Jul 02 2009
Contradictions in the Bible?
BibleBabble.com reports alleged contradictions in the Bible . I will debunk them one at a time below. I am not, however, divinely inspired. I am subject to error. Problems with my logic should be addressed in comments, so I may attempt to rectify them. Do not take my mistakes as disproof of God’s perfection.
The areas of contradictions will be in bold text, so that it will be easier to see.
Genesis 2:17- But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Genesis 5:5- And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.
The Bible tells us there are two deaths, the physical and the spiritual. We are all born spiritually dead, but through Christ we can be “born again” into spiritual life. Adam and Eve were without a sin nature and were not born spiritually dead. There is no contradiction.
Does God not have respect to people?
Romans 2:11- For there is no respect of persons with God.
2 Chronicles 19:7- Wherefore now let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with the LORD our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts.
Acts 10:34- Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:
Ephesians 6:9- And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.
Colossians 3:25- But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.
1 Peter 1:17- And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:
Or does he?
Genesis 4:4 - And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
Exodus 2:25- And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.
Leviticus 26:9- For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you.
2 Kings 13:23- And the LORD was gracious unto them, and had compassion on them, and had respect unto them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, neither cast he them from his presence as yet.
Psalms 138:6- Though the LORD be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.
What does respect mean? Merriam Webster says holding omething in special regard. All of the examples were God provides respect, the respect is an esteem relative to something else. First Peter is an exception because with respect of means that God is an objective judge. Its a sloppy inclusion on the part of the website.
God tempts no one.
James 1:13- Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
God does tempt!
Genesis 22:1- And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.
And why would Jesus ask this, if God tempts no one?
Matthew 6:13- And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Tempt means test. Read each verse again, plugging in test. It is obvious that the first means “tempt us with evil.” In the second, God was testing Abraham, not leading him into evil. The Lord’s prayer also comes out very clearly, “Don’t lead us into evil by tests, but deliver us from it.”
No contradiction.
Genesis 35:10- And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel.
Genesis 46:2- And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I.
Israel is Hebrew for God contends. This is for clarification only, otherwise it would be quite confusing to a native Hebrew speaker. Clearly it wasn’t a sin to still call him Jacob, since Genesis was written after this.
I don’t even see how this is supposed to be a contradiction, but there isn’t one.
Whatever you do, don’t make graven images
Exodus 20:4- Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
Deuteronomy 4:23- Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the LORD thy God hath forbidden thee.
But let me tell you the proper way to make some graven images.
Exodus 25:18- And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat.
Exodus 25:19- And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof.
Exodus 25:20- And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be.
The site includes the answer here! Don’t make a graven image of anything if God forbids it from you. Obviously if God is giving instructions on how to make the cherubim, he isn’t forbidding it.
No contradiction.
Exodus 34:6- And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
1 Kings 22:23- Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee.
1 Kings is talking about punishment. God was longsuffering firs and his goodness had poured out. However, when the time came for punishment, God took away the power of the prophets to speak truth so as to bring suffering upon those who had gone away from him.
Contradiction free.
1 Samuel 28:6- And when Saul enquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets
1 Chronicles 10:14- And enquired not of the LORD: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse
These are different incidents, look it up yourself.
1 Chronicles 10:14- And enquired not of the LORD: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse
1 Samuel 31:4- Then said Saul unto his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it.
To hide the absurdity of calling this a contradiction, the author doesn’t mention that the same chapter of 1 Corinthians 10 also says that Saul commited suicide, but only because his enemies were overcoming him. So yes, God killed him by bringing military defeat. No, there is not a contradiction.
2 Samuel 24:1- And again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah.
1 Chronicles 21:1- And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.
This one seems to pose a serious problem, but a little understanding of Hebrew explains it away. The verb is the same in both places, and so it appears the Bible equates God and Satan. However, the Jews did not have the reflexive. They would have inferred that God allowed this to happen because their language had not evolved enough to express it directly. Not a contradiction.
Baasha died in the 27th year of Asa’s reign!
1 Kings 15:33- In the third year of Asa king of Judah began Baasha the son of Ahijah to reign over all Israel in Tirzah, twenty and four years
But then Baasha came against Judah AND built Ramah 9 years after he died!
