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“Are There Contradictions in the Bible?”. Errors in the Bible?. Presented by. Eternal Answers Ministry www.EternalAnswersMinistry.org. Introduction. Why do people say there are contradictions in the Bible?.

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  1. “Are There Contradictions in the Bible?” Errors in the Bible? Presented by Eternal Answers Ministry www.EternalAnswersMinistry.org

  2. Introduction Why do people say there are contradictions in the Bible? • For atheists & those promoting other "holy" books, contradiction or error in the Bible would annul the idea of God's authorship; one expects God to get such thing right • - For heretics & apostates, human authorship allows one to endorse those parts of the Bible they can use while placing aside those that either contradict or conflict with what they wish to teach

  3. Introduction Why do people say there are contradictions in the Bible? • The Bible observes that the truth is suppressed in all unrighteousness; some are so desperate to believe the Bible is not true, they will believe anything that makes it sound flawed

  4. Introduction What is "inspiration?" • Orthodox Christianity holds to the inerrancy of the Biblical texts in their original autographs • Orthodox Christianity does not hold that the Bible was dictated by God (as is claimed for the Q’uran); rather He • is seen to have "inspired“ (ie "breathed") through the Biblical authors using their own style • › Man provides the form • › God provides the content

  5. The Different Kinds of "Contradictions" People Find • Internal logical contradictions-where the Bible is thought to contradict its own story • Internal contradictions in principle-where the Bible is thought to violate its own principles either in the person of God or in the code of behavior it espouses • External errors of fact-Claims by the Bible that are thought to violate either scientific or historical fact

  6. Spotting contradictions in the "contradictions" The first step is to read, really read the actual wording of the text with the best resources we have • Use your KJV & your interlinear, if available • 80%+ mistakes are made simply because a good, accurate rendition of the text is not really read well

  7. CASE STUDY #1: "I Kings says Solomon had 40,000 horses; II Chronicles says he had 4,000. Contradiction!" • I Kings 4:26 • “And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.” • II Chronicles 9:25 • “And Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; whom he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.”

  8. CASE STUDY #2: • - Gen 1:12-13 Trees made on day 3 • - Gen 1:20 Birds made out of water on day 5 • Gen 1:24 Living creatures made on day 6 from the ground all before man • - Gen 2:7-9, 18-19 Trees, birds & living creatures all made from the ground after man on day 6?

  9. CASE STUDY #2: • READ Gen 2:7-9 carefully: • Gen 2:7-9 • “7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. • 8 And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. • 9 And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.” Gen 2 is talking about what happened in the Garden!

  10. CASE STUDY #3: How many men did David kill? 700 (II Sam 10:18) or 7,000 (I Chr 19:18) “And the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew the men of seven hundred chariots of the Syrians, and forty thousand horsemen, and smote Shobach the captain of their host, who died there.” - II Sam says he slew the men of 700 chariots “But the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew of the Syrians seven thousand men which fought in chariots, and forty thousand footmen, and killed Shophach the captain of the host.” - I Chr says he slew 7,000 men who fought in chariots

  11. CASE STUDY #4: According to Jesus, what will happen in the "End Times?" - Matt 24, Mark 13 & Luke 21 all talk about "earthquakes in divers places," & "wars & rumors of wars," then go on to describe completely different events. Which is right?

  12. CASE STUDY #4: According to Jesus, what will happen in the "End Times?" • One has to read this carefully: • › Matt 24: 8 & 9 “All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.”

  13. CASE STUDY #4: According to Jesus, what will happen in the "End Times?" • One has to read this carefully: • › Luke 21: 11 & 12 “And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven. But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake.”

  14. CASE STUDY #4: According to Jesus, what will happen in the "End Times?" • One has to read this carefully: • › The connectors ("Then" in Matt and "But before" in Luke) make all the difference in the world! This one has slipped by hundreds of commentators as well & is a very common mistake!

  15. Spotting contradictions in the "contradictions" Some "contradictions" evaporate in the light of a little logic

  16. CASE STUDY #5: Num 25:9 says 24,000 died in the plague; inI Cor 10:8 23,000 died of the plague; which is it? • It is a fact that if 24,000 died, then at least 23,000 died; many "contradictions" are similar • This is also a case of reading the text carefully (always a good idea); I Corinthians tells us that 23,000 died "in one day"; it seems 1,000 died before or after that day, but there is no contradiction

  17. CASE STUDY #6: Who killed King Saul? • I Sam 31:4-6 says Saul killed himself • II Sam 1:8-10 An Amalakite claims he killed Saul. • › The fact is, just one question about the Amalakite's claim blows this puff of smoke away: "Is he telling the truth?" There's nothing in the text that says he is.

