Getting Geisler Right

Dr. Michael Licona has claimed for several years now, since shortly after Norman Geisler's death, that Geisler said that Matthew moved the Temple cleansing (and hence the cursing of the fig tree) by one day. Others have been led by Licona's confidence to accept this statement without question, even though such a move would be incompatible with a major theme of Geisler's entire life and ministry--namely, the literal inerrancy of the Bible. While I myself am not an inerrantist, I think that this interpretation is unfair to Geisler, particularly when no other option is even suggested as a possible interpretation of the passage in question. Given that New Testament scholarship, both conservative and liberal, has long needed and lacked a concise vocabulary for distinguishing places where an author does not intend to provide a chronological narrative and places where he does so intend (and changes chronology deliberately), it is not surprising that the brief passage in Geisler and Howe's book is somewhat cryptic. I suggest that it is more accurate and fair to Geisler and Howe to interpret them as suggesting what I've called achronological narration on the part of Matthew rather than, as Licona takes it, that they are suggesting dyschronological narration (knowingly and deliberately changing chronology). They appear to be saying that Matthew's narrative could give the accidental impression of a chronology inconsistent with Mark's, but that in fact the two Gospels are harmonizable in a traditional fashion. I think we should call upon anyone who discusses this issue to offer at least the plausibility of this interpretation of Geisler and Howe as an option rather than stating that they are advocating dyschronological narration and then saying that it is "ironic" that Geisler opposed dyschronological narration elsewhere. Here is the passage in their book: https://defendinginerrancy.com/bible-solutions/Matthew_21.12-19_(cf._Mark_11.12-14,_20-24).php Here is the debate at SES just months after Geisler's death in which Licona sprung the alleged gotcha on Geisler. https://youtu.be/rLwnjx6-5dc?si=edvCHP5petU3yECG&t=3582 Here is an earlier blog post I wrote on this topic: https://whatswrongwiththeworld.net/2019/10/getting_dr_geisler_right.html