Discrepancies in the Bible....?

Question

Those who think the Bible has discrepancies, and therefore can't be believed....please state these discrepancies.

Sorry...my original question was closed out on accident...look at my profile for additional answers.

Note to everyone who is worried about my salvation....I am not in question about if the bible is true....I merely want to understand why some people think it is not true...

Answer 1

Good question and asked very nicely.

There are a lot but I think, just to make it easier, the most glaring one to me is the resurrection. To get the facts right on the Most Important Day, EVER, would be pretty key. Yet Matthew, Mark, Luke and John conflict on about 30 points. Among them are: WHO went to the tomb, WHEN they went, WHY they went, WHO was there (humans or angels), HOW many (1 or 2), WAS the stone rolled away or not.

To have "gods perfect word" conflict about this most important event is a critical failure.

Answer 2

Ok lets take it from the very beginning shall we;

1) KJV (Genesis1:2) says:

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

2) Amplified version

The earth was without form and an empty waste, and darkness was upon the face of the very great deep. The Spirit of God was moving (hovering, brooding) over the face of the waters.

3) New International Version

Now the earth was [a] formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters

4) New KJV

The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was[a] on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

5) New contempory Version

The earth was barren, with no form of life; [b] it was under a roaring ocean covered with darkness. But the Spirit of God [c] was moving over the water.


Now these are only 5 bibles and each of them have different wording to start off the bible. Whats more, the KJV and the New KJV have different wording.

Now if even the start of the bible has different wording what then for the remainder or it? Why is there so many versions for the same story? Why is there a need for so many versions? Which one is true and accurate?

Answer 3

The Bible easily is crammed with such "discrepancies." some human beings attempt to describe them away (the created vs. formed argument) or perhaps overlook approximately them fullyyt. those are considered issues on condition which you think of of the Bible as written via one or 2 human beings as a gentle, properly-integrated record. in fact, the Bible is a selection of many books written over the centuries, all decrease than thought heard in any different case via the writers. The advent thoughts in Genesis got here from 2 traditions, which pupils call the Yahwist and the Priestly traditions. they're telling the comparable tale, however the comparable tale as relayed via distinctive people who had heard the story instructed and retold infinite situations. Does this make one ideal and the different incorrect? Does it recommend the Bible isn't stable? in no way. it somewhat is the word of God, written via writers inspired via God. we will not confuse it with a textbook, which obvious discrepancies might render ineffective.

Answer 4

There are far too many to list here, so I will link a few websites where they are listed in great detail so you can review these at your leisure.

http://www.infidels.org/news/atheism/extra/bible-contradictions.html
http://biblebabble.curbjaw.com/gospels.htm
http://members.aol.com/ckbloomfld/
http://www.goatstar.org/
http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/donald_morgan/intro.html
http://www.jesuspuzzle.com/

The errors, inconsistencies, illogical and outright falsehoods of the bible are not "minor" , "superficial" or "translation or copying problems" as some other answerer's have contended. They are very real , very large problems if you take the bible to be the inspired work of a supreme being. If he was trying to get out a clear and consistent message....he failed miserably. Anybody who does not see this, clearly has their head in the sand because they don't WANT to see it.

The usual christian way of dealing with the errant is to ignore it, minimize it, deny it, try and hammer it to fit and paint it over, and when all else fails, say that even if there are errors, it doesn't change the message. This is faith based rationalization, not rationality. They also accuse us of "taking things out of context", yet that is the most basic christian proselytizing technique...(how many times have you had bible verses thrown at you as an answer to a question...out of context)

Obviously you don't have to take my word for it. You should do your own reading and decide for yourself, and the above links are a good starting point. There are a lot of books on bible errancy...the first one was published over 150 years ago, so this is not a new problem.

Answer 5

One discrepency involves the death of Judas. Matthew 27:1-5 NIV has him hanging himself. Acts 1:15-18 NIV has him dying from a fall and his guts bursting out. There are many discrepancies in the Bible though and then there is a wide range of "apologetics" to try to explain and rationalize them away. Of course the issue then is can't we rationalize just about anything away in order to continue to believe whatever we wish? At any rate the reasons I don't believe in the Bible as literal truth is that I have studied the mythologies that pre-existed before it and I see how Biblical mythology borrowed from these traditions. Virgin birth, common to several pagan gods before Jesus. Mithras and Horus come immediately to mind. The rising from the dead was used by several pagan mythological beliefs as well. Another reason I don't believe the Bible is true is the whole divine revelation thing. How many people would believe a book written by someone who claimed that today? Back then people believed in fanciful things, today people continue to believe because of cultural indoctrination and wishful thinking. I don't believe anyone rose from the dead or that anyone has been born from someone who hadn't had sex or undergone an artificial insemination procecedure. I think the Bible has much of value but I don't think it is God's literal handed down word. It is man's trying to understand the nature of their spirit, the world, and how to live in relation to each other.

Answer 6

Instead of asking the question from a Yahoo/ forum, put it to Biblical scholars. And believe in their intellectual integrity. Scholars do not use the word 'discrepancies'. They call it ' honest revisions, and, alternate readings'. Such revisions or alternates are over 20000, as told in the Bible possessed by me. That is why, there is a new 'revised' or 'standardised Version' every few years. If compared to Bibles of the 19th century, they are completely different in text... at some places. Then there are inter-Christian variations. Not a few more paragraphs, but six more Books are there in Roman Catholic version. If you can, you may also compare yours with the Orthodox's Bible. Then, there is interChristian debate on the status. Some have a belief it is the unalterable Message from God; some say the New Testament was authored as Biographies of mylord Jesus by good Christians, quite long after Jesus left the Earth...
So, I have not talked about 'discrepancies' as asked in the question. Sorry.

Answer 7

The Bible is the word of God and there are no discrepencies in it. True, it has been translated many times over and some translators have made many errors due to lack of knowledge. Still, others have changed it to suit their purpose and as a result there are those who argue its authority based on these changes. Most Some of the changes are; the name of Jehovah which is in the Bible has been taken out by almost every translator; the word cross has been added or changed from stake; the word trinity has been added; the word hell has been added to replace Hades, and so on. This gives many people that don"t accept the word of God arguements, but there is really none. The best translation of the Bible today is "New World Translation of the Holly Scriptures". It has restored Jehavah's name where it is called for and has corrected the flaws that have been put there over the ages.....KECK

Answer 8

Most of these discrepancies are problems with translations. It was written in Hebrew, Greek, Latin and Aramaic. These languages don't always translate easily into english. When you translate something, things can get misinterpreted.

Take a modern example. I watch a lot of foreign, non-english films. They don't translate right, either. There are things in some languages that have no english counterpart.

ONe priest once told me that told me that to read the bible as clearly and accurately as I could, I'd have to do it in Spanish, since that is the closest translation to real that he could find.

Or, as in cases I've seen, they post one line and say it doesn't match with a second line farther in the bible and call it a discrepancy. YOu have to also take things in context.

Answer 9

I know that some translations are inaccurate which may lead to some discrepencies. I would stick to the most accurate translations like KJV or at least compare anything of question to it. If there is an area that seems like a discrepency then compare similar texts and/or versions. God's Word is accurate and He will protect it AND bring you to truth if you are really searching.

Answer 10

They think the Bible has discrepancies because it was written by 40 different men, with different views,& ideas opinions. Like take the 4 gospels (Matthew , Mark, Luke, John), we have 4 books of the Bible written by 4 different men, with 4 different points of view on 1 subject, each picked what they thought was most important to write about. Athiests and non-believers just don't understand this.


Christian for about 30 yrs.