How Can the Gospels Be Reliable If They Are Interdependent

The interdependence of the Gospels does not inherently make them unreliable; rather, it is often seen by scholars as evidence of the authors' diligent use and respect for available sources, including earlier written account, oral tradition, and eyewitness testimony. Far from being an attempt to deceive, this practice aligns with the historical methods of ancient biographers.

 
Key arguments for the Gospels' reliability despite interdependence include:

Standard Ancient Practice: 

In the ancient world, it was standard practice for authors and biographers to utilize existing written and oral sources without modern-style footnotes or quotation marks. The Gospel writers were following the literary conventions of their time. Oral traditions were a primary means of transmitting stories and information for centuries before and alongside written texts. Authors like Herodotus and Thucydides explicitly mention traveling and interviewing local sources or eyewitnesses, ala Luke.

Focus on Information: 

The overlap demonstrates that the authors were interested in reporting information, and they believed their sources (like Mark and the hypothetical "Q" source, which many scholars believe contained Jesus' sayings) were information-based and trustworthy.

Independent Access and Unique Material: 

If Matthew and Luke used Mark and other common sources, each Gospel also contains significant material unique to its author, suggesting they had access to independent sources and eyewitness accounts. 

• Matthew - unique stories:

1. The visit of the Magi (the "Three Wise Men").
2. The flight into Egypt.
3. The Parable of the Pearl of Great Price and the Parable of the Talents.
4. The account of the temple tax being paid with a fish's mouth coin.

• Mark - unique stories:

1. the mention of a young man who flees naked when Jesus is arrested (Mark 14:51-52)

• Luke - unique stories:

1. The Parable of the Good Samaritan.
2. The Parable of the Prodigal Son.
3. The birth narrative from Mary's perspective, including the Magnificat and the visit of the shepherds.
4. Stories like the healing of the ten lepers. 
5. The encounter with the tax collector, Zacchaeus.

• John - unique stories:

1. The prologue about the Word (Logos) who became flesh.
2. Several extended discourses and private conversations of Jesus, rather than short parables.
3. Specific miracles (often called "signs") such as turning water into wine and the raising of Lazarus.

Eyewitness Vetting: 

The Gospels were written early enough (within living memory of the events) that eyewitnesses were still alive and could have vetted or disputed the accounts. See The Early Dating of the New Testament.

Complementary Perspectives: 

The different Gospels were written for different audiences with specific emphases. Their minor differences in circumstantial details are seen as complementary perspectives that provide a richer, more complete picture of Jesus' life, similar to how multiple biographies of one person today would each highlight different aspects.

• Matthew: Written for a Jewish audience, it emphasizes Jesus as the promised Messiah, connecting his life and teachings to Old Testament prophecies.
• Mark: Primarily for a Gentile (Roman) audience, it presents a fast-paced account that highlights Jesus's powerful deeds and action, portraying him as a servant.
• Luke: Written for a Greek-speaking audience, it focuses on Jesus's perfect humanity and compassion for all people, including the weak, suffering, and outcasts.
• John: Written for a more universal audience, it emphasizes Jesus's divine nature and eternal existence, using "signs" to prove he is the Son of God.

Undesigned Coincidences: 

Some scholars point to "undesigned coincidences" (subtle details in one Gospel that unexpectedly fit with a detail in another without seeming planned) as evidence that the accounts are rooted in real events and not a coordinated fabrication. See Undesigned Coincidences Between Gospels

In essence, the shared material points to a common core of information and tradition, while the differences indicate independent authorial control and additional, distinct sources

Undesigned Coincidences Between Gospels

Undesigned coincidences are subtle, unintentional points of connection between two or more Gospel accounts that suggest an underlying historical reality, rather than a fabricated or colluded story.

Undesigned coincidences are like when a glove fits a hand perfectly, except the person making the glove didn’t mean to make it for the person it fits. Two independent sources subtly help explain details from one another seamlessly.

It’s the sort of evidence you would expect to see when two sources are based on eyewitness accounts. One account of an event omits a piece of information which is filled in by another account in a seemingly unintentional fashion.

An Example of an Undesigned Coincidence 

Sarah says she saw Bob walking to the shopping center in a suit on a Saturday morning. Taylor, who works in the shopping center, tells you she interviewed Bob for a sales job on Saturday morning.

The distinct details each witness gives subtly help explain why Bob was wearing a suit and why he went to the shopping center. The more instances of these coincidences we have, the less likely intentional fabrication becomes.

Here are several examples of undesigned coincidences in the Bible:

MENDING NETS

James and John were mending their nets (Matt. 4:21) when Jesus called them to follow him. Luke explains Jesus’ miracle catch of fish was breaking their nets (Luke 5:6) before they left everything to follow Jesus (v. 10–11), yet Matthew does not mention this miraculous catch.

The Healing at Peter's House

Matthew 8:16 states that in the evening, people brought the sick and demon-possessed to Jesus to be healed.

Mark 1:21 and 29-32 clarifies why they waited until the evening: the event happened on the Sabbath, and the people would have waited until the Sabbath ended at sundown to bring their sick, as public healing was controversial on the Sabbath. Mark's casual mention of the Sabbath is not presented as an explanation for Matthew's timing, but it fits perfectly.

The Feeding of the 5,000

Mark 6:39 mentions that Jesus commanded the people to sit down on the "green grass", an seemingly insignificant detail.

John 6:4 casually notes, in a different context within his narrative, that the miracle occurred around the time of the Passover festival. Passover happens in the spring (March/April), the only time of year when the grass in that region would be green after the winter rains.

John 6:5 records Jesus asking Philip where they should buy bread. One might wonder why Philip was singled out.

Luke 9:10 (in the context of the same event) and John 1:44 (in an unrelated passage) provide the answer: the miracle took place near the town of Bethsaida, which was Philip's hometown. Jesus naturally turned to the disciple with local knowledge.

