Contradictions in the Bible

[Good-Ole-Rebel]

The way I look at it is that the afterlife or eternity is a very long, long time, which makes it so much more important than this short temporal time on earth.

I once heard it said that, "For the saved in Christ this life is all the hell they will ever know, but for the unsaved this life on earth is the only heaven they will know. "

Yes, and I was taught the same many years ago...but with a certain addition. Never begrudge the unsaved for what they obtain in this life, because it is the only heaven they will ever know. Likewise, never feel to sorry for the believer for any thing they go through in this life as it is the only hell they will ever know.

Good advice to the believers.

Good-Ole-Rebel

 

[InChrist]

To state so explicitly that "God sends you the lie..." (the lie that will cost you an eternity or suffering) makes God complicit in a great evil. And any equivalence of "God" with "good" goes up in a puff of smoke. As I've always known. That "God" is a complete monster. Undoubtedly based on the monstrous natures of those who created him so.

The way I see it is that God is not sending people a lie or delusion to trick people or anything like that. Those who have already rejected the truth and have deliberately chosen evil over good, are sent a delusion to expose and reveal their heart and mind which is already immersed in falsehood and bent on evil.

 

[Audie]

Aw...am I a fellow goodie? Just brings a tear to my eye....not.

You reject the Truth. God sends you the lie. And...you bite.

Good-Ole-Rebel

"Goddie" Not "goodie".

And your "god" lies.

He fools all them others but he can't
fool you.

Are you doing a caricature, a bit of performance
art, or are you a real stereitype?

 

[Good-Ole-Rebel]

"Goddie" Not "goodie".

And your "god" lies.

He fools all them others but he can't
fool you.

Are you doing a caricature, a bit of performance
art, or are you a real stereitype?

He doesn't lie to me.

Good-Ole-Rebel

 

[Audie]

The way I see it is that God is not sending people a lie or delusion to trick people or anything like that. Those who have already rejected the truth and have deliberately chosen evil over good, are sent a delusion to expose and reveal their heart and mind which is already immersed in falsehood and bent on evil.

Seriously? This undetectable unknowable and in
all ways 100% indidtinguishable from non existent"god", but
you know all these things about inner workings of its
mind?

Do you ever kind of stand clear of yourself and kinda
say "Wait a sec here..."?

 

[Audie]

He doesn't lie to me.

Good-Ole-Rebel

Now that I believe.

Of course it dont

You forgot to mention it dont say nothing at all

 

[Good-Ole-Rebel]

Seriously? This undetectable unknowable and in
all ways 100% indidtinguishable from non existent"god", but
you know all these things about inner workings of its
mind?

Do you ever kind of stand clear of yourself and kinda
say "Wait a sec here..."?

No, I don't.

Though this wasn't addressed to me I wanted to interject that.

Good-Ole-Rebel

 

[Windwalker]

It says if you want to believe a lie, God will give you one.

And what does that say about the character of God to you? That he would allow you to believe a lie is one thing. That he would deliberately send a lie, is entirely different. It makes him the spreader of lies. Some call that the devil.

 

[Good-Ole-Rebel]

Now that I believe.

Of course it dont

You forgot to mention it dont say nothing at all

I didn't mention it because it ain't true.

He speaks through His Word, the Bible. He speaks and leads the believers by His Spirit.

Good-Ole-Rebel

 

[Good-Ole-Rebel]

And what does that say about the character of God to you? That he would allow you to believe a lie is one thing. That he would deliberately send a lie, is entirely different. It makes him the spreader of lies. Some call that the devil.

Call it whatever you like. When you reject the Truth, God gives you the lie. The lie is what you want. What is the problem?

Good-Ole-Rebel

 

[Audie]

No, I don't.

Though this wasn't addressed to me I

wanted to interject that.

Good-Ole-Rebel

That I believe too. Of course you
wont dare to think.

"I must maintain this rigid posture or all
is lost."

 

[Skwim]

The way we find and correct errors, is by comparing all the manuscripts of the same text. If out of 16, 2 are different, then we can safely say the two are in error. Better still, if the 2 are later copies, even more so.
This is how the work is done.

And you don't think the scholars did this. That, what, only you and other Christian laypeople have thought of this, but the scholars who translated the Bible were to dumb to do likewise?

When we compare what we have today with the DSS, there are hardly any difference. So we know that after many centuries, the copying has not changed the text - especially the overall message.

Then you'll have to explain the 11 translations

Evil
Disaster
Calamity
Doom
Woe
Sorrow
Trouble(s)
Bad times
Discords
Hard times​

of "ra" in Isaiah 45:7: יֹוצֵר אֹור וּבֹורֵא חֹשֶׁךְ עֹשֶׂה שָׁלֹום וּבֹורֵא רָע אֲנִי יְהוָה

(I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things).