2 Chronicles 16:1- In the six and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah, and built Ramah, to the intent that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.
1 Chronicles 21:12- Either three years’ famine; or three months to be destroyed before thy foes, while that the sword of thine enemies overtaketh thee; or else three days the sword of the LORD, even the pestilence, in the land, and the angel of the LORD destroying throughout all the coasts of Israel. Now therefore advise thyself what word I shall bring again to him that sent me.
2 Samuel 24:13- So Gad came to David, and told him, and said unto him, Shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land? or wilt thou flee three months before thine enemies, while they pursue thee? or that there be three days’ pestilence in thy land? now advise, and see what answer I shall return to him that sent me.
This really is an error. But, it is highly likely that it was a copyist error, since older manuscripts say 3 in both places.
The contradiction is superficial, and evidence indicated relatively recent. God’s word is perfect.
John 3:13- And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
2 Kings 2:11- And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
Hebrews 11:5- By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
Jesus ascended unto heaven. Jesus is the only one who has ever ascended. But Enoch and Elijah were both taken up. They did not and could not ascend, but he who came down from Heaven could pull them up. Again, Hebrew lacks the reflexive, so it was inferred in the Old Testament.
There is no contradiction.
2 Kings 24:8- Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. And his mother’s name was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.
2 Chronicles 36:9- Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD.
Older manuscripts say he was 18. The website uses KJV because all modern translations now use the older, more accurate manuscripts.
Copyist error - God is infallible.
Psalms 58:10- The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked
Proverbs 24:17- Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:
Psalms is just saying what people will do. Proverbs is saying what they should do. Obviously not a contradiction.
Ezra 2:6- The children of Pahathmoab, of the children of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred and twelve.
Nehemiah 7:11- The Children of Pahathmoab, of the children of Jeshua and Joab two thousand eight hundred and eighteen
The fact this is a copyist error and does not reflect on God’s perfection is clear.
2 Samuel 8:4- And David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: and David houghed all the chariot horses, but reserved of them for an hundred chariots.
1 Chronicles 18:4- And David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: David also houghed all the chariot horses, but reserved of them an hundred chariots.
One zero. Again, a copyist error.
Deuteronomy 2:19- And when thou comest nigh over against the children of Ammon, distress them not, nor meddle with them: for I will not give thee of the land of the children of Ammon any possession, because I have given it unto the children of Lot for a possession.
Joshua 13:24- And Moses gave inheritance unto the tribe of Gad, even unto the children of Gad according to their families.
25. And their coast was Jazer, all the cities of Gilead, half the land of the children of Ammon, unto Aroer that is before Rabbah;
This is an historical error on the part of the website. Biblical scholars will see there is no contradiction, but there is a detailed explanation here .
2 Samuel 24:9- And Joab gave up the sum of the number of the people unto the king: and there were in Israel eight hundred thousand (800,000) valient men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand (500,000) men
1 Chronicles 21:5- And Joab gave the sum of the numbers of the people unto David: And all they of Israel were a thousand thousand and an hundred thousand (1,100,000) men that drew the sword, and Judah was was four hundred threescore and ten thousand (470,000) men that drew the sword.
This is pretty logical. The Judah number is very clearly rounding, which is far from being error. The second is not, nor a scribe’s error, as this doesn’t involve one number dropped or added, but an adjective. One of these verses described valiant men. The other describes all men. No contradiction.
2 Samuel 10:18- And the Syrians fled before Israel, and David slew the men of seven hundred chariots of the Syrians, and forty thousand horsemen, and smote Shobach the captain of their host, who died there.
1 Chronicles 19:18- But the Syrians fled before Israel, and David slew of the Syrians seven thousand men which fought in chariots, and forty thousand footmen, and killed Shophach, the captain of their host.
One zero dropped. Again.
Isaiah 40:28- Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching of his understanding.
Exodus 31:17- It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed
It was a sign to Israel that God rested. He didn’t need to rest, but Exodus makes it clear that he rested as a lesson for his people.
None of these were a contradiction. E-mail any more you may have to admin@humanitiessite.org. Please don’t send me some monster list to try and overwhelm me, but only legitimate questions.
