Is the death of Judas Iscariot a Bible contradiction? Bart Ehrman vs Peter J Williams 

If somebody dies by hanging themselves, isn't that the most important detail in how he died? The rope may have snapped, he may have burst due to gases inside him, he may have gone down a rocky hill. Whatever happened as a secondary cinsequence of him hanging himself, surely the hanging would still be mentioned. It kind of key to this whole thing. I find reconciling the two accounts as if they were the same event completely implausible because one of them misses out an absolutely massive, glaring, significant detail. It seems ridiculous that it would be left out by anybody who knew the facts of the matter.

Also, isn't it a more direct contradiction that one account said that Judas bought the field, another says that the priests bought it?

The author of Acts does not say that Judas fell head first. It says he fell headlong, as in pronated (Greek πρηνής (prénés) meaning prone). It's the same way you fall when you trip while walking forward - headlong. Hopefully that doesn't mean your head hits the asphalt first.

The fundamental problem with the supposed reconciliation of the accounts is that the 'reconciliation' is not described by either of the original authors. This raises the question of how accurate anything else the original authors wrote if they are so amiss in what they included.

C'mon, Peter is lying and he knows he's lying. I'm a Christian but this really is a clear contradiction. One says he bought the land, the other says the priests bought the land. If the rope for the hanging fails, we all know the person doesn't fall as it is described in Acts

In Acts 20:9 it is evident that the author knows how to state that someone fell without leaving room for interpretations.

It's interesting that the authors of the gospels knew the fate of Judas. To reconcile the accounts, like the apologist did in the clip, seems implausible because the question becomes, why would the other author leave the part of him hanging and the rope snapped out of the narrative. You'd think dying from a snapped rope would be crucial in the description of Judas' death. Also the origins of the name field of blood is different in both accounts.

Headlong does not only mean head first. It also means recklessly or without control.

How to self refute: Bart Ehrman: "Those two accounts cannot be reconciled. Peter Williams: reconciles the two accounts. Bart Ehrman: "You can reconcile anything"

"I'm trying to use charity (towards my own position)."

If Peter William's was looking at another ancient character where two different versions of their death were given, I doubt he would be bending over backwards to reconcile them. For instance how did Crasus die? Was he stabbed in a scuffle and then beheaded or did he die from having molten gold poured down his throat. Added to this the fact that no Roman source would have been there, I doubt Perer Williams would want to argue that he must have been stabbed, then fed gold while still alive etc to make the accounts fit. Bet he would say both or one, probably the gold bit, was a legend

This is a perfect example of how apologetics work. There is a clear contradiction, that is indisputable. To assert otherwise is just dishonest. Apologetics offers an answer that a believer can choose to digest to help them keep believing (in this case that the Bible is infallible and/or the word of god) but to a non-believer is utter nonsense, ad-Hoc and unconvincing. This is a consequence of starting from a conclusion, insisting that you cannot be wrong, and working back to fit that conclusion rather than being honest about the actual facts.

ACTS-NOTE ON 1:18 this man acquired a field. That is, the field was acquired indirectly by Judas, through the agency of the chief priests. As Matt. 27:3-7 records, Judas brought the 30 pieces of silver back to the chief priests and elders. The chief priests then purchased the potter’s field with Judas’s money, with the same effect as if Judas had himself made the purchase. he burst open. The two accounts of Judas’s death are complementary retellings of the same event, each focusing in different ways on the same details. Both accounts involve: Judas’s remorse, the purchase of a field with his ill-gotten money, its reputation as “the Field of Blood,” and Judas’s gory death (for the location of “the Field of Blood,” see note on Matt. 27:7-8). The main difference is that Matt. 27:5 speaks of Judas hanging himself, while Acts speaks of his body falling headlong and bursting open with all his entrails spilling out. One possible explanation suggests that the field overlooked a cliff, and as Judas hanged himself, the rope (or the branch) may have broken, with his body falling headlong over the edge of the cliff onto jagged rocks below. Others have suggested that Judas’s body may have remained hanging for some time decaying and decomposing (“swelling up,” esv footnote), eventually falling to the ground and bursting open in its decomposed condition. In either case, there is no reason to see the two accounts as contradictory, since they focus on complementary details of the same event. In both accounts the effect of Satan’s control over Judas’s life is clear, demonstrating the general principle that Satan brings total destruction and disgrace to the person who comes under his control, for “he was a murderer from the beginning” (John 8:44). Bibles, Crossway. ESV Study Bible (Kindle Locations 277552-277566). Good News Publishers. Kindle Edition.

