What should we make of the discrepancies found in the bible. In alleged discrepancies of the bible, john haley directly addresses questions surrounding common misunderstandings of scripture. This book was in turn replying to the 144 biblical contradictions found in the following book and many of these same ones are answered below. Introduction to a literary and theological analysis of the. Supposed contradictions in gods word are widely advertised by mormons, muslims, modernists, bible skeptics and atheists in an attempt to trash the bible as gods word. Hundreds of canons on the books of the holy bible have been recorded throughout history, by christians and by others. God did not introduce our modern technological or cultural considerations into the minds of the bibles authors. Bible contradictions a matter of translation and context some bible contradictions appear contradictory solely because of the intricacies of bible translation. How can we be sure the bibles books are authoritative. Modern scholarship calls these attributions into question. Use john darbys synopsis to study the bible online and better understand scripture meaning and translations. Through 66 separate books, 1,189 chapters, and hundreds of thousands of words, the bible shares one. Bible verses explained bible study tools online lessons.
Its remarkable how many critics refer to their list of contradictions when they reject the bible, but have never read the bible itself. The book of revelation in the bible is one of the more difficult books of the bible to understand. What about the apparent discrepancies in the bible. Bulgarian, dutch, french, indonesian, italian, spanish. All scripture is given by inspiration of god, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. Explore free bible videos bibleproject the bible project. Number discrepancies in old testament history gospel way. Select bibliography for how to study the bible blomberg, craig, robert l. No matter if youre christian, jewish, islamic or atheist, we can all agree on one point. Ham wrote in the foreword, many people today buy into the assertion that the bible is full of contradictions, but they havent bothered to look into the claim for themselves.
The jewish bible, called the tanakh, is a collection of 39 books written in hebrew and aramaic. We must not stop believing all the bible just because something particular in it puzzles us. Over the years i have been asked if i had any other books of the bible that are explained like the one for the book of revelation which took a year to complete. The question of internal consistency in the bible also involves the attribution of authorship to its books. I personally believe the bible is true, and that all contradictions can be explained, but a friend asked me about this one and i was stumped. A list of over 700 inconsistencies in the bible from.
My purpose is to expose a large number of the contradictions and discrepancies in the christian bibles to disprove fundamentalist claims that every word in the bible is true. However, those better acquainted with the history of the bible know that this has been a vital and hotly debated topic. Explore all of our free videos and resources by book, theme, or series. Those books included in the bible by a tradition or group are called canonical, indicating that the traditiongroup. Analysis of the original languages of the bible hebrew for the old testament and greek for the new testament can solve many apparent issues. Yet he didnt make the light producing objects the sun and the stars until the fourth day 1. Many times skeptics will present a list of socall contradictions such as whether god repents, the time of jesus death, and when peter denied him. The companion volume to this book is demolishing supposed bible contradictions volume 2. The talmud the jewish commentary on the scriptures in bava batra 14b gives a different order for the books in neviim and ketuvim. Apologists have many criticisms about identifying contradictions, and in many cases they go out of their way to add things to the bible in order to explain them away. Since scripture brilliantly interprets scripture, consulting all the texts on any disputed subject will clarify ones questions. Dec 04, 2012 what does johns gospel say about the election and security of the believer. Nov 01, 2010 the companion volume to this book is demolishing supposed bible contradictions volume 2. In genesis chapter 2 the order of creation seems to be different to that in chapter 1 with the animals being created 2.
In chapter 1, man and woman are created at the same time after the creation of the animals. Self contradictions of the bible forgotten books 2007, or prometheus books 1997, originally 1860. But the two books that really assisted me were carson and woodbridges scripture and truth and hermeneutics, authority, and canon. Bible encyclopedias, dictionaries, and handbooks offer, in general, somewhat meager treatments of ezras theology or literary character. Genesis god creates light and separates light from darkness, and day from night, on the first day. Books of the bible classification flashcards quizlet. Number discrepancies in old testament history the bible is often attacked by critics, especially regarding books of old testament history, because of obvious discrepancies between numbers given in some bible accounts as compared to parallel passages in other accounts. This book also includes translation problems, additions and subtractions that have been made to the bible, and problems with themorality of the book in general. Bible contradictions the alleged inaccuracies and errors that fill todays bible translations are a major intellectual barrier for many skeptics.
Skeptics often charge that the bibles historical books hopelessly contradict each other. An incredible interactive chart of biblical contradictions. A skeptic questions whether the bible s internal harmony is evidence of its divine inspiration. The book of luke says that jesus healed a blind man as jesus was getting near to jericho, while the parallel account in matthew mentions two blind men and says that the incident occurred when jesus was going out of jericho. The contradictions between the book of mormon and the bible constitute a most serious obstacle to accepting the book of mormon as latterday scripture supplemental to the bible. Nehemiahs heart broke so deeply for the suffering jews that he left the comfort of his persian palace to restore their desolate community. Top 20 most damning bible contradictions october 20, 2018 bob seidensticker patheos explore the worlds faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality. The book of mormon teaches that little children are not capable of sin because they do not have a sinful nature moroni 8. He suggests that the existence of the james bond film series disproves that argument. Answering contradictions in the gospelschronological. He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything mark 4. Many books have been written to show that the canonical bible does not contradict itself, particularly in areas of doctrine. Discover the 66 books of the bible discover books of the.
