untitled
Date: Thu, 25 Aug 2005 15:00:23 -0400
From: Mike Ryder
Subject: RE: Challenge part one - 10 typical contradictions
To: [Family member A]
Okay,
Here is a start. I have decided to begin with contradictions. This is likely to span several emails.
None of these are likely to be original, and I am not sure to what
extent any are already known to you or anyone you choose to share them
with. You might be tempted to dismiss some as trivial,
misinterpretation, or mistranslation. But before you use this as
a defense please remember that the Bible is supposed to be the divine,
perfect word of an omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent being.
Being a perfect book it should remain perfect through transcriptions
and translations.
Contradictions: These are instances of diametrically opposed
passages. Both cannot be true. For one to be true the other
must be false thus showing that the Bible contains untruths (thus
disproving infallibility). Of course neither version may be true.
I guess the start is a good place to begin. So off we go to
Genesis. I'm only going to start with ten contradictions.
Trust me, there are plenty more.
1. The two contradictory creation accounts. 1:1-2:3, 2:4-25
Gen.1:25-27
(Humans were created after the other animals.)
And God made the beast of the earth after his kind,
and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the
earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let
us make man in our image.... So God created man in his own image.
Gen.2:18-19
(Humans were created before the other animals.)
And the LORD God said, It is not good that the
man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. And out of
the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl
of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them:
and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name
thereof.
Gen.1:27
(The first man and woman were created simultaneously.)
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
Gen.2:18-22
(The man was created first, then the animals, then the woman from the man's rib.)
And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man
should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. And out of the
ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of
the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them....
And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept:
and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman,
and brought her unto the man.
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2. How long did creation take? 1:3-2:3, 2:4
One day or Six?
One day.
Gen.2:4
These are the generations of the heavens and of the
earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the
earth and the heavens.
Six days.
Gen.1:3 - 2:3
And God said, Let there be light: and there was
light. ... And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called
Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
...
And God saw every thing that he had made, and,
behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the
sixth day.
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and
all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which
he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which
he had made.
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3. Were plants created before or after humans? 1:11, 2:4-7
Plants were created before humans.
Gen.1:11-13, 27-31
And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the
herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind,
whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so .... And the
evening and the morning were the third day.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of
God created he him; male and female created he them .... And the
evening and the morning were the sixth day.
Plants were created after humans.
Gen.2:4-7
These are the generations of the heavens and of the
earth ... And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and
every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused
it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.
But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of
the ground. And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground.
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4. When were the stars made? 1:16-19
On the fourth day of creation, after the earth was made.
Gen.1:16-19
He made the stars also. And God set them in the
firmament of the heaven.... And the evening and the morning were the
fourth day.
Before the earth was made.
Job 38:4-7
Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? ... When the morning stars sang together.
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5. How many gods are there? 1:26, 3:22, 11:7
There is only one god.
Dt.4:35
"Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the LORD he is God; there is none else beside him."
Dt.4:39
"The LORD he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else."
Dt.6:4
"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord."
Dt.32:39
"See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me."
Is.43:10
"I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me."
Is.44:8
"Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any."
Is.45:5-6
"I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me."
Is.46:9
"I am God, and there is none else: I am God, and there is none like me."
Mk.12:29
"The Lord our God is
one Lord."
Mk.12:32
"There is one God; and there is none other but he."
Jn.17:3
"That they might know thee the only true God."
1 Cor.8:6
"But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him."
There are several gods
Gen.1:26
"And God said, let us make man in our image."
Gen.3:22
"And the Lord God said, Behold, then man is become as one of us, to know good and evil."
Gen.11:7
"Let us go down, and there confound their language."
Ex.12:12
"And against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment."
Ex.15:11
"Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods?"
Ex.18:11
"Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods."
Ex.20:3
"Thou shalt have no other gods before me."
Ex.22:20
"He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed."
Ex.22:28
"Thou shalt not revile the gods."
Ex.23:13
"Make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth."
Ex.23:24
"Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve
them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them,
and quite break down their images."
Ex.23:32
"Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods."
Ex.34:14
"For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God."
Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the
people which are round about you;(For the LORD thy God is a jealous God
among you) Dt.6:14-15
Num.33:4
"Upon their gods also theLORD executed judgments."
Jg.11:24
Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy god giveth thee to possess?
1 Sam.6:5
"Ye shall give glory unto the God of Israel:
peradventure he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off your
gods."
