I am not assuming that Paul did not have bad days; and I am not assuming that he never uttered a word that was not a mistake – that would not be my assumption. That …
Continue ReadingDoes Mark Incorrectly Quote 1 Samuel?
Who is it that David really went to talk to when he wanted some showbread because he was hungry? Who was it really? Dr. Ehrman says “Ah, ha! A contradiction is here between the Gospels …
Continue ReadingWhy are the Birth Narratives so Different? (I)
The question is why are the birth narratives so different, and are they ‘dueling banjos’? My response is no. There are three sorts of problems: macro, micro, and in between. The macro problem has to …
Continue ReadingWhy are the birth narratives so different? (II)
Secondly, it takes a particular interpretation of the differences between Matthew and Luke to come up with a flat contradiction within the birth narratives. For example, you will hear Bart say things such as “Well …
Continue ReadingDid Scribes Doctor the Manuscripts?
The question is, “In the history of the passing down of the Gospel traditions, how do we know that the later scribes or copiers of these manuscripts did not ‘over-egg the pudding’ or did not …
Continue ReadingDr. Witherington’s Personal Journey in Biblical Criticism
How do we Handle the Problem Texts in the New Testament?
Because there are some problems in scripture, let us look at a text Dr. Ehrman refers to that we might find troubling – the centurion standing at the foot of the cross. According to Matthew …
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