Skip to content
Jesus Myth Theory

Jesus Myth Theory

A Christian Response by Stephen J. Bedard

  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Home
  • Historical Jesus
  • Are Differences Between the Gospels a Problem For the Historical Jesus?
Differences

Are Differences Between the Gospels a Problem For the Historical Jesus?

Posted on 27 January 202129 March 2022 By SJBedard No Comments on Are Differences Between the Gospels a Problem For the Historical Jesus?
Historical Jesus

Many Jesus Mythicists point out differences between the canonical Gospels as evidence for why they can’t be treated as history. This could be differences among the Synoptic Gospels or differences between the Synoptics and John.

This is a weak argument.

The ironic thing is that some Mythicists and Christian Apologists are looking at the data in the same way. That is why some apologists spend so much time trying to harmonize the Gospels (e.g. See two cleanings of the Temple to harmonize the Synoptics and John).

I think both are mistaken. There is no problem with the differences between them and no ancient writer would have dismissed them as historical sources for these differences.

In addition, contemporary historians of antiquity do not dismiss sources if there are some differences in detail. Any time we have multiple witnesses to the same event, we have differences of detail. That is how both history and biography were written.

Are there differences between the Gospels? Yes.

Is this a problem for accepting the historicity of Jesus? Absolutely not.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest

Related

Tags: Gospels

Post navigation

❮ Previous Post: 3 Types of Jesus Myth
Next Post: Why Do People Embrace the Jesus Myth Theory? ❯

You may also like

Jesus Myth
Historical Jesus
What Would It Take For Me to Become a Jesus Mythicist?
24 August 2022
Historical Jesus
Gary Habermas on the Existence of Jesus
10 July 2020
Historical Jesus
Were the Apostles Martyred For Their Faith?
24 December 2020
Allegory
Historical Jesus
Is the Gospel of Mark an Allegory?
6 August 2020

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Popular Posts

  • Apostle Paul Did Paul Say Anything About the Historical Jesus?
  • Buddha The Historical Evidence for the Existence of Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha)
  • Jesus Myth Theory Why Did No One Write About Jesus During His Lifetime?
  • Justin Martyr Early Church Fathers and Pagan Parallels to Jesus
  • Is Inerrancy Required to Refute the Jesus Myth Theory?
  • Attis The Myth of Attis: Origins, Story, and Legacy
  • Unmasking the Jesus Myth Jesus and Mithras
  • C.F. Volney Pioneers of the Jesus Myth: Constantin François de Chassebœuf, comte de Volney
  • Mythology Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes
  • Five Earliest Non-Canonical Gospels The Five Earliest Non-Canonical Gospels

The Jesus Myth Theory

Jesus Myth Theory

This website is designed to be a resource collection regarding the Jesus Myth Theory (also called the Christ Myth Theory). I come from a historically Christian perspective.

Unmasking the Pagan Christ
Unmasking the Jesus Myth

Copyright © 2026 Jesus Myth Theory.

Theme: Oceanly Green by ScriptsTown

× Book Promo