Who Said That?
Monday, April 9, 2007 at 07:27AM 
Who Said That?
"Matthew says, that the angel that was sitting upon the stone on the outside of the sepulchre told the two Marys that Christ was risen, and that the women went away quickly. Mark says, that the women, upon seeing the stone rolled away, and wondering at it, went into the sepulchre, and that it was the angel that was sitting within on the right side, that told them so. Luke says, it was the two angels that were standing up; and John says, it was Jesus Christ himself that told it to Mary Magdalene; and that she did not go into the sepulchre, but only stooped down and looked in.
Now, if the writers of these four books had gone into a court of justice to prove an alibi, (for it is of the nature of an alibi that is here attempted to be proved, namely, the absence of a dead body by supernatural means,) and had they given their evidence in the same contradictory manner as it is here given, they would have been in danger of having their ears cropt for perjury, and would have justly deserved it. Yet this is the evidence, and these are the books, that have been imposed upon the world as being given by divine inspiration, and as the unchangeable word of God. "
You know the drill! Leave your guess in the comments section below! No google searches, please!
Kim Riddlebarger
These words come from Thomas Paine, well-known deist and buddy to many of the founding fathers. The quote comes from Paine's best-selling book, Age of Reason (Part 2, sec. 15).
Any good commentary on the gospels, quickly and easily refutes these so-called "contradictions," many of which were dealt with as far back as Augustine.
Reader Comments (13)
sounds like someone from the 18th or 19th century...
Crossan, Spong, or one of the modern pop atheist bulldogs.