I'm concerned about some contradictions in the Bible

[historynerd1]

Hey guys, I'm a lifelong Christian who has been having a lot of severe doubts about the faith of late. I've come across a rather long list of contradictions found in the Bible and I've been checking them and finding them to be legit. I'll give just a short sample of them here. These should not exist in a book that's supposedly inspired by God, an all-knowing, perfect being. How do you guys explain how these obvious errors made it into the text? Thanks in advance.

1. Matthew 28 and Luke 24 both tell us that the women at the tomb left and told the disciples about the risen Lord but Mark 16 says point blank that they were so scared they told nobody about him.
2. On the road to Damascus we are told in Acts 9 that the men with Paul remained standing but Paul told Agrippa in Acts 26 that they fell down.
3. The women at the tomb were apparently going to put spices on Christ's body as recorded in Mark 16 and Luke 23-24 but John 19 tells us that Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea had already put the spices on his body.
4. In 2 Samuel 24:13, Gad the seer came to offer David a choice of which punishment he wanted to receive from God. One of these punishments was seven years of famine. In 1 Chronicles 21:12, another account of this choice is given but only three years of famine are offered. (There are a number of discrepancies between the books of Samuel, Kings and Chronicles about various things.)
5. In 2 Samuel 5-6, we are told that David brought up the ark after defeating the Philistines. In 1 Chronicles 13-14, we are told he brought it up before he defeated the Philistines in battle.
6. In Mark 15, we are told that by the sixth hour Jesus had been on the cross already for three hours and darkness was on the land. However, in John 19, we are told that at the sixth hour, Jesus was still not even crucified yet but was being presented by Pilate to the people for judgement.
7. In 1 Kings 16:6-8, we are told that Baasha died in the twenty-sixth year of King Asa. However, in 2 Chronicles 16:1, we are told that Baasha was still alive in the thirty-sixth year of King Asa.

I could give many, many more contradictions and discrepancies, but maybe this enough for a start.

[Philip]

HistoryNerd: Hey guys, I'm a lifelong Christian who has been having a lot of severe doubts about the faith of late. I've come across a rather long list of contradictions found in the Bible and I've been checking them and finding them to be legit. I'll give just a short sample of them here. These should not exist in a book that's supposedly inspired by God, an all-knowing, perfect being. How do you guys explain how these obvious errors made it into the text? Thanks in advance.

Hello, historynerd, welcome to the Godandscience.org forum! You ask some good questions. I had many similar questions, many years back. And what I discovered, as I began to search for answers, is that the Bible is the most scrutinized assemblage of literature, of any book ever written. There is not one APPARENT contradiction that is not well known to Biblical scholars, and that hasn't been analyzed extensively. Many so-called contradictions, especially those in the New Testament, have to do with the focus and point-of-view of different writers, just like you and I might give differing accounts of some event we both attended, but that what we recorded later about has differing viewpoints or might leave out something the other records, merely because our intended focus as to whatever points we desired to make about the event were not identical. But that's just one aspect of these - and there is a large list of them. And these differences in viewpoints are exactly what would be natural and expected. Because if you had identical views on everything - well, that's FAR more suspect, because one might conclude that the early Church leaders sanitized and synchronized supposed discrepancies - but they didn't.

As for your questions, let me start with the first on the list (the women at the tomb). I'll also give you a fantastic resource on all such issues you list.

The women at the tomb - did they tell about it or not? See here: https://defendinginerrancy.com/bible-so ... k_16.8.php

historynerd: I could give many, many more contradictions and discrepancies, but maybe this enough for a start.

Great - because here's a resource that will keep you reading for as long as you have such questions! It covers virtually every puzzling, supposed Bible contradiction - the specific page is called "Solutions to Bible Errors" - I think you'll find it very helpful: https://defendinginerrancy.com/bible-difficulties/ The site will allow you to search by book and verse. Also, this same website has a gold mine of information on the issue of Biblical Inerrancy - what it IS and what it is NOT.

Tell me what you think!

Philip

[historynerd1]

Hey thanks for replying. I checked out the website you listed. It resolved some things but not others. It may seem nitpicky but I feel things have to be accurate and not contradictory in order for there to be inerrancy. I am still concerned when it turns out we have been perpetuating a copyist error which ought to have been obvious. Also, I have a question about something else I found that disturbs me. Maybe you can help me. Why did David seem to hate the handicapped people in 2 Samuel 5:8? That’s a very ungodly attitude and seems off. Can you help me with that?

[Philip]

historynerd: Hey thanks for replying. I checked out the website you listed. It resolved some things but not others. It may seem nitpicky but I feel things have to be accurate and not contradictory in order for there to be inerrancy.

