Why does the Bible have so many contradictions in it?

Question

For instance in one part it says "thou shalt not kill" and in another it says "If a man strikes you on your left cheek turn to him your right cheek" but then God commands the jews to commint genocide and the many pastors in the US have used it to say that killing iraqi insurgents is O.K.. I have read the bible probably more than most people have. I read the New testament countless times, and I support the troops. So Address the question. Why does the bible have so many contrdictions? evil people use these to control others.

Thats intersting someone gave me a thumbs down and a thumbs up already and there is only one answer. do people even read the details?

Many poeple, many times. But there is a movement in this country toward Bible preaching churches. that Take the Word literally as absolute truth with no flaws and that it was written by men who were guided by God? So address that with some kind of real answer.

Oh yeah I've read it and the more I read it the less I beleived it. Its the Same with this ex-preacher turned to Kabllah that I know. I mean there theological scholars that I've asked this question and they just say everyone figures this out eventually if they give it enough thought.

Answer 1

The Bible was written by man and is full of human error.

Answer 2

In some ways--it depends on the individual you are talking about. Some soldiers have never heard the Word and don't know what God expects from us. Some soldiers know God and His Word and have taken the scripture to heart, "Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friend." Every soldier who has chosen for whatever reason to defend this nation is known by God. There hearts are open to the Father and he is the only one that can ultimately judge their actions while they are at war. The Word also says that there will be wars and rumors of war. The first war was in heaven--so it is by our faith that we must trust that He has everything in His hands and all things work for the good. My brother was a tank commander and choose to go to Iraq with his unit and was killed a few days after he sent us an email that said they were under alot of fire but he was concerned about actually having to take another life. He was trained to kill and yet even in battle he was concerned about his fellow man. He was killed instantly by a sniper, when he came up out of his tank on a routine area sweep. He left behind a wife and two boys. We know that he is with the Father in heaven and even at war, God saw his heart and knew of his love for the Iraqi people. I believe that in all things we are judged alone and not as a group. Even our government will individually stand before God and answer for the decisions they have made for this nation. Am I angry or bitter? No--because I know where my brother is now and his reward is much greater than we could ever imagine.

Answer 3

A nuclear physicist

A quite different situation was the case of a Stanford nuclear physicist. While working on the linear accelerator on the Stanford University campus in Palo Alto, Dr. John McIntyre somehow showed up at a home class I taught occasionally as part of the teaching team. He was a liberal education for me! Asking every question you could think of and some you wouldn't, he gave the typical scientific approach to the Bible and the Christian message. Usually you can expect the same ten to twenty questions from non-Christians, but John gave it a much more intensive and intelligent look than most. Every time we'd meet he would have another tough one, so much so that I began to duck around corners to avoid him (not really, but I began to feel like it). But he was never argumentative-always investigative. So, often I would say, "Jack, I don't know the answer to that one, but let's both check it out and compare notes next week." Invariably we would come up with explanations for the seeming discrepancy or problem which he would accept as satisfactory, and we would go on to the next question. Over a period of many months his investigation continued, until one day he was able to say, "My mind is satisfied that the Bible is reliable and trustworthy, not full of contradictions and errors as I'd been told." And yet he was still not a Christian. So he took one further step. He reasoned, "Having gone this far, if I'm being honest, I must respond to the demands the Bible makes on my will-not just my intellect."

About then he discovered the words of the Lord Jesus, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him and he with me" (Rev. 3:20).

Here's a place I can check it out. "Lord, I'm opening the door. Now you prove to me that you've come in!" This was the Scientist stepping out of his detached role as objective observer and putting himself in the experiment! And though his proposition may sound a bit presumptuous to some of us, I'm sure the Lord didn't mind a bit! All he really needs is a chance to prove his availability and confirm his presence in the life, and this is what John McIntyre proposed.* You know the outcome. Today this nuclear scientist is a committed Christian, enjoying his life in Christ.
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* Dr. John McIntyre's testimony has been printed in His magazine as "A Physicist Believes." He has also written articles for Christianity Today. He was president of the American Scientific Affiliation in 1973.

Answer 4

One thing that some people seem to forget is the fact that the Bible is actually a compilation of MANY books written by MANY different people during MANY different times. The contradictions reflect this fact. Also, one thing that we need to take into consideration is the fact that there are MANY different translations of the Bible, and I can't help but think that we can't be sure if these translations are actually faithful to the meanings of the original texts.

Answer 5

Hey, the dictionary contradicts itself all of the time. It gives up to 52 different meanings for a single word. As many as six different spellings. It will tell you that one word is a noun, verb, adverb or adjective. Oh, WAIT A MINUTE! IF you know how a dictionary works, you know that these are contradictions, just expansions of the truth. And then it all makes sense. SO, IF you were to actually learn about the Bible, you would see that those aren't contradictions, but expansions of the TRUE WORD OF GOD. And the Bible would make sense to you too. Merry Christmas.

Answer 6

The last major revision, in which a single Roman Emperor declared himself a prophet of God, and dictated a re-write to his scribes, was the Nicene Council of 320 AD.

That was where the Apopcrypha was created, which includes all the "lost books of the Bible".

Since then, interpreters have used it to justify EVIL on both sides of great conflicts. Wow! Just like the Quran!

But, the Quran permits 'Believers' to conquer, rape, steal, pillage, de-capitate, murder, all women, all children, and all men, with the exception of any man who will join them in piracy, by declaring that "The one true god is Allah, and Mohammed is His Prophet".

Total bunk, lies, deceit, that foment a huge political movement through the desire of humans to have faith or belief in a higher being. Some are just participating because of poverty. Some hope to kill me, and my family, my children, and own my house.

No room for apologists now! Everyone needs to become aware
of the absolute evil of Islam, who received 200,000 Arabic translations of Mein Kampf from Hitler, and the recruitment of the Grand Mufti, and the Ethnic Cleansing of the Balkans, in WWII!

One big question looms about the beliefs of Islamists: If you become dead, leave your body, and go to "heaven", how can you have, much less, enjoy, sex?

Islam is a 7th century guerilla war on innocent peoples, on a global scale!!! Resist, or die!

Answer 7

We see it written, thou shalt not kill, however the word used pheneuo can mean commit murder.

Therefore, you shall not commit murder.
God has made a distinction between murder and kill.

He told the Israelites to kill everyone in Canaan because they have forsaken His law.

God not only instructed them to kill in war, but in places He went before them and turned the enemies against themselves, causing them to kill each other.

I don't see a contradiction here!

Answer 8

Its true the Bible was written by man, But God inspired men. The Bible has no contradictions and I hope you realize the truth before its too late.

Answer 9

The Bible is an anthology written by over 30 men in a span of 1600 years. That's why. Each chapter is one man's viewpoint.

Answer 10

I do not doubt that you may have read the Bible more than most people have, because most people simply do not read it. But it is difficult to believe that you have actually read the New Testament "countless times" yet remain totally void of understanding.