How do you reconcile him keeping the money and giving it back?

Yeah, they didn’t mention that in Matthew 27:9-10 it “quotes” a passage that is in Jeremiah, that isn’t even in Jeremiah, and at most may be referencing Zechariah 11:12-13. Who bought the field of blood? How did Judas die? Why is Jeremiah referenced when Zechariah is the one that is kind of being quoted?

His body may have remained suspended for a prolonged period, undergoing decomposition, so that upon its eventual fall, it would have experienced rupture causing the intestines to spill. The incongruity between the information provided can be resolved by considering multiple plausible scenarios. I am perplexed as to why this contradiction exists.

The answer is in the Bible. And they do not contradict. Mathew 27:3 3 When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. 4 “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.” “What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.”5 So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.6 The chief priests picked up the coins and said, “It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money.” 7 So they decided to use the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners. 8 That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 9 Acts 1:18 With the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. Judas had bought the field by his betrayal with the Jewish leaders. The Jewish leaders had bought the field with their betrayal with Judas. 2 to be hung one would of course be headlong (head first.) if you were to dive into water you would go head first. If you dived into water you could go feet first. If you hung yourself feet first which position do you think you would be.? So of course head first he hung himself and as a result of the event his intestines came out. The scriptures do not contradict themselves. And Jesus is Alive.

This contradicition can simply be reconciled with St Papias of Hierapolis record regarding Judas. And we can trust St Papias because he was the disciple of St John himself (St John the Apostle has many disciple, such as St Polycarp, St Papias, etc). It is said that *"Judas did not die by hanging but lived on, having been cut down before he choked to death. Indeed, the Acts of the Apostles makes this clear: 'Falling headlong he burst open in the middle and his intestines spilled out.' Papias, the disciple of John, recounts this more clearly in the fourth book of the Exposition of the Sayings of the Lord, as follows: 'Judas was a terrible, walking example of ungodliness in this world, his flesh so bloated that he was not able to pass through a place where a wagon passes easily, not even his bloated head by itself. For his eyelids, they say, were so swollen that he could not see the light at all, and his eyes could not be seen, even by a doctor using an optical instrument, so far had they sunk below the outer surface. His genitals appeared more loathsome and larger than anyone else's, and when he relieved himself there passed through it pus and worms from every part of his body, much to his shame. After much agony and punishment, they say, he finally died in his own place, and because of the stench the area is deserted and uninhabitable even now; in fact, to this day one cannot pass that place without holding one's nose, so great was the discharge from his body, and so far did it spread over the ground..'"*

I agree with justin's question "how much is the importance of this matter to the whole picture?" It is not unimportant at all, but it is secondary, maybe even tertiary matter in the context Jesus' death & resurrection. I believe as it has always been with the Bible accounts, anything seemingly contrary has a reconciling explanation behind it, doesn't matter whether we (will) know it or not

For full context, the story in Acts is being told by Peter. It is not just a passive narration of "Judas died in this way" but rather Paul is talking about how Judas' betrayal, or handing over, of Christ fulfilled scripture, and then Peter is basically reminiscing saying that "Judas was one of us," working and ministering alongside Peter and the group, before mentioning his purchase of a field or farm and his gruesome end. In this sense, I think Peter's recollection may be more accurate than "Matthew"s solely because we do not know that Matthew himself wrote the Gospel bearing his name. If Peter truly said what he is quoted as saying in Acts 1, then I think Peter would have a decent idea of what happened to his former colleague, at least relative to the anonymous person writing as "Matthew."

Matthew records that “…he [Judas] went away and hanged himself” (Matt. 27:5). Luke records that “…falling headlong, he [Judas] burst open in the middle and all his intestines gushed out” (Acts 1:18). According to Bart Ehrman, these passages contradict each other. Do they? Hardly. To logically contradict, one passage would have to declare the exact opposite of the other. One passage would have to say A and the other non-A (at the same time and in the same way). For example, if the Acts passage said Judas did NOT hang himself (ever), these passages would logically contradict each other. This does not happen. Is there any plausible way to reconcile “hanged himself” and falling headlong”? Sure. Perhaps Judas hung himself at the edge of a cliff, and eventually his body fell. When Judas’ legs hit the edge of the cliff, his corpse pivoted around and Judas hit rocks head first. Now for another possibility. Was Judas’ hanging successful? The text does not say. Perhaps Judas hung himself but it didn’t actually kill him, and Judas got down frustrated and did a swan dive off the cliff. Decide for yourself which is more plausible or you’re welcome to put forth your own theory. If you don’t think these options are realistic, it doesn’t matter. There is no logical contradiction in these passages.

