Tests for the Reliability of Ancient Literature - Part 3 by Dr. Joe L. Mott on Feb. 2, 2026

References: (1) “Misquoting Jesus”  by Bart Ehrman. (2) “Jesus Interrupted” by Bart Ehrman. (3) The main character of “Everybody Loves Raymond” would say to critics like Ehrman: “Bull-loney.” What I reported about the biographical test blows Ehrman’s comments out of the water. (4) Like the serpent in the Garden of Eden, Ehrman doesn’t have a leg to stand on. (5) We have all heard other critics, like Ehrman, say, “The Bible is full of errors and contradictions.” That accusation is one of the STANDARD MISCONCEPTIONS of our time. Repeating it has almost become a SOCIAL OBLIGATION. (6) Most Bible critics are not interested in a rational conversation regarding the Bible. They don’t emotionally LIKE the Bible, so they CHOOSE not to believe it. The Bible denier is generally SATISFIED with any claim that happens to REINFORCE their PRECONCEIVED UNINFORMED CHOICE. Such criticism is based on HEARSAY and FAULTY REASONING contributing to an erroneous interpretation. (7) It is always helpful to define any relevant TERMS at the outset of any discussion with skeptics. Here we need to define the concept of a CONTRADICTION. Two statements are said to be contradictory when one statement ASSERTS what the other DENIES. (8) Keeping the Faith in an Age of Reason by Jason Lisle. (9) There is no contradiction in the claim “Bear one another’s burdens” (Gal. 6:2) in the sense of helping those in trouble, and “bear his own burden” (Gal. 6:5) in the sense of taking responsibility for your own obligations. (10) What is called a compatible difference is not a contradiction. There is no contradiction between the claim “the car is fast” and the claim “the car is red.” The Gospel writers each chose to record different details of what they observed, but the differences are COMPATIBLE with each other and thus not contradictory. So when Matthew states that Joseph of Arimathea buried Jesus does not contradict John’s statement that Joseph and Nicodemus buried Jesus. Both statements are true, even though they are different. If Matthew had stated that ONLY Joseph buried BY HIMSELF,  then we would have a contradiction. But that is not what was stated. This is episode 261.