A certain man who was lame from his mother’s womb was being carried, whom they laid daily at the door of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask gifts for the needy of those who entered into the temple. Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive gifts for the needy. Peter, fastening his eyes on him, with John, said, “Look at us.” He listened to them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, “I have no silver or gold, but what I have, that I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!” He took him by the right hand and raised him up. Immediately his feet and his ankle bones received strength.
A person who has been unable to walk since birth can gain full use of their legs instantly by being pulled upright by a stranger.
Medicine
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The cited passage
What current science says
Congenital inability to walk can stem from cerebral palsy, spina bifida, muscular dystrophy, or skeletal malformations — all involving structural problems in bones, muscles, nerves, or the brain. A person who has never walked would have leg bones that never developed proper density from weight-bearing, muscles that never strengthened through use, and a brain that never built the neural pathways for walking (motor learning). Even if you magically fixed the original defect, the patient would need to learn to walk from scratch — a process that takes toddlers about a year with fully healthy bodies. Pulling someone upright doesn't rewrite their neurology.
What the text says
This comes from Acts 3:2-7. A man described as 'lame from his mother's womb' is grabbed by the right hand and lifted up, and 'immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength' — instant structural repair of a lifelong congenital condition.
Three honest ways to read this passage
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As history
The text records how its authors understood the world with the knowledge they had. Read this way, a difference from modern science is a window into the ancient mind, not a failure.
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As accommodation
The text speaks to its first audience in their own terms, to make a point that isn't mainly about physics or biology. Read this way, the scientific detail is the vehicle, not the cargo.
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As contradiction
The text makes a claim about the physical world that modern findings dispute. Read this way, the difference is a genuine factual disagreement worth naming.
GEBible doesn't pick one of these for you. Each entry shows the passage, what it says, and what current science says — nothing more.