Welcome to the first of a series of threads that I intend to begin on various topics related to the Bible. My intended audience is the Non-Christian subscribers to this Non-Christian forum. Christians, of course, are welcome to respond to any or all postings on this thread, but Non-Christians are under no obligation to respond. I would hope that anyone responding to this thread would assume that everyone is earnest in their beliefs and that the purpose of the thread is to engage in an open and respectful exchange of ideas.
The subject of this thread is contradictions in the Bible. Here’s what the Catholic Catechism has to say about the veracity of the Bible:
The key phrase in the above is “without error.” This belief in the inerrancy of the Bible is a common assumption in all major Christian sects.
If the Bible is without error, then it can contain no contradictions of any kind. But the fact is that the Bible contains a great many contradictions from start to finish, and those contradictions range in significance from trivial to fundamental. A full inventory of all contradictions considered in context would consume at least one very large volume. So I shall only highlight one very special subset of contradictions that are specific to the story of the Passion.
If you compare all four narrations of the Passion story side-by-side you will find that they differ on virtually every significant detail. I will not bore you with a full itemization of these discrepancies, but will instead concentrate on that part of the narrative concerning the arrival of women at the tomb of Jesus. You can verify my summary of these events by following in your copy of the Bible-- I have cited the relevant passages. I have checked these summaries for consistency across the KJV, NKJV, RSV, NSRVue, and NIV translations, but I certainly welcome your comments on any errors or omissions in my readings.
Matthew 28:1 – 10
Two women went to the tomb: Mary Magdalene and the “other” Mary
No mention of any spices
After they arrived there was an earthquake and one angel appeared outside the tomb
The guards that were stationed at the tomb shook with fear and “became like dead men”
The angel rolled back the stone and sat on it, meaning that the angel was outside the tomb
Mark 16:1 – 8
Three women went to the tomb: Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome
They bought spices with which to anoint the body of Jesus
On their way to the tomb they wondered who would roll away the stone
When they arrived the stone had already been rolled back
The women went into the tomb and saw one angel who was already inside the tomb
No mention of guards, or of an earthquake
Luke 23:55-56, 24:1 – 12
All of the women who had come with Jesus from Galilee went to the tomb along with “certain others”
They had prepared spices the night before and they brought the spices with them
The stone was already rolled away when they arrived
The women went into the tomb and saw that the body of Jesus was gone
Then two angels appeared inside the tomb
No mention of guards or of an earthquake
The women returned from the tomb and told the eleven disciples and others
Mary Magdalene is named as one of the women who told the disciples
Peter then ran to the tomb, looked in, saw the linen clothes with no body, and returned amazed
No mention that Peter saw any angels inside the tomb nor any guards
NOTE: The RSV does not include the statement that Peter ran to the tomb in the main body of the narrative, and the RSV numbering skips from verse 11 to verse 13. But in a footnote the RSV says the following:
John 20:1 – 13
Mary Magdalene went alone to the tomb
No mention of any spices
When she arrived she saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb (not just rolled back)
No mention of any guards, or of an earthquake, or of any angels
She ran back and told Simon Peter and the disciple “whom Jesus loved”
Peter and the other disciple ran to the tomb
The disciple whom Jesus loved arrived first, saw the empty linen wrappings, but did not go in
Simon Peter arrived, went into the tomb, and saw the empty linen wrappings
The other disciple also went in and also saw the empty linen wrappings
The two disciples returned to their homes
No mention that either of the disciples saw any angels or guards, and no mention of an earthquake
Then Mary Magdalene looked into the tomb after the disciples had left and saw two angels sitting where the body of Jesus had been laid
Questions:
How many women went to the tomb? Matthew says two, Mark says three, Luke says all of the women who had accompanied Jesus from Galilee and “certain others,” and John says only one. Note that Mary Magdalene is specifically named in all four stories, so these aren’t accounts of several separate visitations but are instead variations on one single narrative.
Why did the women go to the tomb? Matthew and John provide no explicit reason; but both Mark and Luke say that the women brought spices with which to anoint the body of Jesus. To anoint the body they would need to get inside the tomb. That would require rolling back the stone. According to Mark the women wondered who would roll back the stone for them as they were on their way to the tomb. Apparently they didn’t think about the need to get past the stone before they set out.
Was the stone rolled back when the women arrived at the tomb? Matthew says no, the stone was rolled back by an angel after the women arrived. Mark and Luke say yes. And John says that the stone had been completely removed before Mary Magdalene arrived.
How many angels did the women see? Matthew says one angel appeared outside the tomb after they arrived. Mark says there was already one angel inside the tomb. Luke says two angels appeared inside the tomb after the women entered the tomb. John says that Mary Magdalene did not see any angels after she arrived the first time, that neither Simon Peter nor the disciple whom Jesus loved saw any angels, but that Mary Magdalene did see two angels inside the tomb after the disciples left.
Were there guards at the tomb? Only Matthew says anything about guards and an earthquake.
These are supposed to be the absolutely reliable eyewitness accounts that prove conclusively that Jesus was resurrected from the dead. But these various stories don’t align on any significant detail. So modern readers are entitled to question the reliability of these separate narratives.
These examples of contradictions in the Bible show conclusively that the Bible is not inerrant. And by the reasoning of the Catholic Catechism, cited above, the source of the writings in the Bible could not possibly have been the Holy Spirit.