Herod Antipas' Information Source

Matthew 14:1-2 recounts Herod the tetrarch hearing about Jesus and telling his servants that Jesus must be John the Baptist raised from the dead, showing his anxiety. It raises the question of how Matthew would know what was said in Herod's private conversation.

Luke 8:3 provides a potential explanation in an unrelated list of Jesus' female followers: one of them was Joanna, "the wife of Chuza, Herod's household manager". Joanna could have been an internal source of information from Herod's palace.

The Dispute Among the Disciples and the Foot-Washing

Luke 22:24 describes a dispute among the disciples during the Last Supper about which of them was the greatest. Jesus uses this occasion to teach a lesson on humility and servant leadership.

John 13:4-15 describes the seemingly spontaneous event of Jesus washing his disciples' feet during the meal. John doesn't mention the dispute, and Luke doesn't mention the foot-washing, but together, the foot-washing serves as a powerful, practical demonstration of the exact lesson Jesus was teaching in response to their argument in Luke.

Mary and Martha

In Luke 10:38-42, we get the famous story of Jesus visiting Mary and Martha of Bethany. Martha, the practical sister, is trying to get the house in tip-top shape for Jesus and becomes annoyed at her sister Mary, the emotional sister, who is just sitting at Jesus’ feet. 

Over in John’s Gospel (ch. 11), Jesus comes to see the same sisters because their brother Lazarus has died. John says that Martha immediately ran to Jesus, while Mary “remained seated in the house” (John 11:20). Martha welcomes Jesus, while Mary sits. Martha tells Mary that Jesus is calling to her, and only then does she rise. 

But instead of going to weep at the tomb, as the others expect (11:31), she “fell at [Jesus’] feet” (11:32) in a striking parallel to Luke. Mary is recorded as weeping, while Martha is not. Once they get to the tomb, Jesus asks for the stone to be rolled away, and the ever-practical Martha points out that “by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days” (11:39). 

In short, these two sisters show consistent character traits in two completely different stories that do not refer to each other. The most simple explanation for this is that both authors are writing about real women.

The Sons of Thunder

Mark 3:17 tells us that James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were nicknamed “the sons of thunder” by Jesus. Mark never explains why Jesus would give these two such a memorable sobriquet. However, Luke’s gospel tells the story of Jesus being rejected by the Samaritans because he is a Jew on his way to Jerusalem. Luke continues: “And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But [Jesus] turned and rebuked them” (9:54-55). 

So just as Luke 9 helps illuminate characters from John’s Gospel, so does Luke 10 help explain a reference in Mark’s Gospel. It’s highly unlikely that Luke would have invented two different stories to explain the motivations of characters in two other gospels, especially since John was almost certainly written later. The simpler explanation is, once again, that both are talking about real incidents with real people.

The Transfiguration

Upon coming down from the mount of transfiguration, Luke’s gospel tells us that the disciples “kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen” (Luke 9:36). But why? Wouldn’t you tell somebody if the rabbi you were following starting glowing white and had a conversation with Moses and Elijah? Luke provides no answers. 

Thankfully, Mark does in his account of the transfiguration: “And as they were coming down the mountain, [Jesus] charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead” (Mark 9:9). 

So the reason they were silent is that Jesus had commanded them to be (something Mark never fails to mention). Maybe Luke knew about Mark’s story and didn’t feel a need to repeat this tidbit. Perhaps, but that only goes to show that he was not just copying Mark’s account. He is providing independent verification of the same event.

Pilate's interrogation 

In Luke 23:1-4, Pilate asks Jesus whether he is a king, and Jesus gives an answer that is certainly not a denial and that many scholars take for a terse, idiomatic acknowledgement. Then Pilate declares that he finds him innocent. How can this be explained? Answer: Luke is giving only a summary of the interview. In a fuller account, we discover that Jesus told Pilate that His kingdom was not of this world. (John 18:36)

Also, in John 18:32, Pilate asks Jesus whether he is a king. What prompted that question? (Nothing earlier in the chapter indicates that this was a charge leveled against Jesus.) Answer: Though John does not record it, the Jews did make that very charge against Jesus. (Luke 23:1-2)

An Accusation at the Cross

Mark records that people who saw Jesus on the cross derided him by saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!” (Mark 15:29-30). Yet nowhere in Mark (or Matthew or Luke, for that matter) does Jesus make this claim. It seems to come out of nowhere. 

But in John, in a different context entirely, we see the Jews ask Jesus for a sign, and he replies, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). John goes on to explain that Jesus was speaking metaphorically about his body being resurrected, but the metaphor was obviously lost on the crowd. Again, John clearly did not put this story in his gospel to explain the crowd’s cries in the synoptic gospels, but it unintentionally does so.

Conclusion

These subtle interconnections, spanning different narratives and contexts, are viewed as powerful evidence that the Gospel writers were relaying accounts of real events they had witnessed or heard from reliable sources, rather than coordinating a fictional story.

It's highly unlikely that later fabricators from all different parts of the world, decades after Jesus, tie each other’s loose ends up so neatly in such a subtle fashion if the recorded narratives were completely disconnected from the historical events? It’s far more likely the Gospel authors were referring to eyewitness history, and not making up history. 

 

Exactly Identical Verbatim verses in the synoptic Gospels

The truth is that the verbatim agreement between Matthew, Mark, and Luke isn’t much. I remember years ago reading the synoptics side by side and noting there was some agreement - but not enough that would make me say, “they’re copying one another”. 

 If one has ever read a parallel Bible, this is plainly obvious. One goes, page after page, without seeing any verbatim matches. Read through a portion of text that is found in three or all four of the Gospels - start here on page 22 - you can flip the page to read it in landscape for easier reading - and carefully compare exactly what each writer is saying. 

