Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
History and Religion
Resurrection #29: Supposed Absence of the Ascension

Resurrection #29: Supposed Absence of the Ascension

Last updated on: June 5, 2026 at 11:58 pm by Dave Armstrong

Resurrection #29: Supposed Absence of the Ascension 2026-06-05T23:58:46-04:00 Dave Armstrong

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Michael J. Alter is the author of the copiously researched, 913-page volume, The Resurrection: a Critical Inquiry (2015). I initially offered 59 “brief” replies to as many alleged New Testament contradictions (March 2021). We later engaged in amiable correspondence and decided to enter into a major ongoing dialogue about his book. He graciously (and impressively!) sent me a PDF file of it, free of charge, for my review.

Mike describes himself as “of the Jewish faith” but is quick to point out that labels are often “misleading” and “divisive” (I agree to a large extent). He continues to be influenced by, for example, “Reformed, Conservative, Orthodox, and Chabad” variants of Judaism and learns “from those of other faiths, the secular, the non-theists, etc.” Fair enough. I have a great many influences, too, am very ecumenical, and am a great admirer of Judaism, as I told Michael in a combox comment on my blog.

He says his book “can be described as Jewish apologetics” and one that provides reasons for “why members of the Jewish community should not convert to Christianity.” I will be writing many critiques of the book and we’ll be engaging in ongoing discussion for likely a long time. I’m quite excited about it and am most grateful for Mike’s willingness to interact, minus any personal hostility.

To see all the other installments, search “Michael J. Alter” on either my Jews and Judaism or Trinitarianism & Christology web pages. That will take you to the subsection with the series.

I use RSV for all Bible verses that I cite. His words will be in blue.

*****

Michael Alter wrote:

CONTRADICTION #115 Omissions Detailing the Ascension

There is no explicit account of the Ascension in the oldest Christian sources: the writings of Paul. (p. 701)

Alter will likely appeal to his use of the disclaimer “explicit” but there is at least some sort of mention in Paul:

1 Timothy 3:16 . . . taken up in glory.

Ephesians 4:8-10 Therefore it is said, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” [9] (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? [10] He who descended is he who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)

This is reminiscent of what was written about God in the Hebrew Bible:

Proverbs 30:4-5 Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son’s name? Surely you know! [5] Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

Paul’s words in Ephesians are arguably at least as “explicit” as the Gospel of Luke, which simply says that He “was carried up into heaven” (24:51) and Luke’s description in Acts: “he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight” (1:9).

Matthew (see chapter 28), who church tradition declares to have been an apostle and a witness of Jesus’s ascension, failed to report this event. (p. 702)

. . . which is not, of course, a “contradiction.” Marco Polo never mentioned the Great Wall of China. Using the usual hyper-critical, irrational methodology applied to the Bible, this would prove that the Great Wall doesn’t exist, or that Marco Polo never visited China. Christians say that not every book has to have everything about the Christian faith in it. What we needed to know and believe, God saw fit to include somewhere in the New Testament. Other things are also found only or primarily in oral tradition (just as with mainstream pharisaic and rabbinical Judaism).

John, the author of the last gospel, a person who church tradition declared to have been an apostle and a witness of Jesus’s ascension, also did not report this event. (p. 702)

In fact he does mention it, three times:

John 3:13 No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the Son of man.

John 6:62 Then what if you were to see the Son of man ascending where he was before?

John 20:17 Jesus said to her, “Do not hold me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”

Only Luke provided an exclusive description of Jesus’s ascension, although here there is much to doubt regarding the authenticity of this narrative. (p. 702)

This is false, as just shown. And as usual, Alter is skeptical of a text that he doesn’t personally care for, while rarely if ever presenting hard evidence that all these passages he claims aren’t authentic, or are contrived, made up, etc.

***

ADDENDUM: Clarifying Note on My Methodology

With this reply I have concluded my critique of Michael Alter’s book. In closing I want to clarify one thing about my methodology throughout. Alter made a comment in one of my comboxes, but seems not to have read my response. Here is the main part of my counter-reply (with his words in green):

You imply that I am being deliberately disingenuous again in this reply:

Unfortunately, Dave has deliberately decided not to inform his readers about SPECULATION #144 Reasons for Judas’s Betrayal (pp. 453-455). The Resurrection: A Critical Inquiry offers eight speculations plus seven more from Fr. Raymond Brown. Therefore, fifteen speculations are shown to the reader. . . . Question for Dave, are fifteen speculations sufficient . . .?

You appear to have missed the method I have been employing throughout my replies. I laid it out very clearly from the beginning (no secrets or mysteries here!): I would respond to accusations of contradictions in the NT, and do all I could to show that they are unfounded. This was quite obvious in my first “59 Replies” paper and throughout my current replies. I look through your book specifically to find instances of where you allege a contradiction. I utilize the same exact methodology in my replies to atheists when they, too, suggest “contradictions” in the Bible (and yes, I have defended your — and my — Hebrew Bible many many times, too, along with the New Testament).

