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There's a lot of silliness in the Bible, we skeptics have revealed much of it. But few authors take the cake--hell, the entire bakery--for howl-out-loud ridiculous writing than Matthew. Case in point Matthew 27:50-53:
Quote:
And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
At that moment the earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. And came out of the graves after Jesus' resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared to many.
Now I know the first impulse of an apologetic is to defend every single word in the Bible with their dying breath regardless of how dopey it is, but stop and think about this:
Jesus dies. This causes the rocks to split, the veil in the temple to tear, breaks tombs open and the dead in them are brought to life.
Three days---72 hours pass while Jesus is lying dead in Joseph of Arimathea's tomb. The dead saints are still in the tombs and stay there for 72 hours---three days and three night according to Matthew---maybe twiddling their thumbs or counting the holes in the dropped panels in the ceiling or something, because according to Matthew they cannot exit the tombs until after Christ resurrects. I guess this is where the expression, "The patience of a saint" arose. Does God have bad timing or what? Why raise the dead to life and then make them lie cooped up in a tomb for three days?
Sometimes picking up on these gaffs is like shooting ducks in a barrel. And you won't find a writer with more ducks in his barrel than Matthew.
... or it could be that someone is reading too much into it. Whether or not it was really meant that they actually came to life right after the execution or not (which that may not be the case), the point is, the resurrected saints were revealed to the masses after the resurrection of the Messiah also.
One must also take into account that this was all translated into different languages so perhaps the English language cannot convey the meaning as well as it could be conveyed in the original language.
I can picture "holy people" zombies biding their time in the broken-open tombs. Playing cards, blinking against the sunshine and wishing Jesus would hurry and resurrect already.
There's a lot of silliness in the Bible, we skeptics have revealed much of it. But few authors take the cake--hell, the entire bakery--for howl-out-loud ridiculous writing than Matthew. Case in point Matthew 27:50-53:
You've been corrected. It's been shown that you make a habit of ripping verses out of context. You do it routinely and you are unwilling to take correction.
Quote:
Now I know the first impulse of an apologetic is to defend every single word in the Bible with their dying breath regardless of how dopey it is, but stop and think about this:
Jesus dies. This causes the rocks to split, the veil in the temple to tear, breaks tombs open and the dead in them are brought to life.
Three days---72 hours pass while Jesus is lying dead in Joseph of Arimathea's tomb. The dead saints are still in the tombs and stay there for 72 hours---three days and three night according to Matthew---maybe twiddling their thumbs or counting the holes in the dropped panels in the ceiling or something, because according to Matthew they cannot exit the tombs until after Christ resurrects. I guess this is where the expression, "The patience of a saint" arose. Does God have bad timing or what? Why raise the dead to life and then make them lie cooped up in a tomb for three days?
Sometimes picking up on these gaffs is like shooting ducks in a barrel. And you won't find a writer with more ducks in his barrel than Matthew.
You're making no sense here. What's the issue? Perhaps there is only an issue in your mind. I don't see any kind of problem.
What difference does it make, Thrillobyte? Maybe they were conversing with angels and/or maybe God was preparing them for their return to the community. I'm sure it was an amazing time for them. I'm sure God knew what He was doing and what He wanted. Like Frank shared, the point is that the resurrected saints were revealed and God's glory was seen. God bless.
The scary story told to children around the campfire. That, and the claw stories. One needs a flashlight under their chin. What would be the biblical equivalent?
What difference does it make, Thrillobyte? Maybe they were conversing with angels and/or maybe God was preparing them for their return to the community. I'm sure it was an amazing time for them. I'm sure God knew what He was doing and what He wanted. Like Frank shared, the point is that the resurrected saints were revealed and God's glory was seen. God bless.
I wonder why no others wrote a word about this eruption of zombie saints traipsing around town?
... or it could be that someone is reading too much into it. Whether or not it was really meant that they actually came to life right after the execution or not (which that may not be the case), the point is, the resurrected saints were revealed to the masses after the resurrection of the Messiah also.
One must also take into account that this was all translated into different languages so perhaps the English language cannot convey the meaning as well as it could be conveyed in the original language.
Actually...it was written in Koine Greek, then translated to English or whatever language you read it in. There is no "multiple languages" involved.
Actually...it was written in Koine Greek, then translated to English or whatever language you read it in. There is no "multiple languages" involved.
In whatever language, it's pretty straight-forward malarkey.
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One needs a flashlight under their chin. What would be the biblical equivalent?
