Bible Contradictions

We are in a spiritual war. It is obvious. To win the battle, we must not only put on the armor of God spoken of in Ephesians, but we must know our enemies weapons. The most used one is trying to pass off man-made creeds as God given. Galatians 1:9,10 refutes that. Another is claiming that the Bible isn’t true at all. Science, archaeology, and Biblical prophecies all refute this claim. Still another is ignorance. Through the great commission and 2Tim. 2:15 we can fix this. If you’ll notice, in every instance I am using the Bible to fend off these fallacies. But there is a weapon the devil has, and uses quite frequently, that uses the Bible itself to try and defeat our faith. This weapon is the claim that the Bible contradicts itself. There is nothing further from the truth. When and if you are confronted with this situation, stand boldly. Stand strong. The Bible is perfect. 2Tim. 3:16 says, “God breathed”. Now that being said, to stand boldly we must always have an answer for the hope that is within us. I’d like to look at a few of the main contradictions that the world says the Bible makes, and how they are not contradictions at all.

First, we must understand what a contradiction in fact is. In logic, the Law of Contradiction is stated as follows: “Nothing can both be and not be”. Aristotle put it this way: “That the same thing should at the same time both be and not be for the same person and in the same respect is impossible.” For instance: a door can be both opened and shut, but it cannot be opened and shut at the same time. An important truth that must be hammered home repeatedly is this: a mere difference does not make a contradiction! For instance, let us analyze the following two statements: Robert is rich. Robert is poor. Do these statements contradict one another? The answer is – not necessarily! First, two different people named Robert could be under consideration. Second, two different time frames might be in view; Robert could have been rich but, due to financial disaster, he became poor. Third, the terms “rich” and “poor” might have been used in different senses; Robert could be spiritually rich but economically poor. The point is this: it never is proper to assume a contradiction exists until every possible means of making it not a contradiction have been used. Now, let this principle be applied to the Bible.
Some contradictions are very easy to prove, while others take a little more thought and common sense. Example of a very easy one: I heard of one guy who claimed he found a contradiction. He said it was impossible for the Hebrew priests to carry the ark across the Jordan River when Moses had filled it with so many animals. This man was obviously confused about the two different types of arks. So you see, when someone says, “Well I don’t believe the Bible because it contradicts itself!” don’t be afraid to ask, “Where?”.

One of the most used “contradictions” is that God both loves and hates. This is not a contradiction because He loves some things and hates others. John 3:16 He loves sinners. But He hates every false way (Psalm 119:104).

Another frequently used claim is that the gospel writers contradict themselves. The case of the healing of the blind men of Jericho is one of these. First, while both Mark and Luke mention the healing of one blind man, Matthew records the healing of two blind men. Second, Matthew and Mark indicate that the blind men were healed as Jesus was leaving Jericho, whereas Luke says that a blind man was healed as the Lord “drew nigh” to the city. How, then, shall these narratives be reconciled?
In the first place, the fact that two of the accounts mention only one man, while the other mentions two, need not concern us. Had Mark and Luke stated that Christ healed only one man, with Matthew affirming that more than one were healed, that would be a contradiction but that is not the case. If one says, “I have a son,” he does not contradict himself by stating further, “I have a son and a daughter.”
But how may the second problem be solved?

It is possible that three blind men were healed in the vicinity of Jericho on this occasion, and that the incident mentioned by Luke, when Jesus approached the city, might have been a different miracle than that recorded by Matthew and Mark. This may not be the most likely explanation, but it cannot be disproved.

1. Some argue that “drew near” also can mean “to be near”. This view implies that Luke simply locates the miracle near Jericho.
2. Perhaps the best viewpoint is the fact that at the time of Christ there actually were two Jerichos. First, there was the Jericho of Old Testament history that was located at the sight of Elijah’s spring. In the first century, however, that city lay almost in ruins. About two miles south of that site was the new Jericho, built by Herod the Great. The Lord – traveling from the north toward Jerusalem – first would pass through the old Jericho, then some two miles to the south, would go through the new Jericho. The miracles under consideration, therefore may have been performed between two towns. Accordingly, the references in Matthew and Mark to leaving Jericho would allude to the old city, whereas Luke’s observation to drawing near to Jericho would refer to the newer community

The last one I’d like to look at is how the disciples supposedly contradict one another in what was written above the Lord’s head when He was crucified. Matthew says that the sign reads: THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS. Mark says that the sign reads: THE KING OF THE JEWS. Luke says: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. And John says: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Now certainly this is a contradiction! No! A few thoughts: first of all, they all say: King of the Jews. So when Mark gives the bare minimum, is he lying? He states it says King of the Jews and it does! Now if he were to write, “it only says King of the Jews” then we would have a problem. Second, Luke says that the inscription was written in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew. There are three different languages. Is it possible that some of the words could be “lost in translation” as they say? To give you an example, I went to one of those translation websites where you can translate a phrase from English to just about any language and then back to English. Well I typed in the phrase: How are you doing the fine morning? I translated it to Greek and the back to English and got, “How you make this thin morning?” You see what I mean? Mark could have read one of the transcriptions while Luke and John read completely different ones!

We must realize that when we evangelize, some are not going to listen. It is nearly impossible to get some people to see what is right in front of them. So when this arises, we must do exactly what Jesus told us to do: move on. We are only commanded to plant the seed. But do not let this discourage you or make you doubt in any way! God wrote the Bible and God is perfect!