78 OBJECTIONS AGAINST THE GENUINESS OF

is written is sufficient for us to know so as to obtain salvation by faith in Christ.

53. M. There is a discrepancy between Mal. iii. 1 and the same verse as quoted in Matt. xi. 10, where my has been changed to thy. This proves that the text of the Scriptures has been tampered with.

C. The difference lies between לפני (lefanay) and לפניך (lifneykha), that is to say there is a difference of one letter in the Hebrew, the letter k, which may easily have been dropped out of the Hebrew text. It is a mere matter of a various reading, and does not really affect the sense or the argument. This is an additional proof that no one has willingly tampered with the text, otherwise an attempt would have been made to insert the missing letter.

54. M. In Acts i. 15 we are told that after the Ascension there were only 120 disciples of Christ, whereas in 1 Cor. xv. 6 it is stated that He appeared to "above 500 brethren" after His Resurrection. How can you reconcile the discrepancy?

C. There is none to reconcile. In the Acts we are not told that there were only 120 believers in existence, but merely that about 120 were present one day at a meeting in Jerusalem. The 500 met in Galilee (Matt. xxviii. 7), where much of Christ's work had been done, and where He had many disciples. The statement that there are 20,000 Muhammadans in Lahore is not a contradiction to the assertion that there are 160,000 in Bombay.

THE BIBLE AS IT NOW EXISTS 79

55. M. In Matt. xxvii. 44 it is said that both thieves railed at Christ on the Cross, while in Luke xxiii. 39 we are told that only one did so. Is not this a contradiction?

C. You must not interpolate the word only into the Gospel. If I tell some one that you came to see me to-day, does that imply that you were my only visitor? Careful reading of the two passages shows no contradiction between them, though St. Luke mentions a circumstance in addition to the one recorded by St. Matthew. Two accounts state that the thieves railed at Christ, and St. Luke adds the fact that one of them afterwards repented. It was probably the patient meekness with which our Lord bore the railing of both thieves, as well as His other sufferings, that ultimately softened the heart of one of them.

56. M. Christ tells us (John v. 22, 27) that He is to judge the world, whereas St. Paul says that the saints are to do so (1 Cor. vi. 2, 3). Is this not contradictory?

C. Is it contradictory in our courts to speak of Judge So-and-So, although the case is heard before a jury or assessors as well?

57. M. In 1 Cor. vi. 10 we are told that drunkards shall not inherit the Kingdom of God. Yet in 1 Tim. v. 23 Paul directs Timothy to drink wine. Is this not a contradiction? Islam is superior to Christianity, since it prohibits all drinking of intoxicants.