke l6:l6 that the law and
prophets were only 'until John'. From this point a new
phase in history begins.
Luke's author was clearly sympathetic to the poor
and outcast; he includes material that teaches this
and which is only found in Luke, eg. the woes
against the wealthy (6:24,25), the story of Lazarus
and the Rich man (Luke l6); there is one case where
Luke is detailing the same material as Matt, but a
clear change is made to uphold his view towards the
poor - "Blessed are the poor in spirit....Blessed
are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness..."
(Matt 5:3,6) but in Luke this is "Blessed are you
poor....Blessed are you that hunger now..."
(6:20,21). Here, one of the evangelists has
deliberately changed the wording to suit either his
spiritual theology (Matt) or his social theology
(Luke). In Luke there is the call by Jesus to care for
the outcast with the promise of reward for doing this
(l4:12-l4) and there is also Jesus' teaching that the
despised classes (in this case a tax collector) were
more sincere and pleasing to God than the so-called
religious teachers (l8:l0-l4).
--
The Christian God
All forms of life destroyed because of one imperfect
species - Gen 6:5,7, 7:23
Human sacrifice commanded by God - Leviticus 27:28,29.
Under inspiration of God's Spirit, Jephthah agrees to
sacrifice daughter as a thanksgiving - Judges 11;29-40.
God sends ten plagues on Egypt because Pharaoh
won't release the Hebrews, but he deliberately
hardens Pharaoh's heart so he refuses to release the
Hebrews in the first place, making these plagues
necessary - God admits this is so he can perform 'his
wonders' (Exodus 11:9), ie. wholesale mass slaughter
of life in Egypt - Exodus 7:3-4,13-14, 10:1,20.
God sanctions slavery and a man selling his daughter -
Exodus 21:2-6,7.
Death demanded for heresy - Deuteronomy 13:1,2,5,14,15.
God says that if a man strikes 'his slave', male or
female, and they do not die immediately, the man
shall not be punished because 'the slave is his
money (ie. property)' - Exodus 21:20-21.
God orders people to slaughter their own relatives
because they rejected Moses' religion; 3000 killed.
Moses tells the killers that God would bless them
for doing this by making them ordained for his
service - Exodus 32:27-29.
A person to kill their own family for a difference
of religion - Deuteronomy 13:6-10.
God demands death for anyone not circumcised - Gen 17:9-14.
God demands the sick are to be driven out of the
community - Numbers 5:1-4.
God burns people to death for complaining- Numbers 11:1
God kills 24,000 people by a plague because one of them
brought a Midianite woman to his tent - Num 25:6-9.
The curses of God upon the Hebrews (eg. eating their
own children) - Lev 26:14-39, Deut 28:15-68.
God arranges the Midianite slaughter - Judges 7:2,9,22.
(Note: Numbers 31:l-l8 states that God instructed the
mass slaughter of Midianites, and the Lord "slew every
male", alongwith their rulers (31:7), and the
Midianite women and children and animals were
captured; Moses then demanded all the males, including
babies and the women were to be slaughtered, but the
young girls could be "kept alive for yourselves"
(31:18). This story records the extermination of the
Midianites, but later on, God AGAIN instructs the
slaugher of the Midianites (Judges 6:16), It is the
same with the Amalekites - they are "ALL destroyed"
in 1 Samuel 15:8, but they are destroyed yet again in
1 Samuel 27:8-9 and everyone - men and women -
are killed; however, they are killed (- for the 3rd
time!) in 1 Samuel 30:1,l6ff except for 400 young
men. At long last, they are are finally killed off
in 1 Chronicles 4:43 when the 'remnant' were destroyed.
NB. most of the Pentateuchal battles were ordered
by Moses but he was only God's mouthpiece (Num 12:6-8).
He also has an important role in the N.T - Matt 17:1-4,
Heb 3:2,5, 11:23-29, Rev 15:3).
The Spirit of God comes upon Samson and he murders
over a thousand people - Judges 14:19, 15:14-15.
The Psalmist praises God for his 'steadfast love' but
then details his slaughtering in the past - Psalm
136:10-21.
God deliberately deludes people so they will not be
saved - 2 Thess 2:11-12.
