Tagline: Bringing you trivia that's not trivial

All four gospels have different details for the passion and resurrection story. For example:

• Matthew has one angel in white appearing to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary.
• Mark has a young man in white appearing to the two Marys and Simon.
• Luke has two men in dazzling garments appearing to the two Marys and Joanna.
• John has two angels in white appearing to Mary Magdalene.

Possible explanations:

NT Wright says the details don't matter.

Matt says differing details make it more likely to be true.

Ben doesn't think the gospels are documentaries. They are theological narratives arguing Jesus was a real person, was Messiah, and arose from the dead. They weren't doing journalism, they were teaching through narrative.

Matt says the Sermon on the Mount was not word for word what Jesus preached, it was a summary.

Matt believes there were multiple groups, and the gospel writers weren't giving an exhaustive narrative.

Ben goes farther and says that Jesus rose from the dead but the gospels are not history.

NT Wright pointed out that the women were the first to see Jesus, and they were not considered credible witnesses, an argument for historical credibility.