By Brisancian ~
Many Christians read the Easter stories year upon year, as I did for several decades, yet we never compare them in detail. As a consequence, we often do not realize that they are not telling the same story. There are indeed contradictions in the texts, but it is very important to move beyond “mere contradiction” - the issues with our gospels are far more extensive than that. Comparison against the historical record and assessing the gospels for trends of legend development are probably far more crucial. As with many non-believers, I left Christianity specifically because of the Bible, and because I considered and examined its content very seriously indeed.
Perhaps it is time for more Christians to take the Bible and our Easter stories seriously.
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References:
Dennis, Lane T., ed. The ESV Study Bible
Thomas, Robert L, and Stanley N. Gundry. A Harmony of the Gospels: New American Standard Edition
Ehrman, Bart D. Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible (And Why We Don't Know About Them). HarperOne, 2010.
Borg, Marcus J. Evolution of the Word: The New Testament in the Order the Books Were Written. HarperOne , 2012
Price, Robert M. (2012-02-07). The Christ-Myth Theory and Its Problems. American Atheist Press.
Selected lectures by Richard Carrier, YouTube.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crucifixion_of_Jesus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resurrection_of_Jesus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ_myth
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canonical_gospels
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authorship_of_the_Bible
http://atheism.about.com/od/gospelcontradictions/p/Crucifixion.htm
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/crossexamined/2012/04/contradictions-in-the-resurrection-account-2/
http://www.nairaland.com/857842/crucifixion-jesus-contradictions-gospel-accounts
http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/contra/passover_meal.html
http://atheism.about.com/od/gospelcontradictions/p/JudasBetrayal.htm