A girl not found to be a virgin was to be killed -
Deut 22:13-21 (Note the same did not apply to men !).
God kills an innocent baby for its father's wrongdoing
- - ignoring the father's pleas - 2 Samuel 12:15-20
God kills 70,000 men - 2 Samuel 24:15
God has a friendly meeting with his arch enemy Satan -
whom he doesn't even recognise - Job 1:6-7, and they
have a wager (Job 1:8-12) over how much suffering it
would take before righteous Job will reject God. Job
then has his whole family killed and livelihood ruined
(1:13-19) and then is afflicted by a loathsome plague
(2:7-8).
-------------------------------------------------------
The historicity of Jesus
The church has failed to show any proof that the
Gospels were in existence before 125 CE. This is
demonstrated if one looks at the second century
Christian writings:-
The author of 1 Clement, an anonymous letter, usually
dated as ca. 96 CE, and attributed to Clement writing
from Rome to the church at Corinth, does not
appear to be aware of any written Gospels. On two
occasions he refers to what Jesus had said; in chap.
l3, he repeats the words of Jesus, very similiar to
those in the Gospels, although they are not
quotations. In chap 46 he brings together two
unconnected Markan statements (9:21 and l4:21) and he
appears to be quoting loose sayings that were circulat-
ing, but not in a fixed form; this view is strengthened
by the fact that he never refers to Gospel stories, or
sayings, when it would be very appropriate, applicable
and would support the argument he is making; instead he
quotes or refers to the O.T.
Ignatius, ca. ll0 AD, mentions the Gospel although it
again appears he is referring to the Gospel message,
rather than written documents. He gives much more
information about Jesus' life, but as he refers to
things not found in any of the four canonical Gospels,
eg. the story of Jesus speaking after the
resurrection, (Smyrn. 3) which is apparently from
the apocryphal Gospel according to the Hebrews and not
from the canonical Gospels, and he describes the
Bethlehem star in a way that is not found in Matthew
(the only canonical Gospel to mention this), it is
not clear what written Gospel was available to him.
He refers to other N.T. writings, but there is no clear
indication he knew of any written Gospels..........
In his letter to the Philippians he uses terms found
in Matt and Luke although it is noteworthy that the
author of l John, facing the same Docetic problem as
Ignatius, but at an earlier time, clearly did not
have the biographical information about Jesus, which
was available to Ignatius.
The Epistle of Barnabas ca. l30 CE, uses OT references
to support its contents when NT ones would have been
far more appropriate. It refers to a passage in Matt
20:l6b and 22:l4 and surprisingly for this early date
calls it 'Scripture'; this is quite unique.
However, 20:l6b appears to have been an interpolation
and if it was a loose saying, it is more likely the
author is using Matthew's source, rather than
Matthew itself. The author chose to use the apocryphal
Enoch when writing about the end (instead of Mark l3),
and in referring to the crucifixion he refers to the
Psalms, not the Gospels. The Epistle (chap. 7) has
a saying attributed to Jesus not found in the
Gospels.
Polycarp, ca. l30 CE, apparently knew Matt and/or Luke
and improves upon Clement's "quotations", but
apparently didn't know of John's Gospel.
Papias, ca. l40 CE, mentions Matthew and Mark in
written form, but not Luke or John and he also
made use of non-canonical apocryphal literature
indicating that Matt and Mark were not seen a sole
source of the gospel message.
Justin Martyr, in the middle of the second century,
refers to written Gospels which were deemed as
authoritative as the O.T, but he does not name them,
nor state their number so it is not known what he
was referring to. He too, used non-canonical material.
It was only by ca. l70 CE that Tatian was using all
four Gospels for his Diatessaron harmony and about a
decade later Irenaeus was arguing for acceptance of
the four canonical Gospels, and only those.
Therefore it appears that the writings that give Jesus
a historical place only appeared in the closing years
of the first century and even these took quite some
time to be established anbd accepted. Therefore with
regard to Jesus of Nazareth being some kind of
historical person, surely one is justified in asking
why there appears to be so little said by this
figure that is original; for example, a good deal of
the Sermon of the Mount goes back to the Old Test
or lst cent BCE apocryphal writings, eg. the Book of
the Secrets of Enoch. Secondly, why there is the
astounding silence over biographical - or
chronological - details about Jesus' life until ca.
