General principles
Is the Bible Full of Contradictions?
“Skeptics circulate long lists of passages that supposedly contradict each other. If even one of them is a real contradiction, the Bible cannot be the word of a God who does not lie, so the honest thing is to admit the book is full of errors.”
What this Answer covers
7 short answers drawn from 46 sermons, 29 articles and 1 other source by 39 preachers and writers across the brotherhood. Every answer links to the sources that teach it.
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Specific cases
Claimed contradictions, one at a time
Each of these applies the principles above to one passage set and cites the sermons and articles that work through it.
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Do the Gospels Contradict Each Other About the Women at the Tomb?
“Each Gospel names a different set of women at the empty tomb, gives a different number of angels, and has them arriving at different times. If the writers cannot agree on the basic facts, the resurrection accounts cannot be trusted.”
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Did Paul's Companions Hear the Voice on the Road to Damascus?
“Acts 9 says the men with Paul heard the voice, but Acts 22 says they did not hear it. The same author contradicts himself about the same event, which shows Acts is not reliable history.”
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What Time Was Jesus Crucified?
“Mark says Jesus was crucified at the third hour, but John says he was still before Pilate at about the sixth hour. Two Gospels cannot both be right about the timing of the crucifixion.”
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Does Genesis Contradict Itself About Creation Being Very Good?
“Genesis 1 says God saw everything he had made and it was very good, yet a few chapters later God regrets making man because every thought of his heart was only evil. Either the creation was not very good, or God did not know what he was making.”
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Does Proverbs 26 Contradict Itself About Answering a Fool?
“Proverbs 26:4 says do not answer a fool according to his folly, and the very next verse says answer a fool according to his folly. Two consecutive verses give opposite commands, so the Bible contradicts itself.”
Related objections
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How Do We Know the Bible Has Not Been Changed?
“The Bible was copied by hand for centuries and translated over and over. Whatever the original authors wrote, what we have now is a corrupted, edited text that cannot be trusted to say what they said.”
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Who Decided Which Books Belong in the Bible?
“The Bible's table of contents was settled by politics. Constantine and church councils centuries after Christ picked the books that suited them and suppressed the rest, so the canon is a human invention.”
More in Reliability of the Bible
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Can fallen people still repent and be forgiven?
“How can passages saying some fallen people cannot be renewed to repentance be reconciled with passages affirming God's longsuffering and willingness to forgive those who repent and confess?”
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Did Mark name the wrong high priest when David ate the consecrated bread?
“Mark 2:26 names Abiathar the high priest when David ate the consecrated bread, but 1 Samuel 21 names Ahimelech as the priest David approached. If Ahimelech held the office then, has Mark named the wrong priest or placed Abiathar in office too early?”
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Did Paul's Companions Hear the Voice on the Road to Damascus?
“Acts 9 says the men with Paul heard the voice, but Acts 22 says they did not hear it. The same author contradicts himself about the same event, which shows Acts is not reliable history.”
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Did the centurion come to Jesus himself, or send Jewish elders and friends?
“Matthew 8:5 says the centurion came to Jesus, but Luke 7:3-6 says he sent Jewish elders and then friends. How can these be accounts of the same event if one has the centurion speaking and the other has messengers?”