Bart's problem solved in 11 easy steps: 1. Judas has a deal pending on the potter's field since before his betrayal of Jesus. 2. He betrays Jesus and receives his money. 3. He is overcome by guilt and returns the money to the priests. 4. He goes to the field for which he has made a down-payment, seeing it as the only place that could in some way be called his, and hangs himself, choosing a branch that is weak enough that he might survive if God so wishes. (He knows he is undeserving of mercy, but through OT teachings, that’s God can show mercy to the repentant). 5. The Potter discovers Judas' body hanging in the field, but now wants more than ever to sell the field. 6. Not wanting to contaminate himself by handling Judas' body, he leaves it hanging in the field and initiates a legal dispute with the priests that they must complete the purchase of the land. 7. The priests are resistant. Meanwhile, the body is decaying on the tree. 8. The neighbors complain about the smell and the cursed nature of the field ruining their property values. 9. The Romans pressure the priests to resolve the issue. 10. The office of the high priest relents and pays for the field. 11. In the meantime, the tree branch has given way, dropping Judas' body onto the rock upon which he had stood to hang himself. The body falls forward onto the field and splits open, spilling forth his entrails

My grandmother was uneducated and she was awesome mentally ill but that's beside the point she was uneducated and she believed that the Earth was in the form of a square and the reason why was because the Bible says that the angels will come forth from the four corners of the Earth. So she took that quite literally

I just looked up ‘headlong’ (KJV) in the dictionary and it doesn’t have to mean ‘headfirst’ as Bart implies. ‘Headlong’ could also mean that he fell down in haste .

In Matthew 27:9 Jeremiah is given as the source of the prophecy regarding the purchase of the Potter's Field. (There is no such prophecy!). How did he purchase the field when he had thrown the money to the floor and stormed off?

New International Version Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem one year. His mother's name was Athaliah, a granddaughter of Omri New King James Version Ahaziah was forty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah the granddaughter of Omri. This is completely contradiction in the bible..same verse 2 chronicles 22:2..