90 CE. Paul, in the period before this time, never
invokes his words when they would be invaluable
in supporting his argument, and this is not only
with Paul, but elsewhere, eg. l Peter. The authors of
Romans l3:l-3 and l Peter 2:l3-l4 certainly couldn't
have been aware of the story of Jesus appearing before
Pilate in view of what they say. This silence
continued over into the end of the lst century; in
fact when the author of 1 Clement wrote, he seems to
suffer from the same problem as Paul and others -
total ignorance about Jesus and the Gospels;
obviously as is so clearly demonstrated, Christians
always used scripture or suchlike to support any
argument they were making, so is it somewhat bizarre
that Clement does not do this. In chap. 3-6 he lists
Abel, Joseph, Moses and David as examples of people
who suffered through jealousy - but surely Jesus
would have been the ideal example of this -
Matt 27:l8/Mark 15:l0 ??? When he speaks
about people preaching repentence in 7-8, he uses
Ezekiel and Isaiah as examples - but again surely
Jesus would have been the ideal example to use -
Luke 13:3,Matt l8:3 ? In 9-l2 he lists examples of
faith - but yet again they're all Old Test and fails
to give any Gospel example that would be more fitting.
In l6 he refers to Jesus' humility and one would expect a reference to his
humble birth in a stable,but instead he quotes from the Old Test again (Isa 53).
In chap l7 he speaks about those dressed in animal skins who announce the coming
of Christ. Surely John the Baptist (Matt 3:4) ? however he lists the Old
Test prophets Elijah and Ezekiel. And so it goes on...... It is very clear that
although the Gospels emerged in the last decade of the lst century AD, they
took a long long time to be circulated and/or accepted which is strange
if they are accurate reports of Jesus' life. With regard to the eyewitness
testimony for Jesus' existence, there is certainly a problem. It is amazing
that anything up to 70(100 ?),000 people saw Jesus, but no one made an eye-
witness record of it. Mark was obviously not an eyewitness due to his
host of errors concerning chronological, historical, geographical and
theological matters in lst. cent Palestine; Matt and Luke have to use Mark
as their base (which they obviously wouldn't have needed to
do if they were eyewitnesses) and in John (Which even the church only
hesitantly accepted into the canon) reports things that couldn't have
happened eg. Jesus' speech about drinking blood to a Jewish audience in
John 6; it has to be rejected if the Synoptics are accepted as it
conflicts with them, eg. his dating of the Temple-clearing and the last
supper etc in relation to the Passover. He also reports situations eg.
expulsions from the synagogue (l6:2) that didn't occur until after 90 CE (ie.
Rabbi Gamaliel II's official cursing prayer of the 'Minim' in ca. 90 CE). In
the case of Paul, he gives virtually no detail about Jesus' earthly life,
other than he was a descendent of David, was crucified and was raised
by God. If Romans, a genuinely Pauline letter, and the longest, is
examined to discern Paul's reference to Jesus' earthly life, the silence
becomes most apparent:-
(l)Jesus was a Jew/descended from David (l:3, l5:8,12);
(2)Jesus was human (8:3);
(3)His blood was shed (3:25, 5:9);
(4)Jesus suffered/died/was crucified (5:6,8,10,l5,
6:3,4,5,6,8, 8:l7, l4:l5);
(5)Jesus rose from the dead (l:4, 4:24,25,
6:4,5,9,l0, 8:ll,34, l0:7,9, l4:9):
As can be seen, the same few details are repeated
over and over again; in the letters that are
genuinely accepted as being written by Paul there is
no specific reference to the parents of Jesus,
and certainly not a virgin birth; his place of birth or
the area in which his ministry took place is not
mentioned either; 'Of Nazareth' is never used; the
details Paul supplies give no indication whatsoever of
the time or place of Jesus' earthly existence.
