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The oldest trick in the book in inerrantists reconciling these differing accounts is to just make multiple visits:
First, three women went, Mary Magdalene, another Mary and Salome. Later, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went back. Later after that, all the previous women went back again some for the third time, one for the second time and the others for the first time. Later, Mary Magdalene went back for the fourth time.
Far as telling the apostles, first they were too afraid to. Later they changed their minds.
Far as the young man and the angels, first it was a young man who went and was there while the three women came and told them, "He is risen". Later, one angel appeared to greet the two women who went back. One angel joined the other one, making two angels when then whole troop went back and when Mary Magdalene returned the fourth time by herself.
We could reconcile 40 visits by Hitler, Stalin and Roosevelt to the Yalta Conference at Potsdam in this manner. It's a piece of cake.
That all these differing accounts were written 50-100 years after the event by people not even there only adds to their veracity.
Actually, the fact that none of those stories are actually the same in details DOES lend itself to the credibility of the overall story. Read up on how historians view "eyewitness" accounts. In this case they are probably separate oral accounts from differing sources. But while they differ in the detail that fundamentalists like to call "perfect," the overall message in the story is the same--someone went to the tomb and the stone was rolled away, Jesus wasn't in it, and according to three sources someone reported it to the disciples.
It actually makes a lot more sense understood with imperfections in detail. It's only those who wish to ruin the credibility of the Christ message who try to make the book about Him greater than the One it points toward. Then they like to brag that whatever number of contradictions are in Scripture, they have a way of reconciling those differences by giving their own made up fictionalized story the same authority they wish to give to the Bible. If God could only have heard them explaining the contradictions He could have done a better job of whispering into the ears of those people writing the gospels. Shows how far fundamentalists have managed to advance their cause in a mere 140 years or so.
Why would I want to try to disprove the flying spaghetti monster? We all know you believe in that.
Of course I do. Is that any dumber than believing Jesus is divine?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eusebius
I wouldn't want to hurt your feelings.
You did hurt them when you never bothered to answer my post #35 in my "Gnawing Questions About Jesus" thread. So if you're sincere please answer it. Otherwise it's all just insincerity--something we're all, sadly, familiar with.
Last edited by thrillobyte; 01-03-2016 at 09:18 PM..
Of course I do. Is that any dumber than believing Jesus is divine?
Well, if we think this through, I have never read any historical account concerning the flying spaghetti monster. But I have read historical documents concerning Jesus Christ dying for all mankind. I don't recall the flying spaghetti monster doing that, have you?
Quote:
You did hurt them when you never bothered to answer my post #35 in my "Gnawing Questions About Jesus" thread. So if you're sincere please answer it. Otherwise it's all just insincerity--something we're all, sadly, familiar with.
Sorry that I never noticed your post to me. I have now answered it.
I'm glad you believe in the flying spaghetti monster. Not too many people do.
Location: In a little house on the prairie - literally
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Eusebius
Well, if we think this through, I have never read any historical account concerning the flying spaghetti monster. But I have read historical documents concerning Jesus Christ dying for all mankind. I don't recall the flying spaghetti monster doing that, have you?
What historical records? The bible is not historical, except incidentally. Josephus is a forgery, acknowledged by many biblical scholars.
Where are the Roman records? Or the Greek language ones?
Well, if we think this through, I have never read any historical account concerning the flying spaghetti monster. But I have read historical documents concerning Jesus Christ dying for all mankind. I don't recall the flying spaghetti monster doing that, have you?
Sorry that I never noticed your post to me. I have now answered it.
I'm glad you believe in the flying spaghetti monster. Not too many people do.
"Historic" to me would be something authentically dated back to the time Jesus was on earth by a secular historian living in the same period who wrote about "this man from Galilee who calls himself Joshua and who does these incredible miracles such as feeding 40,000 people with a few loaves of bread. I, Philo of Alexandria cannot explain it any other way that to concede he is divine as he claims to be." Something like that would reverse my opinion and millions of other Christians dropping out of Christianity every day faster than a speeding bullet.
But all we have are some scraps dating at the earliest back to the 4th, maybe 3rd century. The first almost complete collection of writings doesn't come until well after the council at Nicaea in the 4th century--the Codex Sinaiticus---after the luckiest break Christians got in history when Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire.
Remember, Eusebius, you accept all this on faith, not on any verifiable proof---which is why the doctrine of faith was contrived and promoted by the churchmen of that time---because they had nothing concrete to offer people to prove to them Christ was real ---nothing more than what we have today about the flying Spaghetti Monster to prove he is real.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eusebius
The Bible is a compilation of historical records.
Where are the Roman records? Many thousands of records were lost when Rome burned to the ground.
Oh good heavens! The naivety in here is something I can hardly bear at times, which is why I feel it my moral duty to bring some reality into this conversation. It's tremendously difficult work but somebody has to do it.
Location: In a little house on the prairie - literally
10,202 posts, read 7,945,607 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Eusebius
The Bible is a compilation of historical records.
No, it's an attempt by a Canaanite tribe attempting to make a history for itself.
Quote:
Where are the Roman records? Many thousands of records were lost when Rome burned to the ground.
Soooooooo, Roman records from Isreal were all first sent to Rome? You even believe that?
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So if you're sincere please answer it. Otherwise it's all just insincerity--something we're all, sadly, familiar with. 
---nothing more than what we have today about the flying Spaghetti Monster to prove he is real. 