There is a huge difference between PERCEIVED contradictions and actual / proven ones.

historynerd: I am still concerned when it turns out we have been perpetuating a copyist error which ought to have been obvious.

What copyist error are you referencing?

God used failable humans to record his infallible word - He didn't decide to use robots with perfect precision to transmit it. In fact, God has chosen to spread His word and Gospel across the world using what - imperfect humans! And all we have of the Bible are COPIES - only the originals would not have had ANY CONTENT errors. And there are many very minor copist errors, which are overwhelmingly wrong letters, word order, etc. Conservative Christian Bible scholars overwhelming agree there is no known SUPPOSED error that changes whatsoever any of the key doctrines taught by Scripture. Again, if the copies were perfect, many would also suggest they were synchronized and sanitized by those in the early Church. Any good study Bibles (the ESV and NASB are two), typically note were a passage has a word or phrase that is in scholarly debate.

historynerd: Also, I have a question about something else I found that disturbs me. Maybe you can help me. Why did David seem to hate the handicapped people in 2 Samuel 5:8? That’s a very ungodly attitude and seems off. Can you help me with that?

There are several possibilities, which various commentators have made concerning this passage (here are a few: https://biblehub.com/commentaries/2_samuel/5-8.htm). And one has to be very careful about equating what the Bible RECORDS that people did and said, and what God / Scripture actually approves of (example, David's adultery with Bathsheba, which God condemned and severely punished him for). EVERY key Bible figure were sinful men (just as ALL are), with many examples of their sin and their consequences recorded in Scripture.

Not saying you are doing so, History, but if you are basing your faith on how well you are able to reconcile certain supposed inconsistencies in Scripture, your faith will continuously be blown all over the map. There are many, very DETAILED prophecies fulfilled across history that reveal their Author (God!) had to be in control of and perfectly knowledgeable about the future. The fulfilled prophecies concerning Jesus alone show how trustworthy Scripture is. If you want to grow in faith and confidence, I would humbly suggest you drop this obsession and concentrate on developing a closer relationship with God. Pray for answers to important issues you might have, but also learn to know there are always going to be mysteries found in the Bible, as God is the original Source of the entire Bible. And that's not to say you abandon your inquisitive mind or stop searching and studying.

More on the accuracy of the Bible here: https://defendtheword.wordpress.com/200 ... n-geisler/

Below I'm going to make a post concerning so-called copyist errors known by Christian scholars.

[Philip]

As Bible copyist errors was mentioned above, I thought I'd post this short article on the topic, by the late, great apologist and theologian Norman Geisler:

A Note on the Percent of Accuracy of the New Testament Text
By Norman L. Geisler

 Some have challenged the accuracy of the New Testament (NT) manuscripts based on a statement in our book A General Introduction to the Bible that inadvertently attributed to Bruce Metzer the figure that the NT is copied with 99.5 percent accuracy. However, this is an inconsequential criticism for several reasons. First, NT textual authorities Westcott and Hort estimated that only about one-sixtieth rise above "trivialities" and can be called "substantial variations." In short, the NT is 98.33 percent pure. Second, Greek expert Ezra Abbott said about 9/20 (95 percent) of the readings are "various" rather than "rival" readings, and about 9/20 (95 percent) of the rest make no appreciable difference in the sense of the passage. Thus the text is 99.75 percent accurate. Third, noted NT Greek scholar A. T. Robertson said the real concern is with about a "thousandth part of the entire text." So, the reconstructed text of the New Testament is 99.9% free from real concern.

Philip Schaff estimated that of the thousands of variations in all the manuscripts known in his day, only 50 were of real significance and of these not one affected "an article of faith." Even agnostic NT critic Bart Ehrman admits that "In fact, most of the changes found in early Christian manuscripts have nothing to do with theology or ideology. Far and away the most changes are the result of mistakes pure and simple-slips of the pen, accidental omissions, inadvertent additions, misspelled words, blunders of one sort of another" (Misquoting Jesus, 55).

Famous British manuscript expert Sir Frederick Kenyon summed up the matter well when he declared that: "The interval between the dates of original composition and the earliest extant evidence becomes so small as to be in fact negligible, and the last foundation for any doubt that the Scriptures have come down substantially as they were written has now been removed. Both the authenticity and the general integrity of the books of the New Testament may be regarded as finally established" (Kenyon, The Bible and Archaeology, 288).

 Consider the following message: Y#U HAVE WON TEN MILLION DOLLARS.

 Notice that even with the error in the text, 100% of the message comes through.

