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As Christians claim that the Bible is the inspired word of God then I would expect all the accounts to be the same. I mean do you expect God to inspire the writing of your Father's memoirs. :) Of course not but if it is God's Word don't you think God would have a little better continuity department? Some angel wasn't doing his editing job very well in the first couple centuries after Christ. My Bible professor was a Greek expert and he gave special emphasis on the differences in the Gospels, the cultural background, and on the "hard" sayings. To sum it up, he said that a large amount of the original author's personal style got in each of the Books.

You already know what I meant by the analogy of my father's memiors--his wife would write about Dad as a husband; one of his co-workers would write about him as a military officer, etc. In this way, Mark, Luke, Matthew, and the author of the gospel of John each chose to "remember" the events in Jesus's life and His sayings that resounded best with them--and not necessarily in chronological order.

That does not prove that any of the accounts are "incorrect". Would a gigantic timeline in the place of the Gospels change your mind about its divinity? I don't think it would.

Put together, the Gospels give us a full picture of Jesus's different sides, and each has its own "feeling" and portrait of Jesus, something that no encyclopedia entry would capture. You are right, however, that it is very difficult to put together a timeline in Jesus's life from the Four Gospels--they are human memiors compelled by the Holy Spirit with the author's own bias, not encyclopedia entries.

Paul is a christian writer and Joseph Flavius gives jesus about two lines of text to jesus and it says . Jesus is a Holy man and does many wonderous things. Thats it hell Flavius writes alot more about John the Baptist even some of the apostles are mentioned but not in conjunction with jesus.

John the Baptist was still a direct witness and a Christian, and to brush off Paul as a "Christian writer" is like brushing off Holacaust biographers as "Jewish writers". :P

Well there are many political references on "Gilligan's Island" and thousands of people wrote the Company that produced the show asking them why they didn't rescue the castaways, does this mean that the show is true or that people are basically stupid.

True, but one could say the same of any event in the world. My only reason for arguing this with you is to let you know that some of us have given the historical evidence, and the hard parts of the Bible, considerable thought--and we decided to believe in Jesus despite, or because of, the evidence. Many people have the impression that Christians are being played for fools, and that if you showed Christians the "historical evidence" enough, they'd cease to believe (at least if they were being honest with themselves). "Not so" is the only point I'm trying to win. :-)

Again, best wishes, and I hope you are having a wonderful weekend. :-)

"You already know what I meant by the analogy of my father's memiors--his wife would write about Dad as a husband; one of his co-workers would write about him as a military officer, etc. In this way, Mark, Luke, Matthew, and the author of the gospel of John each chose to "remember" the events in Jesus's life and His sayings that resounded best with them--and not necessarily in chronological order. "

You can't have this two ways either the Bible is the word of God or it is the Words of matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Bill, Joe, Erin etc etc ad nauseum. The accounts aren't rememberances if GOD inspired the words and even if they are just the mere words of a few religious kooks then they remembered the events so differently in each Gospel that it could be separate stories.

"John the Baptist was still a direct witness and a Christian, and to brush off Paul as a "Christian writer" is like brushing off Holacaust biographers as "Jewish writers". :P "

Hmmm Flavius' words about John the Baptist doesnt mention he is a Christian in fact while he has a few more lines of text in the account they say very little subbstantively about him other than a crazy holy man . I brush off Paul as easily as I brush off you as an authority on the Bible. True believers make horrible historians they have the Noble Savage disease and think that their subjects can do no wrong. I would dismiss the Holacaust biographers also if there was no physical evidence of their ordeal as the story would be almost outrageous without that evidence. Note I am not saying that the horrors the Nazis perpatrated never happened what I am saying is that the Barbarity is so great that a rational person would almost be unable to grasp that people could act in that way.