Articles
Is It A Contradiction?
Years ago I was talking to some fellows who asserted the Bible is full of errors. When I asked them for an example, they cited the four accounts of the inscription on Jesus cross. John’s account says it read, “Jesus the Nazarene, the King of the Jews” (John 19:19). The others give slight variations, yet no two are identical (Matthew 27:37; Mark 15:26; Luke 23:38). Is that a contradiction?
Have you ever seen a sign that said, “Warning: shoplifters will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law”? If you asked multiple people who saw that sign what it said, you might get several technically different answers. One might cite it word-for-word, others might abbreviate it to varying extents, another might just paraphrase it. Would you conclude that none had actually seen the sign or knew what it said? Of course not. Then why treat the gospel writers that way?
The gospel writers are too often in a no-win situation with critics: if they say exactly the same thing they are accused of collusion, and if they differ they are charged with contradiction.