You will see the same story, but in a slightly different sequence, with slightly different statements where the author either added or omitted certain details. These details do not change the story, but they do tell us that we are reading four separate, independent accounts by four separate writers who all saw the same events or talked to those who did. Though there may be some evidence of a Q-like source of Jesus’s sayings. That would explain the .062% of the texts verbatim matches in the synoptics. If the writers had copied from each other, it is likely that we would find many more identical verses in all the synoptic Gospels.

In any case, I looked for a list of an exact verbatim agreement between the synoptic Gospels. It is thin gruel. 17 verses, 306 words. There are approx 49,131 Greek words in the first 3 Gospels. So the verbatim words are <.062% of the texts. Of these 17 verses 11 are quotes by Jesus. 3 are OT quotes. 3 are narratives; those 3 verse total 34 words. That comes to .007% of the texts. Or put another way, 2.7% of Mark's Gospel is verbatim in Luke/Matthew - 306 words out of 11,304. 

Either way, that is not a very compelling case for a literary only dependence.

Here is the list:

	Exact Verbatim Matches in the Synoptics
	Matthew	Mark	Luke	Words	Note
1	3:3b	1:3	3:4b	18	OT quote
2	15:9	7:7	---	12	OT quote
3	15:32b	8:2	---	22	Jesus quote
4	---	10:15	18:17	15	Jesus quote
5	---	11:15b	19:45	11	Narrative
6	22:44	12:36b	---	19	OT quote
7	10:22a	13:13a	21:17	10	Jesus quote
8	24:16	13:14b	21:21a	9	Jesus quote
9	24:19	13:17	---	17	Jesus quote
10	26:30	14;26	---	12	Narrative
11	7:7	---	11:9a	22	Jesus quote
12	7:8	---	11:10	22	Jesus quote
13	8:9	---	7:7	38	Jesus quote
14	12:30	---	11:23	16	Jesus quote
15	12:41	---	11:32	32	Jesus quote
16	13:42b	---	13:28a	20	Jesus quote
17	27:58a	---	23:52	11	Narrative
	Matches between Gospels			Content of the matches
	Mark Luke	2		OT quote	3
	Mark Matt	5		Jesus quote	11
	Matt Luke	7		Narrative	3
	Triple	3

Source of this NET Bible - Synopsis of the Four Gospels. Page 289 - same link as above.

There seems to be some equivocation going on when critics discus this data. Critics will say the verbatim verses as evidence for copying, but then go on to cite "nearly" verbatim verses/words. While I agree that a good argument could be made for a written source is the best explanation for verbatim verses/words, the same is not the case for "nearly" verbatim.

Best explanation for the verbatim verses/words

There likely was a Q source - a hypothetical, lost written document of Jesus's sayings. that had the words of Jesus. Not only do we have the testimony of Luke where he mentions where he obtained his info for his Gospel [see LK 1:1], but there is the likelihood that the earliest Christians would have recorded words/sayings of Jesus. And it’s likely that Matthew, Luke, and maybe even Mark used Q. 

Best explanation for the "near" verbatim verses/words

All the near verbatim matches are likely due to 

1) an oral tradition of Mark’s Gospel by Greek-speaking believers. 

2) Personal memories - Matthew certainly could have recalled the events, since he was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus and thus an eyewitness to Jesus' life and ministry.

3) Witness accounts - The "we" sections in the book of Acts is evidence that Luke was a companion of Paul and traveled to places like Jerusalem and Rome, where he had the opportunity to interview people like Peter, Mary, Joanna, and others who were eyewitnesses. Plus, Luke said he has "investigated everything carefully" to write an orderly account.

When we examine the four gospels, we see that very often each of the writers have slightly different recollections of the same event. The accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke (and John) are not perfectly matched, for good reason. Genuine independent accounts, that are written by eyewitnesses or those who talked to eyewitnesses, seldom have precisely the same details.

There are variations in the ordering of events and the details, which would be unlikely if one gospel writer had simply copied the other. These minor differences in their accounts, are evidence of four independent accounts, who used some of the same sources.

Is the oral tradition of Mark’s Gospel likely?

1) We know that there were 3 oral communities - the Romans, the Greeks, and the Jewish.

2) Mark was a disciple and companion to Apostles like Peter and Paul, thus his words would carry some weight. 

3) Greek-speaking Christian would most likely want to share Mark's Gospel, as this ties in their oral culture and their Christian faith.

Oral traditions were preserved with a high degree of care and accuracy within their cultural context. And remember, there was only 5-10 years between Mark's Gospel and Luke and Matthew's.

Conclusion

All four Gospel authors wrote independent accounts. The differences are explained by a simple investigation which reveals that in genuine testimony which is truthful, multiple witnesses write a majority of the same accounts, with additions and omissions separate from the others. These differences are in accordance with individual memory and independent priority - writing for different audiences. The existence of these differences in recollection are precisely what experts look for in order to confirm truthful accounts.

By simply reading the text of all four Gospels, no "synoptic" theory is necessary. There are verbatim verses words that are easily explained by a Q source. A Q source is likely, since there would be a desire among early Christians to preserve the words of Jesus. 

The similarities in the Gospels are when the writers are recounting the actual words of Jesus, or an event that a particular Gospel writer thought was significant. Other writers either added their own details, or omitted the details other writers included because they were either not as important as other details for their audience.

If the writers had copied from each other, it is likely that we would find many, many more verbatim verses/words in all the Gospels. 

The discrepancies in the Resurrection accounts

The critics claim discrepancies in the Resurrection accounts and this should be cause for one to doubt the truthfulness of the Resurrection.