So no, a few scribal errors do not create problems, as they can be mostly eliminated,

But they haven't been, have they. Your self-described "scribal errors" are still there to be read and taken as truths.

and yes the skeptics will stick their head in the sand, because then they have nothing to argue about, and that would mean 'the end of the world'

Sorry, but shooting the messenger went out with Sophocles back in 442 B.C., and displays a last ditch effort to hold onto an untenable position. In effect it says, "I give up. You got me." And I know I do. The Bible is a fallible book whose value only rises to significance if one pretends it's infallible, and infallible where it makes a difference. So, pretend away guys.

Have a good day.

.

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

No, God is not complicit in evil. He always does the good. If God saves 3000, it is good. If God slays 3000, it is good. The good is what God does. God doesn't do the good.

Good-Ole-Rebel

And in my personal view, it is this attitude which has always, and will continue to, lead to the worst abuses of religion in the world. Once you get there -- as many is ISIL have -- it becomes merely a logical thing to cut people's heads off, and fly planes into buildings.

 

[Windwalker]

When critical reading is a rejection of Truth as found in the Bible, then that is a rejection of God.

It's not a rejection of truth when critical scholarship is applied. It's the discovery of truth. That what is discovered challenges what you believe, that is not a rejection of truth. To say that is it, claims that what you believe is absolute truth. And that, is arrogance and a falsehood.

 

[Good-Ole-Rebel]

That I believe too. Of course you
wont dare to think.

"I must maintain this rigid posture or all
is lost."

I won't dare to think of anything leading away from my faith in Christ. Exactly right.

Ridgid? Is that a bad thing? To know what you believe is true? Is that a bad thing?

Good-Ole-Rebel

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

The way I see it is that God is not sending people a lie or delusion to trick people or anything like that. Those who have already rejected the truth and have deliberately chosen evil over good, are sent a delusion to expose and reveal their heart and mind which is already immersed in falsehood and bent on evil.

Okay, so you think, perhaps, that I as an atheist "have rejected the truth," so what evil do you think I have deliberately chosen over good?

 

[loverofhumanity]

A common conception of the Bible is that it contradicts itself. It sure does look that way. I can't argue that. And yet it claims to be the truth,

John 17:17,

Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
​

Well, there is something in the Bible that doesn't even need "interpretation." It's a pretty straight forward declaration. While belief in the statement is optional, it would nonetheless be hard to make it say anything other than that God's word, the Bible, is truth. But how can it be truth if it is full of contradictions?

A more fundamental question though might be, is it really full of contradictions, or do many jump to conclusions before doing any exhaustive study for themselves? I find that question particularly relative considering how many already know it is contradictory without having considered alternatives.

What alternatives?

• To whom is God speaking in any part of the Bible? We commonly say one thing to one person or group, and something totally different to another.
• To what time period do the two "contradictions" belong? It's nothing new; times change. We all know that in our daily life. Well, God can do that also.
• What is the context? You tell your kids not to shout in the restaurant, and then tell them shouting is OK when walking in the forest.
  
• Are we sure two different accounts are talking about the same event? There are times when recognizing that what seems to be the same event are actually two, albeit similar, events. Lot's of similar events in the Bible.
  
• Are we sure the Bible version we use is true to the original Hebrew and Greek texts? It wouldn't be unusual for a scribe to make an honest mistake. It might just be possible that the scribe interjected their own "view" on doctrinal matters. I know of one "contradiction" that vanishes when a comma is removed. The original texts had no punctuation at all. The comma was added by some scribe and is therefore devoid of any diving authority.

There are other considerations, but I've found that those 5 clear up 99% of the apparent contradictions in the Bible. So now I have no trouble seeing that God's word is truth. It just takes a little bit of "getting under the hood" to see how the engine runs.

It is only men’s limited, finite understanding where there are seeming contradictions but not in truth and reality. Not all passages are to be taken literally. It’s the beautiful Word of God.

 

[Good-Ole-Rebel]

It's not a rejection of truth when critical scholarship is applied. It's the discovery of truth. That what is discovered challenges what you believe, that is not a rejection of truth. To say that is it, claims that what you believe is absolute truth. And that, is arrogance and a falsehood.

You can find 'critical reading' and 'critical scholars' in all lines of education and faiths. Just because they are 'critical' doesn't make them right with God. And critical thinking that leads away from the Bible, and Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Saviour, is rejected by me.

Good-Ole-Rebel

 

[Windwalker]

Call it whatever you like. When you reject the Truth, God gives you the lie. The lie is what you want. What is the problem?

How do you know God hasn't deceived you, considering he deceives others, according to you?

 

[Skwim]

No, God is not complicit in evil. He always does the good. If God saves 3000, it is good. If God slays 3000, it is good. The good is what God does. God doesn't do the good.

Good-Ole-Rebel

So it must be good that we're surrounded by evil because god makes it.

Isa 45:7
I form the light, and create darkness: I peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
​

That about it? Don't fight evil because it's something god wants us to have. Evil is, what, our friend? Praise evil? Work towards doing evil things?

.