According to the Bible, Jesus is not God, in the Bible there are criteria for God and in the Bible, Jesus does not meet the criteria for being God 1. No one has ever seen God (1 John 4:12) whereas no one has seen Jesus 2. God is not human (Numbers 23: 19, Hosea 11:9) while Jesus is human (Acts of the Apostles 2:22) 3. God did not die (1 Timothy 1:17) while Jesus died (1 Corinthians 15: 3-4) 4. God does not need a savior (Luke 1:37) while Jesus needs a savior (John 4:6-9) 5. God is not weary (Isaiah 40:28) while Jesus was weary (John 4:6) 6. God does not sleep (Psalm 121:2-5) while Jesus sleeps (Mark 4:38) According to the Bible, Jesus was only a prophet based on 3 testimonies 1. Testimony of people who lived at the same time as Jesus that Jesus was a prophet # Matthew 21: 10-11 >> all the people who were contemporaries of Jesus called him the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee, descendant of David # Mark 14:65 >> Jesus' enemies (Jewish high priests) who wanted Jesus to be executed said he was a prophet, # Luke 24 : 18-19-20 >> After 3 days of the crucifixion, a stranger asked people who were contemporaries of Jesus, about the condition of Jesus, why he was on the cross, then one of the people who were contemporaries of Jesus, his name was Cleopas, said Jesus was a prophet but the Jewish high priests handed Jesus over to be executed # John 7:40 >> Many people who were contemporaries of Jesus said he was a prophet 2. Jesus' own testimony: Jesus was only a prophet # Matthew 13:34-35 >> Jesus said he was a prophet who explained people who would enter the kingdom of heaven with parables, without parables they would not understand about the kingdom of heaven # Mark 6:4, Luke 4:24, John 4:44 >> Jesus said that he was a prophet who was respected everywhere except in his native place # Mark 12:29 >> Jesus told the Israelites the main law is to worship Allah alone, the Lord of us all, God is One/One 3. Testimony of the Holy Spirit/Gabriel/Gabriel # Samuel 15:29 >> God is not human # Deuteronomy 4:35,39, Deuteronomy 6:4 >> He is Allah, there is no god but Him, the only God 10 reasons Jesus is not God but Jesus is only a prophet/apostle just like Abraham/Ibrahim, Moses/Moses and Muhammad, according to the Bible 1. In John 17:3 Jesus said there is no god but Allah and Jesus Christ is only the messenger/prophet/apostle of Allah 2. If Jesus is God, God is all-knowing of everything (Isaiah 46:9-10) but in Matthew 24:36 and Mark 13:32 Jesus does not know when the day will end, because Jesus does not know when the day will end, then Jesus does not know everything, because Jesus does not know everything then Jesus is not God 3. In Matthew 7: 21-23 it is stated that everyone who thinks Jesus is God will not enter heaven, in the last days Jesus will not recognize and expel people who think Jesus is God 4. In John 16:25-26, on the last day, Jesus tells us who the Father/God really is, frankly, that prayer should only be to the Father/God, not Jesus, the person who prays to Jesus, Jesus will not ask the Father for salvation for that person, because the one who loves humans is the Father/God, not Jesus, Jesus only comes from the Father and returns to The Father is the same as the prophets and other humans. 5. In Isaiah 29: 12 prophesies that the revelation/word of God will one day be given to a person who when asked to read, he answered I can't read and that's Muhammad because in the history of Muhammad's life all the writers report that, when he received revelation in the cave of Hira he told to read by the angel Gabriel/Gabriel "read" he said I can't read and the first revelation revealed was "iqra" read 6. In Song of Solomon 5:16, it tells a prophecy about the prophet Muhammad, that the future lover of the prophet Solomon/Sulaiman, the name Muhammad, is written there in the original Hebrew language which, if pronounced, reads "mahamadim" the prefix im means respect for the name because of its value. attached to the name (everything about him is attractive, his words are sweet, etc.) 7. In John 16:12-16 Jesus said that I still have a lot to say to you but later there will be a spirit of truth (the angel Gabriel/Jibril) who will come to a messenger/prophet after me who will lead in the truth, who will say no according to him but according to the revelation/word of God, who announces to you things that will come (apocalypse, life after death, etc.), which he will glorify me, that is Muhammad, Muhammad glorified Jesus as a prophet, glorified Mother Mary, the mother of Jesus, Muhammad conveyed news about things the future (apocalypse, life after death) in the Koran, Muhammad comes after Jesus. 8. In the historical writings about Paul, Paul was a person full of hypocrisy, he killed Jesus' obedient disciple (Stephen) and helped King Herod (the Roman-Jewish king) to kill the other disciples of Jesus until they were finished, he only pretended to repent with confession. himself by saying he had met Jesus, to change the gospel with his own hands, (Provenly Paul's letter -14 letters- dominates the New Testament Bible -27 letters-) while his name is not in the 12 disciples of Jesus or the 70 disciples of Jesus 9. There are differences between the teachings of Paul and Jesus, differentiate between the teachings of Paul and Jesus and you will find Islam 1) Jesus said don't think that my coming will abolish the law, no! I just fulfilled it (Matthew 5:17-20), but Paul said the coming of Jesus abolished the law (Galatians 2:16), 2) Jesus ordered circumcision (Luke 2:21), but Paul forbade circumcision (Galatians 5:6 / 1 Corinthians 7:19) 3) Jesus forbade eating unclean meat/swine (pork) (Leviticus 11:7-8), (Isaiah 65:4), (Deuteronomy 14:8) and strong drinks (Isaiah 5:22) but Paul made pork permissible (Romans 14:17) and strong drink (1 Timothy 5:23) 4) Jesus never said he was God but only a prophet (John 13:16), but Paul considered Jesus to be God (1 Corinthians 8:6) 5) Jesus forgave the 2 people who were crucified (Luke 23:32-38), but Paul cursed the 2 people on the cross (Galatians 3:13) 6) Jesus taught that there are no inheritance sins, children are pure from sin (Mark 10:13-16) while Paul taught inheritance sins (Romans 5:12-21) 7) Jesus said the sins were borne by himself (Matthew 16:27) while Paul said the sins were borne by Jesus (Colossians 1:13-14) 10. In the book of Deuteronomy 6 verse 4 God is Ehad/Ahad/Esa (one) not a unity or trinity

- Does not address how both Judas and the priests both managed to purchase the field - Does not address the two contradictory accounts of how the Field of Blood got it's name These are two contradictory accounts in the Bible, the death of Judas is not even the biggest contradiction here, it's the other factors that were asked about in the original video. Anyone who has an answer to this I'd love to discuss it.