  18. CASE STUDY #6: Who killed King Saul? • FACT: Saul killed himself. • - FACT: The Amalakite "claimed" he killed Saul • FACT: The Amalakite is lying to impress David! • FACT: David had the Amalkite beheaded! (The lie didn't impress him!)

  19. Spotting contradictions in the "contradictions" Some "contradictions" require the reader to understand the culture & literary tradition that produced the Bible

  20. CASE STUDY #7: Gen 10 says the world's languages were divided; Gen 11 says the world was of one tongue. • Gen 10 is a headline. "Headline: 10 Children Killed in Bus Accident," then read the story, "The bus was driving along highway 1..." Wait, didn't they have an accident? No! it's a headline! • Just as it is a convention in our "news format," ancient, particularly ancient Hebrew, literature used this device frequently; Gen. 1 & 2 are another example.

  21. CASE STUDY #8: Matthew & Luke give different ancestors in the genealogy of "Joseph"; how is this possible? • One has to understand the blood curse on the royal line (Jer 22:30) & the Jewish legal precedent regarding the daughters of Zehelophad(Num 26, 27 & 36) • Luke's genealogy tells us that Jesus was "being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was theson of Heli"; This was a legal phrase telling us that Joseph was Heli's "son by law."

  22. CASE STUDY #8: The daughters of Zehelophad in the time of Moses had a problem. Their father had no sons to inherit his portion of the land. After consulting with God, Moses told them that as long as they married within the tribe, their father could adopt a son-in-law making him as if he were supposed to be a natural son.

  23. CASE STUDY #8: Jer 22:30 “Thus saith the Lord, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.” - From this time forward there was a blood curse on the royal line extending from Solomon's line - Matthew traces Joseph's blood lineage up through to Solomon, but this blood is cursed

  24. CASE STUDY #8: Luke 3:23 “And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,” • Luke uses the unusual genealogical format of "x was • (as supposed) the son of y" - This "as supposed" is a translation of a Greek legal term indicating legal lineage & is meant to apply to all those listed by convention.

  25. CASE STUDY #8: Luke 3:23 “And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,” • This means that Joseph had a special legal attachment to Heli, namely, following the precedent of the daughters of Zehelophad, Heli only had a daughter(s) & legal adopted Joseph as a natural son - This means that God had already planned to avoid his own blood curse (Jer 22:30) using a precedent that he set all the way back at the time of Moses (Num 26) by way of the virgin birth (Luke 3)!

  26. Christ is not the question He is the answer!

  27. Eternal Answers Ministry http://www.EternalAnswersMinistry.org questions@EternalAnswersMinistry.org

  28. “Are There Contradictions in the Bible?” Errors in the Bible? Part 2 Presented by Eternal Answers Ministry www.EternalAnswersMinistry.org

  29. CASE STUDY #9: Matthew, Mark & Luke tell us Jesus had Passover dinner then was crucified; John says Jesus was crucified "on the day of preparation," the day before Passover dinner that evening. Isn't that contradictory? - The answer is He was crucified on the day of preparation & He was alive to eat the Passover meal, but it wasn’t that night!

  30. CASE STUDY #9: Matthew, Mark & Luke tell us Jesus had Passover dinner then was crucified; John says Jesus was crucified "on the day of preparation," the day before Passover dinner that evening. Isn't that contradictory? - A few years ago, some documentation came to light bearing on the logistics of running the old Temple in the first century. The fact is, logistically, there simply were not enough priests to properly slaughter all those lambs (some estimate as much as 200,000 had to be killed) in one day (for 1,000 priests, that’s a lamb every 5 minutes for a 13 hour day without a break!).

  31. CASE STUDY #9: Matthew, Mark & Luke tell us Jesus had Passover dinner then was crucified; John says Jesus was crucified "on the day of preparation," the day before Passover dinner that evening. Isn't that contradictory? - If you were an out of towner, you got your lamb slaughtered on the 13th & had to have your Passover one night early; if you were a resident of Jerusalem or its near suburbs, you got your lamb on the 14th to be eaten that night, Passover proper.