Exodus makes many CRAZY things “CLEAR”
Kill People for Working on the Sabbath
The LORD then gave these further instructions to Moses: ‘Tell the people of Israel to keep my Sabbath day, for the Sabbath is a sign of the covenant between me and you forever. It helps you to remember that I am the LORD, who makes you holy. Yes, keep the Sabbath day, for it is holy. Anyone who desecrates it must die; anyone who works on that day will be cut off from the community. Work six days only, but the seventh day must be a day of total rest. I repeat: Because the LORD considers it a holy day, anyone who works on the Sabbath must be put to death.’ (Exodus 31:12-15 NLT)
Dude, the bible is a story book. There is no more evidence for that god than there is for Zeus, and it is about as rational to worship one as the other.
You are using a circular reasoning fallacy.
Because God does not exist, it is an unreasonable idea to kill someone who violates his idea of holiness, so he does not exist. Its not sound logic.
The idea that their is no evidence for the God of the Bible shows that you haven’t read it.
I will work on a post about science in the Bible - you will find that it is without contradiction to modern science. If there was a flaw in it, I wouldn’t believe it. However, the Bible makes several scientific observations which far predate the science of the time while asserting nothing which is untrue. People have misinterpreted it, but people are flawed. God is not. If you have any specific contradictions, please e-mail me. However, there is evidence for God. I will prove it within the next few days.
ROFLMFAO,
OOps sorry, when I read someone saying they will prove the existance of god in the next few days I cant help but crack the hell up. Yes you YOU have special knowledge that exceeds all the philosophers throughout time who have attempted in vein to do just that. You must be special, I mean at least you think VERY highly of yourself.
Additionally you are not anywhere close to an accurate understanding of my reasoning to call it circular is absurd, your explination of my position is a total strawman that has nothing to do with what I said or what I meant.
If I can show you where the bible is flawed you say you wont believe in it, I think you are lieing. I think you will rationalize anything to avoid its meaning. To show the flaw in the bible is simple. Jesus said anything you ask in his name will be granted… Ask any parrent of a child who died of cancer if that is true. Its BS. Theres your flaw.
Now finally as for your comment “The idea that their is no evidence for the God of the Bible shows that you haven’t read it.” Again you are simply incorect and doing as is common for xtians ie passing judgement on things you know nothing about. I use to be a xtian and read my bible everyday and prayed everyday and the only thing I ever prayed for was understanding. And I came to understand that I believed what I did based on cultural influence. Then I did some historical research outside of biblical sourses and found it to be a story. POINT of fact, you accuse me of circular logic and that is exactly what you are doing when you say that reading the bible will validate for you that it is the word of god. Check yourself dude. You are acting like you are some authority on god. What gives you special knowledge that exceeds that of miliniums of philosophers? You sir are on a VERY HIGH HORSE, be careful not to fall.
Justin- I was going to e-mail you to point out some inconsistencies in your biblical assertions but since my friend has already kicked down the door, which he is very good at, I’ll address it respectfully here. Like dsent; I was raised Christian (Catholic to be precise) and my loss of faith can be attributed to the hypocrisy inherent in Catholicism. Even the church has conceded that much of the Old Testament is not based on fact but is based more on “symbolism.” Which led me to the conclusion that since they weren’t able to validate some of its ridiculous stories ( ie Noah’s Ark); they redirected the focus to explaining the symbolism.
Justin, I don’t want to jump all over you but to make a statement such as yours is inviting trouble. If theologians, philosophers, scientists, and historians have been unable to prove the existence of god-how the hell do you plan to do it? You are setting the bar extremely high for yourself.
Finally; I must say that I am growing tired of this ever growing focus on religion on this site. The last time I looked; this was a political blog site. I don’t see how refuting alleged contradictions in the Bible can be construed as anything close to political. Perhaps another venue may be better for this argument-like a religious blog site! That being said; I anxiously await your proof of god’s existence. I don’t like to see anyone, well maybe one, make a fool of themselves but I’m afraid you are setting yourself up for a big fall. It may be time”get out while the getting is good.”
dsent: a couple words for you (if that is alright), all of which I say in good humor, so if you believe at any time that I’m attacking you, I’m terribly sorry, I’m just throwing in my two cents. tailback24, I will also address you momentarily, so the above also applies to you.
