Problem: Most people who have done much study from the synoptic gospels are aware that following the baptism of Jesus, He “then” (Matthew 4:1; Luke 4:1) “immediately” (Mark 1:12) was sent out by the Spirit into the wilderness where He fasted for forty days while being tempted by the devil. Skeptics likewise are “well informed” of this story. In fact, some skeptics presume to know about this time in Jesus’ life so well, they have argued that the apostle John contradicted the synoptic writers (see “Inerrancy;” “Contradictions;” Wells, 2001). Allegedly, John placed Jesus at the wedding in Cana of Galilee just three days following His baptism (John 1:19-2:1), whereas Mark indicated that Jesus went into the desert for forty days “immediately” following His baptism. Is this a real chronological contradiction, as some suppose?
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Problem: Throughout the Bible, we see conflicting messages on the visibility of God. On the one hand, God appeared to Abraham (Gen. 17:1; 18:1) and Moses (Ex. 6:2-3). In fact, Moses recorded that the elders “saw the God of Israel” (Ex. 24:10). However, in this passage, Paul says that God is “invisible” (1 Tim. 1:17), and at the end of this letter, Paul writes that God “dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see” (1 Tim. 6:16). God told Moses that “no man can see me and live” (Ex. 33:20), and John wrote, “No one has seen God at any time” (Jn. 1:18; c.f. 5:37; 6:46). Critics argue that the Bible seems to be offering a clear contradiction on the visibility of God.
