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To Darrell: I would like to have the exact legal language of the Easter $1,000 reward please.
I will answer question #2 from the resurrection quiz about when the women came to the tomb to see if it is a worthy explanation:
Answer: They came “very early in the morning” (Luke 24:1), “when it was still dark” (John 20:1), “as it began to dawn” (Matt 28:1), and “at the rising of the sun” (Mark 16:2). No contradiction.
Let me know if this is sufficient for the first part or if I have “left anything out” or “added anything”. Who judges the reward claims? Does your lawyer or do you? I need to know why you can’t just say “well, I don’t agree that these things are all saying the same thing” or “I don’t agree with your logic.” I say that I would describe walking out at a sunrise as being “very early in the morning”, “still dark”, “as it began to dawn”, and “at the rising of the sun”. I don’t see any controversy here. At a sunrise, it is very early in the morning, it is still dark because it is not light yet, it is beginning to dawn, and the sun is in the process of rising which all four gospels point out. I think it is marvelous that they don’t use the exact wording or otherwise they you would make the point that they just copied off of each other. However, who judges that this didn’t leave out anything of the Bible or add anything to it? I used the exact words from the four gospels as you said. However, I would be interested in knowing if that statement would be worthy of the reward if the reward was written as “describe what time of day the women came to the tomb.” I know the reward is “tell what happened on Easter.” So, if this one statement of what time of day the women came to the tomb is sufficient, then when you let me know how far I need to go to constitute Easter, then I will work on the rest. The Acts verses you put down talk about Jesus’ ascension to Heaven which happened many days after the resurrection. Also, the Corinthian verses you listed dealt with what happened after Easter morning when the women first came to the tomb. It doesn’t even mention that the women saw Jesus first; it just says “he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve.” (1 Cor 15:5). It doesn’t say that he was “first” seen of Cephas, then of the twelve.” So, again, this is no contradiction of who saw Jesus first. Thanks for all questions. It has increased my faith greatly by exploring what happened according to all the four gospels. I am greatly interested in knowing how the submissions for the reward are judged. I would like to have the actual legal language also of the reward to see if there are any loopholes of someone just being able to disagree with me and that being the end of it as well as how much explanation I need to give for when I put all the scriptures together into a cohesive story like I did above for when the women came to the tomb. For instance again, can I just say "Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, Joanna, Salome, and some other unnamed women who were with Jesus in Galilee came to the tomb according to John 20:1, Matt 28:1, Mark 16:1, and Luke 23:55-56; 24:1, 10. Take care.

To L.Wood: About usuary:
My understanding of the Bible is that we shouldn't charge our "brethren" interest on loans. However, Proverbs, talks much about money and not loaning out money to friends that you expect back. So, I actually practice not loaning money to friends, but if I "loan" money to a friend or another Christian then I don't expect it back. If they give it back to me great, but if they don't, then we are still friends because I didn't expect it back anyway. The Old Testament had a law about forgiving all debt every 7 years. There is nothing Biblically wrong with usury such as charging interest on loans if someone gets a loan from a bank or a business man or woman; however, according the Bible if a Christian is in need, then we as other Christians should try to help them freely without charging them interest on money we give them. Also, I hope you can agree that much of the recession was caused by people getting loans for amounts of money that were too much for the amount they make. As for the early church practicing socialism, this was not a government mandated act, this was an act of freewill and charity such as what places like Helping Hands, Salvation Army, etc which are Christian organizations practice now to people who are hurting. God intended for Christians to help their fellow man and not for the government to mandate that everyone gets a free handout many of the people who made very poor choices and are reaping the consequences for those choices and many of whom are just lazy and don't want to work. The Bible also says that a person who doesn't work doesn't eat. I have given money to many Christians and non-Christians in need, but before I do, I go through their check book with them, help them evaluate their spending habits, and help the not get back in that predicament again. The government just gives a free handout and never addresses the problem of overspending and even enables someone not to work who could work. For instance, if a person getting federal money makes any money, then the get that amount of money decreased from their govenment check. This is not encouraging hard work, it just makes people decide not to work. There should be a benefit to working. Until we get that fixed in our nation, America will continue to go further and further in debt because the US is spending money it doesn't have either.

Ronnie wrote:To Darrell: I would like to have the exact legal language of the Easter $1,000 reward please.

