The Argument from Silence

The argument from silence says that because a writer did not mention something, he must have denied it or not known it.

"Mark never mentions the virgin birth, so Mark did not believe it." But Mark does not tell the birth at all. He starts with John the Baptist and a grown Jesus. He skips the childhood too. Leaving a story out is not the same as saying it did not happen.

The Writers Tell Us They Left Things Out

John says it plainly:

Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name. John 20:30-31

And at the very end, "There are many more things that Jesus did." John 21:25 Each writer chose what to tell for a purpose. A shorter account is not a denial of a longer one.

In the Contradiction Lists

Matthew says two blind men called out near Jericho. Matthew 20:30 Mark names only Bartimaeus. Mark 10:46 The list says Mark denies the second man. Mark says nothing of the kind. This is the heart of Complement, Not a Clash and The Person in View.

When Silence Means Something

Silence can count for a little when a writer had every reason to mention something, and it fit his purpose, and he still did not. Even then it is weak on its own. It needs other evidence beside it.