Can you True Believers make sense of these contradictions?

Question

Matthew 28:2

"There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it."

Mark 16:5

"As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed."

Luke 24:3-4

"But when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them."

In summation:

Matthew--One angel outside the tomb.
Mark--One angel inside the tomb.
Luke--Two angels inside the tomb.
The account in John doesn't make any mention of any angels but does mention Simon Peter who's not mentioned in the synoptic gospels.

Care to make sense out of these contradictions?

If Jehovah was Editor-in-Chief of the Bible, shouldn't there be any contradictions? If there are differences in the the accounts, isn't that a good argument that the Gospels were the product of human minds only?

Answer 1

These are not contradictions.

In Matthew's account we are told that one angel rolled away the stone from the door of the tomb. This was before the women arrived, which is made apparent by Mark's account that the women approached the tomb asking one another: "Who will roll away the stone for us?" Then they saw that it had been rolled away already. At that point, they looked into the tomb and saw an angel who spoke with them (presumably the same one who rolled away the stone).

The fact that only one angel is recorded as speaking in Matthew and Mark does not mean that there could not have been two present. The only mentioned is the one that spoke.

Also, you are incorrect when you say that John's account does not mention angels. It also mentions two angels. John 20:11-12 tell us that Mary Magdalene "stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, and seeth two angels in white..."

Note that in these accounts you have different people coming to the tomb at different times. Again, in Matthew, one angel rolls away the stone from the tomb before anyone else gets there; and in John, Mary Magdalene goes back to the tomb after the women tell Peter and John that Jesus has risen. It is then that she sees two angels. All four gospels indicate that there were several women who went to the tomb that morning, and that they were not all there at the same time.

The gospels frequently view the same event from different perspectives, some including information that others leave out, but I have yet to see an actual contradiction in these or other gospel accounts.

Answer 2

Within nanoseconds, an angel, who is a spirit, could be wherever it wished to be -

outside the tomb
inside the tomb,
joined by another angel inside the tomb (just had an insight that it could be similar to "and suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host...")

If 4 people tell a story about a major event, some details may differ depending upon what is important to the story teller, but the event is still the same. Happens in court all the time, and often is not considered a contradiction if the other facts mesh. For John it may have been an important detail that Simon Peter was there - for the other gospel writers, perhaps not such a big deal - for them, the angels were more important.

So I'm just not seeing proof of a contradiction here.

What is amazing is the fact that 4 different writers are telling the story of a major event that changed the world forever and that that story has survived.

Thanks.

Answer 3

for your lack of understanding of the words in the bible, you say that it is a contradiction but if you can understand it , it is not contradiction.

Mathew,Mark and Luke have different observations because the observation was not done at the same time.
It was observed by Mathew that an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and,going to the tomb rolled back on the stone and sat on it. C orrect?

After lapse of time, it was observe by Mark that a young man dressed in white robe sitting on the right side.
After rolling the stone the angel sat on the right side in another place where he was when he was observe by Mathew.

After a lapse of time again, the incident was changed that two men in clothes that gleamed ligtning stood beside.. it is a matter of change of position and changed of incident. It is not necessary to mentioned everything in the bible because as a religious man, it will be understood. Only the wicked could not understand the words in the bible..
Dan 12:10 Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand. OK
jtm

Answer 4

four different accounts from people who researched their work using Mark as a stepping stone and interviewing various survivors' stories. In most cases, the next generation. The four gospels do not contradict insomuchas they corroborate certain moot points. Taking into account also, the same phenomena that occurs in civil court. Eyewitness accounts are subjective. This does not mean they have no truth.

Would you have the four gospels say the EXACT same thing? Then it would be silly to include all four. Each gospel has something to contribute.

Answer 5

There were three witnesses to this event; Mary Magdalene, Mary mother of James and Salome. It is not known which of the gospel writers talked to which person about what hapenned. Luke would have taken any verbatim account years later but it is not known from whom. It is well known that if you take statements from witnesses to an accident you are likely to get differences between them, as each observer observes different aspects of the accident.

Answer 6

You missed the fact that some of the women mentioned by one author are not mentioned by another. Yet they were all there including a bunch of unnamed women. The point is, these are not contradictions, just bits and pieces of information. Put it all together and you have a more complete picture.

People intent on finding contradictions in the bible will always find them. The Internet is littered with this garbage.

Answer 7

could it have been that there were two angels in all 3 books,1 angel outside in Matt also 1 inside in Mark then the two converged and appeared together in Luke

Answer 8

All 3 scriptures tell you 1) There were angels at the tomb. 2) The body of Christ was gone. Even though they may conflict, but in the whole, it still tells you what I previously stated.

Answer 9

The bible were "witnessed" 100 years after the alleged figure died. What do you expect? There bound to be difference in hearsay.

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Earl D, Pluto not being a planet is because the change of definition for the word "Planet". Pluto is still there, you do not see Pluto disappear. You do not need to be wise to understand that.

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For scotgirl60, it is definitely amazing, except none of the 4 writer actually saw anything, it was written 100 years after the alleged figure died, all through hearsay.

If you call there amazing, you will be amazed by the story where the yellow emperor fought the demon in central plain of china, it has been passed down for 5000 years and it is still surviving.

Answer 10

I see a black car sideswipe another. You see a white car being sideswiped. Somebody else sees the oncoming car, swerving to keep from hitting the black car. Another witness only notices the baby in the back seat of the black car while another is focused on the driver of the white car.

Which one is right?