Bible Question:
Thank you Tim, and I can agree with you on both of these accounts, better than that, I believe it is something that can be used in defense of the arguments, but let's go on from there. I'm hoping to get beat on these other points as well. Getting beat is probably the wrong choice of words, but never the less, I hope there is something in defense of the other arguments. I have found a few other problems on my own that I did not even write about, but these other issues are still out there. Thank you very much for your response. p.s. I'm sorry I left the Mary Magdelene portion as part of my question. I do feel like you had already answered it. in Chirst Schimc |
Bible Answer: Greetings Schimc! No problem my friend! :-) I would highly recommend that you buy a good synopsis of the four Gospels. The United Bible Societies puts out a hardback version which is very affordable, around 10 dollars. It is a helpful tool. The best advice that I can continue to give in dealing with 'critics' is not to let them falsly characterize things as contradictions. A contradiction is a very specific problem: A and not A at the same time and in the say way. A contradiction is not: A and A and B. This is a favorite ploy of critics. Just like with the Mary account in John, critics will often use the following reasoning: John only mentions Mary, The other writers mention Mary and others, so John is wrong. However, John is only wrong if he specifically states that Mary was the 'only one' there at the time. Failure to list every possible person is not an error unless one has claimed to list every possible person and did not. :-) These are the kinds of things that critics will harp on. Good luck with your studies my friend. p.s. - One more word of advice! Ultimately, you will not argue anyone into the Kingdom of God. Your best course of action is to pray for them and to share the reality of your faith with them. Then, the Holy Spirit will do what our arguments could never do. In the final analysis, they are critics, not because of errors in the Bible, but because they do not want to submit to God. Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |