THE ATHEIST'S COMPLAINT:
In Luke 23:43, Jesus tells the believing robber he will be with him in paradise that day, but the fact is Jesus was in the grave following his death, and did not ascend to heaven (Acts 2:24, 31; John 20:17). Is there a contradiction?

RESPONSE:
This supposed contradiction comes from a lack of understanding what "paradise" is. The questioner has assumed that paradise is a reference to heaven, which is not the case. In the hadean realm (the realm of the dead) there are two places, paradise (otherwise called Abraham's bosom - Luke 16:22) and torments (Luke 16:23). Indeed, when Jesus died, He did not ascend immediately to heaven, but was dead three days, and thus, went to hades, where he would have been in paradise / Abraham's bosom. The thief also, according to Jesus' promise went there.

I invite the reader to study Luke 16:19-31 to see what the Lord teaches us about the afterlife. The wicked go to torments in hades (a prelude, if you will, to hell), and the righteous go to Abraham's bosom/paradise (again, a prelude, if you will, to heaven).

There is no contradiction.

This article is a response to Skeptic's Annotated Bible, but original article is no longer listed

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