How can the bible be both right and wrong at the same time?

Question

Serious question, how do biblical literalists reconcile belief in absolute inerrancy with internal contradictions and factual errors in the bible? Not mocking here, I'm fairly new to the topic and want to know what people think as it seems to me that just one instance of inaccuracy would destroy any absolute truth claims...

If the bible contains even one factual error or internal contradiction, how can anybody subscribe to the school of thought of biblical inerrancy? This question is mainly directed at fundamentalist Christians who believe the doctrine of biblical inerrancy but I welcome input from all.

Example:

Leviticus 11:6 (King James Version)
6And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.

This is wrong on two counts; namely that hares do not chew the cud, and they do indeed divide the "hoof".

My contention is that this one example (there are more) is enough to discredit the belief that the Old Testament is the inerrant word of god, and therefore cannot be regarded as any more than a man-made collection of didactic cultural histories intended to preserve and teach early Jewish culture

Answer 1

oh that makes sense.........I gave up on understanding it a long time ago. they are stories to live by not ones to be interpreted into a language that did not exist at the same time so a few things do get lost in translation.....

Answer 2

The Bible, in it's original form, is the inerrent, inspired Word of God but over time and translations, some errors or mistranslations may have occurred in various Bibles. Many supposed factual errors are really misreading of the texts or misinterpretations. The Bible must be read and understood in it's entirety and extreme care should be given not to change any wording from the originals. To be sure, there are plenty of difficult areas in the Bible but that just calls for more examination and understanding...it takes a lifetime of devotion and then some. There are plenty of sites that devote their efforts to examining supposed "errors" and can usually explain the misunderstandings or illogical thinking.
The Bible warns that there will be "scoffers" of the Bible, so it comes as no surprise.

Answer 3

Hare( Heb. 'arnebeth) was prohibited as food according to the Mosaic law ( Lev 11:6; Deu 14:7), "because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof." The habit of this animal is to grind its teeth and move its jaw as if it actually chewed the cud. But, like the cony ( q.v.), it is not a ruminant with four stomachs, but a rodent like the squirrel, rat, etc. Moses speaks of it according to appearance. It is interdicted because, though apparently chewing the cud, it did not divide the hoof.

There are two species in Syria, ( 1) the Lepus Syriacus or Syrian hare, which is like the English hare; and ( 2) the Lepus Sinaiticus, or hare of the desert. No rabbits are found in Syria.

Answer 4

The Bible does not contain inaccuracies in terms of passage meaning and moral. To understand this topic, one must first understand the Bible's history. The original 1611 King James Version Bible, also known as the Authorised Version, was translated from the original Hebrew and Greek texts by a group of different people.

The only thing that has changed in the Bible has to do with grammar, mechanics, puncuation, capitalization, etc. for better understanding and clearer reading. As language changed, the texts were "fixed" to better understand in the language of the day. This is the reason there are several different translations. The actual meaning and moral of the stories within the Bible have remained constant. Remember, a good rule of thumb when reading the Bible is to remember that there are 20 different ways to say the same thing.

The stories and facts in the Bible are just that. There are literally thousands of other ancient texts that coincide with the facts in the Bible. Biblical prophecies are another form of the constant accuracy contained within the Bible.

When trying to answer this question ask yourself one question. If the one true God wanted mankind to write a book to be passed down through the generations, do you really think He would not be looking over their shoulders as it was written? Would He not "tell" them what is to be said?

Answer 5

Hares do not have hoofs divided or otherwise and do chew cud. Can you please explain if I am missing something.

It is known that rabbits practice what is called "refection," in which indigestible vegetable matter towards certain bacteria and is passed as droppings and then eaten again. This process enables the rabbit to better digest it. This process is very similar to rumination, and it gives the impression of chewing the cud. So, the Hebrew phrase "chewing the cud" should not be taken in the modern technical sense, but in the ancient sense of a chewing motion that includes both rumination and refection in the modern sense.

Are you saying hares have hooves?

Answer 6

. Genesis 6:4 - each and all the people interior the Antediluvian international have been Giants (or Nephilim) The sons of god(ly men - Seth's descendants) got here into the Daughters of guys (Cain's descendants) And Genesis 6:21-23 reads precisely ultimate besides - what's the situation with it - there is no lies, no contradiction. The words "after that" does no longer recommend after the Flood, you simpleton It capacity that the Flood got here AFTER the fornication between Seth's and Cain's descendants - in case you have been a Christian, God might have given you information and information I additionally be conscious which you have your digital mail switched of - you're a coward! . . .

Answer 7

Because the bible is not complete. The catholics burned most of the books and what you have left is the sick version called Pauline Christianity... Its missing stuff. and even if it wasn't does anyone think that a real God would have you rely on whats in a book, he could have planted a bible chip in your head so you could quote scripture anytime someone ask you to think.

Answer 8

I want to first state that I do not know where you got you information but there is NO CONTRADICTIONS in the bible. It is the most historically correct and widely accepted factual document in the world. There are only a few ANTI- religous /spiritual people that have warp information from the bible and conclude that there are errors b/c they believe the supernatural events are impossible, and theses few people are alos high enough in power to control media output and secular schools whom farther teaching these lies about the bible. it would take way too long to tell you everything help but I strongly encourage you to email me [e-mail] and I would be more that happy to give you more information.

ending note a great book for reference on this topic is-THE CHRISTIAN COMBAT MANUAL by DAN STORY

Answer 9

To them, it's always right. They put The Bible first, even before logic and science.

When they come up to something where the Bible is saying the exact opposite of what it said in another section, they claim it to be symbolizing something else and that only people who really study them understand.

Don't take it too seriously. There's really no convincing them when they're already adults.

Answer 10

The Bible that you have today has been subjected to numerous change and corruption, that is a fact. Not all of the Original text was found, there are 5400 manuscripts, the largest of which is the size of a credit card, and only a small part of the bible can be verified by that. The rest was added later by men such as Paul who introduced their own versions and interpretations of the bible, going to the extent of calling Jesus God when he never spoke of any such thing... Going to such an extent as to say that Jesus died to be a Human Sin Sacrifise, when he Never said so himself.