3 ms·

Clearly a sign from the Lord to test our faith.

by henning 18y ago

deleted 18y ago
[deleted]
- ensignavenger 18y ago
  There are many things in the Bible that may appear to be contradictory upon first glance. Some of those are taken out of historical and cultural context, some are mistranslations (yes, the Bible translators and scribes throughout the years did make mistakes) and with some things, we just don't have the whole story. The particular "contradiction of which you refer- the two different lineages given for Jesus has a rather simple explanation. The lineage given in Matthew is that of Joseph (considered Jesus earthly father) and the lineage given in Luke is that of Mary (his mortal mother). Usually in the time and culture, they would only trace ancestry via the father- but as Mary was a virgin at the time of birth, Jesus was unrelated to Joseph by blood. Therefore, the different authors cited different lineages. Yes, Joseph and Mary were related (cousins I think).
- sant0sk1 18y ago
  Matthew shows the regal, or kingly, generations from Abraham to Christ. Luke shows the earthly generations from Christ to Adam. This is in relation to the themes of those narratives, Matthew declaring Christ as King and Luke declaring Christ as man. Pretty basic stuff, even for us non-priests. The Bible actually states that a Christian ought to be ready at all times to give an answer for the hope that is in them. The sad state of Christendom is that many have no idea.
  - ensignavenger 18y ago
    Of course, we are better off than those in the dark ages- prior to Gutenberg! Though we have a long way to go. Thanks for the further explanation.
- hugh 18y ago
  Of course it's perfectly possible for one person to be related to a distant ancestor by two different pathways with significantly different numbers of generations. In fact, if you traced your family tree back 40ish generations you'd almost certainly find branches joining up like that all over the place. I guess it doesn't work if you only list male ancestors, though.

Clearly a sign from the Lord to test our faith.

by henning 18y ago

Clearly a sign from the Lord to test our faith.

deleted 18y ago

[deleted]

ensignavenger 18y ago
There are many things in the Bible that may appear to be contradictory upon first glance. Some of those are taken out of historical and cultural context, some are mistranslations (yes, the Bible translators and scribes throughout the years did make mistakes) and with some things, we just don't have the whole story. The particular "contradiction of which you refer- the two different lineages given for Jesus has a rather simple explanation. The lineage given in Matthew is that of Joseph (considered Jesus earthly father) and the lineage given in Luke is that of Mary (his mortal mother). Usually in the time and culture, they would only trace ancestry via the father- but as Mary was a virgin at the time of birth, Jesus was unrelated to Joseph by blood. Therefore, the different authors cited different lineages. Yes, Joseph and Mary were related (cousins I think).
sant0sk1 18y ago
Matthew shows the regal, or kingly, generations from Abraham to Christ. Luke shows the earthly generations from Christ to Adam. This is in relation to the themes of those narratives, Matthew declaring Christ as King and Luke declaring Christ as man. Pretty basic stuff, even for us non-priests. The Bible actually states that a Christian ought to be ready at all times to give an answer for the hope that is in them. The sad state of Christendom is that many have no idea.
- ensignavenger 18y ago
  Of course, we are better off than those in the dark ages- prior to Gutenberg! Though we have a long way to go. Thanks for the further explanation.
hugh 18y ago
Of course it's perfectly possible for one person to be related to a distant ancestor by two different pathways with significantly different numbers of generations. In fact, if you traced your family tree back 40ish generations you'd almost certainly find branches joining up like that all over the place. I guess it doesn't work if you only list male ancestors, though.