Paul never refers to Jesus' Roman trial, and in fact
he does not appear to even know who crucified Jesus -
in l Cor 2:8 he refers to the death of Christ by
'rulers of the age' - this hardly fits a tinpot
prefect called Pilate; this term really denotes
supernatural spirits - 2 Cor 4:4, Col 2:l5 *. Paul
never refers to Jerusalem as the place of Jesus'
execution and never mentions John the Baptist, nor
Judas, nor Peter's denials (This would have been
quite pertinent in combatting Cephas/Peter at
Antioch - Gal 2:ll-l7. Paul's position was apparently
being threatened by Peter and despite calling him a
hypocrite, he does not allude to his three denials of
Jesus, as recorded in the Gospels, eg. Mark l4:30
par). The only chronological reference to Jesus in the
Pauline corpus is in l Tim 6:13 and this letter is
widely accepted as post-Pauline. Furthermore it
appears to be a non-Pauline insertion from a
baptismal creed.
(* Although some argue that Paul's reference in l Thess
2:l4-l5 shows he knew that the Jews crucified Christ
(this of course is incoorect - the Romans did), this
reference is clearly to God's vengeance on the Jews
and the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE - therefore
it has to be an interpolation as l Thess was
written ca. 55 CE; however insistence that Paul
wrote this statement originally would preclude Paul
being the author as it would have to be after 70AD, but
Paul died before this date.
Paul also fails to mention any of the miracles Jesus
is reported to have accomplished in the Gospels; Paul
suggests that miracles might be expected wherever a
Christian mission went, for he includes the
working of them among 'the gifts of the Spirit' (l Cor
12:l0,28) and himself claimed to have won converts
by 'the power of signs and wonders' (Rom l5:l9).
Among the signs of a true apostle, he lists 'signs
and wonders and mighty works' (2 Cor 12:12); the
striking feature is that he fails to mention that
Jesus is reported as having done on an extensive scale
in his earthly life. Another striking feature is that
whilst the Synoptic Gospels portray Jesus as an ethical
teacher, there is no suggestion of this in Paul's
letters; Paul is certainly not indifferent to ethical
problems and on several occasions his letters
contain a sizeable amount of ethical instruction. On
only one occasion does he represent Jesus as having
made an ethical injunction and this is in l Cor 7:l0
when Paul discusses the subject of divorce. The Gospel
'parallel' to this is Mark l0:ll-l2 (Matt is simply
following Mark), but there is a difficulty even here
as some reject this is authentic as Jesus refers to
women divorcing their husbands - something that was not
possible in Palestine.
Some say the statement was assigned to Jesus through
Paul quoting a Christian prophet (himself ?) through
whom the risen Lord was speaking and it was then
utilised by the author of Mark who placed it in the
mouth of Jesus whilst on earth, but was careless in
not realising that its context was Gentile rather than
Palestinian. It is clear from such early Christian
writings as the Didache that as late as the end of
the first century Christian prophets were viewed as
being channels of communication for the risen Lord.
Paul was content to suffer weakness, insults,
humiliation, persecution and hardship (2 Cor l2:l0)
adding that he entreated the readers by the 'meekness
and gentleness of Christ' (2 Cor l0:l). He stated
that he imitated Christ (l Cor ll:l) and that his
whole existence was 'to know nothing....except Jesus
Christ and him crucified' (l Cor 2:2) and then goes on
to say he was with his readers in 'weakness, much
fear and trembling' (l Cor 2:3). If this is Paul's
'imitation' of Christ, then it is a far cry from the
Jesus of the Gospels and particularly the picture
of Jesus portrayed in John. It appears Paul thought
Jesus led a humble inconspicuous life that went
completely unnoticed by the world.
Other situations arise in Paul's writing that suggest
knew very little about Jesus' supposed earthly life. He
clearly was unaware of Jesus' command not to go to
the Gentiles (Matt l0:5) in Rom ll:l3, and in Rom 8:26
he states 'for we do not know how to pray as we ought'
suggesting he knew nothing of Jesus instructions of how
to pray in Matt 5:7-l3, Luke ll:l4; the instructions
regarding baptism by Jesus in Matt 28:l9 were also
apparently unknown to Paul (l Cor l:l7).