Why is it implausible that someone hanging from a rope over a cliff, who then falls, could not land in a way that fulfills the meaning of headlong?

I think 75% of atheist in youtube comment section doesn't understand that Bible isn't one book wrote by one man from one perspective..

Headlong doesn't just mean head first. In this instance it means in haste. This professor has been debunked so many times. I would run far away from anything he says.

How can somebody debate if they can’t answer these kind of questions?

I love unbelievable - but who bought the field? Can you reconcile Matthew and Acts on that?

The writer of one account ties it to a quote from Jeremiah, the other ties it to a quote in Psalms. His death story was created to fit these scriptures.

This is the problem with using the Venn diagram system of coming to the truth. People assume that the multiple accounts mean that there's something in the middle, which then biases the individual readings. The author of Matthew had a point so did the author of Acts. Trying to create a synergy can cause you to miss the point.

Interesting topics and answers but don't care for Bart's constant interruptions to Peter while he's trying to provide his answer. Yet Peter waits patiently for Barts reply. Bart is just too narcissistic to give others a chance at their answer. I understood where Peter was going with his answer. Maybe the body had been hanging there for days, starting to decay. Then the rope broke, landing feet first then toppling forward onto sharp rocks. There are or can be many other variables. And yes, unless you were there, there will be subjective answers to such topics. Why is Bart Ehrman so set on such negative rebuttal? At least, when he allows the other to speak.

When I first read the bible, I was amazed at the sincerity and honest reporting. Not legendary style. My take was “these are honest people reporting what happened”. I never thought “there are ZERO ZERO ZERO mistakes ever!!” Dogma might be over-reaching here, inerrancy may be a step too far. Honest eye witness account always have such discrepancies.

Writings from/inspired by an ultimate, perfect being should be dazzlingly, obviously, and stunningly the work of a perfect being. Not dozens of disjointed writings that are exactly what we'd expect from men engaged in a centuries long creation of a cumulative religious birth based on superstition, fear, and silly nonsense like talking donkeys.

Compound the issue by realizing that Acts 1:16-20 fails to be any sort of predictive prophecy of David, (read Psalm 69:25; 109:8-9 in context) and that these words can only be applied typologically, at best.

The explanation is that you have two separate accounts and we dont know which one is accurate. Its only a problem if you believe in biblical errancy like fundamentalist do today

The word "contradiction", maybe is not the best way to describes this differences. Why? Because, those two books, did not contradict one another about the death it self, it only differentiate about the detail, and both was not explain it in detail. They just want to give a slide picture about how judas end up. And both agreed on the death of judas and also on the land. Besides that, the explaination about judas is irrelevant with christianity faith. If the death of judas were never mentioned at all in the bible, it doesnt change anything about christianity faith. If this one is consider as contradiction in the bible, so what? It doesnt matter, because the bible teaching it self is not contradicting each other. About reconcile, is it comparable, to reject reconciliation of the two stories that survive for 2000 years, and accept the reconciliation an event that happen to day, like barth example? The survival of the story it self without any changes for 2000 years, is a great evidence of thruthfull act. Every single christians or church leaders has the opportunity to change it into same story, but they never did it. For me, it is a strong evidence of honesty for 2000 years. So, it is more likely to see this events as one event that describe into different point of few rather than contradiction that had been directed into doubt about the autenticity of the bible's writter.

Omg is Ehrman seriously going to hyper-literalize a purely literary adverbial like “fell headlong?” That is the same as complaining that someone didn’t literally “Fall flat on their face”. This kind of guff is much worse than awkward harmonization, since the goal is to take such a wooden reading as to render simple everyday historiographical harmonization impossible.

A short message to Muslims here, Ehrman is not on your side, everything he says about Jesus, early Christianity and the disciples destroys Islam. 😊

Peter in Acts is referring to the type not the specifics on how Judas died. He is referencing the story of Amasa in 2 Samuel 20 in order to make the point that Judas needs to be replaced. For other examples of this, see how James quotes Amos 9 in Acts 15 or how Abraham fulfills Scripture in James 2.

Does the posture of the hanging play a part here? Maybe there was a bungee jump kind of experience here, where a noose on the neck wasn't even the method. Something very much different?

