Bible “Contradictions”
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Have you ever heard someone say: I like the gentle New Testament God better than that warlike, violent Old Testament God? Is there really a difference? There are definitely some differences in human’s relations to God from the Old to the New Testament. This is because the New Testament is talking about the relation between God and human after the death of Christ on the Cross. It was not because God learned a new way to deal with people, but because of what God in the person of Jesus Christ made possible. In the Old Testament and the New, justice had to be done. That is, wickedness...
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When reading the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, one notices very quickly that the stories are in a different order in many places between them. This has led some to conclude that they invented the stories, and were playing fast and loose with the facts. But is this the correct way of looking at them? It is true that some of the gospel stories are arranged in different order in each of the three Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke). For example, look at the story of Jesus when He is in the boat and calms the storm on the Sea of Galilee. In Matthew 8:23-27, this story comes...
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Ok, says the skeptic, if the gospels are divinely inspired documents, how come in Matthew 20:29-34, Jesus heals two blind men as He leaves Jericho, but in Luke 18:35-43, Jesus is said to have healed one blind man, Bartimeus, and this healing was as He came into Jericho? Further, Mark 10:46-52 says He healed one man, Bartimeus again, as He was leaving Jericho? Couldn't the gospel writers count? Did they not quite know if they were coming or going? This is the typical type of "contradiction" that critics bring up, who then come to the conclusion that the passages containing the contradictions,...
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Do the verses prohibiting practicing homosexuality in the book of Leviticus apply today? Some critics don't think so. I was at a presentation at a local university several years ago, and heard a well known theologian speaking about the Old Testament. When the speaker defended the homosexual lifestyle and basically said that the Bible doesn't apply today, a questioner from the audience objected, bringing up verses in the book of Leviticus that say that the practice of homosexuality is an "abomination" to the Lord (Lev. 18:22, 20:13, KJV). The speaker ridiculed the question, saying that...
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We have seen in previous articles that the Bible does not condone the kind of slavery that existed either in the antebellum South in America, or in Egypt or any other oppressive regime. But we shall also see that the biblical texts, especially as we progress in time to the New Testament, not only do not condone oppressive slavery, but contain the seeds for the abolition of the institution of slavery altogether. Slavery in Roman times: Under the Roman empire slavery took somewhat of a step backwards, but still not quite like the American South. Some slaves in Rome were indeed considered...
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In part 1 of this series, we saw that the Bible does not condone the kind of slavery we normally think of, but deals with a much more humane version, especially within Israelite society. But instead of ripping slavery out of the society all at once, in the Old Testament Law God begins to undermine the firmly economically entrenched institution of slavery by stopping abuses and commanding fair, humane treatment of those who enter into the slavery system. But hold on, the skeptic says! There are some verses that, at first glance, seem to indicate approval of some unfair treatment of slaves....
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Has anyone every told you they just can't believe the Bible because they believe that it condones the institution of slavery? This is a favorite target area for critics, because nowhere in the Bible does it command the total abolition of slavery. Indeed, instructions are given for proper behavior for masters and slaves, with no mention of abolition. So does the Bible actually endorse slavery, especially the kind we are most familiar with, the oppressive slavery of the American antebellum South? First, we need to understand the cultural context in which the Bible was written. Then, we also...
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Skeptics often charge that the virgin birth of Christ is not really predicted by the Bible. They claim that Christians are reading the doctrine back into the Old Testament text, Isaiah 7:14, that reads: "Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel" (KJV). These critics have argued that the Hebrew word for virgin used here simply means "young woman" and that the whole verse is taken out of context, and really applies only to some child contemporary with Isaiah. They also further charge that since Jesus...
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In the gospel of Matthew, chapter 27:9-10, Matthew describes the account of Judas with the high priests after his betrayal of Jesus and how he throws the betrayal money of thirty pieces of silver down in the temple in front of the high priest and runs off . The priests then take the money and use it to purchase a potter's field. This account is referred to by Matthew as a fulfillment of prophecy spoken by Jeremiah. However, the details about the betrayal price, the place of transaction, and the eventual use of the money are given in the prophet Zechariah, in chapter 11:12-13...
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One of the most frequent problems brought up by critics concerning the book of Genesis is the supposed contradictory creation accounts in Genesis chapters 1 and 2. They are referring to the apparent chronological contradictions between the creation accounts in Genesis 1 and 2 where in Genesis 1 animals are created first and then man, and Genesis 2 where it seems to say that man was already there when God formed the animals. Also the trees are created before man in Genesis 1, but said to be planted after God had formed the man in Genesis 2. Also, are the birds formed out of the ground,...
© 2012 Vince Latorre, The Bible Can Be Proven