I have known justingatlin for a very long time. That being said, I am well aware that he can come across as “high and mighty” sometimes, but he is not putting on airs for anyone, if he were talking to a brick wall his manner would be none unchanged. It’s just how he is, an assertive person with an opinion. You are also a person with an opinion, so it would seem you could have respect for an equally opinionated person.
Also, it just so happens, justingatlin IS a good authority on God, or will be shortly, because that happens to be the profession he is currently pursuing. If you were pursuing a career in, say, orthodontics, then we would all agree that you qualify as an authority on teeth.
tailback24: you may refer to the top right corner of your screen to see that justingatlin is allowed to blog about ANYTHING. He could start talking about the new Harry Potter movie if that’s what he wants. So sorry to disappoint, there’s only 30 million more political blogs out there that you could be reading if you don’t like hearing about religion every once and a while.
Also tailback24, there is hypocrisy inherent in Catholicism. Even justingatlin will readily agree with you on that point, as I’m sure he will tell you for himself. That has nothing to do with God, it has to do with the fact that Catholicism is run by men who have added to the inspired word.
And to both of you. I believe you are too close minded on the subject of the existence of a God, so I don’t really see what the point is in justingatlin proving Him to you. The bar is high indeed, but in your own minds, it is higher still. But I wish you would hear him out.
Go get um, Justin.
Shellebelle,
I’m sorry Sugar Pop when you make a declarative statement that someone “is a good authority on God, or will be shortly, because that happens to be the profession he is currently pursuing.” I am really unable to explain just how ridiculous that sounds too me, I do not wish to be insulting based on age but the statement reeks of youthful arrogance.
Really thank you for your comment. Your friend Justin is full of himself. And it sounds like you maybe enamored. Good for both of you. But hey with all due respect Justin better come a lot stronger than anything I’ve read from him before. And NO using the Bible to prove god. Remember that. The Bible is a story book that I could interpret to say any thing I wish. To prove god one must use the scientific process.
Justin;
In the past I felt like I knew about god. . . In hind sight that was the most humbling experience of my life, showed me just how arrogant I could be. Good luck to you young man.
dsent: Was it my syntax that bugged you or did you just disagree with what I said? Looking back, my syntax was really the most ridiculous thing about it. Give me a break, it was my first post.
Justin is going to a seminole (preaching school) to become a preacher. Therefore, in addition to the knowledge he already has, he will soon expand his knowledge on the subject of God. Don’t know why I didn’t say it like that in the first place. Oh well.
In response to the enamored comment: No, we are not enamored, or at least not to each other. We both have wonderful significant others. What about you dsent? You single? Or maybe you are already many years married and have grandkids by now, since it seems you’ve made several points to indicate that your age far exeeds our own. You have accused Justin of arrogance, and yet you seem to think that you age and some superior knowledge that you have from your experiences makes you superior to us. It is obvious that you have been through many trying times. I don’t question that at all. But I’ve had trying times too. You may think I’m a Sugar Pop, but I don’t live in a fairy world or a cerial box or wherever it is you think I’m from, though sometimes I wish I did. I have to face life in the real world everyday, and even more challenging, the last few years I’ve had to face the real world of high school, which I can asure you is no fairy world. I’ve been through hell and high water just to get from one day to the next. I’ve questioned myself, I’ve questioned God, and I’ve been humbled too. The only difference between you and me is that I found different answers than you did.