Crux of the story. Don't let Greed overcome you.

The other possibility is that Luke is merely recording the temporary insight of Peter, shared with others of that particular time. Hence Luke is not recording the actual event of Judas but the event of portraying the temporary insight.

If Judas hung himself on Passover, he would have been buried after the holiday because of Jewish customs of uncleanness. Decomposition would have started. That would have explained the burstage, do to gas.

Perhaps Judas’ body started swaying as he hung, due to the subsequent earthquake, or perhaps a windy storm, or wild animals pawing at him, or when someone was trying to cut him down? Any number of scenarios could cause his body to rotate and make him fall on his face. These two accounts are not at all at odds with each other, because Matthew doesn’t even mention how he fell. He just says that Judas hung himself. It’s crazy how extreme Bart’s skepticism is. He completely disregards rationality simply because it’s not spelled out perfectly to him.

really?? is it that hard to imagine a scenario where the most wretched man on earth hangs himself, falls off a cliff and busts open? It’s quite a remarkable death but certainly not implausible that the man who betrayed the son of God meet an ugly death like this one. This will make more sense if you reconsider that Judas did this himself and in haste. Plausibly Judas had some ground beneath his feet to turn his body upside down because he had to step up to hang himself in the first place.

My goodness..are these alleged learned men and they're ALL this far off? "Hanged", in Biblical days was not a rope around the neck, it was the same way Saul did it in battle, as well as many other instances - "hanged" means to lay, or "hang", on your sword. THIS is why Judas's guts poured out. My goodness, this was shocking. I fully expected to hear this well known explanation. Wow.🤯

Bible says headlong and not head first.

Damn Bart was phenomenal here

Barts excuse is so weak. His own example can be used against him. People who deny the moon landing will use any explaination to justify why they believe the event didn’t happen. Bart himself will deny any plausible evidence of reconciliation because he already has determined ahead of time that the accounts cannot be reconciled and that reconciliation is invalid. Yet he himself cannot present a counter argument for why any one particular theory would be implausible. He’s presenting an inflexible argument from ignorance. He’s basically saying,” I don’t know for sure what happened, and no matter what theory you present, the simple fact that I didn’t know is enough to invalidate the account”.

Seriously? Luke describes what happened while Matthew parallels it to the death of Aitofel. 2 Sam 17:23. I think Christian theologians should study more Hebrew culture...

▪️Jesus never died. Jesus is now in heaven, but will come back soon. Jesus is indeed the Messiah and a Prophet of God (Allah). He has no father. Just read the first surahs of the Quran and you will be a TRUE follower of Jesus the son of Mary. Peace 🌹

So… the author of Acts did not think it relevant to add the fact that Judas was hanging before he fell? That is no small omission.

This is an argument about the semantic minutiae of a fairy tale.

How did Judas Iscariot die? Matthew 27:5 states that Judas hanged himself, whereas Acts 1:18 says that “falling headfirst, his body burst open and all his insides spilled out.” While Matthew deals with the mode of the attempted suicide, Acts describes the results. Judas tied a rope to the branch of a tree, put a noose around his neck, and tried to hang himself by jumping off a cliff. Either the rope or the tree limb broke so that he plunged downward and burst open on the rocks below. The topography around Jerusalem makes such a conclusion reasonable! God is perfect so He cannot lie or make mistakes. Therefore, His Word the Bible NEVER contradicts itself even if some things are difficult to understand at times!

Judas’ story is a big one to deny. The lesson of Judas is to not betray Jesus and seek forgiveness. This guy is denying the lot, tread carefully guys please don’t deny Christ

Somehow......the Williams dude is but a hustler....

Judas kept a sword/Dagger... When he hanged himself and fell it most likely cut him open. "His resume may also have included identification as a Zealot, an attribute held by only one other disciple, Simon the Zealot. How do we know that Judas was probably a Zealot? By his surname, Iscariot. Researchers believe this is a form of the title sicarii, meaning "dagger-men," a group of ultra-Zealots who carried a knife with them at all times to be prepared to assassinate traitors and capitulators. In English, we could call him Judas Daggerman." @UCBMIS8RuFS6rIbIxLZNCbbQ Stated: In Eastern countries when Judas hung himself, he would have been left hanging nobody was going to release him, nobody cared. Remember this was the passover, and Jesus had just been crucified . So who was worried about Judas, not the rest of the disciples, he was to them a traitor, the one who had sold their best friend to enrich his own coffers. 30 pieces of silver, the price of a slave. When a man was left hanging in the heat, his stomach would have swollen up, and when the rope broke or so e one cut it, he would have fallen to the ground, his stomach would have burst open, spilling out his bowels . So both accounts of the Bible are correct, he may have been left hanging 3 or 4 days , before the rope broke, and he hit the ground. This is what would have medically have happened to him in a hot climate .