The truth is that there are no errors in the bible, only difficulties, but the sad reality is that many christians are not always ready to give an answer, and therefore they are not ready to refute critics. Thats why skeptics pay so much attention to the gospels apparent contradictions. Such disagreements might subsist between the, statements of different writers or between the several statements of a single writer. The story of jesus stands or falls on the trustworthiness of the gospels. You stated that there are almost 6,000 greek nt manuscript around 5778 copies. Click on a book listed below which will take you to its introduction page. I regard frames relatively new doctrine of the word of god to be the best book on the doctrine of scripture today. At least those arguments against inspiration had some depth. Designed to be used in conjunction with the workbook sku. Contradictions between the book of mormon and the bible.
Answering contradictions in the gospels chronological problems a common objection to the inerrancy of scripture, especially regarding the gospels, is the synoptic problem. The debate concerns not only the apocryphal books of the catholics, but other old and new testament apocryphal books as well. For instance, the words of the torah, or the first five books of the old testament, have traditionally been believed to be by the hand of moses, and the new testament gospels have been attributed to the four evangelists. The books in the new testament define jesus christ as the promised messiah and gods only begotten son.
Yes, there are verses that appear to contradict each other. Alleged bible contradictions explained by george w. Lets take some examples, starting with the book of sirach which teaches that almsgiving makes atonement for sin. If the bible is inspired word for word, as you assert, how do you explain errors and contradictions found in the bible. At the bible project, we make animated videos that explore the books and. Although the 66 books of the bible were written by diverse human authors in differing styles over a long period of time, it is our contention that the bible really has only one authorgod. It is remarkable that in the book of nehemiah, following on the list we find reproduced vii, 70 ff. In fairness to those who believe in the bible, i make no assumptions that any of these contradictions are true. There are no contradictions in the bible angelfire. Jun 24, 2009 you have books in the old testament that define gods first or old covenant with his followers. Apr 24, 2012 is it true that the bible contradicts itself. However, consider the following point from our statement of faith. Hidden between the thou shalt nots and endless passages on who begat whom are stories of giant sex, rather well endowed egyptians and holy murderous bears. Books of the bible explained scripture by scripture.
You said youd be happy to answer bible contradiction questions, and i have one. Aug 12, 2010 this stems directly from the belief that the bible is the inspired, inerrant, and authoritative word of god. The socalled synoptic problem is simply that the synoptic gospels matthew, mark, and luke contradict each other. Bible contradictions explained come reason ministries. If this is the best that zathras can do, he should go pick up a hundred year old book on higher criticism. This article explains and reinforces the congruencyofscripture argument for the bible s divine inspiration.
Curious christian blog, at of all the gospels, john goes into greatest detail and most clearly describes the election and the security of the believer. In fact, the word bible comes from the latin and greek words for book biblia and biblos, respectively. Haleys an examination of the alleged discrepancies of the bible. Demolishing supposed bible contradictions volume 1. Turns out there are 63,779 cross references in the bible and that many arcs in the image. In a general introduction to the bible, geisler and nix write, the bible is written for the common men of every generation, and it therefore uses their common. The bible is one unified story that leads to jesus, but we dont always treat it that way. This book is essential for your personal library because it explains questionable passages, helps answer skeptics questions, and contains valuable resource material. All 66 books of the bible in easy, onesentence summaries. The claim goes that there are two creation accounts. Its no different from any other human book with the usual errors and mistakes. Of course, if the bible does contain inaccuracies, it. On that day they read in the book of moses in the audience of the people. And, just like star wars, the awesomeness within the pages of the bible leads to plenty of continuity errors.
Addresses over 40 issues of contention in the old and new testaments including genesis, exodus, deuteronomy, matthew, john, acts, and revelation contains vital and relevant context by steve fazekas, bodie hodge, roger patterson, stacia mckeever, gary vaterlaus, dr. If its any indication of how complex this image is, the highresolution version is more than 100mb large in 2009, graphic designer andy marlow used harrisons work as his inspiration to created a similar visual for sam harris reason project. This is similar to inerrantism, the idea that the bible contains no errors. Discrepancies, biblical international standard bible.
You may disagree that these are, in fact, genuine biblical problems, but it is the authors opinion that a perfect and omnipotent god. The defenders study bible, pg 1177 the reign of jehoiachim. Go to the bottom of that page to see the index chapters, which. In the mind of the critic, a discrepancy is all the evidence needed to deny the inspiration of the bible. In one place the bible says no man shall see me and live and yet jacob said that he saw the face of god. While there were differences among the congregations about which books were to be read in the churches, they all agreed on these 27 books. This article was taken, with slight modification, from the new answers book 2. Contradictions in the bible identified verse by verse.
