The Bible has withstood the test of time. Luther’s Bible (1534). Image courtesy of Torsten Schleese.
Joel Kontinen
British writer Paul Philips sees contradictions, errors and inconsistencies in the Bible. He believes that the church is very reluctant to disclose this and “apologists of sorts are well-funded and have huge networks... including mainstream media sources with their lies and cover ups.”
I wonder where he gets this information, as the mainstream media tend to publish various kinds of challenges to the Bible.
Mr. Philips is not a theologian and some of his views resemble those of other new age advocates, who embrace an alternate view of the world.
Recently, he listed ten ways in which the Bible cannot be taken at face value. As far as I know, all of them have been addressed elsewhere.
Several arguments deal with God’s character, some with our conduct. Not a single one of them is a real contradiction:
· God was pleased with the initial creation (Genesis 1:31) but displeased with sin (Gen. 6:6).
· He loves peace (Romans 15:33) but punishes sinners (Exodus 15:3).
·We should do good deeds (Matthew 5:16) but we should not make a public show of our good deeds (Matt. 6:3-4).
·God is all-powerful (Jeremiah 32:27, Matt. 19:26), but the Israelites could not defeat the Canaanites (Judges 1:19). This is no contradiction at all since the Israelites were not all-powerful.
· Other examples include Jesus’ genealogy in Matthew and Luke that have different ancestors. There is no contradiction, however, as one of them follows Jesus’ earthly ancestors through Joseph’s lineage and the other through Mary’s.
Source:
Philips, Paul A. 2014. Bible Contradictions, Errors and Inconsistencies. Ezinearticles.com