Expecting an atheist to attempt to reconcile the disparities is laughable.

I think I see a solution to this passage that very few people would ever even think of. In Acts, it never says that Peter was inspired by God to say that Judas died in the field and burst open. It just says that Peter said that. Maybe Peter, not inspired by God, was simply mistaken about this matter? Big deal.

See..so many contradiction A LOT and you just guessing by your assumption.

This answers the “End Trails” question...Bodies have been know to explode because of all the gasses in the gut. “Google it”. Now, why is it ok for Bart to assume there was nothing between Judas and the ground but we can’t assume that there was something under him that caused him to flip head first??

No ican see the difference as a figure of speech only difference.I cant Think a mind like Barts can see it for a contradiction.

Judas wasn't lynched, he hung himself. Which means he situated himself to hang. He didn't have a stool to reach a tree limb. If he fell headlong, that means he climbed up a tree, tied a rope or something and hung himself but it wasn't from the lowest limb.

4' Ehrman: " in order to reconcile it you have to come up with completely implausible scenario..." WHAT? Why Ehrman thinks that William's scenario is "completely implausible"? ONLY because of his bias, his worldview assumptions! That is why trying to convince a person that Bible is inspired book and without contradictions when he/she already assumes that he/she will not accept divine inspiration is hopeless! That's why presuppositional approach at least shuts skeptics mouths. Watch Sye Ten Bruggencate debates. Van Tilian approach doesn't allow skeptics to even leave their blocks (using sprint race figure).

Believe me , there’s a lots of Muslim out there copying Bart questions about the gospel and attacking Christianity Bart forgot there’s been a great earthquake at the time of crucifixion, he may fell down the cliff and hit sharp rocks or even better after Judas fell down a tons of rock fell on his body .. Do you think his stomach is ok when a tons of rock fell down on his body ?

a clear contradiction. full stop.

Ehrmann is the arch literalist. ‘Headlong’ does not necessarily mean ‘headfirst’ - just fell from a height when his decaying body was cut down and his decaying body slit open. Yes they used the money - his money - to buy the field he died in. Makes sense. My mother ‘sold her house’ - actually I sold it for her as I had power of attorney! Depends how cravenly literal you want to be.

He went to hang himself but didn't

🙏🙏PRAISE THE LORD ALL🙏🙏

This is a prime example of the communication game, the fact that he died an untimely death and the died was purchased with the $ is the subject, not headlong, intestines, hanging…tripping over a dollar picking up a dime!

How is Bart going to say that example implausible??? it’s not exactly determined but it’s definitely reasonable.

The two accounts are reconcilable. Both hanging and falling involve a downward motion meaning they could be parts of the same event. And each account involved the same plot of land, among other things. Acts was probably emphasizing the blood aspect, the state of his body before burial along with the plot of land since the "field of blood" naming is mentioned afterward. Matthew seems more detailed as to the exact cause of death and the transaction that took place.

It's an implausible scenario, because it doesn't fit my interpretation.

Also, headlong doesn’t have to mean “head first. One definition of head long can mean “in a rush; with reckless haste”.

In one gospel it says Jesus met with the 12 AFTER the resurrection. So I thought there was only 11 deciples at that point.

Remember, god could have written one book (by Jesus own hand) and also preserved the founding documents of his one true religion. Instead god prefers that you, faithful believer, defend anonymous authors and contradictory depictions of events written decades after their occurrence. God wants you to be confused.

Honestly, if the 2 accounts of Judas’ death were the exact same then I would automatically assume that it’s a collusion and the authors just made them up to fit with one another. 2 different authors having 2 different perspectives of the same event, makes the accounts all the more reliable. The same goes with other things like when Muslims or atheists claim that Jesus never claimed to be god. Even though he didn’t directly say “I am god worship me”, he indirectly stated and showed his divinity. If the gospel writers were just making up their gospels and tried to make Jesus as god then they would obviously have written numerous times that Jesus explicitly claimed to be god. But they didn’t. They record what Jesus said with 100% accuracy. John 16:13, "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come."

