Izz responds:
Nice try, Mr. Till, and I appreciate the lesson you are giving me by
illustrating the typical fundie dodges. Here is why this catch-all fundie
dodge does not work on this example: The two accounts are not identical,
therefore merely saying that the order of presentation does not match the
time it actually occured, does not explain anything. In Mark, Jesus curses
the tree, but it does not wither immediately. The next day, they pass by it
again, and then find it withered, as Peter points out. But in Matthew, the
tree is cursed only after the temple is cleansed, and goes from having leaves
to withering immediately. So the contradiction cannot be said to be the same
story told twice but just presented out of sequence by one author or the
other, there is also the matter of different details. Here are the relevant
passages:
Matthew 21:12,17-20
"Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling
there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of
those selling doves....[later] he left them and went out of the city to
Bethany, where he spent the night. Early in the morning, as he was on his way
back to the city, he was hungry. Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to
it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, "May you never
bear fruit again!" Immediately the tree withered. When the disciples saw
this, they were amazed. "How did the fig tree wither so quickly?" they
asked."
Mark 11:11-15,19-21
"Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple. He looked around at
everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the
Twelve. The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing
in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit.
When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the
season for figs. Then he said to the tree, "May no one ever eat fruit from
you again." And his disciples heard him say it. On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus
entered the temple area and began driving out those who
were buying and selling there.....When evening came, they went out of the
city. In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from
the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree you
cursed has withered!" "Have faith in God," Jesus answered."
Izz