The argument usually goes something like this post found on Reddit — I'll post it here in full below in blue: 

These are not minor discrepancies, such as “which color was Jesus' cloak?”, “were there angels or shining men at the tomb?” or “did Jesus ride on a colt or a donkey?”, these are factual discrepancies, in sense that one source says X and the other says Y, completely different information.

Tomb Story:

1. When did the women go to the tomb?

Synoptics: Early in the morning.
John: Night time.

2. Which women went to the tomb?

Matthew: Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, and Joanna.

Mark: Mary Magdalene, Mary of James, and Salome. [1]
Luke: Mary Magdalene, Mary mother of James, and Joanna.
John: Mary Magdalene and an unknown person. [2]

3. Did the disciples believe the women?

Matthew: Yes.
Mark: No. [3]
Luke: No, except Peter.

4. Which disciples went to the tomb?

Luke: Peter.
John: Peter and Beloved disciple.

Sequence of Appearances:

5. To whom did Jesus appear first?

Matthew: The women as they fled.
Mark: Mary Magdalene while inside the tomb.
Luke: Two disciples (one of them Cleopas). [4]
John: Mary Magdalene while inside the tomb.
Paul: Peter.

6. Afterward, Jesus appeared to?

Matthew, Luke, and Paul: The Twelve. [5]
Mark: Two disciples (one of them Cleopas).
John: The Ten (Thomas wasn't there)

7. How many of the Twelve were present when Jesus appeared?

Synoptics and Paul: All of them. (11) [5]
John: The Ten (Thomas wasn't there).

Notes

1. the original Gospel of Mark says that multiple women went to the Tomb, but the Longer ending mentions Mary Magdalene alone.

2. At first seams like Mary Magdalene went alone to the Tomb, but in John 20:2 she says:

So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and “we” don’t know where they have put him!”

3. The original Gospel of Mark ends with the women silent, because they where afraid, but I considered the Longer ending in this case, where the Disciples didn't believe Mary Magdalene

4. When the Two disciples went to say to the Twelve that they've seen Jesus, Peter already had a vision of Jesus, Mark says that after Mary Magdalene Jesus appeared directly to the Two disciples, but Paul says that Peter got the vision first, I preferred to give priority to Mark, but that's another conflicting information.

They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.”

5. The Twelve and “All of them” (as Paul says) in this case is the Eleven, cause Judas Iscariot was already dead, the Twelve described by Paul means the name of the group, it's like saying: “I met the Justice league” but Batman wasn't present. 

End of quoted post

Review and Response

What is a discrepancy? According to Webster's it is the quality or state of disagreeing or being at variance or an instance of disagreeing or being at variance.

This is closely related to the term “contrary”: either of two terms (such as good and evil) that cannot both be affirmed of the same subject; though both may be false they cannot both be true; incapable of  harmonious coexistence or are logically incongruent

Since the phrase “completely different information” is used, I assume that what is meant is these accounts are incapable of association of harmonious coexistence. 

So are these 7 discrepancies/contradictions incapable of harmonious coexistence or are logically incongruent?

1. When did the women go to the tomb?

Read the passages

Matthew 28:1-10
Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave. And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.” And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and take word to My brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me.”

Mark 16:1-10
When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might come and anoint Him. Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. They were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” Looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, although it was extremely large. Entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed. And he said to them, “Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He told you.’” They went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. Now after He had risen early on the first day of the week, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons. She went and reported to those who had been with Him, while they were mourning and weeping.

Luke 24:1-10
But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing; and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here, but He has [a]risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.” And they remembered His words, and returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. Now they were Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles.

John 20:1-3
Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw the stone already taken away from the tomb. So she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.” So Peter and the other disciple went forth, and they were going to the tomb.

1 - When did the women go to the tomb, answered:

First note that John does NOT say “night” he says “dark”: Original Greek: σκοτία; Definition: Darkness - source

John 20 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark,

Matthew 28 Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave. So it was still dark.

Mark 16 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought aromatic spices so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, at sunrise, they went to the tomb.

So what is the difference between, “while it was still dark”, “as it began to dawn”, and “at sunrise” if they all have the idea of darkness or darkness breaking? Answer: None.

Excursus 

I just want to point out that here are differences in accounts of Alexander the Great's campaigns. Some historians like Plutarch and Diodorus providing more anecdotal and philosophical perspective. Arrian focused on a more factual military chronicle, often drawing from sources like Ptolemy's memoirs which could sometimes exaggerate his own role in events; this can lead to discrepancies in the portrayal of battles, motivations, and Alexander's character across different accounts. 

Some accounts might portray Alexander as having a more harmonious relationship with his commanders, while others could highlight tensions and conflicts, particularly with figures like Cleitus. Some accounts suggest Alexander was driven by a desire to conquer the known world, while others emphasize his pursuit of divine status and cultural unification.

Each account might present a slightly different perspective due to the author's emphasis, bias, geographical location, or social status. But no historian says these differences equate to contradiction, and the whole Alexander the Great story, or the bulk of it, is a myth.

If historians don't dismiss the  Alexander the Great story as myth, why do critics try to use this standard with Jesus? 

If the critic is unaware, they should educate themselves and judge the Resurrection accounts with the same historical standard.

If the critic is aware, then this is just a blatant double standard fallacy — Judging similar two situations by different standards when, in fact, you should be using the same standard. It invaldates their argument and seriously undermines their intellectual integrity. 

2 - Which women went to the tomb, answered

Matthew mentions two women by name. Mark mentions three by name. Luke mentions at least three by name but describes more. John only identifies Mary Magdalene. 

Note that Matthew doesn't say that there were only 2 women; Mark doesn't say that there were only 3 women; John doesn't say that there were only 1 woman.

When examining the number of women present at the tomb of Jesus, the four accounts could all be seen as accurate representations of what really happened if the group of women included the following people:

• Mary Magdalene
• Mary the mother of Jesus,
• Mary the Mother of James (and Joseph),
• Salome, and
• Joanna.

This group would account for the women mentioned by all four authors. All the authors speak of a group and some authors identify specific members of this group based on their personal perspective, purposes, and audience.

The Gospel authors (and the early Church) certainly had the opportunity to change the descriptions of the women to make sure they matched, but they refused to do so. As a result, we can have confidence in the reliability of these accounts.

Another factor for accuracy and authenticity: In a culture hesitant to accept the testimony of women in civil and criminal hearings, the authors of the Gospels offered women as the first witnesses of the empty tomb. 

Here is Josephus on the credibility of women: But let not a single witness be credited, but three, or two at the least, and those such whose testimony is confirmed by their good lives. But let not the testimony of women be admitted, on account of the levity and boldness of their sex. . . . (Antiquities, 4:219)

If this is a late fictional account, one might wonder why the authors didn’t insert Peter and the other male disciples or at least Nicodemus or Joseph of Arimathia. They would certainly have made the account more credible to the first hearers. Instead, all the authors describe women as the first eyewitnesses. This “negative information” makes the account more credible. Women weren’t described here to make the narrative more convincing (they actually hurt the account), but were instead described because they happen to be the true first witnesses.

Of course this isn’t in and of itself proof that the resurrection happened. It does, however, make it very unlikely the story was fabricated.

5. To whom did Jesus appear first?

Read the passages

Cleopas and another

13 That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles[a] from Jerusalem, 14 and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17 And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. 18 Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” 

19 And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. 22 Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, 23 and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. 24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” 25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

28 So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, 29 but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight.. Luke 24:13-31

Question: Where in the verse does it say that Jesus first appeared to Cleopas and another? 

Answer: It doesn't

Cephas

4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve 1 Corinthians 15:4-5

Question: Where in the verse does it say that Jesus first appeared to Cephas?

Answer: It doesn't

The two Marys

Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he[a] lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” 8 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Matthew 28:1-9

Note: Both Mary's met Jesus after they departed... from the tomb [vs 8-9] - but the text doesn't say anything about this being a first appearance; so was there a prior appearance? 

Mary Magdalene

9 Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. Mark 16:9

Note: Here Mary Magdalene is clearly portrayed as the first to see Jesus post-Resurrection 

11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. John 20:11-14

Note: We get a little more detail about Mary Magdalene seeing Jesus prior to departing the tomb, she saw Him but didn't recognize Him. 

So Mary Magdalene first saw Jesus at the tomb, then after departing, both Marys saw Jesus. The other passages say that others saw Jesus but none say nor imply that they were first. 

Thus, there is no contradiction about whom Jesus first appeared to post-Resurrection 

*************************************************

Note: this is a work in progress, I will address all 7 "contradictions" in the near future. 

The Bible Verses A Game of Telephone

What is the Telephone Game?

The telephone game It involves a brief narrative that someone whispers to the next person in line who then whispers this to the next person, and so on for several people. Then, the last person recites out loud what he or she heard, and everyone has a good laugh for how garbled the story got. If a group of similar people in the same context can’t remember and accurately pass on a saying, how can we trust decades or centuries of faulty memory?

The critics say that memory is faulty and cannot be trusted over a long period of time. This means the Bible almost certainly has many errors and embellishments that were introduced during the time gap between Jesus' life and the first writings of the Gospels and what we have today.

But the transmission of scripture is not at all like the telephone game.

First, the goal of the telephone game is to see how badly the story can get misrepresented, or at least the accuracy is unimportant, while the goal of New Testament copying was by and large to produce very careful, accurate copies of the original.

Second, in the telephone game there is only one line of transmission, while with the New Testament there are multiple lines of transmission.

Third, one is oral, recited once in another’s ear, while the other is written, copied by a faithful scribe who then would check his or her work or have someone else do it.

Fourth, in the telephone game, only the wording of the last person in the line can be checked. However, for the New Testament textual critics have access to many of the earlier texts, some going back very close to the time of the autographs.

Fifth, even the ancient scribes had access to earlier texts, and would often check their work against a manuscript that was many generations older than their immediate ancestor. The average papyrus manuscript would last for a century or more. Thus, even a late second-century scribe could have potentially examined the original document he or she was copying.

Bur wasn't the Oral Tradition like the Telephone Game?

Oral tradition has very little in common with the telephone game. 

In the game:

• the message is heard and passed along one person at a time, 

• there are no controls over the message, 

• there is no cost attached to reliable or unreliable transmission.

All of this makes it fundamentally different from the oral transmission of the Gospels:

• The biblical stories were relayed in communities (not one-to-one),

• when the stories were shared in community, many people knew the stories and would correct mistakes relayed in the retelling,

• the people retelling the stories had a strong personal interest in the truthfulness of what they were saying, especially when persecution of the church increased.

• The apostles supervised and corrected the spread of the message.

Metzer vs Erhman

I know a lot of critics like to cite Erhman when trying to show that the NT is somehow faulty but....

