Inerrancy of the Bible - Three Accounts of A Demon-Possed Man

settergren · Feb 5, 2003

Regarding the demon possed man whom Jesus casted the demons out of, there are three passages, each from different gospels, which have an account of the story. Two of the accounts of this story say there was one demon possesed man while the third account says that there were two.

Here are the passages:

Mark 5:1...?

1They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes.[1] 2When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil[2] spirit came from the tombs to meet him. 3This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain...

Luke 8:26...

26They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes,[2] which is across the lake from Galilee. 27When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs...

Matthew 8:28...

28When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes,[4] two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. 29"What do you want with us, Son of God?" they shouted. "Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?..."

 

 

Does this discredit the inerrancy of the Bible in anyway? I don't think so. What possible explanations could there exist for these passages?

kern · Feb 5, 2003

I do not think this discredits inerrancy, nor do I think that it's necessary to come up with convoluted explanations (i.e. imagining that there are two different encounters being described here). It's just an example of the oral form of a story changing through transmission -- it's the same story, but the writer of Matthew received a slightly different version of it than the authors of Mark and Luke.

One other interesting thing about this section is that Codex Sinaiticus has "Gazarenes" emended to "Gergesenes", and a few manuscripts have "Gerasenes", all of which are distinct places different from Gadarenes.

-Chris

Outspoken · Feb 10, 2003

"What possible explanations could there exist for these passages?"

Jewish oral tradtion for one

slightlypuzzled · Feb 11, 2003

or a difference in emphasis. Perhaps the 'one' mentioned in the other two accounts is a well know christian and is drawing the story from his point of view.

judge · Feb 18, 2003

These are perhaps two entirely different events.

It seems that wherever Jesus went evil spirits recognised him.

Why do you think they are the same event?

kern · Feb 18, 2003

Because they occur in the same place in the narratives, they occur at the same time, and they are exactly the same story except for that one detail -- that in one account there were two men instead of one. The only reason to believe they are two separate accounts is in an attempt to preserve some strictly literal interpretation of "biblical innerancy".

-Chris

judge · Feb 19, 2003

Today at 03:11 AM kern said this in Post #6

Because they occur in the same place in the narratives, they occur at the same time, and they are exactly the same story except for that one detail -- that in one account there were two men instead of one. The only reason to believe they are two separate accounts is in an attempt to preserve some strictly literal interpretation of "biblical innerancy".

-Chris

 

They happen in different places as well. I'll have to have a closer look some time.

Search

Search

Inerrancy of the Bible - Three Accounts of A Demon-Possed Man

settergren

In Christ Alone

More options

kern

Miserere Nobis

More options

Outspoken

Standing in the Gap

More options

slightlypuzzled

Active Member

More options

judge

Regular Member

More options

kern

Miserere Nobis

More options

judge

Regular Member

More options

Similar threads