Dr Paul Allen

  I was in a dialogue with an atheist regarding what he believes is one of “many” so-called “biblical contradictions.” The odd guy I am, I find this sort of thing fun. In any event, I love defending the Bible and Christianity. He brought up the story of Jesus casting out demons and sending them into pigs, which promptly ran over a cliff into the sea. The Gospels use different names for the places where this occurred: Mark 5:1 ... the country of the Ger’asenes. (Luke 8:26 is identical) Matthew 8:28 ... the country of the Gadarenes ...  This is supposedly a “contradiction.” Gerasa is (as we know) some 30-35 miles southeast of the Sea of Galilee but may have also been the name of the larger region. Wikipedia states, "In the second half of the 1st century AD, Jerash achieved great prosperity.”  Gadara is about six miles from the sea. Its ruins include two amphitheatres, a basilica, a temple, a hippodrome, aqueducts and colonnades, showing its importance and stature. “Gergesenes” is al

Author: JOSH DAFFERN A Bible passage not normally looked at is John 6:66 and the time the crowds tried to force Jesus’ hand and make him king by force, and not only did that not happen, but everything went sideways and by the end, Jesus lost most of his followers. Hidden within this story is a powerful message for Christians today. Sometime after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. John 6:1-2 The biggest reason people followed Jesus wasn’t because of what he taught. In fact, most folks probably wished Jesus would stop talking because every time he talked people got upset. People followed Jesus because of the miracles. Because he healed the sick. I mean, what’s not to love about free healthcare? So, one of the times when the crowds followed Jesus, Jesus decided to feed them: Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plen