The Easter Challenge

Here's a challenge for Christians, especially those who believe the Bible to be the literal, inerrant word of a god, and even those who believe the five accounts of the resurrection of Jesus by Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and Paul are an account of an actual resurrection by Jesus.



First, a few words from Thomas Paine:

I lay it down as a position which cannot be controverted, first, that the agreement of all the parts of a story does not prove that story to be true, because the parts may agree and the whole may be false; secondly, that the disagreement of the parts of a story proves the whole cannot be true.

Thomas Paine. The Age Of Reason. 1776

The challenge is to take all five accounts of the events following the supposed crucifixion of Jesus and, starting on Easter morning and, omitting none of the details given in the five biblical accounts, construct a logical sequence of events.



I make no claim of authorship of this challenge which appears in Dan Barker's book 'Godless: How An Evangelical Preacher Became One Of America's Leading Atheists'.



The relevant chapters and/or verses of the Bible are:

1. Matthew 28


2. Mark 16


3. Luke 24


4. John 20-21


5. Acts 1:3-12


6. I Corinthians 15:3-8

If the Bible is giving an account of a real sequence of events as seen from the perspective of five different views, these events should line up in their sequence of events and in the important details, and should occupy the same approximate time-span.



It might help if, as you read the 165 verses, you attempt to answer these questions and to reconcile and harmonise the differing accounts:

Question	The Bible's Answers
1. What time did the women visit the tomb?	Matthew: As it began to dawn - 28:1 Mark: Very early in the morning... at the rising of the sun - 16:2 Luke: Very early in the morning - 24:1 John: When it was yet dark - 20:1
2. Who were the women?	Matthew: Mary Magdalene and the other Mary - 28:1 Mark: Mary Magdalene, the mother of James, and Salome - 16:1 Luke: Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James and other women - 24:10 John: Mary Magdalene - 20:1
3. What was their purpose?	Matthew: to see the tomb - 28:1 Mark: had already seen the tomb - 15:47, brought spices - 16:1 Luke: had already seen the tomb - 23:55, brought spices - 24:1 John: the body had already been spiced before they arrived - 19:39-40
4. Was the tomb open when they arrived?	Matthew: No - 28:2 Mark: Yes - 16:4 Luke: Yes - 24:2 John: Yes - 20:1
5. Who was at the tomb when they arrived?	Matthew: One angel - 28:2-7 Mark: One young man - 16:5 Luke: Two men - 24:4 John: Two angels - 20:12
6. Where were these messengers situated?	Matthew: Angel sitting on the stone - 28:2 Mark: Young man sitting inside, on the right - 16:5 Luke: Two men standing inside - 24:4 John: Two angels sitting on each end of the bed - 20:12
7. What did the messenger(s) say?	Matthew: Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead: and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you. - 28:5-7 Mark: Be not afrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you. - 16:6-7 Luke: Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. - 24:5-7 John: Woman, why weepest thou? - 20:13
8. Did the women tell what happened?	Matthew: Yes - 28:8 Mark: No. Neither said they any thing to any man. - 16:8 Luke: Yes. And they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven, and to all the rest. - 24:9, 22-24 John: Yes - 20:18
9. When Mary returned from the tomb, did she know Jesus had been resurrected?	Matthew: Yes - 28:7-8 Mark: Yes - 16:10-11 Luke: Yes - 24:6-9, 23 John: No - 20:2
10. When did Mary first see Jesus?	Matthew: Before she returned to the disciples - 28:9 Mark: Before she returned to the disciples - 16:9-10 John: After she returned to the disciples 20:2, 14
11. Could Jesus be touched after the resurrection?	Matthew: Yes - 28:9 John: No - 20:17 and Yes - 20:27
12. After the women, to whom did Jesus first appear?	Matthew: Eleven disciples - 28:16 Mark: Two disciples in the country, later to 11 - 16:12, 14 Luke: Two disciples in Emmaus, later to 11 - 24:13, 36 John: Ten disciples (Judas and Thomas were absent) - 20:19, 24 Paul: First to Cephas (Peter), then to the 12. (Twelve? Judas was dead) - I Corinthians 15:5
13. Where did Jesus first appear to the disciples?	Matthew: On a mountain in Galilee (60-100 miles away) - 28:16-17 Mark: To two in the country, to 11 as they sat at meat - 16:12,14 Luke: In Emmaus (about seven miles away) at evening, to the rest in a room in Jerusalem later that night. - 24:31, 36 John: In a room, at evening - 20:19
14. Did the disciples believe the two men?	Mark: No - 16:13 Luke: Yes - 24:34 (it is the group speaking here, not the two)
15. What happened at that first appearance?	Matthew: Disciples worshipped, some doubted, Go preach. - 28:17-20 Mark: Jesus reprimanded them, said, Go preach - 16:14-19 Luke: Christ incognito, vanishing act, materialized out of thin air, reprimand, supper - 24:13-51 John: Passed through solid door, disciples happy, Jesus blesses them, no reprimand - 21:19-23
16. Did Jesus stay on earth for more than a day?	Mark: No - 16:19 (Compare 16:14 with John 20:19 to show that this was all done on Sunday) Luke: No - 24:50-52 It all happened on Sunday John: Yes, at least eight days - 20:26, 21:1-22 Acts: Yes, at least 40 days - 1:3
17. Where did the ascension take place?	Matthew: No ascension. Book ends on mountain in Galilee Mark: In or near Jerusalem, after supper - 16:19 Luke: In Bethany, very close to Jerusalem, after supper - 24:50-51 John: No ascension Paul: No ascension Acts: Ascended from Mount of Olives - 1:9-12
Barker, Dan (2009-05-01). Godless: How an Evangelical Preacher Became One of America's Leading Atheists (p. 289). Perseus Books Group. Kindle Edition.

Personally, for a story so central to the Christian faith and upon which the entire religion rests, I'd be astounded if this exercise is not a regular feature of Bible study, Sunday School and church services so it shouldn't be a problem at all for true believers. So, you have all the material you need, and links to an on-line edition of the Bible to check that everything stated above is a true and accurate account of all the known accounts of the supposed resurrection of Jesus, just in case you don't have your own Bible.



All you have to do is produce a logical sequence of events from Easter morning to Jesus' claimed ascension bodily into Heaven which includes all the facts stated and following the sequence of events given in the Bible.



Otherwise, please explain why Thomas Paine was wrong to conclude that the whole story cannot be true and why the myth of Jesus should not be consigned to the dustbin of history along with the myth of the goddess Eastre (aka Ishtar aka Astarte) after whom the pagan festival of Easter was named before it was plagiarised by Christianity for the Jesus myth.

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