Is the Bible Right or Wrong? Full of Errors and Contradictions

[Ex Christian]

Scientific errors. I find it suspect that those who take the Bible literally as a scientific text for the larger, cosmological arguments can simply ignore the number of small scientific mistakes the Bible makes. For example, rabbits don't chew their cud and the bat is not a bird. Those are only two.

Why is the "Holy" Bible full of Errors and Contradictions? Many argue the Bible was written by man and isn't perfect yet these same people refer to the Bible as "HOLY". Christians believe the Bible is the word of God and contains no errors yet these same people contradict themselves at every argument. If the Bible is "HOLY" as most people call it then why is the Bible full of Errors? Considering all the errors in the Bible, wouldn't it be nice to refer to the Bible as the "CHRISTIANS HISTORY BOOK" instead of the "THE WORD OF GOD"?

Here are few examples
1.The genealogy of Christ. Matthew 1 and Luke 3 give two very different genealogies for Joseph, Mary's husband. In fact, even Luke admits that he isn't sure that Joseph was actually Jesus' father (Luke 3:23, NIV). You would think that someone who was directly inspired by god would know what he's writing.

3.The story of Jesus' death and resurrection. Were Jesus' last words “Father, unto thy hands I commend my spirit,” “"It is finished,” or “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me” followed by a loud cry? Did the rooster crow once or twice? How did Judas die—by suicide or fall?

4.God or Gods? In Hebrew, Genesis 1 mentions “Elohim” created the heavens and the earth. Elohim is plural (the rationalization of this is really extraordinary), and Genesis states that God said “Let us make men in our image.” Also, in Jewish literature, Asherah is the female counterpart to Yahweh, though the Bible condemns worshiping her. Nevertheless, she appears in the same Jewish literature the Old Testament is drawn from, but is completely ignored in Christianity.

5.Faith or works or belief? Ephesians 2:8-9 says that salvation is not of works, “lest any man should boast.” James 2:24 says man is justified by works and “not by faith alone.” Most justify it by saying it is both, but Paul is very clear that salvation is not of works, and even gives a reason why. Then, to add confusion to the mix, verses such as Acts 16:31 claim that belief alone is sufficient salvation. Not only that, but your entire household will be saved just by one person believing. Other verses show various conglomerations of the three.

6.Where is Jesus? In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus is quoted as saying that he would return before the end of that generation. There are some interesting theories as to why he has not yet returned, the most common being that there is a gap or a figurative generation, however, it is obvious that the writer's of the text thought he meant that physical generation. I find it hard to believe that a theologian 2,000 years later can better figure out what Jesus meant than the people who were actually there. Some people think it is a mistranslation, and that Jesus actually meant “race,” not “generation.” This probably makes the most sense, but still is dubious and does not explain much.

7.Freewill or not? There is almost no greater theological debate bigger than the idea of Calvinism vs. Arminianism, or freewill vs. predestination. Do we humans have any choice whether to believe in God or not? Though most Christians acknowledge the differing viewpoints, somehow the fact that the issue is confusing because the Bible is so contradictory on the subject escapes many.
8.Does God ever change? Ezekiel 24:14: "I the LORD have spoken it: it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord GOD." (KJV) But God changed his mind about destroying or punishing people several times in the Bible, most notably in Genesis 18:23-33. The Bible also directly contradicts Ezekial 24:14 in Genesis 6:6: “And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.”

9.Are God's laws good? Many verses seem to suggest that God is, indeed good. There are too many to list. But the Bible also says "Wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live; And I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass through the fire all that openeth the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am the LORD." Ezekial 20:25-26.

10.Should we judge? 1 Corinthians 2:15 says "The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment,” but 1 Corinthians 4:5 says "Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God."

What are your views on this?

[Lillian]

I am a Christian but sometimes I doubt if God exists because the Bible is full of contradictions and discrepancies. God is perfect and His word is perfect so why is the Bible full of errors and contradictions? If the Bible was written under God's inspiration as some people claim then wouldn't God inspire people to correct the mistakes in Bible?

[Kofi]

There may be some discrepancies in the Bible but I don't think the Bible is full of errors. The problem is that we don't understand all that is written in the Bible. If you don't understand something, that doesn't mean that thing is wrong. It could mean you are not wise enough to understand.

Believe it or not there are thousands of supposed Bible contradictions. Christian apologetics have been trying hard to keep up with them all and get them all answered. Why is it that we see such a huge number of people who claim to have found Bible errors?

The truth of the matter is that there are no REAL Bible contradictions or errors. I say that with confidence because I have seen way too many supposed Bible errors shot down after a closer study of the word.

Why then are there so many who claim the Bible is full of errors?

* People want to find Bible errors so instead of trying to understand something they just pass it off as an error on Gods part.
* People have not taken time to study the whole word to put everything into context.
* People do not want to believe the Bible is as important as it is.

Bible contradictions are normally misunderstandings of the scripture. Often times people will miss out on one word and it will change everything. Before you believe anyone that says something is a Bible contradiction you should study the whole text. Find out what is really going on. Gods word is true. We just need to take time to understand it.

I could do Christian apologetics a favor and post some of the supposed contradictions in the bible here. The problem is there are hundreds. This website is not intended to refute bible error claims. So I instead will give an example of one such contradiction and you can see what I am talking about.

Exodus 20:3-5

3Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

Exodus 25:17-19

17And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof. 18And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat. 19And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof.

So one verse says not to make any graven image and then God commands them to make a graven image. It seems like a bible contradiction doesn't it? But look closer.

Exodus 20:3-5

3Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

What is the real subject? God is not commanding images to not be made. He is commanding that no IDOLS be made. An idol is something that is made to be worshiped.

There are many more examples and explanations out there for every one of them. I will leave it to you if you want to waste time trying to find every last one of them or if you want to just accept that God is true. Christian apologetics can only help with the first part...you have to make the choice to continue seeking Bible contradictions or not.

The Bible IS full of many contradictions...and yes, errors. The truth is that modern Christianity (including parts of the Bible) would be almost completely unrecognizable to the original Christians. In fact, it may shock you to know, but Christ is actually a sun deity. However, Constantine and King James of England changed and used this religion for political control over the masses. The Pope is a political entity...period. The stories of the gnostic christians were politicized and attached to the old testament in order to make a land claim in the MidEast...hence the Crusades
. youtube.com/watch?v=Kla-BcN8u8Q This video does a great job of showing what christianity WAS really about.
"My point, once again, is not that those ancient people told literal stories and we are now smart enough to take them symbolically, but that they told them symbolically and we are now dumb enough to take them literally." – John Dominic Crossan
Those in control do not want us to know the truth...they want to enslave us with the psychosis of evangelism and detach us from nature...they are the true antichrist.

"blessed is he who has not seen yet believed". Blessed is he who does not understand yet believes anyway. just follow the crowd and believe says the Bible.