{"id":107,"date":"2018-04-13T22:29:31","date_gmt":"2018-04-14T05:29:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drbarrick.org\/?p=107"},"modified":"2018-09-05T21:19:23","modified_gmt":"2018-09-06T04:19:23","slug":"the-synoptic-gospels-inerrancy-how-many-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drbarrick.org\/?p=107","title":{"rendered":"The Synoptic Gospels&#8217; Inerrancy: How Many People?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-3997\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Open-Bible-Graphic.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"308\" \/>Let\u2019s return to the synoptic Gospels\u2019 reporting of the healing of the demon-possessed men (or man?) from Gadara (<strong>Matthew 8:28\u201334<\/strong>; <strong>Mark 5:1\u201320<\/strong>; <strong>Luke 8:26\u201339<\/strong>). We dealt with the apparent geographical contradiction in our <a href=\"https:\/\/drbarrick.org\/the-synoptic-gospels-inerrancy-geographical-realities\/\"><strong>first post<\/strong><\/a>. At least one more problem exists when we compare these passages. According to Matthew, two demon-possessed men approached Jesus. However, Mark and Luke only speak of one person. Norman Geisler and Thomas Howe begin their explanation this way, \u201cThere is a very fundamental mathematical law that reconciles this apparent contradiction\u2014wherever there are two, there is always one. There are no exceptions!\u201d<a href=\"#_ftn1\" name=\"_ftnref1\"><sup>[1]<\/sup><\/a> First, we must notice neither Mark nor Luke say that \u201c<strong><em>only<\/em><\/strong> one\u201d came to Jesus. Second, <strong>the independent testimony of the Gospel writers allows Mark and Luke the freedom of focusing on the one person they deem more noticeable, prominent, or significant<\/strong> for some reason neither Mark nor Luke explain.<\/p>\n<p>A similar situation occurs with the two blind men (<strong>Matthew 20:30<\/strong>) or one blind man (<strong>Mark 10:46<\/strong> and <strong>Luke 18:35<\/strong>) whom Jesus healed between Jericho and Jerusalem. <strong>Matthew\u2019s report of the event appears to contain more detail.<\/strong> Historically, handicapped (too often considered expendable people) formed their own small group or groups within ancient society (for example, the ten lepers in Luke 17:12 and the many handicapped at the pool of Bethesda in John 5:1\u20135). As in the previous case concerning the demon-possessed individual(s), Matthew provides more detail, while Mark and Luke focus on just one of the two persons. Remember, Luke was not present. He drew his Gospel account from other reports, which he investigated with care (Luke 1:1\u20134). We do not know enough about the author of the Gospel of Mark to understand whether he was an eyewitness or, like Luke, depended upon the testimony of eyewitnesses (some scholars have suggested that he recorded Peter\u2019s recollections as an eyewitness). Perhaps Mark focused on the one who did the speaking and his witness remembered Bartimaeus\u2019 name. Mark is the only one to provide the name in his account.<\/p>\n<p>Such differences do not provide us with any real contradictions, discrepancies, or inaccuracies. Therefore, such variations do not comprise any significant challenge to biblical inerrancy.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>Notes<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref1\" name=\"_ftn1\"><sup>[1]<\/sup><\/a> Norman L. Geisler and Thomas Howe, <em>The Big Book of Bible Difficulties: Clear and Concise Answers from Genesis to Revelation<\/em> (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1992), 337.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>Read also: <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"\/the-synoptic-gospels-inerrancy-geographical-realities\/\">&#8220;The Synoptic Gospels&#8217; Inerrancy: Geographical Realities&#8221;<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"\/the-synoptic-gospels-inerrancy-translation-differences\/\"><strong>&#8220;The Synoptic Gospels&#8217; Inerrancy: Translation Differences&#8221;<\/strong><\/a><br \/>\n<strong><a href=\"\/the-synoptic-gospels-inerrancy-authors-choices\/\">&#8220;The Synoptic Gospels&#8217; Inerrancy: Authors&#8217; Choices&#8221;<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"\/the-synoptic-gospels-inerrancy-misrepresentation-of-persons\/\"><strong>&#8220;The Synoptic Gospels&#8217; Inerrancy: Misrepresentation of Persons&#8221;<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Let\u2019s return to the synoptic Gospels\u2019 reporting of the healing of the demon-possessed men (or man?) from Gadara (Matthew 8:28\u201334; Mark 5:1\u201320; Luke 8:26\u201339). We dealt with the apparent geographical contradiction in our first post. At least one more problem exists when we compare these passages. According to Matthew, two demon-possessed men approached Jesus. However, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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