“Bruce Metzger is one of the great scholars of modern times, and I dedicated the book to him because he was both my inspiration for going into textual criticism and the person who trained me in the field. I have nothing but respect and admiration for him. And even though we may disagree on important religious questions – he is a firmly committed Christian, and I am not – we are in complete agreement on a number of very important historical and textual questions. If he and I were put in a room and asked to hammer out a consensus statement on what we think the original text of the New Testament probably looked like, there would be very few points of disagreement – maybe one or two dozen places out of many thousands.  The position I argue for in ‘Misquoting Jesus’ does not actually stand at odds with Prof. Metzger’s position that the essential Christian beliefs are not affected by textual variants in the manuscript tradition of the New Testament.” (From Bart Erhman's book Misquoting Jesus, p. 252)

The resurrection of Jesus is not historical - a rebuttal

 This is a rebuttal of an argument presented on Reddit;  This is an outline of the argument presented:

Two claims

1. That “assertion” that Jesus Christ rose is theological not historical. 
2. The gospels and acts do not provide sufficient historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

(These are reiterated in the conclusion)

Sources that Christian use (the Gospels and Acts) do not meet the criteria that historians use, which are:

• Numerous 
• contemporary [to the time question]
• independent
• Impartial
• consistent with other sources

Christian sources have the following issues

A - Are of a late date

B - Are not eyewitness accounts

C - are anonymous

D - akin to the telephone 

E - Use only one source 

F - Are contradictory 

G - are biased 

Further points

I - Salem witch trials, and eyewitness accounts are unreliable, 80% failure rate to ID per Robert Buckhout 

J - The “floodgate” problem: …”Christians would have to accept religions that conflict with their beliefs like Mormonism (unless you were already Mormon), Islam, Hinduism, etc.” and all reports of “events of magic everywhere, even today”

K - Appeal to empirical observation empiricism

The rebuttal

A - Are the Gospels and Acts late?

First there is no argument presented for this. Selected scholars are cited, and a conclusion is drawn.  I could cite scholars who hold to a pre 70 A.D. date New Testamant . But the problem with this whole line of argumentation is that consensus isn’t critical thinking. Here is Bart Erhman:  I need to say that again: scholarly consensus is not evidence. But big but – if you have a view that is different from the view of the scholarly consensus, given the circumstance of who maintains the consensus, you probably should have some pretty amazing evidence of your own.

So, it comes down to who has the best explanation for the available data. But we cannot evaluate which argument the best explains data because there is NO argument presented, only the conclusions of selected scholars that are presumed to be correct. 

Remember the scholarly consensus was that the Hittites were a fictious people since there was no archaeological or historical evidence to support their existence. Except for the Biblical record and that “biased” piece of fiction certainly couldn’t be trusted in this matter. Until it could be  This is one of many examples where the “scholarly consensus” was proven wrong. So we have no reason to simply accept any scholarly consensus 

 As I argued here]the Gospels and Acts, the entire New Testament, in fact, is early. In short  the Jewish War in 66 , the Neronian persecution of the late 60s , the fall of Jerusalem in 70; there is no mention of the death of Peter, Paul, or James at the hands of the Sanhedrin in ca. 62, which is recorded by Josephus in Antiquities of the Jews 20.9.1.200. Luke had no problem recording the martyrdom of Stephen (Acts 7:58) or James of Zebedee (Acts 12:2). And yet, Luke writes nothing about the deaths of Peter, Paul, and James. These were the three central leaders of the early church, but Luke doesn’t even hint at their deaths. Easy to explain if none of the their deaths had yet to happen. 

A question

Do atheists/critics here also rail against the “myth” of Alexander the Great? If not, why not?

Alexander the Great lived ~356-323 BCE, but we only know about him due to: 

Diodorus Siculus' Library of History - c. 30 BCE  [350 yrs later]

Quintus Curtius Rufus' Histories of Alexander the Great - c. 40 CE [360 yrs later]

Plutarch's Life of Alexander - c. 100 CE [425 yrs later]

Arrian's Anabasis of Alexander - c. [450 yrs later]

Justin's Epitome of Pompeius Trogus - c. 200 CE [525 yrs later]

This seems to be a double standard fallacy that is consistently used by atheists/critics; Judging the historicity of Jesus by one measure and the historicity of others ancients by a different standard. 

B - Are not eyewitness accounts

The only “argument” presented is the scholarly consensus of a late date. And thus any eyewitness would be long dead. However since we have good reason to believe that the New Testament was written early – see above – then there is no reason to discount the plentiful eyewitness accounts of the Risen Jesus 

C - are anonymous

Anonymity of the sources is not a death sentence for a historical document and should not be used as some kind of indictment of any anonymous ancient text. 

If rejecting an anonymous document is a standard used historians, I am have not been able to confirm it,  in fact, historians do allow for the use of anonymous texts to establish historical facts. See Gottschalk,  A Guide to Historical Method p 169 – If you have a source controverting this please provide it. 

Craig Evans adds an even stronger argument concerning the “anonymous” Gospels. He states, “In every single text that we have where the beginning or the ending of the work survives, we find the traditional authorship.” full argument here 

If we have people arbitrarily attaching names to the Gospels throughout the centuries, why is it that we don’t see that in the extant documents?  Why do we see only “Matthew” attached to Gospel attributed to him? And the same for Mark, Luke, and John?  

Evans summarizes, *“There are no anonymous copies of the Gospels, and there are no copies of the canonical Gospels under different names. Unless evidence to the contrary should surface, we should stop talking about anonymous Gospels and late, unhistorical superscriptions and subscriptions"* Craig A. Evans, Jesus and the Manuscripts: What We Can Learn from the Oldest Texts, page 53

D - akin to the telephone game

The Bible was not translated similarly to how the telephone game is played. The telephone game is designed to be confusing for the sake of fun. The Biblical authors did everything they could to preserve the accuracy of the biblical texts.

Oral traditions were involved in preserving some biblical texts, but this does not mean the oral traditions were not scrutinized and transmitted correctly. Similar to how a martial art is taught, repetition was used and perfection was expected by Jewish teachers. 

Oral culture is a culture in which stories are learned and passed on primarily by word of mouth. Those people tend not to rely on written accounts. Because the United States and Western Europe are not oral cultures, many people in these cultures struggle to understand how facts can be reliably communicated orally. But there is ample evidence that people who do live in oral cultures are capable of seemingly near-impossible feats of memory and accuracy.

