The Gospels and Discrepancies in Ancient Histories

People often point out some of the differences between the Gospels when they are looking at the same events.  Who did Peter deny Jesus to?  What did the sign on the cross actually say?  This is then seen as evidence for lack of historical credibility for the Gospels.  I have done some work on this in comparing to Josephus.  When Josephus is writing on the same event in both War and Antiquities, there is often greater differences than what we find in the Gospels.  And this by the same author!

Philosopher Tim McGrew, helpfully gives a number of other examples from ancient Roman histories.  Listen carefully to what Tim says here:

Have a look at the death of Julius Caesar as recorded in the writings of Seneca (Epistle 87), Appian, Suetonius, Dio Cassius, and Plutarch. In particular: 

* What was the name of the first conspirator to approach Caesar? Dio Cassius does not give him a name; Suetonius calls him Cimber Tullius; Seneca calls him Tillius Cimber; Plutarch calls him Metillius Cimber in one work and Tullius Cimber in another; Appian names him Atilius Cimber.

* How did he make his approach? Suetonius says that he approached Caesar as if to make some request. Appian has him actually make the request; Plutarch has the other conspirators join in it; Dio Cassius, on the other hand, says that he approached Caesar as if to acknowledge a favor.

There are many more places where these accounts of the death of Caesar fail to agree, and some of them may fairly be thought to be outright contradictions. Yet for all that, the headline is unaffected: “Caesar Murdered in the Forum.” Every classical historian knows this; indeed, it goes without saying, and the discrepancies (real or merely apparent) in the various accounts scarcely raise an eyebrow. But in the topsy-turvy world of New Testament criticism, such molehills appear to be impassable mountains. Beware of sweeping negative claims advanced on such trivial grounds.

This is an important reminder of two things: one is the differences in how classicists and biblical scholars do history and how the Gospels should be judged according to first century standards and not twenty-first century standards.

Here are some helpful citations to check up on:

Suetonius, Julius 78-82

Plutarch, Caesar 58-66

Plutarch, Life of Brutus

Appian, Civil Wars 2.117

Seneca Epistle 83 LXXXVIII