Why I don't buy the crucifiction,resurrection story?.
1-Gross contradictions in both the crucifiction,resurrection narratives.
eg:
At what time in the morning did the women visit the tomb?- At the rising of the sun (Mark 16:2) vs. when it was yet dark (John 20:1)
Was the tomb opened or closed when they arrived? - Open (Luke 24:2) vs. closed (Matt 28:1-2)
Did Mary Magdalene know Jesus when he first appeared to her?-Yes, she did (Matt. 28:9) vs. no she did not (John 20:14).
2-the part of the the crucifiction,resurrection narratives we find ,false NT prophecies ,by NT writers.
as in Matthew 12:40,1 Corinthians 15:3-4
besides,balant attempts to distort OT passages in order to convinse the reader, that the the crucifiction,resurrection story was propheciesed in the OT
eg:
Psalms 22:16,
Zechariah 12:10,
and Zechariah 13:6
Psalms 69:21,
Psalms 22:18
Psalms 34:20,
Isaiah 53
3-The Serious forgery,in the resurrection narratives in Mark 16:9
if the gospel of Mark had originally ended at 16:8, then it was afterwards tampered with to add another ending. If this happened, then reasonable people would have to wonder how much tampering was done with other biblical books after they were written. In a word, the credibility of the Bible and the crucifiction ,resurrection narratives ,would be seriously undermined if it could be established that the author of Mark had originally ended this book at 16:8.
Problems with Paul:
4- The claim of the bodily resurrection of Jesus against statements in 1 Corinthians 15 that clearly indicate Paul was speaking about spiritual rather than physical resurrection.
5- Paul, report, "more than five hundred people(note,500 not 499 or 501) who, he says, witnessed a single appearance of the resurrected jesus ,(1 Cor. 15:6). , He named none of them.
5- the imaginary third day resurrection prophecy,which he claimed to exist:
1 Corinthians 15:3-5, we read:
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
6- 1 Cor. 2:8 Paul said: "Which none of the princes of this world know; for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory."
What princes killed Jesus?
7- A part from the NT,no historical authentic support,based on eyewitnesses for the crucifiction.
with such samples of signs of deception,it would be unwise to buy the crucifiction,resurrection story.
#1 This is only a contradiction if you don't have the ability to think.
Matthew 28:1: 'At dawn...went to look at the tomb'.
Mark 16:2 'Very early...just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb'.
Luke 24:1: 'Very early in the morning...went to the tomb'.
John 20:1: 'Early...while it was still dark...went to the tomb'.
All four accounts describe a journey to the tomb. Matthew described it as "dawn". Mark describes it was "very early...just after sunrise. Luke describes it as "very early in the morning". John describes it as "early....while it was still dark." It isn't even necessary to understand we are talking about two groups of women, as one must assume a walk across Jerusalem might take a little while.
#2 Did Mary Magdalene recognize Christ? Matthew and John describe this event from two different perspectives. Matthew begins his description with the two Marys on their way to the Lord's tomb, already aware that Christ had risen from the dead. What Matthew describes takes place
after the appearance described by John when Mary Magdalene had gone to the tomb and mistaken Christ for a gardner. When discussing the Gospel accounts, it is important to understand that they wrote these narratives independently of each other, and from a different chronological standpoint.
#3 By your "false" prophecies I assume you are referring to the "three days and three nights" passage. I believe Grace Seeker has responded appropriately to that question and there is no reason to re-examine that here.
As for "distorting" OT passages...To Christians the passages speak for themselves, there is no reason to distort anything. Do I expect Jews or Muslims to accept these prophecies as genuine? No I don't. That would mean you chose the wrong faith. However, I'm sure most Christians would point to Isaiah 53:3-7 as the clearest and longest prophecy about Jesus. No "distortion" needed.
#4 As to Mark, it is true that the ancient manuscripts end at 16:18. That is why most Bibles these days add a footnote to that effect. As to why the longer ending was added, there are various proposed explanations. Some believe Mark died before it was finished, others state that he meant to end it that way, etc. What it really boils down to is what was added past 16:18...and that was nothing. Everything mentioned in the longer edition of Mark already existed in the other Gospels. The only new thing was a passage about snake venom. So it hardly calls into question the integrity of the Gospel accounts.
#5 Paul and the Resurrection. I'm not quite sure how you come to the conclusion that the passage in question "clearly" points to a spiritual rather than a physical resurrection. Paul was obviously a believer in the Gospel accounts of Christ's physical as well as spiritual resurrection. The passage you are referring to, which is quite long, is referring to the spiritual resurrection of the soul as was promised by Christ's victory over death. 1 Cor. 15:14 says, "and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain."
The next Paul issue is rather amusing, since you claim in the first question that Paul is speaking about a spiritual resurrection, then you ask in the second part about Paul's claim of 500 witnesses to Christ's Resurrection. Is Paul confused or are you? In any event, why should it be strange that Paul refers to 500 as opposed to 501? Usually people round numbers up or down. As for their names, don't you think that would become quite tedious? Especially since the names of all those people were very likely already forgotten. The importance is that many people were blessed by witnessing Christ after His Resurrection, not whether those who saw it were named Dave or Toby.
#6 What princes killed Jesus? You must be kidding me right? You can't seriously be confused by this can you?
#7 In about 112 A.D. the Roman governor of what is now northern Turkey wrote to Emperor Trajan regarding the Christians in his district:
"I was never present at any trial of Christians; therefore I do not know what are the customary penalties or investigations, and what limits are observed. . . whether those who recant should be pardoned. . . whether the name itself, even if innocent of crime, should be punished, or only the crimes attaching to that name. . . . Meanwhile, this is the course that I have adopted in the case of those brought before me as Christians. I ask them if they are Christians. If they admit it I repeat the question a second and a third time, threatening capital punishment; if they persist I sentence them to death. For I do not doubt that, whatever kind of crime it may be to which they have confessed, their pertinacity and inflexible obstinacy should certainly be punished. . . the very fact of my dealing with the question led to a wider spread of the charge, and a great variety of cases were brought before me. An anonymous pamphlet was issued, containing many names. All who denied that they were or had been Christians I considered should be discharged, because they called upon the gods at my dictation and did reverence. . .and especially because they cursed Christ, a thing which it is said, genuine Christians cannot be induced to do."
I added that bit as an historical account of Christians and their feelings about Christ from the perspective of a pagan ruler.
It is a fairly well-established fact that Jesus Christ was publicly executed in Judea in the 1st Century A.D., under Pontius Pilate, by means of crucifixion, at the behest of the Jewish Sanhedrin. The non-Christian historical accounts of Flavius Josephus, Cornelius Tacitus, Lucian of Samosata, Maimonides and even the Jewish Sanhedrin corroborate the early Christian eyewitness accounts of these important historical aspects of the death of Jesus Christ.
Lucian of Samosata: The Christians. . . worship a man to this day - the distinguished personage who introduced this new cult, and was crucified on that account. . . . You see, these misguided creatures start with the general conviction that they are immortal for all time, which explains their contempt for death and self devotion . . . their lawgiver [taught] they are all brothers, from the moment that they are converted, and deny the gods of Greece, and worship the crucified sage, and live after his laws. All this they take on faith . . . - The Passing Peregrinus
I could paste more, but I don't think it is necessary. There are historical accounts of Christ's crucifixion.
