Contradictions in the Bible

[gvsuman]

What do you guys think about all the contradictions in the bible? Don't tell me there aren't any, because I will share one if need be.

 

[Ave Maria]

The contradictions in the Bible make me have doubts about the Bible's accuracy and just how good of translations we have today.

 

[UMP]

What do you guys think about all the contradictions in the bible? Don't tell me there aren't any, because I will share one if need be.

Please share.

 

[brightlights]

Yes, please share. The only passages that come close to contradiction are some of the accounts in the Gospels and this is because the Gospels are history accounts. 4 different accounts by 4 different people. Really -- the same account, with minor, minor disagreements.

 

[Serapha]

What do you guys think about all the contradictions in the bible? Don't tell me there aren't any, because I will share one if need be.

Hi there!




Absolutely, please share....


I love a Bible challenge. I haven't found a "contradiction" yet that isn't reconciled by either going to the Greek or Hebrew, the original Jewish custom, or the archaeological or historical evidences.





~serapha~

 

[UMP]

Hi there!




Absolutely, please share....


I love a Bible challenge. I haven't found a "contradiction" yet that isn't reconciled by either going to the Greek or Hebrew, the original Jewish custom, or the archaeological or historical evidences.





~serapha~

AMEN !!

 

[JesusBeliever]

What do you guys think about all the contradictions in the bible? Don't tell me there aren't any, because I will share one if need be.

There are no contradictions.
Only people who have refused to study them out and keep in prayer until they see the truth.

by all means, show us one

 

[michabo]

There are no contradictions.

Would you acknowledge a contradiction if you found one?


To all: what would you accept as a contradiction? If I found something which appears contradictory, how would I know if it truly was or not?

 

[The Midge]

Personally I'm not very concerened about exactly how many charriots Solomen had or the eaxct number who were fed with five loaves and two fish- theologically speaking it makes no odds. The theological content or what the passage means is what is important.

 

[Sandwich]

I will gladly share a contradiction IF we agree to keep the theology intact. I have presented contradictions before, and while the contradiction is "resolved" the theology is destroyed. (God and Satan working together, God causes sin, etc.)

 

[JesusBeliever]

The contradictions in the Bible make me have doubts about the Bible's accuracy and just how good of translations we have today.

NOw i will agree with this.

the NIV had one contradiction that was so terrible I tossed it in the trash and was giving the whole thing up.

Then I looked at an NASB.
It wasnt in that one.
So I looked in a few more translations.
NOt in any of those.
IT was just the NIV.
Obviously at that point in the text, the tranlsators werent paying very close attention to the context of the passage and rendered a single word differntly than thei others do and it made it the polar opposite of what It should have been.

I dont remeber the verse, but it was in 1 Corinthians.

I agree with you that some translations are poor in areas that make it seem lke there is an issue of some sort.

BUT

But as followers of Jesus we are to study and pray until we have found out what is being said.

Its a good idea to get like a parallel bible with 4 translations in it so one can compare the differnt renderings and see how each puts it.
If we knew the mother tongues, it wouldnt be an issue, but seeing that no translation can ever be ''perfect'' we need as much imput as possible sometimes to understand a passage completely.

I will say this tho.
I used to think theyre were contrdctions too.
I just accepted them as being written by imperfect men.
I found that its not the case.
Its usually a rendering issue or a perspective issue causing most of the trouble.

 

[JesusBeliever]

Would you acknowledge a contradiction if you found one?


To all: what would you accept as a contradiction? If I found something which appears contradictory, how would I know if it truly was or not?

Ive found almost all of them at one point or another.
I accept, like the tranlators MUST, that when interpreting ancient Hebrew and Greek that some is lost and some is nearly impossible to get precise.

I also accept that I wasnt there so I cant say that there was only ONE demoniac and that the account showing that thre was a second one is just as correct as the one that didnt mention it.

There may well have been a dozen of them there for all we know.
We have the accounts 2.

I doubt very seriously that you could show me one that I couldnt study out and show you that you are wrong.

Now my question to you is, IF I show you that you are wrong, will YOU acknowedge THAT?

 

[JesusBeliever]

I will gladly share a contradiction IF we agree to keep the theology intact. I have presented contradictions before, and while the contradiction is "resolved" the theology is destroyed. (God and Satan working together, God causes sin, etc.)

So you want us to play games with the text ?

The only thing I will promise is that I will keep the context of the passage intact.

God said ''you shall not kill''...then sent Israel in to kill women and children.
Contradiction?

 

[The Midge]

NOw i will agree with this.

the NIV had one contradiction that was so terrible I tossed it in the trash and was giving the whole thing up.

Then I looked at an NASB.
It wasnt in that one.
So I looked in a few more translations.
NOt in any of those.
IT was just the NIV.
Obviously at that point in the text, the tranlsators werent paying very close attention to the context of the passage and rendered a single word differntly than thei others do and it made it the polar opposite of what It should have been.

I dont remeber the verse, but it was in 1 Corinthians.

