The differences and discrepancies in the Gospels constitute one of the foremost objections to their reliability and the credibility of their message. Some have tried to resolve Gospels contradictions with strained harmonization efforts. Others conclude that the Gospels are hopelessly contradictory and, therefore, historically unreliable accounts of Jesus.
In Jesus, Contradicted Video Lectures, New Testament scholar Michael R. Licona shows how the genre of ancient biography, to which the Gospels belong, actually allows biographers to be flexible in how they report events, construct narratives, and make arguments. Licona demonstrates that the intentional changes to the Gospels by the Evangelists are not grounds for their rejection. Instead, they are a result of the Gospel writers employing standard literary conventions for ancient biographies.
Using Plutarch's work, Licona offers numerous examples of compositional devices employed in Plutarch's biographies and compares them with instances in the Gospels where the Evangelists appear to use similar techniques. Licona also examines Theon's Progymnasmata, a first-century textbook that provides several techniques for paraphrasing sources when writing a narrative. In doing so, Licona helps learners understand why the Gospels report many events differently. Finally, he addresses the thorny question of whether the editorial moves commonplace in ancient biography are compatible with the doctrines of the divine inspiration and the inerrancy of Scripture.
Rather than trying to resolve discrepancies by bending the Gospel narratives, which risks making them say things they aren't saying, Jesus, Contradicted Video Lectures situates the Gospels within their proper context and helps account for differences in the Gospels in a cohesive and historically cogent way.
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