1 Sam.28:13
"And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what
sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of
the earth.
Ps.82:1
"God standeth in the congregation of the mighty, he judgeth among the gods."
Ps.82:6
"I have said, Ye are gods."
Ps.86:8
"Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord."
Ps.96:4
"For the Lord ... is to be feared above all gods."
Ps.97:7
"Worship him, all ye gods."
Ps.136:2
"O give thanks unto the God of gods."
Jer.1:16
"I will utter my judgments against them ... who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods."
Jer.10:11
"The gods that have not made the heavens and the
earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these
heavens."
Zeph.2:11
"The Lord will be terrible to them: for he will famish all the gods of the earth."
Jn.10:33-34
"The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we
stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man,
makest thyself God. Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law,
I said, Ye are gods?"
1 Jn.5:7
"For there are three that bear record in heaven, the
Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one."
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6. From what were the fowls created? .
From the waters
Gen.1:20-21
"And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly
the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the
earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales,
and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth
abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and
God saw that it was good."
From the ground.
Gen.2:19
"And out of the ground the LORD God formed every
beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto
Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every
living creature, that was the name thereof."
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7. May Adam eat from any tree?
Adam may eat from every tree.
Gen.1:29
"Behold, I have given your every herb bearing seed,
which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree ... to you it
shall be for meat."
There is one tree from which Adam may not eat.
Gen.2:17
"But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it."
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8. Did Adam die on the day he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil?
Adam will die on the day that he eats from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. .
Gen.2:17
"But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou
shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt
surely die."
Adam eats from the tree, yet lives another 930 years
Gen.3:6
"And when the woman saw that the tree was good for
food ... she took of the fruit therof, and did eat, and gave also unto
her husband with her; and he did eat."
Gen.5:5
"And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died."
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9. Does God have a body?
God has a body.
Gen.3:8
"And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day."
Ex.33:11
"And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend."
Ex.33:20
"And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live."
Ex.33:22
"And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth
by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee
with my hand while I pass by."
Ex.33:23
"And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen."
Ex.34:5
"And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there."
Dt.23:12-13
"And thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon; and
it shall be, when thou wilt ease thyself abroad, thou shalt dig
therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from thee:
For the LORD thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp...."
Ezek.1:27
"And saw ... the appearance of his loins even
upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward...."
Ezek.8:2
"Then I beheld, and lo a likeness as the appearance
of fire: from the appearance of his loins even downward, fire; and from
his loins even upward...."
Hab.3:3-4
"God ... had horns coming out of his hand."
God is a spiritual being that has no body.
Lk.24:39
"For a spirit hath not flesh and bones."
Jn.4:24
"God is a spirit."
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10. Does God know and see everything?
God sees and knows all things.
Ps.44:21
"For he knoweth the secrets of the heart."
Ps.139:7-8
"Whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend
up into heaven, thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou
art there."
Pr.15:3
"The eyes of the Lord are in every place."
Jer.16:17
"For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not
hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes."
Jer.23:24
"Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall
not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth?"
Acts 1:24
"Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men."
God neither sees nor knows all things.
Gen.3:8
"And Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord, amongst the trees of the garden."
Gen.4:14
"Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid."
Gen.4:16
"And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden."
Gen.11:5
"And the Lord came down to see the city and the town."
Gen.18:9
"And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent."
Gen.18:17
"And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?"
Gen.18:20-21
"And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and
Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous, I will go
down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry
of it, which is come unto me; and, if not, I will know."
Gen.22:12
"For now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me."
Num.22:9
"And God came unto Balaam, and said, What men are these with thee?"
Dt.8:2
"God led thee these forty years in the wilderness ... to know what what in thine heart."
Dt.13:3
"The Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God."
2 Chr:32:31
"God left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart."
Job 1:7, 2:2
"And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou?
Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, from going to and fro in the
earth, and from walking up and down in it."
Hos.8:4
"They have set up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I knew it not."
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Here endeth the first ten. Let me know what you think. Were you aware that such things existed?
I can keep these coming for weeks if you like, but you might prefer to
request something more specific. perhaps a particular book or two?
Please feel free to check the passages for yourself, as a believer I
would be disappointed if you did not. Also confer with whoever
you like. Others are also welcome to join the thread if you feel
you are swamped.
I'll try to send another email tomorrow.
I hope you give this serious consideration, remember this is the book upon which you are basing you
life and decisions.
Cheers,
Mike
bravenet.com