Comments on: Matthew’s Tomb Soldiers http://www.anatheist.net/2009/04/matthews-tomb-soldiers/ Atheism & Religious Skepticism Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:23:53 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: James Tracy http://www.anatheist.net/2009/04/matthews-tomb-soldiers/comment-page-1/#comment-4137 James Tracy Thu, 16 Apr 2009 16:18:19 +0000 http://www.anatheist.net/?p=2402#comment-4137 Lazy soldiers. Probably didn't even check the tomb once over before they began guarding it. Matthew's vignette is such an obvious fabrication given the other gospels to compare his with. It really makes you wonder why the author would have felt okay adding such blatantly fictional elements to the gospel. Well, my hunch is that Matthew knew the gospels were literary allegory and not historical - and that would have been okay with him. The point of the story is that it delivers the right theological message not that it recounts any actual history. Lazy soldiers. Probably didn't even check the tomb once over before they began guarding it.

Matthew's vignette is such an obvious fabrication given the other gospels to compare his with. It really makes you wonder why the author would have felt okay adding such blatantly fictional elements to the gospel. Well, my hunch is that Matthew knew the gospels were literary allegory and not historical – and that would have been okay with him. The point of the story is that it delivers the right theological message not that it recounts any actual history.

]]> By: Danny Boy, FCD http://www.anatheist.net/2009/04/matthews-tomb-soldiers/comment-page-1/#comment-4125 Danny Boy, FCD Thu, 16 Apr 2009 10:08:41 +0000 http://www.anatheist.net/?p=2402#comment-4125 Even Matthew's addition has a major loophole. The guards weren't posted until "the next day" (the day after the burial), thus giving grave robbers ample time to snatch Jesus' corpse. Even Matthew's addition has a major loophole. The guards weren't posted until "the next day" (the day after the burial), thus giving grave robbers ample time to snatch Jesus' corpse.

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