The Case For Christ

at so many points that, with all the good will in the world, they
cannot be reconciled." Taken at face value, this objection seems
to penetrate to the heart of the reliability of the empty tomb
narratives. Consider this summary by Dr. Michael Martin of Boston
University, which I read to Craig that morning:
In Matthew, when Mary Magdalene and the other Mary arrived
toward dawn at the tomb there is a rock in front of it, there is
a violent earthquake, and an angel descends and rolls back the
stone. In Mark, the women arrive at the tomb at sunrise and the
stone had been rolled back. In Luke, when the women arrive at
early dawn they find the stone had already been rolled back. In
Matthew, an angel is sitting on the rock outside the tomb and in
Mark a youth is inside the tomb. In Luke, two men are inside. In
Matthew, the women present at the tomb are Mary Magdalene and
the other Mary. In Mark, the women present at the
tomb are the two Marys and Salome. In Luke, Mary Magdalene, Mary
the mother of James, Joanna, and the other women
are present at the tomb.
In Matthew, the two Marys rush from the tomb in great fear
and joy, run to tell the disciples, and meet Jesus on the way. In
Mark, they run out of the tomb in fear and say nothing to anyone.
In Luke, the women report the story to the disciples who do not
believe them and there is no suggestion that they meet Jesus .
"And," I said to Craig, "Martin points out that John conflicts
with much of the other three gospels. He concludes, 'In sum, the
accounts of what happened at the tomb are either inconsistent or
can only be made consistent with the aid of implausible
interpretations.'" I stopped reading and looked up from my notes.
My eyes locking with Craig's, I asked him point-blank, "In light
of all this, how in the world can you possibly consider the empty
tomb story to be credible?" Immediately I noticed something about
Craig's demeanor. In
casual conversation or when discussing tepid objections to the
empty tomb, he's rather mellow. But the tougher the question and
the more piercing the challenge, the more animated and focused he
gets. And at this point his body language told me he couldn't
wait to dive into these seemingly dangerous waters.
Clearing his throat, Craig began. "With all due respect," he
said, "Michael Martin is a philosopher, not a historian, and I
don't think he understands the historian's craft. For a
philosopher, if something is inconsistent, the law of