Hello Meister,

Thanks for taking the time to respond, my friend.

I agree; the church's interpretation takes different shapes at different periods. That's why it behooves us to read widely from every period of history and every major culture. You never want to be trapped in your own cultural silo.

I recommend the book Jesus Christ: The Greatest Life, accessible here: http://www.jesuschristthegreatestlife.com/product/jesus-christ-the-greatest-life/

It's a simple premise, but incredibly powerful. It simply combines all four Gospels into one narrative, without adding any words or taking any away. The result is simply stunning.

It removes virtually all supposed discrepancies in the four Gospels accounts. You can trace Jesus through all six of His trials, and discern why He is silent in some and not in others. He is silent before Herod, who killed his cousin John the Baptist. Yet Jesus discourses with Pilate, in private, away from the crowds. Pilate had little knowledge of Jesus, yet was curious, so Jesus answered his questions. Herod, on the other hand, knew all too well who Jesus and John were, and this didn't stop him from killing John. Thus Jesus' different response to the two men is entirely understandable.

Likewise, it harmonizes all the Resurrection accounts perfectly.

To harmonize the Resurrection accounts, simply put every detail in strict chronological order, and every charge of contradiction evaporates. I've spoken with many who accuse the Bible of contradiction here. I tend to paste this book's combined account of all the Resurrection details and ask them to spot any contradiction. So far, no one has been able to.

We can discuss various century's approach to history all we want.

But when you take the simple words of the Gospels, put them all in order, and find everything harmonize perfectly, we don't need to.

We can simply trust that the text means what it says.