John the Baptist

[DeistPaladin]

The texts themselves fit with one another just fine. The only problems you've noted were created by your own imagination and assumptions.

That loud snapping sound was my irony meter breaking.

Let me remind you of something: You are the believer. I'm just a non-believer. Non-belief doesn't involve imagination and assumptions. It involves reading something and seeing if it makes sense or not.

Faith-based belief, by definition, involves imagination and assumptions. Faith is believing in something without evidence and often against all evidence. To do that, you have to imagine something is true and assume that it is true.

Skepticism does not involve any imagination or assumptions. You show me compelling evidence that your religion is true and I'll stop doubting it. Of course, you can't because that would mean you wouldn't need faith.

But back to the topic, the Synoptic Gospels depict a ministry that starts with the baptism of JtB, he goes into the wilderness by himself (he had no disciples following him around at that point) for 40 days, comes back when JtB is in prison and begins to gather disciples and finally concludes with the "cleansing of the temple".

In John's Gospel, Jesus meets with (but is not baptized by) JtB, gathers disciples, makes wine at a wedding, never goes into the wilderness (since that story would make less sense for the Trinitarian Jesus that had developed by the time John was written), cleanses the temple as the kickoff of his ministry and then sets up a rival baptizing business next to JtB's franchise, all before JtB is ever thrown into prison.

I'm just reading the different stories as they are written. You are the one acting like a fanboy trying to come up with explanations for all the continuity gaffes.

1 & 3 are concurrent, with 1 not mentioning the baptism. I.e., another argument from silence. ...Then 2. Then 4.

That really doesn't fit. After his baptism in the Synoptics, Jesus goes by himself "immediately" into the wilderness (no disciples following him yet) and then starts his ministry in Galilee once JtB is put into prison.

Mark 1:12 And immediately the spirit driveth him into the wilderness. And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him. Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,

So timeline:
1. Baptism.
2. Immediately went to the wilderness for 40 days.
3. JtB thrown in prison.
4. Jesus comes to Galilee preaching.

Now in John Jesus meets JtB, the next two days gathers disciples and the following day attends a marriage.

John 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
John 1:35 Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples;
John 1:43 The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me.
John 2:1 And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:

So timeline:
Day 1: Baptism
Day 2: Gather discples
Day 3: Gather more disciples
Day 4: Attend wedding

No room for ad hocs here. John specifies JC's activities for three days after his meeting with JtB. Mark et al say JC was immediately taken into the wilderness for 40 days.

And we haven't even addressed how Jesus gathered his disciples twice.

And I have more reasons than silence for noting that John's JtB never baptizes Jesus at all. There's a progression with each successive Gospel where the whole baptism seems theologically awkward. In order:

Mark: JtB puts himself down but still baptizes Jesus
Matt: JtB objects, wondering why he should baptize Jesus when it should be the other way around.
John: Ditch the whole awkward thing and just have JtB bare witness.

Also:

Synoptics: JtB has to first get out of the way.
John: JC has his ministry going long before JtB is put into prison and, just for good measure, he opens a rival baptizing clinic at another station by the river Jordan and, just for good measure...

John 4:1-2 When therefore the LORD knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,)

Jesus outdid JtB at his own gig while delegating that menial work to his flunkies. What a guy!

The tale got better with the telling. The progression we see in subsequent Gospels is exactly what we'd expect to see from progressing folklore.

Again, disciples by itself does not mean the twelve apostles. It's incorrect to say that Jesus had gathered his disciples. He gathered disciples throughout his ministry, and lost some, too.

He was by himself in the Wilderness immediately after his Synoptic meeting with JtB, ministered by angels and tempted by Satan. Only after this did the Synoptic Jesus get humans to follow him everywhere.

You mean for special pleadings already offered.

One of us is special pleading alright.

Did I mention God spoke to me and told me to tell you that It wants you to renounce Jesus and become a deist? Why wouldn't you believe me? Lack of any reason to think so? Argument from Silence!

You see, there's a reason Argument from Ignorance is a fallacy. Absence of evidence IS evidence of absence in cases where evidence should reasonably be expected to be found.

People "could" do a lot of things. Writing was not as easy and cheap then as it is now. There's no compelling reason to expect people to take the time and effort to record something they didn't think was legitimate, and then for others to copy those accounts for centuries.

Wouldn't think was legitimate? These were public miracles done in front of crowds. His fame spread to neighboring provinces. The rich and poor sought him out. Herod Antipas wanted to know if he was JtB (the guy he executed) resurrected. He caused a major disruption single-handidly at the Temple (twice by your account). The priest were so annoyed by him the met on freaking Passover Eve in an elaborate conspiracy to get rid of this guy.

What does a guy have to do to get attention in your version of the ancient world?

And yet, JtB gets more press from the 1st century historians without any miracles at all. And that's just one example I know of.

The best your boy got was an oblique 2nd century mention in the Annals of Tacitus, so oblique he didn't even get mentioned by name.