The telephone game:

a) the message is heard and passed along one person at a time,

b) there are no controls over the message,

c) there is no cost attached to reliable or unreliable transmission.

All of this makes it fundamentally different from the oral transmission of the Gospels:

a) The biblical stories were relayed in communities (not one-to-one),

b) when the stories were shared in community, many people knew the stories and would correct mistakes relayed in the retelling,

c) the people retelling the stories had a strong personal interest in the truthfulness of what they were saying, especially when persecution of the church increased.

The telephone game is irrelevant to how the oral tradition worked.

E - Use only one source

The further back in time one travels, the thinner the source material becomes. Sources for WWII are vast beyond the ability of anyone to master them. Sources for the Napoleonic era is abundant and more than adequate. Sources for the Hundred Years War are meager and somewhat fragmentary. For the Carolingian Period, one really needs to dig deep to adequately cover any topic. The Roman Empire is a jigsaw puzzle missing a significant number of pieces. Ancient civilizations are lucky to have one source to an event. 

Let one example suffice: the details of the demise of Pliny the Elder while he was attempting to rescue a group of Pompeiians when Vesuvius exploded in 79 AD are known from **one source only** - the report written by his son, Pliny the Younger, who was also present that day.

So to have one source for a historical event is not unheard of in history. And to reject the Gospels and Acts on the basis is to be guilty of the Special pleading  fallacy

The similarities among the synoptic gospels, the whole basis for the synoptic problem are vastly overstated; see this harmony of the Gospels and see how dissimilar they actually are. 

Secondly, the similarities are better explained as artifacts of relying on the same witnesses or of different witnesses relating the same events. 

F - Are contradictory

For every alleged contradiction there are better explanations of the passage in question. But let’s look at the specific contradictions mentioned.

Note: A logical contradiction is the conjunction of a statement S and its denial not-S. In logic, it is a fundamental law- the law of non contradiction- that a statement and its denial cannot both be true at the same time.

Many atheists/critics fail to recognize in their critique of the Bible that additional information is not necessarily contradictory information. Many also fail to realize that these independent writers are at liberty to mention every detail, or as few as they want.

What is also fun to note is that atheists/critics will allege that the Gospel writers “copied” one another, then in the same breathe show differences, which undermines their first point!

Did Jesus carry his cross the entire way himself, or did Simon of Cyrene carry it (John 19:17, Mark 15:21, Matthew 27:32, and Luke 23:26)?

Both carried the cross.  John 19:17 does not say that Jesus carried the cross alone the **entire** distance or that **only** Jesus carried the cross,  it says he bore his own cross, which He did. A contradiction occurs when one statement makes another statement impossible but both are supposed to be true.  John not adding that detail doesn’t equal a contradiction. 

Did both thieves mock Jesus, or did only one of them mock him, and the other come to his defense (Mark 15:32, Matthew 27:44, and Luke 23:40-43)? 

While Luke 23:39 does say “ One of the criminals…” this is not the same thing as ONLY one of the thief reviled Jesus.  Recording how one person was doing something is **not** the same thing as saying ONLY one person did something..

Luke seems to be relating what was specifically said by one of the thieves. Both men can be reviling Jesus in the beginning but later one of the thief has a change of heart. 

What did the women see in the tomb, one man, two men, or one angel (Mark 16:5, Luke 24:4, and Matthew 28:2)? 

First, wherever there are two angels [or men] , there is also one! The fact that Mark only referenced the angel (“man”) who addressed the women shouldn’t be problematic. The fact that Matthew only referenced one angel does not preclude the fact that two angels were present.

Even though Luke did not specifically refer to the two men as angels, the fact that he described these beings as “men in clothes that gleamed like lightning” (Luke 24:4) should have been a dead giveaway. Moreover, he was  addressing a predominantly Gentile audience, Luke no doubt measured his words carefully so as not to unnecessarily give rise to their pagan superstitions.

Finally, after reading the accounts of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, or John for that matter, any critical thinker has ample data to determine that the “man” described by Mark was an angel; that the “men in clothes that gleamed like lighting” were angelic; and that Matthew’s mention of only one angel does not preclude the possibility that another was present.

Did the disciples never leave Jerusalem, or did they immediately leave and go to Galilee (Luke 24:49-53, Acts 1:4, and Matthew 28:16)?

Three times in Matthew, it is recorded that certain disciples of Jesus were instructed to meet the Jesus in Galilee after his resurrection (Matt 26:32; 28:7, 10). In Matthew 28:16 we see that the disciples went to Galilee. So, Jesus desired to meet with his disciples in Galilee. His disciples obeyed. Jesus did not rebuke them.

But, according to Luke 24:33-43, he also desired to meet with them in Jerusalem. The two places are about three  days journey from one another. People can't be in the same place at the same time, so this is a contradiction, right?

We must remember that the resurrection accounts of Jesus are coming from different, independent witnesses, So, a reasonable explanation is that Jesus met with his disciples in both places - but at different times. It appears that on Easter Day, he met with all of the disciples (except Thomas) in Jerusalem just as the Gospel writers Luke and John recorded (Luke 24:33-43; John 20:19-25). 

We know that Jesus appeared to the disciples a number of times during the forty days on earth after his resurrection (cf. 1 Cor 15:1-7). Matthew, Luke, and John only mention some of the more prominent instances. Though Luke does not mention the trip to Galilee, in Acts 1:3 he states that there was a forty day period before Jesus' ascension. A lot can happen in forty days; including a three day trip.

(1) Assuming Jesus' words were stated on Easter Day, they were not stated in an absolute sense, but with an implied contingency (as determined from the other 3 Gospel accounts), given a future planned meeting in Galilee.

(2) The words in Luke 24:44 could have been stated on Day 40. The disciples did in fact stay in Jerusalem for ten more days, until Pentecost, as Luke himself relates in Acts 1:13.