The person of Paul was that of someone who believed
that God was now revealing secrets or mysteries;
these term arise frequently in Paul's letters, eg. l
Cor 2:7, l3:2, l4:2,, l5:51, with 'revealed' or
similiar arising frequently also, eg. Rom l:l7,l8,
8:l8, l6:25, l Cor 2:l0,l3, 3:l3, 2 Cor 12:l. Paul
believed that he had seen the risen Jesus (l Cor
l5:8) and he had spoken directly to him (2 Cor
l2:8-9); he had experienced ecstatic states (2 Cor
l2:l-4, l Cor l4:l8) and God was now revealing
previously-hidden information (1 Cor 2:l0,12-13, 7:40).
A question therefore arises, did Paul's rather scant
knowledge about Jesus arise through his belief that the
risen Lord was now communicating with and through him,
alongwith other Christian prophets, or from
information gleaned from earthly companions and
eyewitnesses of the earthly Jesus. One passage in which
Paul clearly refers to a historical event in Jesus'
earthly life, ie. the last supper, is 1 Cor
11:23-26. However even this passage begins "For I
received from the Lord...." and again, suggests
this information was transmitted directly from the
risen Christ, rather than from the apostles.
An inevitable question arises, ie. why this should be
as Paul had met the apostles (Acts 9:27, Gal
1:18-19, 2:2,9) and would have been given this
information by them - that is of course if these
"apostles" had in fact accompanied the earthly Jesus
rather than being as Paul, ie. Christians receiving
information direct from the risen Lord, but that is
what the situation appears to have been.
Reference to Jesus' resurrection, rather than his
earthly life appears in l Cor l5:3-8, when Paul
lists the resurrection appearances (apparently in
chronological order); these bear no resemblance to the
Gospels and reference to an appearance to 'all the 12'
whilst Matt report Judas' suicide again suggests lack
of information; his mention of an appearance to five
hundred brethren at one time (l5:6) is quite
extraordinary as it would be inexplicable for the
Gospel writers to have omitted this event if they had
known of it. The empty tomb, nor Jerusalem itself is
ever mentioned by Paul; his several visits to
Jerusalem, recorded in both Acts and Gal. surely
would have brought him into contact with the empty
tomb; the failure to mention the empty tomb, which
surely would have had great significance for Paul due
to his preoccupation with Jesus' death and
resurrection, may have been due, unlike the Gospels
reporting a physical resurrection, to a belief in
Jesus being raised as a spirit (l Cor l5:44,45,50).
The l Cor l5:3-8 passage does not link Jesus to any
specific historical time; it simply reports that he
died, was buried, was raised, and had appeared to a
number of people alive in Paul's time. There is no
suggestion whatsoever that these appearances
occurred immediately after his death/resurrection.
Whilst the Gospels have Jesus appearing as a
resurrected physical human being to his apostles and
Acts having Jesus appearing in a totally different form
to Paul (ie. after his ascension), there is no such
suggestion here; Paul does not differenciate in any
way between the earlier appearances in l Cor l5:3-7
and the one to him (l5:8). It appears from this that he
believed all those listed in l5:3-7 had experienced
the same vision as he had done - they are certainly
not made to be companions of Jesus in his earthly
life and Paul appears to think of the others who are
listed as experiencing a supernatural vision as he had
done. The reason for Jesus now appearing was apparently
because of the approaching end which was imminent (l
Cor 7:29, l5:23-24, l Thess 4:14-17, etc, etc).
Examples of Paul's failure to invoke Jesus' words are:-
Rom 2:l,l4:l3/Matt 7:l, Luke 6:37
Rom l2:l4,l7/Matt 5:44, Luke 6:38
Rom l3:9,Gal 5:l4/Matt 22:39-40, Mark l2:31, Luke l0:27
Rom l3:6/Mark l2:l7
Rom l4:l4/Mark 7:l8-l9
l Cor 6:7/Matt 5:39-40
l Cor l5:35-55*/Mark l2:25
l Thess 4:9/John l5:l7
(* In l Cor l5, Paul uses the O.T. rather than Jesus'
statements in the Gospels ie. l5:45 (Gen 2:7), l5:54
(Isa 25:8) and l5:55 (Hos l3:l4).
Paul argues that the 'spirits of this age' will be
put down at Christ's second coming (l Cor l5:24-25)
- he appears to be ignorant of the fact that spirits
were overcome by Jesus in his earthly life (eg. Mark
3:ll) and furthermore this was when Satan himself was
judged and cast out (John 12:31).