Sure:

***
Tell us exactly what happened on the first Easter and win $1,000! Read:

* Matthew 28
* Mark 16
* Luke 24
* John 20 & 21
Read also:
* Acts 1:3-12
* 1 Corinthians 15:3-8

Then, without omitting a single detail from the accounts, write one consistent narrative*with scriptural citations*of the events from the Resurrection to the Ascension of Jesus Christ.

Then email your claim for $1000 REWARD to: RESURRECTION REWARD - fayfreethinkers.com

Here is an excellent article by former minister Dan Barker

Leave No Stone Unturned
An Easter Challenge For Christians

An excerpt:

"The conditions of the challenge are simple and reasonable. In each of the four Gospels, begin at Easter morning and read to the end of the book: Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, and John 20-21. Also read Acts 1:3-12 and Paul's tiny version of the story in I Corinthians 15:3-8. These 165 verses can be read in a few moments. Then, without omitting a single detail from these separate accounts, write a simple, chronological narrative of the events between the resurrection and the ascension: what happened first, second, and so on; who said what, when; and where these things happened.

Since the gospels do not always give precise times of day, it is permissible to make educated guesses. The narrative does not have to pretend to present a perfect picture--it only needs to give at least one plausible account of all of the facts. Additional explanation of the narrative may be set apart in parentheses. The important condition to the challenge, however, is that not one single biblical detail be omitted. Fair enough?

I have tried this challenge myself. I failed. An Assembly of God minister whom I was debating a couple of years ago on a Florida radio show loudly proclaimed over the air that he would send me the narrative in a few days. I am still waiting. After my debate at the University of Wisconsin, "Jesus of Nazareth: Messiah or Myth," a Lutheran graduate student told me he accepted the challenge and would be contacting me in about a week. I have never heard from him. Both of these people, and others, agreed that the request was reasonable and crucial. Maybe they are slow readers.

Many bible stories are given only once or twice, and are therefore hard to confirm. The author of Matthew, for example, was the only one to mention that at the crucifixion dead people emerged from the graves of Jerusalem, walking around showing themselves to everyone--an amazing event that could hardly escape the notice of the other Gospel writers, or any other historians of the period. But though the silence of others might weaken the likelihood of a story, it does not disprove it. Disconfirmation comes with contradictions.

Thomas Paine tackled this matter two hundred years ago in The Age of Reason, stumbling across dozens of New Testament discrepancies:

"I lay it down as a position which cannot be controverted," he wrote, "first, that the agreement of all the parts of a story does not prove that story to be true, because the parts may agree and the whole may be false; secondly, that the disagreement of the parts of a story proves the whole cannot be true."

Since Easter is told by five different writers, it gives one of the best chances to confirm or disconfirm the account. Christians should welcome the opportunity."

LINK

I encourage you to read the short article. This challenge really isn't about the money. It's about teaching you something about your Bible that your minister didn't tell you.

I will answer question #2 from the resurrection quiz about when the women came to the tomb to see if it is a worthy explanation:
Answer: They came “very early in the morning” (Luke 24:1), “when it was still dark” (John 20:1), “as it began to dawn” (Matt 28:1), and “at the rising of the sun” (Mark 16:2). No contradiction.

Who judges the reward claims?

Doug and me. Would could also call upon some expert Bible scholars, but that should hardly be necessary. You will find we are very reasonable. The end result you will achieve, if you muster to courage to do it (do it yourself, rather than struggle through the muddled books on this topic, I just read scanned tektonics horrible mess on this). It's just 165 verses. Put them in order, leave nothing out. Does the end result make sense without ad hoc excuses inserted?

I would describe walking out at a sunrise as being “very early in the morning”, “still dark”, “as it began to dawn”, and “at the rising of the sun”. I don’t see any controversy here... I think it is marvelous that they don’t use the exact wording or otherwise they you would make the point that they just copied off of each other.

We already know they copied. You think it's marvelous that they can't get their story straight? You think it's marvelous that Matthew doctored his story, added a donkey, so he could fulfill a nonexistent prophecy he misread in Zacharia because he wasn't familiar enough with the Jewish stories he was pinching his story from? Even a child knows a consistent story is preferred over an inconsistent one.

I would be interested in knowing if that statement would be worthy of the reward if the reward was written as “describe what time of day the women came to the tomb.”

There are no rewards for playing games with all of the contradictions in the Bible. I am well aware Christians have an entire enterprise called "apologetics" where they apologize and make excuses for all of the errors in the Bible. Sometimes the excuses are good. Usually they're not. You probably shouldn't invest too much time in this little resurrection quiz. It's just a copy and paste from a friend which reveals several of the standard problems with the differing stories. But if you really want to get into Bible errors, and the ludicrous doctrine of biblical inerrancy, I have even better.