I agree with you that some translations are poor in areas that make it seem lke there is an issue of some sort.

That is not a very helpful approach. All different versions have different methods and scholarly opinions which may lead to different (say) English words being used. You will never have an exact translation as not all concepts have dirrect equivalents. If you judged all translations in that way you would have none left (not even, or especially the KJV). Try using several versions and figuring why they have differences.

 

[5solas]

Once upon a time there was a guy called Josh McDowell who wanted to prove that the Bible is wrong and full of contradictions. Now he is a believer!

Here is his website: http://www.josh.org/apologetics/skeptical.asp

Are you a skeptic?
by Josh McDowell
I was a skeptic too until I took a good hard look at the claims of Jesus Christ. In college I met several students who challenged me to take a closer look, to study and examine the Christian faith.

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I took the challenge, feeling certain I could prove Christianity to be false, a religion built on nice stories that couldn't stand up to the test of truth. [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]But as I dug deeper and deeper into the claims of Christianity, I was shocked. I found facts, not fiction. I found so much evidence that I could only come to one conclusion Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He was crucified, He died, and He was resurrected on the third day. [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Soon after this discovery, I accepted Jesus as my Savior and Lord. That was 39 years ago. My life has been completely changed because I have a personal relationship with Christ. [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]As a skeptic, you've probably heard this before, but don't just shrug it off I challenge you, as those students challenged me examine the claims of Jesus Christ for yourself. If there's even the slightest chance that He truly is the Son of God, shouldn't you be willing to find out? [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]To get started, why not order a copy of More Than a Carpenter. Or check out the [/font][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Apologetics Resource Center.[/font]

 

[Sandwich]

So you want us to play games with the text ?

?? Sorry--I am not sure exactly what you mean by this?? No, no games. Just that the only reconciliation requires theological maneuvers that are demonstrably immense.

 

[michabo]

Ive found almost all of them at one point or another.
I accept, like the tranlators MUST, that when interpreting ancient Hebrew and Greek that some is lost and some is nearly impossible to get precise.

Okay, so criterium 1:
- contradiction must not be a translation artifact, but present in the original manuscript

I also accept that I wasnt there so I cant say that there was only ONE demoniac and that the account showing that thre was a second one is just as correct as the one that didnt mention it.

I don't understand your point here. Can you clarify? Are you saying that, for example, if one person says that he had a happy day on Oct 17, 1999 in LA and bought some milk and watched some tv, and another mentioned that there was a catastrophic earthquake, that this isn't a contradiction because maybe the first person watched tv during the earthquake and chose not to mention it?

Or are you saying that given two accounts, one which says that there was one person listening to Jesus but another account which says there was five, that this isn't a contradiction because you mentally change "one person" to "at least one person"?

Isn't this a fancy way of brushing over a contradiction? Shouldn't you admit that, yes it is in fact a contradiction but not a significant one?

I doubt very seriously that you could show me one that I couldnt study out and show you that you are wrong.

That's not the point or the question. I want to know what techniques are legitimate to brush away potential contradictions. If you use a technique on the bible, I want to use that on other texts to see how they compare. If we are able to show that there are no contradictions in the bible but only through using techniques which would have us conclude there are no contradictions in "Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas", or "Harry Potter", then I don't think we've accomplished anything.

Now my question to you is, IF I show you that you are wrong, will YOU acknowedge THAT?

You haven't asked me what my criteria are for establishing a contradiction But yes, if we use your criteria and I put forward a candidate and you knock it down, I'll acknowledge it.

 

[michabo]

Once upon a time there was a guy called Josh McDowell who wanted to prove that the Bible is wrong and full of contradictions. Now he is a believer!

Yes, I read his book. The things that really struck me are that he doesn't ever describe how he was able to reach his conclusions, and he doesn't back up his arguments with any documentation. For example, he makes a big deal about the empty tomb, but doesn't provide any documentation for the event outside of the bible itself. The best that you could say about "More Than Just A Carpenter" is that if you accept the bible as the whole, unvarnished truth, then you may reach the same conclusions as the christians. If that's what passed for scholarship in christian apologetics, it seems like pure geographic chance that McDowell isn't a muslim, hindu, mormon or basically the first religion that popped past his front door.

 

[JesusBeliever]

That is not a very helpful approach. All different versions have different methods and scholarly opinions which may lead to different (say) English words being used. You will never have an exact translation as not all concepts have dirrect equivalents. If you judged all translations in that way you would have none left (not even, or especially the KJV). Try using several versions and figuring why they have differences.

I agree.
I used in the ballpark of 15 versions right now.
I have my favorites that seem to be more precise, but I enjoy them all.

 

[P4g4nite]

As a skeptic, you've probably heard this before, but don't just shrug it off I challenge you, as those students challenged me examine the claims of Jesus Christ for yourself.

For sale : Lunar real estate.

If there's even the slightest chance that He truly is the Son of God, shouldn't you be willing to find out?

No.
Why do you think people should give special consideration to christianity? it makes no more sense and is no more likey to be true than any other religion we ever invented.