The subject of this thread is contradictions in the Bible. Here’s what the Catholic Catechism has to say about the veracity of the Bible:
The inspired books teach the truth. “Since therefore all that the inspired authors or sacred writers affirm should be regarded as affirmed by the Holy Spirit, we must acknowledge that the books of Scripture firmly, faithfully, and without error teach that truth which God, for the sake of our salvation, wished to see confided to the Sacred Scriptures.”
(Catholic Catechism, 107)
The key phrase in the above is “without error.” This belief in the inerrancy of the Bible is a common assumption in all major Christian sects.
If the Bible is without error, then it can contain no contradictions of any kind. But the fact is that the Bible contains a great many contradictions from start to finish, and those contradictions range in significance from trivial to fundamental. A full inventory of all contradictions considered in context would consume at least one very large volume. So I shall only highlight one very special subset of contradictions that are specific to the story of the Passion.
If you compare all four narrations of the Passion story side-by-side you will find that they differ on virtually every significant detail. I will not bore you with a full itemization of these discrepancies, but will instead concentrate on that part of the narrative concerning the arrival of women at the tomb of Jesus. You can verify my summary of these events by following in your copy of the Bible-- I have cited the relevant passages. I have checked these summaries for consistency across the KJV, NKJV, RSV, NSRVue, and NIV translations, but I certainly welcome your comments on any errors or omissions in my readings.
Matthew 28:1 – 10
Two women went to the tomb: Mary Magdalene and the “other” Mary
No mention of any spices
After they arrived there was an earthquake and one angel appeared outside the tomb
The guards that were stationed at the tomb shook with fear and “became like dead men”
The angel rolled back the stone and sat on it, meaning that the angel was outside the tomb
Mark 16:1 – 8
Three women went to the tomb: Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome
They bought spices with which to anoint the body of Jesus
On their way to the tomb they wondered who would roll away the stone
When they arrived the stone had already been rolled back
The women went into the tomb and saw one angel who was already inside the tomb
No mention of guards, or of an earthquake
Luke 23:55-56, 24:1 – 12
All of the women who had come with Jesus from Galilee went to the tomb along with “certain others”
They had prepared spices the night before and they brought the spices with them
The stone was already rolled away when they arrived
The women went into the tomb and saw that the body of Jesus was gone
Then two angels appeared inside the tomb
No mention of guards or of an earthquake
The women returned from the tomb and told the eleven disciples and others
Mary Magdalene is named as one of the women who told the disciples
Peter then ran to the tomb, looked in, saw the linen clothes with no body, and returned amazed
No mention that Peter saw any angels inside the tomb nor any guards
NOTE: The RSV does not include the statement that Peter ran to the tomb in the main body of the narrative, and the RSV numbering skips from verse 11 to verse 13. But in a footnote the RSV says the following:
However, the NSRVue does include verse 12 in the main body of the text.Other ancient authorities add verse 12, But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home wondering at what had happened
John 20:1 – 13
Mary Magdalene went alone to the tomb
No mention of any spices
When she arrived she saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb (not just rolled back)
No mention of any guards, or of an earthquake, or of any angels
She ran back and told Simon Peter and the disciple “whom Jesus loved”
Peter and the other disciple ran to the tomb
The disciple whom Jesus loved arrived first, saw the empty linen wrappings, but did not go in
Simon Peter arrived, went into the tomb, and saw the empty linen wrappings
The other disciple also went in and also saw the empty linen wrappings
The two disciples returned to their homes
No mention that either of the disciples saw any angels or guards, and no mention of an earthquake
Then Mary Magdalene looked into the tomb after the disciples had left and saw two angels sitting where the body of Jesus had been laid
Questions:
How many women went to the tomb? Matthew says two, Mark says three, Luke says all of the women who had accompanied Jesus from Galilee and “certain others,” and John says only one. Note that Mary Magdalene is specifically named in all four stories, so these aren’t accounts of several separate visitations but are instead variations on one single narrative.
Why did the women go to the tomb? Matthew and John provide no explicit reason; but both Mark and Luke say that the women brought spices with which to anoint the body of Jesus. To anoint the body they would need to get inside the tomb. That would require rolling back the stone. According to Mark the women wondered who would roll back the stone for them as they were on their way to the tomb. Apparently they didn’t think about the need to get past the stone before they set out.
Was the stone rolled back when the women arrived at the tomb? Matthew says no, the stone was rolled back by an angel after the women arrived. Mark and Luke say yes. And John says that the stone had been completely removed before Mary Magdalene arrived.
How many angels did the women see? Matthew says one angel appeared outside the tomb after they arrived. Mark says there was already one angel inside the tomb. Luke says two angels appeared inside the tomb after the women entered the tomb. John says that Mary Magdalene did not see any angels after she arrived the first time, that neither Simon Peter nor the disciple whom Jesus loved saw any angels, but that Mary Magdalene did see two angels inside the tomb after the disciples left.
Were there guards at the tomb? Only Matthew says anything about guards and an earthquake.
These are supposed to be the absolutely reliable eyewitness accounts that prove conclusively that Jesus was resurrected from the dead. But these various stories don’t align on any significant detail. So modern readers are entitled to question the reliability of these separate narratives.
These examples of contradictions in the Bible show conclusively that the Bible is not inerrant. And by the reasoning of the Catholic Catechism, cited above, the source of the writings in the Bible could not possibly have been the Holy Spirit.