No contradictions in the Bible huh? Explain these then please...?

Question

Let's start with a topic of debate that is a R&S regular. Do we think that wisdom is bad or good? Here are some Bible verses that contradict themselves on this topic:

PRO 4:7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.

ECC 1:18 For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.

1 Cor.1:19: "For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and wil bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent."

How about this: What did Jesus say before he died?

Matt.27:46,50: ... "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" ...Jesus, when he cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost."

Luke23:46: "And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, "Father, unto thy hands I commend my spirit:" and having said thus, he gave up the ghost."

John19:30: "When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, "It is finished:" and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost."

Ok what about the question of God being seen?

Exod. 24:9,10; Amos 9:1; Gen. 26:2; and John 14:9
God CAN be seen:
"And I will take away my hand, and thou shalt see my backparts." (Ex. 33:23)
"And the Lord spake to Moses face to face, as a man speaketh to his friend." (Ex. 33:11)
"For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved." (Gen. 32:30)

God CANNOT be seen:
"No man hath seen God at any time." (John 1:18)
"And he said, Thou canst not see my face; for there shall no man see me and live." (Ex. 33:20)
"Whom no man hath seen nor can see." (1 Tim. 6:16)

Can God tempt us?

"And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham." (Gen 22:1)

"Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man." (James 1:13)

Hmmmm. I m assuming that God would know what he is talking about. That might be my first mistake...

Nice. That guy who makes fun of African-Americans is my first post to this question. Excuse me for taking anything you say with a grain of salt...

Answer 1

I love annie's response. As if people had to "take the time" to go through the bible to find it.

It all starts with someone who is christian who is reading the bible and notices these things AS THEY STUDY IT... notice these stupid little inconsistencies. My retort to her comment would be... how stupid does one have to be to admit that they read the bible all of the time, but they DENY the OBVIOUS contradictions listed therein?!

F*cking morons, I swear!!

Great series of questions, by the way.... really shows the hypocrisy of the xians..... They want "proof"... you give them valid proof and all you hear is crickets chirping.

And Superfoot23: Bloody brilliant...... god made the bible so simple a child could understand......... So that means that anyone who follows the teaching of a bible must have the mind of a child. That really says a lot about the xian community doesn't it?

Answer 2

Wow - I almost missed this one. I'm glad I'm not too late!

Two sides of a coin do not make it a contradiction. With wisdom - all these are true. Wisdom is important, but it causes grief. God uses foolish things to bring down the wise. No contradiction, just different thoughts about wisdom.

What did Jesus say before he died? All three things and then He died. If you have 3 witnesses, they are going to remember different parts of the speech. This is not a contradiction.

Can God be seen?
John 14:9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you such a long time, and do you not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father. How do you say, 'Show us the Father?'

So, God can be seen like you said. There is an important difference between when God is seen and not seen though. When Jesus was on earth, He was not in His glorified state. We cannot see God's face in His glorified state or we'll die. Is there a place in the Bible that mentions we see God in His glorified state? The closest one to do that was Moses and God had to be careful. All other occurrences that I can recall are when He took the form of a man.

Regarding God tempting us. Any real flaw in the Bible would be in the translating it. People work really hard at it and I think they do a good job. Perhaps this is a bad choice of words. Most of the translations I read say, "Test" and not "Tempt" in Genesis 22:1. I think that is a better description don't you? He isn't tempting Abraham to kill his son, but testing his faith. I definitely go through tests and trials.

As a side note of Genesis 22. Notice the similarity between God sacrificing Jesus and Abraham sacrificing Isaac. Both sons were alive after the sacrifice. Both loved their sons, but were willing to put them through the sacrifice. Both were only sons. Both had wood involved in the sacrifice. Amazing foreshadowing of what was to come, don't you think?

P.S. I read Rae's answer after I wrote this. I think Rae answered better than I did - good job!