Furthermore there seems to be no pagan evidence for
Jesus' existence either. Reference to his existence
doesn't occur until well into the second century and
even then the writers seem to be merely repeating
Christian statements about Jesus (eg. Tacitus in 120
CE). What is really striking is that thee same
ignorance about Jesus' earthly life is found in most
other N.T writings, eg. in l Pet, readers are told to
love one another, have unswerving faith and put away
malice - but the writer never quotes Jesus' words in
the Sermon on the Mount - instead he quotes the Old
Testament.
With regard to Paul and the origins for Jesus, it
does seem that Jesus' 'teachings' overall were
borrowed from the O.T. and occasionally
elsewhere. It does also seem that messages received
'from the risen Lord' by Christian prophets in trance
were fed back into Jesus' earthly life. The Didache,
a Christian writing of ca. lst century (probably
from Syria) writes of Christian prophets; "Welcome
them as the Lord...Every missioner who comes to you
should be welcomed as the Lord....While a prophet is
uttering words in a trance, you are on no account to
subject him to any tests or verifications - this is
the sin that shall never be forgiven.......They
exhibit the manner and conduct of the Lord.....".
Here it can be seen these prophets were treated with
the same respect as Jesus himself; what they said was
treated as coming direct from Jesus and was not to
be questioned. Furthermore this feature is found
elsewhere, eg. B.E.Beck (Senior Tutor and Methodist
minister, New Testament Studies, Wesley House,
Cambridge), in his Reading the New Testament Today,
"....Sayings attributed to Jesus in the gospels
were used by Christians without acknowledgement,
but the possibility cannot be ruled out that the
reverse process has occurred - maxims in general
use, from whatever source, have been mistakenly
attributed to Jesus, eg. Matt 6:34, 7:6. Apparently
Christian prophets spoke in the name of the risen Lord,
that is, on his behalf. Were such sayings treasured as
those of the earthly Jesus ? Was any real distinction
made between them when both were felt to express the
mind of the Lord who had now risen and was still
acting through his church ?............
If the distinction was not sharply drawn, what was to
prevent a saying of the Lord, delivered through a prop-
het, being attributed to the Lord in his earthly minis-
try ?...". Much the same thing is said by Ernest Best
(Professor of Divinity and Biblical criticism, Univers-
ity of Glasgow) in his book, 1 and 2 Thessalonians.
As Paul and indeed other N.T. writers say little or
nothing about Jesus' earthly life and Paul's knowledge
of him appears to have come directly through
revelations and ecstatic states (See 2 Cor ll:1, Gal
l:12); at the end of the day it appears that Paul and
a few others* believed there were getting messages
from the crucified and now-risen Christ who had lived
on earth 'sometime in the past' and was now
revealing himself as the close of the age dawned (See
l Cor 7:29, l0:11). * Note how the post-resurrection
appearances listed in l Cor l5:5-8 (which flatly
contradicts the Gospels) does not differentiate
between the appearances to those listed in l5:5-7 and
the one to Paul, but in fact the Gospels and Acts have
Jesus' appearances to some of those in l5:5-7 in a
physical body and before his ascension, but to Paul
it was a wholly different experience, ie. a blinding
vision (eg. Acts 9:3-5), but the way in which the
l Cor l5 list is worded certainly suggests that
Paul believed the others who had seen the risen
Lord experienced it in the same way he did - ie.
by direct revelation. He seems to know nothing of any
idea that they had ever seen the earthly Jesus.
It is necessary to comment on the argument that
proposes that as Josephus and Tacitus, both
non-Christians, refer to Jesus, this surely proves he
was a historical personage.
These references are very brief fleeting statements
concerning a Jesus by (1)Josephus (XVIII, 3.3), ca.
