When a Chriatian denies there are errors & contradictions in the Bible,...?

Question

does that condition have another name other than denial?
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"I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy." (Jer. 13:14) "Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not, but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling."

"The Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy." (James 5:11)
"For his mercy endureth forever." (1 Chron. 16:34)
"The Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works." (Ps. 145:9)
"God is love." (1 John 4:16)

Answer 1

Blind faith. Hypocrisy. Willing suspension of disbelief. Hidden agenda. Ulterior motive.

Nice quotes, though. If I ever had any doubts about what a bunch of pre-medieval pomposity this all is, you have removed them. Thanks.

P.S. As for "context" - isn't that what politicians claim when they are caught stating something stupid on the record?

Answer 2

I think it's easy to find contradictions when something is taken out of context.

You could say Brett Favre is a terrible quarterback judging by his last season if taken out of context of his hall of fame career.

The Bible is a long, complex piece of work written over hundreds of years. Historians tell us that certain books (of many choices) were chosen for the christian Bible ~ so that also begs the question, what was their motivation for choosing certain texts?

There are many people who devote their lives to studying the Bible, christians and non-christians who'd not find your choices contradictory, merely naive.

Understanding a large scale work like this demands the ablity to read language in it's context, a sense of history and the phrases used in the time, perhaps some knowledge of the original language and a balance of perpective given by history itself.
It's safe to say that christians believe that God would take care of His Word as it's been man-handled down through time, if you'll pardon the pun.

Certainly errors abound in the Bible. Those who study and research all know the common one's that everyone agrees on. There are phrases that were kept in it's original language, it's thought, because a translator simply didn't know how to deal with it.

So ... really, there is no denial. You may have made a young christian defensive by attacking him (shame on you), but a true vet would not be in denial, at best mildly amused.

Answer 3

It might seem like it contradicts but it doesn't.
In John 15:10 says;
If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in His love.

I don't know who you are, but lets say that you had a disobedient child. Now matter how much you try to teach and guide them, they don't listen. All the patience, time, work and love you put into it, they still don't' listen. Wouldn't you punish them? Wouldn't you lose your patience?

Luke chapter 13 verses 6 through 9.
He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none.
Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?
And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it:
And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.

In other words God has a lot of patience with us humans and He loves us all very much, but after years and even decades that patience does come to an end. God is a righteous Judge--right? And every criminal deserves a punishment--right? Only corrupt judges would set all the criminals free....... When we sin, we break Gods laws, so we are criminals...

Answer 4

First of all, to address your "contradiction."

You can't say, "See, this general principle has an exception" and call that a contradiction. "God is love," and "His mercies endure forever" are both true. That doesn't mean he extends his mercy to everyone. It is consistently extended to those who repent and believe. To those who not, judgment is extended. This is the pattern of the Bible. And so you're surprised to find a case of someone who did not repent, and had judgment?

Next, to address those who say there are no contradictions: there are "apparent contradictions" in the Bible which need to be carefully considered. We do this in our day to day life to communicate thoughts which might otherwise take too much explanation, to the point where the extra explanation would make it unclear. The Bible uses them to the same end. Consider: "He just drove me here; I just learned he can't drive." What?! He can't drive, but he drove? What the speaker means to say is that he is a terrible driver. A Biblical example? 1 Cor 2:2 "For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified." Did Paul really mean he tried to forget all that he know of Greek philosophy? No! He meant that he only taught what he knew from Christ, and that nothing else was given place in his teaching. How about later in the chapter, where it says that eyes haven't seen and ears haven't heard what he has taught? Surely what he means is that the understanding of his teaching comes from Heaven.

Answer 5

jeremiah 13:14 is talking about Judah and Jerusalem. considering this is O.T. i'm quite sure it's a story of past events and not an instruction of what christians should go and do. but, you're also taking this line out of context and you really can't. the same thing applies to this "amalek" thing. and i didn't read that anywhere near jeremiah 13:14 so i don't know what that is talking about. throughout the bible...it talks about God being merciful and loving, in fact, with all of our sin...if he wasn't merciful we'd all be burning in hell right now. it talks about it all over the place, he's staying his wrath until the day he will unleash it. God is love. he loves his creation and everyone in it but he doesn't like sin. it's a slap in the face to him.

Answer 6

I don't think you can really call it denial, since in their minds, it all makes perfect sense, because they need for it to make sense. Nobody wants to suddenly come to the realization that their entire world view is wrong.

And for those who say that you need to read an entire chapter in order to put a passage into context, I call BS. In what context is it OK for god, who loves all mankind, to order the Israelites to raze an entire city, and kill every man, woman, and child inside (except for the pretty young virgins, who can be taken as slaves)? It is clear that the morality of the bible, which is supposedly based on the absolute word of god, changes through time.

Answer 7

These are not contradictions. You are not reading all of that section. It also states in the bible that you can only deny God some many times until he will deny you. The forementioned is simply stating this. The best thing that I can say to any of you how are bashing the bible is do not criticize what you DO NOT KNOW. If you have questions do not rely on someone else to answer them for you. Pick up the bible and read THE WHOLE THING first before you cast judgement on any of it or any one who does believe it.

Answer 8

One can make almost any case by taking certain verses of the Bible and making statements. Personally, I know many folks who believe every literal word in the book. As a spiritual teaching, there are many symbolic writings in this book. Making stereotypical judgments is usually fraught with the possibility of danger.

Answer 9

Denail w/ a bit 'o ignorance.

To ask them to acknowledge this would force them to accept there are errors in the bible, and that it may not be divine.

SOME are OK with this (as I was when I was Christian), they believe the bible was written by man and is therefore subject to error...but the message is true. But many lean on the book so hard that their religion is empty without it. because of this they cannot accept that anything could be wrong, cause then their religion would be too.

Answer 10

Super Duper Denial