 Consider also this message with two lines and two errors.
• Y#U HAVE WON TEN MILLION DOLLARS
• YO# HAVE WON TEN MILLION DOLLARS

• Here we are even more sure of the message with two errors in it. In fact, the more errors like this, the more sure one is of the message since every new line brings a confirmation of every letter except one. The NT has about 5700 manuscripts. which provides hundreds, in some cases even thousands of confirmations, of every line in the NT.

As a matter of fact, there can be a high percent of divergence in letters and yet a 100% identity of message. Consider the following lines:
1. YOU HAVE WON TEN MILLION DOLLARS
2. THOU HAST WON 10 MILLION DOLLARS
3. Y'ALL HAVE WON $10,000,000

  Notice that of the 27 letters and numbers in line two only 7 in line three are the same. That is little more than 25% identity of letters and numbers, yet the message is 100% the same. They differ in form, but they are identical in content. The same is true of all the basic teachings of the NT.

[historynerd1]

Thanks so much for your thoughtful replies. I understand what Geisler was saying and it’s a logical standpoint from which to view differences in Biblical texts. I have a few more questions if you don’t mind engaging with me. I’ve been thinking about a lot of things not just the stuff I referenced previously. For instance, why were the disciples so surprised and disbelieving in the Lord’s resurrection when A. he told them it was going to happen in advance and B. according to Matthew there were a host of other recently resurrected saints walking around Jerusalem at the time. Wouldn’t they have been hoping the same would happen to him?

[Philip]

HistoryNerd: Thanks so much for your thoughtful replies. I understand what Geisler was saying and it’s a logical standpoint from which to view differences in Biblical texts. I have a few more questions if you don’t mind engaging with me. I’ve been thinking about a lot of things not just the stuff I referenced previously. For instance, why were the disciples so surprised and disbelieving in the Lord’s resurrection when A. he told them it was going to happen in advance and B. according to Matthew there were a host of other recently resurrected saints walking around Jerusalem at the time. Wouldn’t they have been hoping the same would happen to him?

History, after the Crucifixion, his Disciples were all still hiding and fearful - so, probably pretty isolated. They had heard the reports of the women; Peter had seen the empty tomb, and that same (Resurrection) day He appeared to the disciples on the road to Emmaus. And Matthew records that these saints were resurrected after Jesus - with no mention of how soon after. We also don't know how long these saints had been dead - were the recognized immediately by relatives - we don't know. Even with Jesus, these reports from the women were brand new (time wise) - there no radio or media.They had just gotten word themselves about Jesus, and then He began appearing to them (first to the women, then Peter)- so, it is quite possible they had not yet heard of these reports about the saints, in their hiding and isolation. Remember, they already thought the initial reports from the women were emotion-driven hysteria - and likely would have thought the same of reports about others (particularly if they didn't know or see them for themselves).

As for why they failed to believe what He plainly told them - I think it was likely spiritually hidden from them by God until the timing was as He desired. Even when seen physically, the first to see Him didn't recognize Him - so, in some way, it was hidden them before and immediately after the Resurrection.

We do know this - AFTER seeing and fully knowing Jesus had risen from the dead, it changed the disciples from cowards hiding, in great fear (thinking they as well, per association, would end up on crosses), from the Romans and the Jewish authorities, changed to boldly and powerfully proclaiming the Resurrected Lord and the early Gospel messages. There is only one thing that could have done this - they saw the Resurrected Christ (just as Scripture records). Because by preaching and spreading the word about Jesus being alive, they each knew they were risking death and torture themselves - and if they knew it was all a lie and they'd not seen Jesus alive, that makes no sense whatsoever! Men don't risk death for a lie they absolutely KNOW is a lie - and they all certainly knew the truth of the matter - and it radically transformed them. Church tradition tells us that, eventually, every disciple was martyred for their faith and preaching Jesus, except for the Apostle John (who wrote Revelation).

Of course, later, the radical change of Saul (reborn as the Apostle Paul) likewise is inexplicable unless He truly encountered the risen Lord! Paul was previously a radical destroyer of these Christians - and greatly feared. He was a rising rockstar amongst the religious establishment - his fame and prestige were based upon his radical Jewishness and relentless pursuit of Christians - and yet he changed INSTANTLY into a follower of Christ, who ended up writing two-thirds of the New Testament.

Again, History, there are always going to be mysteries in Scripture - in fact, as God is mysterious in how He works, that should be expected. He mystified and surprised even the writers of the New Testament. They don't tend to over-explain, as in many cases they just report the facts related to the points they are individually trying to make.

Hope that helps - you ask excellent questions, btw!

[Phinny4Me]

https://answersingenesis.org/jesus/resu ... pearances/

[Phinny4Me]

https://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-errors.html

[Philip]

Hello, Phinny, welcome to GodandScience.org!

If you have specific questions, just post them - as opposed to an entire link.

Thanks, Philip