How about the tree is on a somewhat steep slope - Judas ties the rope, swings out and hangs himself, the rope then breaks and he falls downward onto the slope and hits his stomach with a high impact?

I would say this. The field that was bought by the priests was the potters field. So they bought it from a Potter. Now around this field would have been pot shards. Which if fallen upon could burst entrails.

Bart challenges Peter to reconcile the two accounts. Peter suggests that perhaps he hung himself, the rope later snapped, and then, depending on the terrain, hit his head on the ground. Bart declares the story is implausible. Bart then goes on to suggest some story about a gas explosion wiping out a debate. Bart apparently thinks this story is plausible.

Great channel!👍🏻👍🏻

A question to the evangelists, How can this be called "Word of God"?! "If it had been from [any] other than Allaah, they would have found within it much contradiction." [The Qur'an Chapter 4 Verse 82]

Judas' rope snapped and he fell down the side of a cliff head first as his body was turned up side down bouncing off the cliff edge or face. Simple enough.

Maybe he was hanging upside down 🙃

Or they are both fictitious is another option

The issue is with how Bart interpreted Acts 1:18. The Greek word used is πρηνὴς (prēnēs), it means prone. He fell flat. This is not a valid contradiction and does not impact the Gospel one iota.

The greek word for headlong as is described in Acts 1:18 needs to be taken into account. Bart seems to think that the word headlong in the greek means headfirst. That would not be the accurate description of the word headlong in the Bible.. The word actually means leaning forward. or in a prone position. That is exactly what it says. Not only that but both accounts in different places in scripture are not contradictions because they do NOT exclude one another. Just because you don;t have details about how it all happened does not mean it is a contradiction. And anyone arguing that semantics in this case doesn't matter probably wouldn't say the same thing in a legitimate CSI case in an attempt to find TRUTH of how something happened. The greek does not necessarily imply headfirst. Modern dictionaries say the word headlong means headfirst but the greek text does hold weight in this matter. No contradiction, no problem.

The timing is imprecise, so Judas may have hung himself in the field the leaders used his money for or they may have purchased the field he hung himself in. Either way, it was his money, so it would be correct to say that he bought the field. As for falling headlong and his bowels gushing out, we don't know how long he hung there before someone cut him down. It could be that the level of decay was so great that he popped open and his guts spilled out. Headlong just means he fell forward, which could have happened either when he was cut down or it could have been the means by which he hung himself. It certainly doesn't indicate a contradiction.

Have you read about the death and resurrection of Jesus in the book of Matthew, Luke, Mark and John. Clearly you could see many contradictions. One says there was one angel, other say two. One says two women went to the tomb, other say three, other say two and group of ladies. One say Jesus was given a bitter drink and rejected it while on the cross, other say he given a wine and drunk it, other say a mixture of bitter sweet and Jesus rejected it. Look there are soo many contradictions and unrelated stories in the 4 Gospels. If it claims that God inspired people to write scriptures, should that scriptures be contradictory, confusing, unrelated, definitely not - 1 Corinthians 14:33. Mind u the 4 Gospels was never written by the respective apostles. Even if there were written by them, there would be no contradictions because they were witness of Jesus work and ministry on earth

The Bible, New Testament and Quran are full of contradictions (lies). “When the literal word of a deity requires repeated, long-winded explanations from his human followers simply to prevent it being interpreted TO MEAN WHAT IT ACTUALLY SAYS, it doesn’t make a great case for divine authorship. If anything can mean anything, the whole thing becomes meaningless.” Richard Dawkins

This is just arguing which way the ferris wheel is turning. Ehrman is convinced it's spinning clockwise and can't see another any other perspective.

what you guys forget is the earthquake that shook when JESUS gave up the ghost. it's clear he was shaken from the tree fell and burst open

I can't see how these two accounts are reconcilable, but how important is it to Christian belief what happened to Judas.

such was the death of Judas he strangled and died then there was a great earthquake after jesus resurrected “And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.” - Matthew 28:2 (KJV) “Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.” - Acts 1:18 (KJV)

Akeldama is A hilly and rough area. If the rope breaks after a day or two in the sun, it's more than reasonable that Judas body took a header. Splash! To casual passersby it would have indeed looked like an explosion. Bart is drawing conclusions sola scriptura style, and that is a flawed way of looking at things.