The New Testament is not a reliable historical document

I. You are a most formidable partner in debates and would like to extend a thank you. I am arguing that the New Testament is an unreliable historical document; not that it is false. There is a world of difference. II. Conceded arguments My partner never attacked the fact that it is highly unlikely for a census of the magnitude that occurs in Luke 2 to have occured. Please extend. III. The GospelsA. The Nativity i) GenealogiesMy partner uses the argument that Matthew is using Joseph's genealogies whereas Luke is using Mary's. However, there are serious problems with this assertion. Problem 1: Both gospels clearly state they are tracing Mary's genealogy from Joseph. [1] Problem 2: This theory is improbable because, as D. A Carson points out, "The theory with least difficulties is that Matthew gives the descendants of David down the royal line (i. e. who was the heir to the throne at any given time), but Luke gives the particuar line to which Joseph belonged. " [2] Problem 3: The Messiah MUST come from David THROUGH Solomon. According to prophecy, the Messiah will be a descendant of David through Solomon [3]; hence, it makes no sense for Luke to bring Jesus through Nathan. Problem 4: Agreed on people. Matthew and Luke have some interesting points of conversion. As noted in round 1, there are some points in which Matthew and Luke agree. Those particuar people are: David, Salathiel, Zorobabel, and Joseph. [4] Although both skip genealogies, both have those four people in common; which is quite interesting. Problem 5: Jechoniah. Matthew specifically lists Jechoniah as part of David's anscestry [4] which is quite interesting considering that he was cursed. [5] Likewise, Luke lists two of Jechoniah's sons, although not directly mentioned to have come from Jechoniah. Either way, Jesus is cursed to have Jechoniah as his anscestor. To resolve this issue, the Ryrie study Bible says: "A curse was pronounced on Coniah (the same as jechoniah), so that none of his descendants would prosper sitting on the throne of David. Had our Lord been the natural son of Joseph, He could not be successful on the throne of David because of this curse. But since he came through Mary's lineage, He was not affected by this curse. " [7] The only problem with this, is Mary (assuming Luke is her genealogy) comes from Nathan instead of Solomon. Moreover, only the father can bring forth a legal lineage. ii) The date of Jesus' birth. Remember, we are debating the historical reliability of the New Testament, not if the census really happened. Your argument from Edwin Yamauchi means nothing in this debate. Likewise, my partner concedes that there is no extra-biblical evidence for this event. I have shown how highly unlikely this event was. Moreover, we know for a fact that if Jesus was born during the reign of King Herod, it was before 6 BCE. However, if it was during the Roman census, it was 6 CE. [8] There is no way around it. iii) Slaughter of the infants. My argument has not been attacked at all. I have shown that the "prophecy" that was used to support the slaughter of the innocent is out of context; likewise, so is Hosea 11:1. We can easily prove Jesus CANNOT be the subject of Hosea 11 for two reasons: (1) It directly gives consensus that ISRAEL is the subject [9] and (2) It talks about the sins of Israel, [10] which contradict the doctrine of sinless Jesus. To put it all together: When the New Testament quotes the Old Testament, be VERY skeptical! IV. Forgeries Nothing here to say. My partner makes the ad hominem fallacy on Bart Ehrman rather than attacking the argument itself. V. Recap 1) The nativity scene is hopelessly contradictory.2) The timeline of the events surrounding Matthew and Luke's nativity are impossible to reconcile.3) The New Testament misuses the Old Testament4) There are forgeries within the New Testament. Thank you. References1. Matthew 1:16; Luke 3:23 2. Carson, D. A. (1994). New Bible commentary : 21st century edition (4th ed. ) (Lk 3:23–38). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill. , USA: Inter-Varsity Press. Quoted from . http://tinyurl.com...;3. 2 Samuel 7:12-16; see also 1 Chronicles 17:11-14, 2 Chronicles 7:17-18. For more, please see . http://tinyurl.com...4. . http://tinyurl.com...;(page 6) 5. Matthew 1:11-12 6. See Jeremiah 22:2 where Jechoniah was cursed so that none of his descendants would prosper on the throne. 7. Ryrie, Charles Caldwell. Ryrie Study Bible: New American Standard Bible, 1995 Update. Chicago: Moody, 1995. Page 1339-340. Print. 8. . http://rejectionofpascalswager.net...;9. Hosea 11:110. Hosea 11:2-3