Saint Matthew's Self-Contradictory Pronouncements And Instructions Cannot Be Reconciled

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Saint Matthew's Self-Contradictory Pronouncements And Instructions Cannot Be Reconciled

By Thomas Keyes
July 27, 2005

The date and the authorship of the Gospel According to St. Matthew are the subject of some debate, with guesses for the date ranging from 60 AD to 85 AD. That the author, if his name was Matthew at all, was the same man who had been alleged to be the disciple of Christ is doubtful. The title of the Gospel was probably added at a later date. It is also unknown whether a single person or a group of person authored the Gospel. How much emendation, deletion and addition went into making the text what it is today is also a matter of conjecture. There is not even any compelling evidence for the existence of Jesus Christ as a real person, much less a divine being.

The Gospels According to St. Matthew, St. Mark and St. Luke share many common features, but Matthew and Luke share additional features that Mark lacks. In view of this, some scholars speculate that Mark was written first, and served as a source for both Matthew and Luke. They posit the existence of another source, usually called Q, for German “Quelle” (source), from which Matthew and Luke drew their common non-Marcan material. All of this is of course very debatable. Under such circumstances, one can hardly expect to find an accurate, truthful narrative or a logical, consistent philosophy in the Gospel According to St. Matthew. It cannot be doubted that the author or authors of the Gospel had an agenda to further, but its exact nature is doubtful. Furthermore, the author or authors were bent on creating the appearance that the deeds related in the Gospel had been prophesied in the Jewish Bible, to which the New Testament is really only an adventitious tract. They apparently did this to lend verisimilitude and to counterfeit the seal of divine approval,
“Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. “

“Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.”

I’m sure that Christian exegetes, at the behest of their paymasters, have bushels of explanations that shed no light on this obvious contradiction, but it is to be remembered that no heavenly being invested them with final authority on matters of interpretation. They arrogate it to themselves, and we are at liberty to challenge such paradoxical instructions.

In the same spirit, let us consider Matthew 6:7-13:

“But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”

In other words, don’t utter a lot of vain repetitions of prayers as the heathen do; utter a lot of vain repetitions of prayers as Christians do. Bearing in mind such nonsensical pronouncements and instructions, why should anyone even begin to expect logic and clarity from St. Matthew’s Gospel. Therefore, compare Matthew 5:22-24 and Matthew 10:34-38 just cursorily, without wasting much time trying to reconcile them:

“But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.”

“Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”

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About the author Thomas Keyes: I have written two books: A SOJOURN IN ASIA (non-fiction) and A TALE OF UNG (fiction), neither published so far.

I have studied languages for years and traveled extensively on five continents.

Email: udikeyes@yahoo.com

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