Answer 3

The reason that it would be difficult to answer your question is because the verses you chose are not "out of context" verses. The contextual content of the verses is huge and encompasses large theological concepts. So to explain everything that you want explained in this venue is contraindicated.
If you take the first three verses in context you will find that the Proverbs verse is talking about the value of wisdom. However, the wisdom of God is not the wisdom of man and so the wisdom of man that is the subject referred to in the 1Cor. passage would be a type of wisdom that is futile. The "for it is written" part of the 1Cor verse lets you know that Paul (the guy who wrote that letter) is making a statement about a prophecy in the OT, so you have to look at the entire context. Please keep in mind that the original manuscripts did not have all those nice neat paragraphs and verse numbers. So to understand, you have to dig for context.
The Ecclesiastes verse is the Preacher lamenting that for all the striving he does on Earth, life here doesn't produce much. If you read the book all the way through, you will understand WHY he says that.
There are no contradictions there...you are just taking them out of context and not looking at the deeper meaning that can be gleaned by a more thorough meaning.
The two references in the Synoptic Gospels are prophecies fulfilled. Jesus died in our place...the "it is finished" is the work He came here to do. The "my God my God...is an indicator of how He suffered FOR us". He was rejected by God so that WE would not be...
The John verse is the same. He "gave up" the ghost...it wasn't taken from Him...if you read the section on Jesus and Pontius Pilate you will see that Jesus tells Pilate that He lays down His own life and that man cannot take it.
Suffice it to say that the verses you chose are more complicated than simple, and cannot be taken out of context to be understood.

Answer 4

Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children." Matthew 11:25

My friend, you are over-thinking things. God made it so simple that little children can understand it. You are picking at specks of dust to find objection. From you, God has hidden the truth because you think you are wise.

If someone offered to give you a priceless masterpiece, a painting by DaVinci, would you reject it because it has the dust of time on it?

God loves you and is offering you the greatest masterpiece of all time....the bible testifies to that simple fact.

Answer 5

There are no contradictions in the Bible.

It is hard to take questions like this seriously, as they show blatant misrepresentations and horrific interpretations.

But...let's go through these one at a time...
Is wisdom good or bad?

Well...let's look at the third verse you quote...and simply show the surrounding verses for all to see:
1 Corinthians 1:17-25:
For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.” Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

And even an honest atheist can easily see that the Bible talks about "the wisdom of the world" or "human wisdom" in opposition to "the wisdom of God".

Look at another part of the Bible, in James, for perfect clarification:
James 3:13-18:
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.

I don't think it could be any more clear than this...
And it most certainly does not contradict!
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(I will complete and speak of your other "contradiction" later in an edit...if you don't choose an answer before then...but it obviously does not contradict...and provides a perfect segway to a Gospel presentation...)

...SURELY, you can come up with better seeming contradictions then this!

I have never had any problem debunking a "contradiction" before with a simple glance at the scripture...

EDIT:
Rae answered your other questions perfectly well...so there is no need for me to continue...
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Again:
THERE ARE NO CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE.

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Answer 6

Yes there are apparent contradictions. Some are from mistranslations. In other cases different writers used different metaphors to make a point. If you use scripture to make minor 'points' you will miss the big picture. This is why one denomination will take a single verse to criticize another.

Answer 7

Hmmm, where are the Christians who maintain that the Bible contains no contradictions? I see them all over other threads, this one is like a ghost town.

Here's a few more:
http://www.evilbible.com/Biblical%20Contradictions.htm

And one could always take the Easter Challenge:
http://ffrf.org/books/lfif/?t=stone