Contradictions in the bible will vanish as we continue to study it. It is alleged that the bible writers made numerous mistakes in their writings, often contradicting either what another biblical penmen wrote or some known historical, geographical, or scientific fact. Bruce metzger wrote that the nt is 95% reliable when compared to the original manuscript of the new testament. Ot old testament nt new testament learn with flashcards, games, and more for free. The books represent the new covenant god made with his. A testimony of jesus christ is a commentary that explains some of the mysteries of revelation. Identified verse by verse and explained using the most uptodate scholarly information about the bible, its texts, and the men who wrote them by dr.
Bible, from the greek work biblia which means books is the sacred book or scriptures of judaism and christianity. Encyclopedia of alleged bible contradictions answered and. Isaac asimov all scripture is given by inspiration of god, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. In our discussion i pointed out several contradictions found in the kjv proving it wasnt perfect. Top 20 most damning bible contradictions bob seidensticker. By this term should be understood substantial disagreements in the statements of biblical writers. Kent hovind explains the truth about these so called contradictions. The bible is a collection of sacred texts or scriptures. In addition, there is no regret for any contradictions or errors that actually exist in the modern versions of the bible, forasmuch as there is only one holy bible. What does johns gospel say about the election and security.
This website could just as well have been called against fundamentalism. Keep in mind that we are not biblical scholars, and our replies are not intended as the final word in these matters. Among them are 400,000 variants of differences, while there are only 9,000 words in the nt. Today the lord has given us an abundance of excellent books which help us to study and understand the life changing truths of the bible. A final rule of canonicity is general acceptance by the church. This essay, drawn from the investigating the bible email newsletter, addresses a tough question about the bibles reliability. At bibleproject, we make animated videos that explore the books and themes of the bible. There are a few discrepancies in our bible that cause some people to question its inerrancy, and consequently, whether or not it is truly gods word. Overall a very informative and useful book with an author who is well versed on the subject and has solid credentials. A plethora of books and web sites dedicated to trumpeting bible contradictions have been published in recent years. Here, lenny responds to several objecions and shows why the approach of these skeptics fails. Does the bible contain errors, contradictions, or discrepancies. Book of revelation explained a testimony of jesus christ. The purpose of this section is to bring to your attention just a few of these bible contradictions, or as we have claimed, these bible riddles.
If we read the bible at face value, without a preconceived bias for finding errors, we will find it to be a coherent, consistent, and relatively easytounderstand book. In fact, the christians canons have numbered more than one hundred differing ones between them, given that the process of canonizing of the books of the holy bible lasted over centuries. T he bible has many seeming contradictions within its pages. These books define creation, the laws and the prophetic messages regarding the messiah. The sabbath day remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Selfcontradictions of the bible forgotten books 2007, or prometheus books 1997, originally 1860. See also a complete harmony of the four gospels see also. If the bible is the word of god, how can you explain the contradictions of the bible. In the following chapter 9, while acting in the character and according to the power of jehovah as we read in psalms 103, who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases. Alleged discrepancies in the bible what do the scriptures say. The disciples asked him why do you speak to them in parables.
With this in mind, let us have a look at the bible on several subjects. If written by a perfect being, then it must not contradict itself, as a collection of books written by different men at different times over many centuries would be expected to contradict each other. Apr 12, 2012 beales book greatly assisted me in dealing with pete enns work. The fourteen leading evangelical scholars who have contributed to this volume come from various denominations and have written on a wide range of topics related to the doctrine of the inerrancy of the bible. Alleged discrepancies of the bible ebook by john haley. The answer to 70 apparent contradictions in the king james bible. Biblical unity do the books of the bible form a unified. To be fully god means freedom from finite forms and from helplessness, and to be full man means the absence of divinity. Dealing fairly with alleged bible contradictions part i. When people criticize the bible, they often point to contradictions. The major sources for my list of contradictions include william henry burrs book, self contradictions of the bible and john w.
Christianitys critics cast doubt on the new testament s reliability by pointing out disparities in the gospels. I recently had a discussion with someone about the perfection and preservation of the kjv. In studying creation accounts, many skeptics will claim that the bible holds two different creations accounts the six days of genesis 1 and a different version in genesis 2. This journey through the bible reveals the unfolding of gods plan in the insights and events found in each book of the bible and provides a panoramic view for excellent understanding of the bible as a whole. Oct 22, 2010 the bible is the word of god 2 timothy 3. Through seven video sessions and in depth, relational bible study, nehemiah will inspire you to listen to what god has put in your heart to do. This web site explains various books of the bible, by explaining each individual scripture. Keep in mind, however, that what constitutes a valid problem is to some extent a matter of opinion. Properly read, the bible is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived. The 66 books of the bible are the written word of god. In chapter 2, the animals are created after people. In one of your articles you claim that the apocrypha contradict the scripture. For example, the four gospels give four differing accounts as to what was written on the sign that hung on the cross. However, the articles in the anchor bible dictionary, the oxford companion to the bible, and the holman bible handbook deserve honorable mention.
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