Bible Contradictions? Christ's Line, Resurrection, Ascension & Paul's Conversion; Shabir Ally's Case

During the Shabir Ally / Thomas Ross debate, "The New Testament Picture of Jesus: Is It Accurate?" Dr. Shabir Ally claimed that the Bible contained a number of irreconcilable contradictions that proved it was not the Word of God. Shabir argued:

1.) The genealogy of Christ in Matthew 1:8-9 contains "misinformation" because three names are omitted from the list (see 1 Chronicles 3:11-12). Furthermore, Matthew is inaccurate, Dr. Ally asserted, because Matthew 1:17 speaks of three groups of fourteen generations, but there are not forty-two names listed.

2.) Shabir Ally argued that Matthew 28:1-2 and John 20:1-2 contradict each other in their record of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Matthew 28, Shabir argued, portrays women coming to the tomb and then experiencing an earthquake, seeing an angel roll the stone away, and other events which are, he claimed, contradicted by John 20:1-2. Shabir Ally claimed that there are further contradictions in the resurrection narratives.

3.) Shabir Ally claimed that Luke 24 shows that Christ ascended to heaven on the very day of His resurrection, while Acts affirms He rose forty days later. Dr. James Dunn, according to Shabir Ally, showed that the two passages were clear contradictions.

4.) Acts 9:7 and 22:9 were also said to be contradictory, according to Shabir Ally. In Acts 9:7, Shabir argued, Paul’s companions heard the voice of Christ, but in Acts 22:9 they did not hear Christ’s voice. Dr. Peter Enns, claimed Shabir, proved that the two passages were genuinely contradictory in the book Five Views on Inerrancy.

These contradictions, Dr. Ally argued, demonstrated that the New Testament could not be trusted to provide accurate historical information and certainly proved that it was not God's Word.

In this video, Thomas Ross examines the case presented by Shabir Ally in their debate. Thomas points out that Matthew 1 records the legal line of Christ, while Luke 3 records his line of human descent. Genealogies frequently skip names in the Bible for a variety of reasons, and in the case of Matthew one the three names are omitted because the three wicked and idolatrous kings were not considered to be true rulers of God's kingdom on earth in the Old Testament. Furthermore, a close examination of Matthew one indicates that there is no problem with the number of names mentioned.

Furthermore, Thomas Ross points out that Shabir Ally overlooked that Matthew 28:1-2 can clearly be translated as saying that the earthquake and other events took place before the women arrived at Christ's tomb. The margin of the King James Version indicates this fact with support from the original Greek text. Furthermore, Dr. Ally had been provided with the answer to this alleged contradiction personally by Dr. Jay Smith in a debate they had engaged in many years earlier.

In relation to the ascension of Christ, mentioned in Luke 24 and Acts 1, Thomas Ross points out that Luke 24 never actually says Christ ascended the same day that He rose; indeed, a careful reading of the chapter shows that His ascension was not on the same day, so nothing in the passage contradicts Acts 1. Furthermore, Thomas Ross points out that James Dunn did not prove that the two texts were contradictory, nor, for that matter, did Dr. Dunn even claim that they were necessarily in disagreement.

In relation to Acts 9 and Acts 22, Thomas Ross points out that the resurrected Christ spoke in Hebrew to the Apostle Paul, but Paul's companions did not understand what was being said to the formerly anti-Christian Saul of Tarsus. What is more, Peter Enns by no means proved that the two passages were actually contradictory, but Dr. Enns' conclusion that a contradiction exists is, on his own affirmation, a product of his presupposition that the Bible is not inerrant.

A special word for our Muslim friends watching this video:

Thank you for taking the time to watch this video, and for watching Shabir and Thomas debate the validity of the New Testament's picture of Jesus Christ. Please consider the arguments in the video with an open mind. You may be passionately convinced that Shabir Ally is right and Thomas Ross is wrong, but you should not let your passions govern your analysis of the arguments in question. Give the video a fair hearing and listen to it completely. View its contents as a chance to understand why and how Christians respond to claims of Biblical contradiction, even if you disagree with the Christian explanation. If you want to comment on the video, that is great, but please interact intelligently with its content. If you agree with something on it, say why and give a reasoned argument; if you disagree, say why and give a reasoned argument. Thank you in advance for your thoughtful consideration.

Christian, atheist, agnostic, Hindu, etc. friends who watch this video are likewise urged to engage in respectful and reasoned consideration of the video contents.

More information is at faithsaves.net/Shabir-Ally/debate/ .