The Acts verses you put down talk about Jesus’ ascension to Heaven which happened many days after the resurrection.

According to one version.

Also, the Corinthian verses... It doesn’t even mention that the women saw Jesus first; it just says “he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve.” (1 Cor 15:5). It doesn’t say that he was “first” seen of Cephas, then of the twelve.”

If you understand English, you know that "then" means it came after. If not, why not?

So, again, this is no contradiction of who saw Jesus first.

There are lots of problems with the appearance stories. A person could write a book just on these. Here is one from my book:

***
30.
a) On the way to tell the disciples, Mary Magdalene
saw Jesus,
b) recognized him,
c) and held him by the feet while worshipping him.
In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward
the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and
the other Mary to see the sepulchre... And they
departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and
great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word. And
as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met
them, saying. All hail. And they came and held him
by the feet, and worshipped him. Matt. 28:1, 8, 9.

VS.

30.
a) Mary Magdalene did not see Jesus until after she
broke the news to Peter and the other disciple,
b) and then she did not recognize Jesus
c) and was not allowed to touch him.
...cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet
dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken
away from the sepulchre. Then she runneth, and
cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple,
whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, they have
taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we
know not where they have laid him. Peter therefore
went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the
sepulchre...Then the disciples went away again unto
their own home.
But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping:
and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into
the sepulchre, And seeth two angels in white setting,
the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the
body of Jesus had lain. And they say unto her,
Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them,
Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know
not where they have laid him. And when she had thus
said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus
standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus
saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom
seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener,
saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell
me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.
Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and
saith unto him Raboni; which is to say, Master. Jesus
saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet
ascended to my father:... John 20:1-3, 10-17
***

Thanks for all questions. It has increased my faith greatly...

Sure it has. We're going to get along great then, I have much more faith strengthening material left to share.

can I just say "Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, Joanna, Salome, and some other unnamed women who were with Jesus in Galilee came to the tomb according to...

That's the least of your problems.

Why don't you just sit down, and do this little project Ronnie? Shouldn't take long. It's just 165 verses. It's really not about the money is it? Money isn't important, put your treasures in heaven. My Oxford Annotated New Revised Standard Version plainly states in it's footnotes, regarding the resurrection stories: "the sequence of events cannot be worked out." This Bible represents the work of hundreds of scholars. If the sequence could be worked out, standard mainstream Christian scholarship wouldn't have to admit that they can't be worked out.

We have never had a Christian attempt shared with us. You could be the first.

Ronnie wrote:Thanks for all questions. It has increased my faith greatly by exploring what happened according to all the four gospels.

Faith is belief that is not based on evidence. If you have a lot of evidence, you don't need faith. However, if you increase your faith, it means that you realize that you have less evidence than you did before, and thus you need more faith to maintain the same belief. That you have less evidence than you thought before is the whole point of this exercise.

But let's be clear on what the challenge is: You are asked to, "without omitting a single detail from these separate accounts, write a simple, chronological narrative of the events between the resurrection and the ascension: what happened first, second, and so on; who said what, when; and where these things happened." You are off to a good start, citing the relevant verses at the beginning of the action of the accounts of the Easter story. Let's see the rest.

Ronnie wrote:I used the exact words from the four gospels as you said.

Good. That is exactly the way to proceed. Let's see some more. If it is so easy to reconcile these accounts, why didn't you just send in the whole thing?

Ronnie wrote:I am greatly interested in knowing how the submissions for the reward are judged. I would like to have the actual legal language also of the reward to see if there are any loopholes of someone just being able to disagree with me and that being the end of it as well as how much explanation I need to give for when I put all the scriptures together into a cohesive story like I did above for when the women came to the tomb.

Darrel and I judge the submissions with regard to consistency. There is no "exact, legal language." Send in your proposed entry and we'll tell you what we think of its success, and why. I hesitate to comment on just a few lines because you may give up too soon and not benefit from the realization of the way in which the resurrection narratives fail to cohere.

Your nonsense about what the Bible says about governments helping the poor is unrelated to the challenge in question so I won't comment in its flaws.

Just so we are clear, Ronnie: The challenge is to write a consistent, chronological sequence using all of the information in the verses in question. You are not supposed to "explain" anything or defend anything. Just write a New Testament-based narrative of the sort described.

It's not very long. Just do that and send it in.