  32. CASE STUDY #9: Matthew, Mark & Luke tell us Jesus had Passover dinner then was crucified; John says Jesus was crucified "on the day of preparation," the day before Passover dinner that evening. Isn't that contradictory? - Jesus & his disciples were not residents of Jerusalem so they would have gotten their lamb the night before with the timeline following as written with Jesus being crucified as John states “on the day of preparation” for the residents of Jerusalem whose lambs would have been slaughtered that day, the 14th

  33. CASE STUDY #10: Was Jonah swallowed by a fish (Jonah 1:17) or by a whale (Matt 12:40)? and Did Moses think insects have only “four feet? (Lev 11:21-23)" • These result because classifications & terminology have simply changed • Re: Jonah, in Biblical times, if it swam in the water, it was a fish; so whales were fish; crabs are not (they don't swim). This doesn't make the Bible "wrong"; it is simply using a different mode of classification

  34. CASE STUDY #10: Was Jonah swallowed by a fish (Jonah 1:17) or by a whale (Matt 12:40)? and Did Moses think insects have only “four feet? (Lev 11:21-23)" • Re: Moses- on an insect 2 "legs" face forward; 4 "legs" point backward. Proverbs 30:28 talks of the spider using her "hands"; In the Bible, the appendages facing forward were considered "arms" or "hands," the backwards ones were "legs" or "feet"; 2 arms + 4 feet = 6 "legs“ altogether. It's just a different way of looking at the arrangement ... nothing wrong!

  35. Spotting contradictions in the "contradictions" Recognize that it sometimes takes science a little time to catch up with the Bible

  36. CASE STUDY #11: "The Steady State Universe" • Until the 20th century, scientists, including Einstein, believed the universe always existed in a "steady state“ • Then, Edwin Hubble provided sound evidence that the universe had a beginning, something the Bible had been saying for 5,000 years!

  37. Spotting contradictions in the "contradictions" Always check the context

  38. CASE STUDY #12: Psalm 137:9 - Does God approve of bashing in babies' heads? • Of course not, but based on this verse many anti-Christian speakers have said He does. • Psalm 137:9 • “Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.”

  39. CASE STUDY #12: Psalm 137:9 - Does God approve of bashing in babies' heads? • Firstly, noticing the text, God is neither talking nor does it say anywhere that He approved • Secondly, This is an imprecatory Psalm • The Bible accurately records that the Psalmist prayed this, but history shows that God's answer was "No!"

  40. Spotting contradictions in the "contradictions" Never be beguiled by an argument from silence

  41. CASE STUDY #13: "We don't know no stinking Hitites!“ • Historians & archeologists of the 18th & 19th centuries used to laugh at the Bible's speaking of the Hitites. "No such people have ever been found!" Then, digging in Southern Turkey, some archeologists started coming across artifacts of a "previously unknown culture.“ • Well, the Bible knew who they were! It turned out to be the Hitites! & right where they were supposed to be, where the Bible said they were all along! • "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence." -Carl Sagan

  42. CASE STUDY #14: "There wasn't no stinking writing!" • It used to be claimed that there was not writing in the days of Moses, therefore he could not have written the five books of Moses. • Then the Nuzi tablets were uncovered dating from the time of Abraham.

  43. CASE STUDY #14: "There wasn't no stinking writing!" - These cuneiform court records have verified not only that there was writing before Moses, but it has confirmed the traditions & culture of the Bible precisely as written!

  44. Spotting contradictions in the "contradictions" Sometimes what is claimed is not even in the Bible

  45. CASE STUDY #15: "Zeitgeist" • The film "Zeitgeist" sums up its claims against Christianity, stating "Many of the ancient pagan religions also had a deity born on Dec 25th who was visited by 3 wise magicians following a constellation.“ • All true, but only one thing wrong--NONE OF THIS IS IN THE BIBLE • The magi were following a specific star, not a constellation

  46. CASE STUDY #15: "Zeitgeist" • The film "Zeitgeist" sums up its claims against Christianity, stating "Many of the ancient pagan religions also had a deity born on Dec 25th who was visited by 3 wise magicians following a constellation.“ • The Bible only claims there were at least 2 magi; there may have been a 100. There were 3 gifts. • The Bible never claims a Dec 25th date for Christ's birth; in fact, it would seem to indicate the spring or fall

  47. Summary NEVER BET AGAINST THE BIBLE!!

  48. Christ is not the question He is the answer!

  49. Eternal Answers Ministry http://www.EternalAnswersMinistry.org questions@EternalAnswersMinistry.org

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