Here are a few of the contradictions:
Should we kill?
Ex. 20:13 Thou shalt not commit murder.
Ex. 32:27 Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, put every man his sword by his side...and slay every man his brother...companion..neighbor.(See also 1 Sam. 6:19; 15:2,3; Num. 15:36)
Ex 20:5 "...for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God..." (see also Ex 34:14, Deut 4:24, Josh 24:19, and Nah 1:2)
Gal 5:19-20 "Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are...jealousy..." (See also 2 Cor 12:20)
Should we tell lies?
Ex. 20:16 Thou shalt not bear false witness.(Prov. 12:22; Rev. 21:8)
1 Kings 22:23 The Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee. (II Thess. 2:11; Josh. 2:4-6 with James 2:25)
Should we steal?
Ex. 20:15 Thou shalt not steal. (Lev. 19:13)
Ex. 3:22. And ye shall spoil the Egyptians. (Ex. 12:35-36; Luke 19:29-33)
Shall we keep the Sabbath?
Ex. 20:8 Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. (Ex. 31:15; Num. 15:32,36)
Is. 1:13 The new moons and the Sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity. (John 5:16; Matt. 12:1-5)
Shall we make Graven images?
Ex. 20:4. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven...earth...water. (Lev. 26:1)
EX. 25:18 And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them.
Are we "saved" through works?
Eph. 2:8,9 For by grace are ye saved through faith...not of works. (Rom. 3:20, 28; Gal. 2:16)
James 2:24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.(Matt. 19:16-21)
Should good works be seen?
Matt. 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works. (I Peter 2:12)
Matt. 6:1-4 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them...that thine alms may be in secret. (Matt. 23:5)
Should we own slaves?
Lev. 25:45-46 Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy...and they shall be your posession...they shall be your bondmen forever. (Gen. 9:25; Ex. 21:2,7; Joel 3:8; Luke 12:47; Col. 3:22)
Is. 58:6 Undo the heavy burdens...break every yoke. (Matt. 23:10)
Does God change his mind?
Mal. 3:6. For I am the Lord; I change not. Num. 23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent. (Ezek. 24:14; James 1:17)
Ex. 32:14. And the Lord repented of the evil which he had thought to do unto his people. (Gen. 6:6; Jonah 3:10; Sam. 2:30-31; II Kings 20:1-6; Num. 16:20-35)
Are we punished for our parent's sins?
Ex. 20:5 For I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generations. (Ex. 34:7)
Ezek. 18:20 The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father.
Is God good or evil?
Psa. 145:9. The Lord is good to all. (Deut. 32:4; James 1:13)
Is. 45:7 I make peace and create evil. I the Lord do all these things. (Lam 3:38; Jer. 18:11; Ezek. 20:25)
Is God Peaceable?
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. (Luke 2:14; Acts 10:36)
Matt. 10:34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth, I came not to send peace, but a sword. (Matt. 10:35-37; Luke 22:36)
Was Jesus trustworthy?
John 8:14 Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true.
John 5:31 If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.
Shall we call people names?
Matt. 5:22 Whosoever shall say Thou fool, shall be in danger of hellfire.
Matt. 23:17 (Jesus said) Ye fools and blind.
Has anyone seen God?
John 1:18 No man hath seen God at anytime. (Ex 33:20; Tim. 6:16; John 6:46; I John 4:12)
Gen. 32:30 For I have seen god face to face. (Ex. 33:11, 23; Is. 6:1; Job 42:5)
How many gods are there?
Deut. 6:4 The Lord or God is one Lord.
Gen. 1:26 And God said, let us make man in our image.(Gen. 3:22; I John 5:7)
Are we all sinners?
Rom. 3:23 For all have sinned. (Rom. 3:10; Psa.14;3)
Job 1:1 There was a man... whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright. (Gen. 7:1; Luke 1:5-6)
When was Jesus crucified?
Mark 15:22 and it was the third hour, and they crucified him.
John 19:14-15 And about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King! But they cried out...crucify him!"
Shall we obey the law?
I Peter 2:13 Submit yourself to every ordinance of man.
