A different bible contradiction

[Wertbag]

I was following a debate online where a Christian asked, "What is the one best contradiction that you know of in the bible?"  I took it as a challenge, in that the Christian believed there are none, and whatever examples were raised they would point out how silly they were.  Some of the defences are the hand wave responses such as scribal errors, translation errors or that is from someone else's perspective.  

I've never delved deeply into contradiction arguments.  While some sound quite blatant, I've also seen some answers that sound reasonable too.  It makes it hard to confidently point to any particular passage, and of course if the person is not a bible literalist, then such issues make also not concern them (written by man but inspired by God, is a different result than a book that was God's direct word).

My answer would have probably been one of the two I came across when researching the resurrection; what was written on Jesus's cross and what were Jesus's last words?  There are multiple answers depending on which gospel you read, and for something important like a person's last words, getting those right should be important to the writers.

 

One answer given took me by surprise, as rather than a direct textual contradiction, it was an ideological contradiction.  Exodus 21:23-24 "And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe." which is a passage lauded by Christians as a great legal foundation, setting punishment to match the crime and some go as far as to claim such things were the foundation of Western society.  Now you may have already seen where this line of thinking leads...  straight to the punishments dealt out in the OT.  If the punishment should fit the crime, and that is the Just and Right thing, as it is God's word, then the stories of killing the man for the victimless crime of collecting sticks, killing the first born of Egypt for crimes of their parents, killing the man who tried to catch the falling Ark, killing the man who wouldn't impregnant his brother's widow, or the genocide of cities including killing the babies, is a direct contradiction of this God given foundation of justice.  Capital punishment could be justified for murderers, but doesn't match for any other crime, and yet is rife throughout the OT.

 

What do you think of this contradiction, and what would be your go to if you were asked for the first one that comes to mind?

[older]

Well the first contradiction that comes to mind is just what you have written. The commandment "Thou shalt not kill" has no footnotes. No exceptions noted. Yet there are uncounted Christians who support the death penalty. And I cannot find any justification for it in light of that commandment. 

[◊ Weezer ◊]

Definitely a contridiction, and an almost immediate and obvious contridiction by god himself was after him saying, "thou shall not kill", was turning around and telling the Israelites to slaughter the Caananites.

[older]

19 hours ago, Weezer said:

Definitely a contridiction, and an almost immediate and obvious contridiction by god himself was after him saying, "thou shall not kill", was turning around and telling the Israelites to slaughter the Caananites.

Being sure to include the women and children, but keeping the virgin girls for themselves. What would the Israelites want with a bunch of virgin girls?

[◊ Weezer ◊]

14 hours ago, older said:

 

 What would the Israelites want with a bunch of virgin girls?

 

I have absolutely no idea.    

[pantheory]

On 11/26/2022 at 10:07 AM, Weezer said:

I have absolutely no idea.    

"What would the Israelites want with a bunch of virgin girls?"

 

One can guess

[◊ Weezer ◊]

1 hour ago, pantheory said:

"What would the Israelites want with a bunch of virgin girls?"

 

One can guess

 

Duuuh.  To be house cleaners??

[alreadyGone]

I believe very strongly that there are in reality no contradictions, but rather only apparent paradoxes.

 

This belief was inspired in large part by the writings and philosophy of Ayn Rand (aka Alicia Rosenberg).

She famously wrote "There are no contradictions...  Whenever you encounter what seems to be a contradiction, examine your premises: you will find that one of them is wrong".

 

As I fell from Christian belief and began to examine the bible more critically, this advice helped me maintain some mental equilibrium in the worst of times.

If you think of it in terms of absolute reality, "there are no contradictions" is only logical.

 

Whether there is or is not a God, a supreme being responsible for creating all of existence, the bible is too wrought with contradiction to be taken seriously.

 

[pantheory]

21 hours ago, Weezer said:

 

Duuuh.  To be house cleaners??

 

House cleaners, never thought of that one -- clean house clean booty, makes sense.

[TruthFollower]

I just read something which stood out.....  

 

Exodus 20:21

 

Moses approached the thick darkness where God was

 

1 Timothy 6:16

 

who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.

 

Different gods perhaps?   

 

 

There's also another verse, I forget where, which describes Israel's elders seeing God.

 

 

I also listened to a Rabbi say that Christians had tagged the NT on to the Tanach which they renamed OT, much like Book of Mormon or other religious books.

 

 

 

 

[◊ Weezer ◊]

6 hours ago, TruthFollower said:

 

I also listened to a Rabbi say that Christians had tagged the NT on to the Tanach which they renamed OT, much like Book of Mormon or other religious books.

 

The Rabbi is correct.  And I am reading some material now that suggests a lot of the "Old Testament" was lifted, and revised, from even older Sumerian writings.  Many do not realize that most of the major concepts in the Bible are NOT completely original, Abrahamic, God given stuff, including the Tanach.  It is a complicated, inconsistant mess.  Iv'e been sifting through it off and on for decades, and am still finding new information.