Answer 8

i will attempt to respond to a number of your questions. i'm hoping that's useful. one million. the recent testomony teaches that there is one thank you to get to Heaven, and that's contained in direction of the attractiveness of Jesus Christ as your man or woman savior. as quickly as you have everyday Christ, there is no longer something that could separate you from Him. It does not remember what a father, mom, sister, brother, buddy, or all of us else has/has no longer carried out. the sole element that concerns is that if a man or woman has everyday Christ or no longer. 2. I as quickly as heard a pastor pontificate that "For each thing actual or stable that God has made, devil has a counterfeit." God does not tear people down or smash them. i've got self belief that God has allowed people interior the scientific container to create drugs that help people to heal. Pot destroys suggestions cells and is erroneous. God expects us to place Him first. Pot leads to habit, which attracts people remote from God, making it incorrect. God says to "Obey the guidelines of the land." that's illegitimate to smoke pot, which makes it incorrect. 3. people question why God helps stable people to go through and die from illnesses, which comprise maximum cancers. i do no longer think of any individuals can relatively answer that question. interior the Bible, God allowed interest to go through by way of ailment, tragedy, the shortcoming of each thing. In all of it, interest persevered to worship and compliment God and interest grow to be blessed interior the tip. i think of the full ingredient is to constantly turn to God, no longer remote from him. conversing from own adventure; I surely do no longer understand how people can face tragedies and heartache and soreness devoid of God. In my adventure, the worst element that could probable be possible for lots of people (somebody attempting and extremely almost succeeding in killing me) became out to be the final hidden blessing of my existence. 4 & 5 whilst i'm no longer an expert by way of any capacity, there are Christian scientists obtainable who say they're waiting to coach scientifically that the flood did ensue and that evolution is a unsuitable theory. There are web content you could flow to, yet you will possibly could analyze them. i do no longer understand them off the precise of my head.

Answer 9

This is where we get into trouble isolating single verses and not taking them in context. I will try and address your questions as succinctly as possible:

Wisdom -
Two types of wisdom are being addressed here. Godly Wisdom and Secular wisdom.

Proverbs speaks of Godly wisdom

Prov 4:4 And he would instruct me and say to me: “May your heart keep fast hold of my words. Keep my commandments and continue living. 5 Acquire wisdom, acquire understanding. Do not forget, and do not turn aside from the sayings of my mouth. 6 Do not leave it, and it will keep you. Love it, and it will safeguard you. 7 Wisdom is the prime thing. Acquire wisdom; and with all that you acquire, acquire understanding. 8 Highly esteem it, and it will exalt you. It will glorify you because you embrace it. 9 To your head it will give a wreath of charm; a crown of beauty it will bestow upon you.”

Ecc and 1Cor speak of earthy, secular wisdom, as stated by King Solomon in the 12th through 14th verse of the chapter you quoted, "12 I, the congregator, happened to be king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I set my heart to seek and explore wisdom in relation to everything that has been done under the heavens 12 I, the congregator, happened to be king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I set my heart to seek and explore wisdom in relation to everything that has been done under the heavens—the calamitous occupation that God has given to the sons of mankind in which to be occupied. 14 I saw all the works that were done under the sun, and, look! everything was vanity and a striving after wind."

And in 1 Cor 1, continue reading starting at vs 20 Where is the wise man? Where the scribe? Where the debater of this system of things? Did not God make the wisdom of the world foolish? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom did not get to know God, God saw good through the foolishness of what is preached to save those believing.

As for what Jesus said right before he died, He said all three things. All were worthy of writing down for their own reasons. The life and death of Jesus was documented by four different individuals from different points of view to give us a well rounded picture of the greatest man who ever lived. Just because one omits a detail the other includes doesn't make them contradictory.

God being seen:
Ex. 33:23 - Moses' account is the closest any one ever came to actually seeing God. But it wasn't the face of God that he saw. As the scrip you quoted says, it was his "backparts" as the scrip continues "But my face may not be seen.” Just from viewing God's back, much like seeing the tail of a comet, Moses' face shone like the sun. Powerful stuff.

As for backing up a few verses to 11, it was a manifestation of God Moses was conversing with. vs 9 says: It also occurred that as soon as Moses had gone into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down, and it stood at the entrance of the tent and he spoke with Moses.

The account in Genesis 32 is of Jacob grappling with an angel. Again he did not see God in person, but a manifestation of him.

As for God "tempting" Abraham, the account is about God TESTING his faith in Him. Not tempting him. God asking Abraham to sacrifice his son was a foreshadow of how God would sacrifice his son for all mankind.

I hope I answered all your questions.

Answer 10

Still amazing to me why those who do NOT believe take the time to go through the Bible just to find these types of things...... Do YOU know why ??? ...... and I for one have never said there were not LOST IN TRANSLATION problems....... but, I still maintain there is NO WAY God will let the basic message of salvation get lost..... So just keep reading and looking and trying to make it look how YOU want it to look........ I am only human, God will deal with the *wrongs* ........... go in peace....... God bless