I seriously doubt that is the only difference. Again you cant hear what I’m saying. I dont KNOW anything. But I am also not setting my self up as an authority. I have opinions, I collect information and I attempt to make sense of a mysterious world. I no longer read achient texts and attempt to tell people that my interpretation of those text is a clue to god. Your friend Justin is attempting to educate people before he educates himself and condems my ignorance while aplauding his own with claims of righteous knowledge about god (laughable). That is arrogance. Look, maybe you have been through hell, maybe you grew up and watched your family members be murdered by criminal thugs be they governmental thugs or simply gangsters, maybe some of your siblings starved to death, maybe you didnt get enough to eat everyday, maybe you were abused. I don’t know. All I am saying is that god is a personal concept and to tell other people about god is to place ones own interpretation on a divine level. That is arrogant. Im not trying to insult you or justin. I simply recognize youthful arrogance when I see it, I had it myself for years. For me the bible is filled with crazy lies and storys. Jesus said whatever is ask in his name will be granted, SIMPLY NOT TRUE. no 900 yo man built a boat and put every creature on earth on the boat.. What did he feed the carnivores? Look believe whatever your hearts content. But when you come out declaring you have special knoweledge about who is an authority on god. You are simply talking out your ass. You know nothing more about god than any one and neither does your buddy. And why you are asking about my love life is beyond me? Are you comming on to me? I thought we were talking about the possibility of divinity..I mean I could make you call out to god but I didn’t think that was what we were doing here and it wouldn’t mean such a being actually exists. If you and Justin can get a few bucks togather you might want to purchase some humility and grace.
Oh man there is no use in trying to talk to kids that will not question their own thoughts and I am sure you have been told by mommy and daddy not to question your God. Fact is the bible is a story book full of metaphorical story’s to try to explain the ups and downs of life. It was never meant to be taken literally. I mean just cleaning up the shit on Noah’s Ark should be a convincing argument that it could not have happened for those who have the ability to think for themselves. The comment about pursuing god as a profession tells you what it is all about. It is about making money off weak minded individuals that don’t have the ability to think for themselves and don’t have the balls to accept responsibility for their own actions. dsent and tailback are right you kids may have been through a lot but I would not list high school as one of my most challenging times in life. LMFAO
The Bible does have contradiction. What about “ask and you shall receive”? If we pray tonight for God to cure every person with a disease. Tomorrow they still have this disease. Why did he not give us what we ask for he said he would. I would. Yeah I know people say that he just didn’t answer my prayer the way I wanted him to. But if he has all this power to heal or stop it from happening then why wont he do it? Why even let good decent people go through it in the first place if he can do all things? He loves us all but he lets good people that has not been saved go to hell while a rapist and a murderer that finds Jesus in jail and is saved while in prison go to heaven. God is very loving.
For those of you who spoke of being or rather formerly being catholic this I say to you. I am seventeen and I lost my faith in God when I was eight. Why was a terrible circumstance that happened to me at that young of age, but what I didn’t lose was the want to defend even though I no longer had faith. Catholics are contradictory creatures, but so are baptist, Lutherans, protestants, and all other Christians. It has nothing to do with the faith but the people. Humans are weak creatures and fall to sin which could be contradiction. That is how it is so please if there is any and I am not sure if there was but in case if there was don’t blame Catholics for misgivings others have them too.
Toolman,
Nicely put!
The New Testaments - gave a different spin on working on Sunday just like Jesus gave a different spin on a lot of things through his parables - I just had to throw that in there even though I know to you it will not make a difference. What I am suggesting is that you do not criticize what you have not read and fully understood. It sounds to me as though you have been listening to the interpretations of man instead of the interpetations of God/Jesus.
Peace
@ShellBelle- I hate to burst your bubble but the top right hand corner of my screen says “View More Political Blogs.” Maybe you can tell me how contradictions in the Bible are political. Thanks for chiming in and I really don’t need you to tell me where I should go to read POLITICAL blogs. Why doesn’t Rev. Justin take his Bible thumping to a site where it belongs? Ummm-how about a Religious Blog Site?
Quote:
“God does tempt!
Genesis 22:1- And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.
And why would Jesus ask this, if God tempts no one?”
In Genesis 22:1, God was testing Abraham’s faith rather than tempt him, note that there IS a difference between these 2.
“1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man(sin& its desires). And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”
Wow- Though it has been a number of years since I read any of the Bible; I do know this. You quote (at least I think that’s what you’re doing) that Jesus asked a question in Genesis. I hate to expose you but Jesus wasn’t around in Genesis! I have no idea what your comment is supposed to be about but I know it’s not accurate. Here’s a little tip for you: Stop quoting Jesus in the Old Testament. Reason: His character didn’t appear until the second season (New Testament).