As a historical document, the New Testament is unreliable

Shalom, I wish to thank the readers for taking time to read this debate. I would also like to thank ReformedArsenal for graciously accepting this debate. I will be arguing that the New Testament is an unreliable historical document and hope to explain why in this case. ==My Case== I. What makes a document reliable? This is a fundamental key to the debate. The burden of proof needs to be established that the New Testament is a reliable or unreliable historical document. However, this first begs the question what makes a document reliable? A. The Historical Method Historians, like scientists, have a method to research and documents. We call this the historical method. I will analyze the method and put the New Testament in light of this method.1 B. Observations 1) The gospels are anonymous: the earliest record of the traditional titles come from the early church fathers long after the books were written. (NIV study Bible: Introduction). 2) The gospels were written past the year 70 CE (Not important for right now). II. Passion Week A. The Triumphal Entry 1) Mark’s Geographical Mistake Mark records the triumphal entry in Mark 11:1-11. In this short passage, Mark shows his ignorance of geography. Mark 11:1-11, “As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, saying to them, ‘Go into the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt there which no man has ever ridden . Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, Mark 11:1-11 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt there which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?' tell him, 'The lord needs it and will send it back shortly.'" They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, some people standing there asked, "What are you doing, untying the colt?" They answered that Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had out in the fields. Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming of the kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!" Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late he went out to Bethany with the twelve. The very first verse shows Mark’s ignorance of geography. In his previous passage, Mark had Jesus in Jericho. The sentence above shows that Jesus and his group were traveling from Jericho to Jerusalem via Bethphage and then Bethany. However,, seeing this map below shows that this is impossible. Biblical theologian D.E. Nineham states: “The geographical detail make an impression of awkwardness, especially at Bethphage and Bethany are given in r everse order to that in which travelers from Jericho would reach them..and we must therefore assume that St. Mark did not know the relative positions of the two villages on the road to Jericho.”2 This error was noticed by Matthew, who copied Mark, who had changed the passage to remove this error: “When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of olives…”3 We must therefore conclude that Matthew noticed Marks error and attempted to correct the mistake. 2) The Nature of Pilate According to the gospels, Pilate is the governor that is ruling at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion and condemnation—in fact, he even is the one who condemns Jesus. A quick read of all four gospels show a man who is weak and eventually gives in to the Jewish orders to have Jesus killed.4 The only problem is, this story is highly implausible due to the nature of Pilate. In Phio’s Legatione ad Caium, Philo notes: “He [Pilate] feared lest they might in reality go on an embassy to the emperor, and might impeach him with respect to the other particulars of his government, in respect to his corruption, his acts of insolence, and his rapine and his habit of insulting people, and his continual murder of persons untried and uncondemned, and his never ending and gratuitous and most grievous inhumanity.”5 Josephus also records how vicious Pilate really was. This begs the question as to how plausible this event really is. I want my partner to answer this question honestly: If the New Testament were the only sources on Pilate, what impression would you receive? I certainly would not receive the impression that Phios and Josephus give. III. Anachronism An anachronism is defined as an inconsistency in some chronological arrangement, especially a chronological misplacing of persons, evens, objects, or customs in regards to each other.7 A) Right to carry out death sentences John 18:31, “Then said Pilate unto them [the Jews], ‘Take ye him, and judge him according to your law. The Jews therefore said unto him, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death.” This is obviously an anachronism as the Jewish authorities did in fact have the right to sentence a person to death for a religious crime. Proof 1: Archeology There is archeological evidence to support the claim that the Jews did have the right to put a person to death for a religious crime. For example, archeologists discovered incised stones near the temple of Jerusalem which warns of the death penalty for any Gentile who trespass the temple’s Jewish only area. Proof 2: The Bible In Acts chapter 6, it is clear that Stephen was killed by the Jewish authorities for blasphemy and other “crimes” that are recorded in Acts. If historical evidence supports this claim, it logically follows that the Jewish people had the right to carry out capital punishment.8 Thank you, I look forward to your arguments. Notes and References 1. I do not have the time nor space to get in detail about this method. For a better understanding, go to http://staff.kings.edu... and http://departments.kings.edu... 2. Nineham, Saint Mark: p294-295 quoted on http://www.rejectionofpascalswager.net... 3. Matthew 21:1 4. Due to limited space, I will not write out all passages. Go to Mark 15:1-15, Matthew 27:24-25, and Luke 23:13-16 for reference of this event. 5. Maccoby, Revolution in Judea: p57-58 quoted on http://www.rejectionofpascalswager.net... 6. The Rambam’s 13 principles of faith. http://www.ou.org... (point 13) 7. http://en.wikipedia.org... 8. Tobin, Paul. “Rejection of Pascal’s Wager.” http://www.rejectionofpascalswager.net...