Critics Claims Bible Contradictions

            Did the men who wrote the Bible contradict each other?  If this were so, one would have to discredit their claims that they were inspired by an infallible God.  Critics of the Bible realized that if there were contradictions in the words of these men, since they claimed all was given them by the inspiration of God, that would prove that God made mistakes, therefore wasn’t infallible.  However, each of their alleged examples of “contradictions” were, and have continued to be, nothing more than a misunderstanding of the scriptures and what is actually taught.

            This lesson will deal with additional alleged Bible contradictions argued by critics failing to take into account the different usage of words.  They content that the Bible says God temps and does not tempt man, the disciples of Christ are to hate and love their relatives, all things are and are not lawful, God’s people are and are not in the kingdom of heaven, we are and are not to call any man father.

            It is true that God tempts no man ( James 1:13 ) and the scriptures do state that God tempted Abraham ( Genesis 22:1 ).  However, this is no contradiction, because the word temp in Genesis 22:1 simply means that God tried Abraham.  Paul, in speaking of this account says, “God tried Abraham.” ( Hebrews 11:17 ).  The word temp in James 1:13 is used to set forth the meaning of alluring one into committing evil. 

            Therefore it is so that God tempted or tried Abraham to see if he would obey him; but God never tries to allure one into the gutter of sinful corruption.  One reads also that children of God can sin ( I John 1:8-10 ), yet it is stated that a child of God cannot sin ( I John 3:9 ).  This by no means proves that the Apostle John has been caught in a contradiction.  God, as well as we, does not always use the word cannot to express a literal, absolute physical impossibility.  People often say, “I cannot do …” not meaning at all that it is impossible for them to do, but rather that they can’t afford to because of other reasons, perhaps something else is more important or what ever. 

            Within the scriptures, this term is used exactly in the same fashion ( Acts 4:19-20 and Exodus 19:21-23 ).  The children of Israel could not afford to touch the mountain, because of the consequences, suffering a immediate physical death at the hands of God.  We, as God’s children, cannot afford to go back to a willful life of sin, because by so doing, we will die the second death, or be lost ( Hebrews 10:25-31 and Revelation 21:8 ).

            It is true that we must hate our loved ones ( Luke 14:26 ) and we are told to love them as well ( Ephesians 5:25; Ephesians 6:1-4; and Titus 2:3-4 ).  Again the scriptures appear on the surface level to contradict one another, yet when we study the scriptures, we find that with God the word hate, in some instances, is used to say love less ( Genesis 29:30 and Genesis 29:31 ).  So, when Jesus ( Luke 14:26 ) said, “…hate your loved ones.” He is only saying that he wants them loved less than himself.  Christ plainly states, “…he that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me:  and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” ( Matthew 10:37 )  Christ didn’t tell people not to love their relatives, merely to not love them more than himself.  No, two commands, one which says love relatives, and the other says love them less than Christ are not contradictory.

            Again, the critics are correct when they say Paul taught all thing both were and were not lawful for him ( I Corinthians 6:12and Corinthians 9:19-21 ).  However, since the word all is not always used in the all-inclusive sense ( Matthew 10:22 and Acts 2:17 ), this does not, as critics claim, prove that Paul contradicted himself.  Taken in context, Paul’s statement, “All things are lawful…” ( I Corinthians 6:12 ) pertained only to things which are a matter of indifference.

            Likewise, it has been said that Paul, according to the scriptures said that when people become children of God they enter the kingdom ( Colossians 1:13 ) and also states that children of God must suffer (wait) in order to enter the kingdom ( Acts 14:22 ).  This not, as critics would suppose, a Biblical contradiction.  The expressions kingdom of God and kingdom of heaven refer to both the church and the place where God dwells ( Romans 14:17-18 and Matthew 7:21 ).  Paul was speaking of the church ( Colossians 1:13 ) but was speaking of the eternal home with God ( Acts 14:22 ).

            It is true many scriptures say one may and may not call anyone father but God ( Matthew 23:9 ).  Once again, on the surface level, this would appear to put forward a contradiction, but is so only to those failing to understand the different degrees of fatherhood or origin.  Only God may be called Father, when we speak of the one of whom and through whom all things are.  Yet, in a very limited sense, we may call our male parent father, because our existence as a human being had its origin with him.

            These and many other scriptures appear to be at variance.  However, these apparent inconsistencies vanish into thin air, when one remembers to take into account that words have many different meanings, and that none of us are at liberty to assign one choice of meanings to any of the words of a writer’s material.  By employment of this tactic, the writings of any author, or authors, could be made to appear contradictory.