Harmony of the Gospels

[Michael_Mayo]

However, if there were a good reasonable explanation for the seeming contradiction, it would be welcomed, wouldn’t it?

I understand what you are saying though. I am somewhat the same. If I see a contradiction, I assume that I do not understand the text enough, so I leave it for the time being, and will not let it disturb my reading of that text. IOW, I am sure it can be reconciled with a proper understanding. But that is why I consider Harmonies of the Gospel to be VERY helpful and welcome.

Sure, we all like harmony. :harp:

But even if someone could prove to me that there is contradiction in the Gospels it would not bother me. What Jesus said, where he said them, chronology, what day he died on, etc. … minor details.

 

[Cyberseeker]

I had a work published that goes into serious fine detail in the harmony of the Gospels. I drew from many Catholic sources. Here it is on Amazon. amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1511608129/ref=mp_s_a_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1489495787&sr=8-9&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=john+litteral

I would be happy to send you a free PDF if you like. email me at jlitteral29@gmail.com

Ive had a look thanks John. In the meantime, could you post a link of any discussion on the forum you might have had regarding the timing of Jesus’ selecting his disciples? (Im trying to limit this thread his pre-Galilee ministry)

 

[Cyberseeker]

What you don’t seem to understand is that some Gospel accounts seem to positively contradict other accounts! For someone who is not interested in little details, or just has a breezy idea of Gospel accounts, no it doesn’t matter. But for most Christians it is VERY important to have a harmony of the Gospels. I saved Cyberseeker’s map, as it is one you won’t see anywhere else!

You’re welcome to use it. If you want to see a related article on my website, here is a link.

 

[COPLAND_3]

Ive had a look thanks John. In the meantime, could you post a link of any discussion on the forum you might have had regarding the timing of Jesus’ selecting his disciples? (Im trying to limit this thread his pre-Galilee ministry)

Someone on this site would be much more capable to post a link. I dont have much time these days to keep up on this site and I have fallen behind on a lot of what has been happening here.

 

[COPLAND_3]

Eusebius of Caesarea wrote quite a bit on the Gospel harmony. There are some free links to him on tertullian.org/fathers/ created by my friend Roger Pearse. Roger also published a translation of Eusebius’ The Gospel Solution. Its very good, i have a copy.

 

[AmbroseSJ]

Michael Mayo:

But even if someone could prove to me that there is contradiction in the Gospels it would not bother me. What Jesus said, where he said them, chronology, what day he died on, etc. … minor details.

I guess we are different in that regard.

First of all, no one would have to “prove” to me that there is a contradiction, I already know the Bible has many apparent contradictions.

Secondly, to reconcile the contradiction is only important when the contradiction is serious, rather than a minor difference that is easily explained.

Thirdly, all apparent contradictions can be reconciled in my opinion, if we can get a proper understanding of the text, the times and the writer. But that can be a formidable task! Considering how there are NO original texts extant anymore, and what we do have is all translations or later editions of original texts, in some cases many centuries after the fact!

But ultimately, the apparent contradiction would not stop me in my tracks either.

 

[Michael_Mayo]

I guess we are different in that regard.

First of all, no one would have to “prove” to me that there is a contradiction, I already know the Bible has many apparent contradictions.

Secondly, to reconcile the contradiction is only important when the contradiction is serious, rather than a minor difference that is easily explained.

Thirdly, all apparent contradictions can be reconciled in my opinion, if we can get a proper understanding of the text, the times and the writer. But that can be a formidable task! Considering how there are NO original texts extant anymore, and what we do have is all translations or later editions of original texts, in some cases many centuries after the fact!

But ultimately, the apparent contradiction would not stop me in my tracks either.

But what if it could be proven to you that something is not merely an apparent contradiction but a real contradiction that cannot be reconciled regardless of how much understanding is gained through research?

Would it damage your faith? Or would you still maintain that it is only an apparent contradiction?

 

[AmbroseSJ]

But what if it could be proven to you that something is not merely an apparent contradiction but a real contradiction that cannot be reconciled regardless of how much understanding is gained through research?

Would it damage your faith? Or would you still maintain that it is only an apparent contradiction?

Exactly, I would maintain that it is only an apparent contradiction.

 

[Michael_Mayo]

Exactly, I would maintain that it is only an apparent contradiction.

Righty then

 

[Michael_Mayo]

Exactly, I would maintain that it is only an apparent contradiction.

Care to look at a few?

Did Jesus die after the Passover feast as in Mark 14:12, 15:25
Or before as in John 19:14?

Did the Holy family return to Nazareth immediately as in Luke 2:13 or go to Egypt as in Luke 2:39?

 

[hadulzo]

I have an old book by Knox and Cox called “The Gospel Story” . It merges the Gospels together in one contiguous story. He does use the Knox translation (go figure) band the book has an imprimatur. Interesting read, worth getting from a used book store, no longer in print!