*Alward: The Best Three Days Harmonization

JAlw@aol.com JAlw@aol.com
Sat, 21 Nov 1998 19:43:07 EST (00911716987, 6789f2ca.36575e1b@aol.com) 

In a message dated 98-11-21 19:02:35 EST, you write:

<< Subj:	 Re: *Alward:  The Best Three Days Harmonization
 Date:	98-11-21 19:02:35 EST
 From:	brite1@inetworld.net (Ray & Sandy Briggs)
 Sender:	owner-errancy@infidels.org
 Reply-to:	brite1@inetworld.net
 To:	errancy@infidels.org (Farrell Till)
 
 Joe Alward wrote:
 Jesus is crucified on Wednesday and is buried right at sundown, the
 start of Thursday night.  He rises right at sundown at the end of
 Saturday.  This has him in his tomb all of Thursday night and day, all
 of Friday night and day, and all of Saturday night and day. He rises
 exactly at the end of his third day in the tomb, fittingly ending his
 "rest" at the end of the day of rest. He spends Sunday night in
 prayerful contemplation, and shortly after his tomb is found, he appears
 unto his disciples.
 
 Any comments?
 =====================
 Ray:
 
 
 This scenario does avoid the 3 day 3 night vs 2 nights and 1 day
 contradiction. This is precisely the harmonization I have always seen
 biblical inerrantist give. It's main problem is that according to what
 we have heard, the 1st day of Passover is never referred to as the
 sabbath. Ed, Helen and others have shown good evidence that it is not so
 used. That is really the end of it unless someone can come up with
 something authoritative that contradicts their information.
 
 There are others. One is that (in referring to the crucifixion), it is
 said (Luke 24:21) "to be the 3rd day since these things took place". It
 is obviously Sunday (the day the women went to the tomb) and if Jesus
 were crucified on Wednesday, it would have been a full 4 days since it
 occurred. It was actually going on (probably was) beginning the 5th day
 at the time.
 
 Another is not contradictory to the agenda but just logic. If the women
 were going to anoint the body, why would they wait till Sunday when they
 would have expected it to stinkith? Even if it is granted that Thursday
 was a sabbath and they couldn't have then, why not Friday? They would
 wait two more days? No way.
 
 Ray
 =====================
Joe Alward:

I agree with everything Ray said.  This is the best the inerrantists can do,
in my opinion, but it has many problems.  The inerranstist have to assert that

(1)  Passover that year was called a "sabbath".
(2)  That Passover "sabbath" was "important".
(3)  The "third day since these things were done" refers to the third day of
entombment, not the third day counting from the crucifixion.
(4)  The women didn't go to the tomb on Friday, even though it was not a
sabbath.

The first point is still in litigation, I think, but I don't have any way to
understand how that "sabbath" could have been "important".  The third point
really streches the imagination.  The fourth is the strongest, in my opinion:
one may assert that the women DID go to the tomb on Friday, but were turned
away by nervous guards, fearful that it might be a trick to steal Jesus' body.

All in all, though, this is still the best the inerrantists can do, I think;
that's what I've been looking for.