You Could Make This Stuff Up — But Why Would You?

I (and others) frequently note that one argument supporting the veracity of the Bible is that it contains much that is unflattering to the people who supposedly made it up.  The Jews in the Old Testament are complaining and ungrateful backsliders, the apostles in the New Testament are uncomprehending and cowardly, to give just two big examples.

So I thought I’d just add a Christmas season edition:  This advent our church has had some sermons on Jesus’ genealogy, which in Matthew 1:1-17 includes three women with a past, namely Tamar, Rahab, and Bathsheba (referred to as “Uriah’s wife”).  Now, to be sure, none of them lacked good qualities — to the contrary, the narrative for each ends positively — but still:  If you were just making up the lineage of Our Savior and the Son of God, would you include them?