95 CE and (2)Tacitus (anals. xv, 44) ca. 120 CE.
However with regard to these, it must be asked,
(1)Josephus. (i)Why do no Christians up to the 4th
cent. refer to Josephus' priceless remark that
'Jesus was the Christ' ? (ii)Why does the Christian
apologist Origen (l85-254 AD) state categorically
that Josephus did NOT believe that Jesus was the
Christ in view of the statement that calls Jesus
by this very title ? (iii)How could a strict
Pharasaic Jew make such a statement ? (iv)Why is it
written in the same style as Luke ? Surely this
suggests rather than being written by Josephus it
was taken from this Gospel ? (v)Why does it look
like an insertion in the narrative and appears to
interrupt the flow, not following on from what is said
before and not leading into what is said afterwards
? (vi)Why doesn't Josephus say more about Jesus if
he did really believe 'he was the Christ' ? (vii)How
it is that a whole host of eminent Christian
theologians/scholars who firmly believe in Jesus'
historicity reject the passage ?
(viii)Why should this be genuine when other copies of
Josephus's Antiquities have been discovered that are
heavily interpolated with Christian references ?
(ix)The very fact that it does appear to be a Christian
interpolation surely suggests there was a problem, as
why should Christians feel there was a need to even
do this ?
(2)Tacitus. It is never clear why this is even referred
to; this was written nearly a century after Jesus'
supposed existence - it is hardly 'contemporary'.
As Christians go on about this Jesus character, it is
interesting to see rather than what Christians say about
him, what the Bible says. and this is it...........
The Jesus of the Gospels is hardly the character that
Christians like to present, eg. he used violence - John 2:15
(and apparently encouraged it; before his arrest he told his
disciples to buy a sword; this was used immediately afterwards
- - Luke 23:36,49-50; if he was the omniscient Son of God, he
would have known this was to happen).
His purpose was to break up families - Matthew 10:34-35,
Luke 12:51-53. He taught the gospel was not available for
certain races - Matthew 10:5-8, 15:24. He was ignorant of
the Scriptures he quoted - Mark 2:26 (In fact the priest
was Ahimelech, not Abiathar - see 1 Samuel 21:1,6). He was
cruel to animals - Matthew 8:1-4 ('the offering' Jesus
commanded was a bird being sacrificed - Leviticus 14:2-5),
8:28-34. He treated his mother with contempt - John 2:4.
He suffered fits of temper, not justified by the situation
- - Matt 21:18-19, 23:13-33 (In the John 7 outburst, in John
7:37, the Greek is 'to screech like a raven'). He was
hypocritical - Matthew 5:22 (Compare his action in Matthew
23:17); Matthew 6:14 (Compare Matthew 10:14-15); Matthew 7:1
(Compare John 5:30, 8:26). He lacked sympathy for other
people's suffering - Matthew 8:21-22. He rejected his own
family - Matthew 12:46-50, Mark 3:32-35. He had contempt for
other religions and their adherents - Matthew 12:30, 23:2-33,
John 8:44,55. He deliberately taught in a way so people would
not understand him (and therefore be saved from going to
eternal hellfire) - Mark 4:9-12. He encouraged people to
desert their families - Matthew 19:29, Mark 10:29.
He taught people to hate* their families - Luke 14:26
(*The Greek here means 'active ill-will' or 'persecuting
spirit'). He taught that suffering was to show God's glory
- - John 9:1-3. He ignored a woman pleading for his help: only
after she asked him three times did he condescend to help -
Matthew 15:22-28. He taught that ill-health and human
suffering was the result of sin, or for the purpose of
glorifying God - Mark 2:5,11,12, John 5:8-14.
And furthermore, he clearly seemed to have thought that his
second coming/the end of the world, ie. the final judgement
(etc, etc) was only a short time away, eg. he told the high
priest that he would see his return - Mark 14:61-62, he told
three disciples that they would see his return - Matt 16;28,
he told the disciples he would return before they had preached
throughout Palestine - Matt 10:23.
Furthermore, when Jesus told his disciples about the end of
the world (Mark 13:3-27), he told them that the generation
living at that very time (ca. 30 AD) would still be alive when
"all these things", (ie. the Second Coming, the Final Judgement,
the end of the world, etc, etc) took place (Mark 13:30).
Despite saying all this, only seconds later he then told the
disciples that no one - including himself - knew when
the end would come (13:3)
Also, he foretold that he would be buried for 3 days and 3
nights in Matthew 12:40 - but Friday evening (Mark 15:42-46)
to before Sunday daybreak (John 20:1-2) is NOT 3 days and 3
nights ! Mark 15:42 states he was buried AFTER sundown on the
Friday, ie. this in Jewish reckoning was in fact now Saturday
- - the sabbath (also burial on the sabbath was something quite
impossible to have happened!).