Acts 5:29 We ought to obey God rather than men.
Just because these can be "explained" doesn't mean that they don't exist. Healthy religion contains the spirit of debate, like Jacob wrestling with the angel. The fundamentalist attitude that "everything is carved in stone, finished" is unsustainable.
Just as you can make any sentence you like from the dictionary by choosing certain words, you can prove any point you want by juggling the millions of concepts in the Bible. This is something that ardent Christians are adept at.
There are strains of the Christian church who refer to the Bible as a 'Sword'. The metaphor becomes real when they attack the freedoms of others. These contradictions are pointed out for their sake. Many good people believe the Bible is literally God's Word ('sWord?!?), and reverence it and its teachings appropriately. But Jesus said:"Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword."(Matt.26:52.)
The Buddhist concept of Sword is called 'Prajna'- 'cutting-through' wisdom. This can be related to a line from a letter of Paul's to the Hebrews where he says: "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." (Hebrews:4.12.)
The Bible is perhaps a potent device for meditation or prayer, or a comfort in times of loneliness, grief or adversity, but when used as a weapon, it loses its validity. The Bible's commandments are comparable to Hindu, Buddhist, or many other rule-systems, and serve societies well. Any way that people can feel peace, or improve their lives, shouldn't be disrespected. Unfortunately for peaceful believers, the fanatics twist something sacred into an ugly parody of itself.
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I received the following e-mail in 1995:
"i don't what bible you got the verse's out of but you need to look them up your self they are wrong i look up some and it don't read that away"
Wow! I almost don't know what to say. It is not 'doctored,' as some insist; at least not by myself. Either way, it allows for this disclaimer:
Some passages have been condensed for the sake of brevity, as in the following example:
Exodus 32:27 reads:'slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor', and on this page has been shortened to 'slay every man his brother...companion...neighbor-"
Here's part of another email received in 2000:
...Jesus didn't fulfill any of the Messianic prophecies. Elijah didn't foretell him and he isn't a son of David. The Christian Scriptures are not historically accurate in their presentation of Pilate, and the entire writing is suspect. The resurrection narrative stands as a terribly garbled account. The theme of a dying Messiah who atones for sin is not to be found in Jewish sources, but is found in abundance in pagan mythology. How can any thinking person be a Christian?
Michael
No, Jesus did NOT fulfill the Biblical prophecies. Some of those prophecies are: "For to us a child is born, ... Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, of the increase of his government and of peace, there will be no end, upon the throne of David, and over his kingdom..." (Isaiah 9:6-7) and "The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them." Is this what Jesus brings when he says: "Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother..." (Matthew 10:34) or "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:26) How does setting children against their parents bring peace, or jibe with the fifth commandment (Honor thy Father and Mother)? If Jesus meant "put God first," then why didn't he say it? Why did he put himself first?
Bible defenders present mountains of verbiage trying to rationalize Biblical contradictions-further proving that any point can be backed up by something in the Bible. The Bible is so fraught with ambiguity that it makes perfect fodder for endless debate. Like newspaper astrologers or the Oracle at Delphi, its pronouncements are always open to interpretation- rendering them useful only to those willing to suspend rational judgment.
About Context
There is the complaint that some of these lines are taken out of context. But the point is this: If the Bible is the perfect mind of deity, why are there any contradictions at all? Why must one resort to confused and complex explanations to justify them?
And, if a single sentence is flexible in regard to its context, then why are other solitary passages given so much import? For example the line 'in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost' appears only once in the entire Bible,(Matthew 28:19) and yet it is at the center of one of the great concepts of Christianity, the trinity.
If the context neutralizes what appears to be a contradiction, then doesn't the context also neutralize everything else in the book? The Bible is a compendium of powerful metaphors; it is a fascinating, compelling labyrinth that can be an arsenal for its scholars; but it is NOT the 'Infallible, Ultimate Authority.'
Even if the context of a passage changes the meaning so much that it 'no longer contradicts,' the fact is, that the apparent contradiction is enough to prove the point that there are contradictions, even if trivial.