1001 Errors in the Christian Bible

Mark -- Errors 147-153

#147

Mark 1: (KJV)

11 “And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

When you take out “son of God” from Mark 1:1 which apparently was added to what was originally written there is no mention of Jesus being God’s son in any sense before the declaration of 1:11 at the baptism. The use of “son” in 1:11 appears to be a figurative expression similar to how it was used in the Tanakh for David. It appears to be the official anointing of Jesus for his commission.

What “Mark” doesn’t have is any mention of a virgin birth of Jesus. Traditionally Christianity has explained that “Matthew” was written first and “Mark” was intended to be a supplement to “Matthew” and didn’t mention the virgin birth because “Matthew” had already described it. That’s why editors added “son of God” to Mark 1:1 implying that Jesus had already been described as such in “Matthew’s” gospel. Modern Bible scholarship has determined that “Mark” was written before “Matthew” though and if this is true then the author of “Mark” either had never heard of the virgin birth story of “Matthew” or others or had heard of it but didn’t believe it. Apologists claim that there is no contradiction here because “Mark” doesn’t say that there was no virgin birth. A force more powerful than apologists though, common sense, says that if “Mark” thought there was a virgin birth he definitely would have mentioned it in his Gospel because it would have been an incredible piece of evidence that Jesus was special and should be believed in which was the point of his entire Gospel. The fact that there is no mention of a virgin birth in “Mark” supports the conclusion that the original author didn’t believe there was one.

#148

Mark 1: (KJV)

12 “And immediately the spirit driveth him into the wilderness.”

Compare to Matthew 4: (KJV)

1 “Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.”

Note the differences in description of what happens after the baptism. In “Mark” immediately after the baptism where Jesus received the spirit of God he is forcibly driven into the wilderness by the spirit of God. According to “Mark” Jesus received something at the baptism that he previously did not possess.

This is consistent with “Mark’s” depiction of Jesus not being born great but achieving greatness. “Matthew” has toned down the force of the spirit on Jesus saying “led” instead of “driven” and “then” instead of “immediately”. Apparently, for “Matthew” it was a problem showing Jesus as significantly different after the baptism.

#149

Mark 1: (KJV)

13 “And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.”

Compare to Matthew 4: (KJV)

1 “Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. 2
And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. 3
And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.”

According to “Mark” Jesus was tempted by Satan during his forty days in the wilderness. According to “Matthew” Jesus was tempted by Satan after spending forty days in the wilderness.

#150

Mark 1: (KJV)

29 “And forthwith, when they were come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 But Simon's wife's mother lay sick of a fever, and anon they tell him of her. 31 And he came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them.”

Compare to Matthew 8: (KJV)

14 “And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever. 15 And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them.”

KJV’s “them” in Matthew 8:15 has next to no manuscript support and should be “him” instead of “them”. Note that in “Mark” the description is of Jesus and some disciples entering the house where Jesus is told about the woman who then serves them all. In “Matthew” Jesus alone enters the house and discovers the woman who waits on Jesus.

#151

Mark 1: (KJV)

40 “And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. 41 And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.”

Compare to Numbers 5: (JPS)

1 “And HaShem spoke unto Moses, saying: 2 'Command the children of Israel, that they put out of the camp every leper, and every one that hath an issue, and whosoever is unclean by the dead; 3 both male and female shall ye put out, without the camp shall ye put them; that they defile not their camp, in the midst whereof I dwell.'”

Hardly anyone of our time would criticize Jesus for trying to heal a leper and most people would even applaud his effort. However, touching a leper would be a violation of the law of the Tanakh and Jesus previously stated in “Matthew” that he did not come to make any changes to the Law.

#152

Mark 1: (KJV)

43 “And he straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away;”

The Greek word translated above by KJV as “straitly” has a primary meaning in the Christian Bible of “angrily”. Some of the other modern translations use “sternly” which would be a secondary meaning. Most modern translations use the equivalent of the KJV’s “forthwith” above but the proper translation of the Greek word is “thrust out” with goes quite well with “angrily”. The mental picture one should have from the actual Greek words used is that of Benny Hill whacking the short, old, bald guy on the head to get him to move.

#153

Mark 1: (KJV)

14 “And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him.”

Compare to Matthew 9: (KJV)

9 “And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.”

Reading what follows each quote above makes it even clearer that the two authors are describing the same event. “Mark” says “Levi” was the guy while “Matthew” sez “Matthew”. A little known fact is that the Gospel “Mark” was originally titled “Levi” but later Christians changed the title to “Mark” because they thought “Levi” sounded “too Jewish”.

King Dave’s Stupid Apologist Tricks

"And if Jesus referred to Elvis as being with David, and the Pharisees didnt immediately correct Him then I would be apt to think that maybe Elvis was with David about to receive some showbread."

"There is sufficient evidence to support an oral prophecy. Therefore, I was not just making the argument "out of thin air". Just because this evidence does not exist now does not mean that it is not evidence."

"I agree that an argument from silence, if made out of thin air, is a weak argument. However, an argument from silence is entirely proper where there is further evidence supporting the argument."

(Editor's note - Hee heee!)

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