I do this not only based on my methodology of “defeating the defeaters” but also because I figured that if I started tackling your many “Speculations” and “Issues” [titles of sections] that you would very likely come back and say, “well, hey, I was only speculating, as I said!” Therefore, I have stuck to the sections in your book that have “Contradictions” in the title of the subsections. You can’t deny that you are asserting contradictions in those portions.

Because of this I didn’t read the section you reference in the first place.

Here is what I wrote in my first installment, making it clear that I would be focusing on specific allegations of NT contradictions, as opposed to his entire book:

You’ll soon discover that I have particular interests and am uninterested in other things. That will be true with regard to your book. I am primarily interested in demonstrating that alleged NT contradictions really aren’t so, or “defeating the defeaters”: as Protestant philosopher Alvin Plantinga likes to say. The idea is to question whether internal contradictions are present, and to refute each one that is alleged. That’s what I did so far in my 59 replies to your book: based on what I could read of it. So you already see what I will mostly be doing as I proceed.

It’s a “negative” sort of evidence for NT trustworthiness and internal consistency and cohesion. It doesn’t prove inspiration, but it is consistent with it; that is, inspired revelation would not and could not contain real contradictions. And it’s an objective enterprise: one of logic. . . .

This will give you an idea of how I approach these things, and where my main interest in your book lies. I will still have a lot to respond to, because you allege many contradictions.

I would like to thank Mike Alter again for the opportunity to make all these critiques (made possible because he sent me a PDF file of his book) and to amiably discuss them with him. It’s been an enjoyable and intellectually stimulating challenge, and I learned a lot, as I always do whenever I set out to study and/or defend the Bible. As usual, we don’t seem to have changed each other’s mind about anything major, but it’s still nevertheless worthwhile to engage on these topics if only to understand other viewpoints better and to entertain sincere and honest objections to our own. Communication is always good. We both agree to let readers make the final judgment regarding our efforts.

I wish him all the best in life and pray that God showers him with blessings.

***

Photo credit: moritz320 (8-17-18) [Pixabay / Pixabay License]

Summary: Michael Alter argued for a supposed absence of the Ascension in St. Paul (not explicitly); then claimed that the Gospel of John didn’t mention it, either. I prove the falsity of both contentions.

Tags: alleged Bible contradictions, alleged Resurrection contradictions, Bible “contradictions”, Bible “difficulties”, Bible Only, biblical inspiration, biblical prooftexts, biblical skeptics, biblical theology, exegesis, hermeneutics, Holy Bible, inerrancy, infallibility, Jewish anti-Christian polemics, Jewish apologetics, Jewish critique of Christianity, Jewish-Christian discussion, Michael J. Alter, New Testament, New Testament critics, New Testament skepticism, Resurrection “Contradictions”, Resurrection of Jesus, The Resurrection: A Critical Inquiry, supposed absence of the ascension, ascension of Jesus

Jews & Judaism & Old Testament

Trinitarianism & Christology

alleged Bible contradictions

alleged Resurrection contradictions

Ascension of Jesus

Bible "contradictions"

Jewish anti-Christian polemics

Jewish apologetics

Jewish critique of Christianity

Jewish-Christian discussion

Michael J. Alter

New Testament

New Testament critics

New Testament skepticism

Resurrection "Contradictions"

Resurrection of Jesus

supposed absence of the ascension

The Resurrection: A Critical Inquiry

Previous Post

May 5, 2021

Resurrection #28: Remission of Sins "Contradictions"?

Next Post

May 7, 2021 Pearce's Potshots #20: Unfair Meanie God & Unfree Will

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category & Last Things About Me Anti-Catholicism Atheism & Agnosticism Baptism and Sacramentalism Bible and Tradition Blessed Virgin Mary Books by Dave Armstrong C. S. Lewis Calvinism & General Protestantism Catholic Apologetics Catholic Apologists Catholic conversion Catholic converts Christmas Church (Ecclesiology) Church History Conversion and Converts Development of Doctrine Eastern Orthodoxy Ecumenism & Christian Unity Eucharist & Liturgy Fathers of the Church French Translations G. K. Chesterton Hell Hell & Satan Hell & Satan & Last Things Heresies & Comparative Religion Holistic Health Inquisition & Crusades & Scandals James White Jews & Judaism & Old Testament John Calvin John Henry Newman Liberal / Modernist Theology Life Issues Literary Resume Lutheranism Mariology Martin Luther Music Orthodoxy Papacy & Infallibility Personal Page Philosophy & Science Political & Ethical & Moral Issues Protestant Persecution & Intolerance Protestantism Purgatory Purgatory & Penance Romantic & Imaginative Theology Saints & Purgatory & Penance Salvation Salvation & Justification Satan & Last Things Sexuality and Gender Issues Spanish Translations Traditionalism vs. Radical Catholic Reactionaries Traducciones al español / tradução para português Trinitarianism & Christology Uncategorized Videos

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 April 2010 March 2010 December 2009 October 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 March 2009 February 2009 October 2008 September 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 May 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 October 2005 June 2005 April 2005 February 2005 July 2004 May 2004 April 2004

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz