Inconsistencies Between The Gospels Proves Them Wrong?

Q. There are many inconsistencies between the different gospels.  How do you account for them?  Doesn’t that prove that they are inherently wrong?

Clarifying Terms

First, we have to clarify what is meant by the word “inconsistencies.”  If by this we mean that one Gospel might include details which another omits, then really this question is a non-issue.  Whenever you have multiple reports of a single event, there will always be variances in details, yet the essential facts of the matter (if the witnesses are authentic) remain the same.

In fact, the subtle distinctions within the Gospels amount to simply more evidence for their factuality.  If the Gospels were exactly the same, the claim would be leveled that the writers conspired to produce four uniform books, without independently checking their facts.  Any historian is immediately skeptical when reviewing separate accounts of an event which are exactly the same.

Realistically, all of us understand this.  If two students submit book reviews which address exactly the same sections and passages within the same book (with no variances in perspective or content) the professor will immediately be suspicious that they did not research the material themselves, but instead collaborated.

Consider the conclusion of Harvard Law professor Simon Greenleaf on the variances within the Gospels: “There is enough of a discrepancy to show that there could have been no previous concert among them; and at the same time such substantial agreement as to show that they were all independent narrators of the same great transaction.”*

Contradictions?

The real intent of this question is most likely to bring up alleged “contradictions” within the Gospels.  While the answer to that allegation would be better found in the scores of books and online resources written to address it, it should be noted that supposed “contradictions” in the Gospels (or the entire Bible for that matter) have been raised and refuted for about the last 1,500 years.  By this point, there are no new objections left to raise.  The moderators of this forum invite further questions pertaining to specific passages which might be considered contradictions.

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*Greenleaf, Simon. The Testimony of the Evangelists. (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1984).

This entry was posted on March 1, 2010 at March 1, 2010 and is filed under The Bible. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.