The Gospels repeately say how Jesus' death etc 'fulfilled'
the Old Test scriptures (eg. Luke 24:27), but nowhere in the
Old Test does it say the messiah is to be killed, buried and
resurrected after 3 days.
With regard to the end of the world etc, Jesus stated that
there would be an "abominating sacrilege" (Matthew 24:15, Mark
13:14) which would cause a tribulation (Matt 24:16-28, Mark
13:15-23) and IMMEDIATELY after this (Matthew 24:29), he
would return to usher in the Final Judgement (Matthew 24:29-31).
Now Luke has in the parallel passage, the "abominating sacrilege"
as the Fall of Jerusalem (Luke 21:20); as can be seen by Luke
21:21-23, the author of Luke does equate "the abominating
sacrilege" of Matthew and Mark as Jerusalem's destruction).
However, Jerusalem's destruction (particularly as described
in Luke) occurred in 70 AD - therefore isn't Jesus' return
(which remember, was supposed to occur "Immediately" afterwards),
somewhat overdue ?
--
Virgin Birth
Christians have always argued for Jesus' virgin birth,
but also argue he was descended from David. This overlooks
that if virgin born, Jesus' 'father' Joseph, albeit
descended from David, would have had no connection with
his conception, and his only human connection would have
been through/by/with Mary; however she was of the Aaronic
line (ie. she was related to Elizabeth who was of this
descent - Luke l:6, l:36). As Aaron was of the tribe of
Levi, but David was of Judah, then Jesus, if virgin born,
could not therefore be of Davidic descent and could not
be the messiah which demanded Davidic descent. Furthermore,
this would contradict all the N.T statements that Jesus was
a descendent of David - Matt 1:1, 12:23, 15:22, Mark 10:47,
Rom 1:3, Rev 5:5. NB. Jesus didn't take on 'David's line'
through Joseph being his 'adoptive father' as Rom 1:3 makes
it quite clear that Jesus was of David's 'seed' (semen).
So there is a problem; Jesus was either of David's line -
but that means he wasn't virgin born (ie. Joseph having to
have been responsible for his conception), or he was virgin
born, but that precludes him being of the Davidic line
(because only Mary was involved in his humanity and she
was not of the Davidic line) - so he couldn't have been
the Messiah/Christ as the N.T teaches.
NB. The virgin-birth story is only found in 2 of the 27
N.T writings, and in Luke, the style of writing indicates the
part that relates the infancy was written quite separately,
and added to the main story that begins in 3:1 (Note how 3:1
opens as a commencement here). Even the Catholic Jerusalem
Bible admits that Matt most likely had its virgin birth story
added to it also. In fact Luke conflicts sharply with Matthew,
eg. (i) Luke has the birth in the time of the governor Quirinius
(2:2,3-7), whilst Matt has it in the time of Herod, but the
rule of these two never coincided or overlapped. There is
no substance in the argument that the Ramsay Inscription
regarding Quirinius as dummvir 'proves' he was governor in
Herod's time, (ii) Matthew states that the family fled from
Judea immediately to Egypt (2:4-14) and stayed there; Luke
has the family calmly going to Jerusalem in Judea after the
birth and then up to Galilee (2:21-22,39).
The only reason that Matt's author seems to have the story
is because he misunderstood Isa 7:14 that he read as messianic
(which it isn't) and referring to a virgin birth (which it
doesn't). This is simply the story of Isaiah saying to king
Ahaz that by the time that a young girl had conceived and her
baby was born, the present threat from Syria would be over
(7:14-17). There is NOTHING messianic about it at all.
In this, the child was to be called Emmanuel meaning 'God
with us', but the name 'Jesus' (in fact the Greek for the
Hebrew Jehoshua) means 'Yahweh is salvation', so Jesus was
therefore not called by the name Emmanuel and therefore did
not fulfil this 'prophesy'; however Matt's author misunder
- -stood this and therefore couldn't have been the apostle of
that name as he was not a Palestinian Jew (nor an eyewitness
as he had to use Mark to write his Gospel). Isa 8:3-4 says
how Isaiah went and then impregnated his wife and the p