It's merely an assumption to assert that Jesus spoke Luke 24:44 on Easter Day. The use of the Greek "de" (meaning "and," "then," or "now") to begin Luke 24:44 does not necessitate immediacy, but merely at "a time after." Witnesses do not always share things in chronological order - this includes the Gospel writers as well. The Gospels jump from topic to topic without any warnings at times (see Luke 4:1-4; Matt 4:1-11). At times information is just skipped; just like we skip it today.

 Both statements can be true. Just because information is omitted in one statement does not make the other statement false. In Luke 24, the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus in Galilee were omitted, but commented upon by both Matthew and John. However, notice that Luke never stated that Jesus remained only in Jerusalem from the day of his resurrection until the day he ascended up into Heaven. Acts 1:3 leaves a lot of room for a lot more activity (cf. John 21:25).

G – are biased

This objection eats itself. Everyone is biased. If the objection is to rejected any and all biased accounts, then all accounts must be tossed.  

I - The “floodgate” problem: …”Christians would have to accept religions that conflict with their beliefs like Mormonism (unless you were already Mormon), Islam, Hinduism, etc.” and all reports of “events of magic everywhere, even today”

When Christians say, or at least this Christian says, the supernatural what is meant is that a physical only model of the world is illogical we have good reason to think that [the universe was fine-tuned for life, the origin of DNA is best explianed by design the best explaination for all that is God 

 Anything "supernatural" must be in that context. 

J - eyewitness accounts are unreliable, 80% failure rate to ID per Robert Buckhout

This was  “A mock crime, a mugging and purse snatch, was staged as representative of the usually difficult observation conditions present in crime situations”

This study is mis-applied]

On one hand we have someone who was 

1) unknown to the witnesses, 

2) who was seen only for a few seconds, and 

3) who changed his appearance - a slight mustache during the crime but not in the lineup film 

Versus Jesus who 

1) walked, talked, taught, ate with His disciples [and others] for 42 months, then 

2) post Resurrection, who walked, talked, taught, ate with His disciples [and others] for a time and 

3) didn’t change His appearance [though He did hide who He was for some, temporarily] 

So we are comparing apples to oranges here. For an analogy to be a valid analogy the comparison between two objects must be similar. Given the above there is too much dissimilarity for this to be a reasonable or justifiable analogy. 

K - Appeal to empirical observation empiricism

Reason is the basis of knowledge not empirical observation. And we know that Philosophical Naturalism is logically self-defeating, so any who hold to that idea need to address how they ground goal-oriented, critical thinking in a physical-only model of the world where all things are caused by the antecedent physical condition acting in accordance with the physical laws.

Those that do not hold to Philosophical Naturalism, I’d ask what then is the objection to something acting outside the bounds of the physical laws? 

Conclusion:

The two claims revisited:

1 - That “assertion” that Jesus Christ rose is theological not historical. 

First, we see the OP attempted to Poison the well (a pre-emptive ad hominem strike against an opponent). Here it’s suggested that all Christians have are assertions not arguments grounded in facts. Why do that unless one is not confident of one’s view being able to compete and an intellectual discussion?

Secondly, the main (only?) argument is basically a presumption of naturalism or as Ruse puts it “but to act as if [naturalism] were” while evaluating data. 

Thirdly, given the arguments linked above we do have good reason to think that, sans the presumption of naturalism, the Resurrection of Jesus is historical. 

2 - The gospels and acts do not provide sufficient historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Given the above we do have good reasons to think that the evidence presented in the Gospels and Acts are exactly what was the criteria that historians use:

• Numerous 

• contemporary [to the time question]

• independent

• consistent with other sources

I left out “impartial” since no one is impartial.

I think this argument was an example of skeptical thinking, but skeptical thinking is not critical thinking It’s a low bar to sow doubt. The higher bar is to offer a better explanation  for the facts surrounding the Resurrection of Jesus).

Objection A - human testimony is obviously not sufficient to establish such a suspension of natural laws occured. There is no way to grant the resurrection of Jesus without opening a floodgate of millions of other supernatural claims

Reply - First, can you explan why its "obvious" human testimony is obviously not sufficient to establish such a suspension of natural laws? 

Second I'm not saying not saying that any human testimony can establish a suspension of natural laws; I am saying that since a physical-only model of reality is illogical, and that God is the best explanation for reality, and that [the universe was fine-tuned for life, the origin of DNA is best explianed by design the best explaination for all that is God thus thest Best explaination for the facts surround Jesus is that He rose from the dead. 

Objection B - There is no way to grant the resurrection of Jesus without opening a floodgate of millions of other supernatural claims

Reply - I guess you didn't read the  “floodgate” problem above

Objection C - What puzzles me is that an omniscient god could have anticipated skeptical reaction and preempted it by arranging conditions such that the resurrection was extraordinarily well attested.

Reply: There is more than enough evidence, but nothing can overcome, chronic skepticism - a suspicion about everything, that's a sickness. Suspicion means you've made a foregone conclusion; that's why one should be a critical thinker not skeptical thinker. 

Objection D - Jesus could have been a real person who was mythologized after his death.

How does one then explain the empty tomb? Various theories are examnied here 

Objection E - You are presupposing that the Bible must be accurate

For investigatory purposes one must assume that a text or testimony is accurate.  For example, when police take statements regarding an incident they assume that the statements are true and accurate then they can look for inconsistencies errors etc.  Assuming the document is the beginning of the investigation, not the end.  If one concludes that the document is true and accurate then there must be solid reasons for it. 

Objection E -You trying to control the narrative of what exactly is a "contradiction."

It's the law of non contradiction [one of the fundamental laws of logic] connect contradictory propositions cannot both be true in the same sense and at the same time. If you think you have a better attested definition please provide it