Biblical Contradictions

After much consideration, I decided to make this thread. I have heard many a time "The Bible's full of contradictions!!!" When it comes to actually backing it up with examples, the excitement of the accuser usually fades.

I would like for people to find believed contradictions in the Bible and place them here. They can be contradictions within the Bible itself, historical, or scientific. (As a general rule - nothing about Evolution. We have had discussions before and will have them in the future. This thread is not the place for it.)

I, and perhaps other Bible-innerancy believing people, will try to address the comments as best as possible. I know I can't answer everything, but I will try to find out what I can. Understand that some things can't be proven either way, and if it's obvious that your claim cannot be verified, then don't post it here. (Such as trying to convince me that a people mentioned in the Bible never existed because we haven't found archaeological evidence. Though we may not have found evidence of their existence, it doesn't mean that they weren't real.)

I hope I have made things as clear as I wanted to, so get researching!

We could also talk about the accuracy of the Bible, there are many who will not accept the bible as a proper historical source yet there is no other anceint document with such detail and such perfect tranlation thoughout the many generations it has been translated over and over.

PSA 145:9 The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.

JER 13:14 And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together, saith the LORD: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them.
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LEV 11:13 And these are they which ye shall have in abomination among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray,
LEV 11:14 And the vulture, and the kite after his kind;
LEV 11:15 Every raven after his kind;
LEV 11:16 And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind,
LEV 11:17 And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl,
LEV 11:18 And the swan, and the pelican, and the gier eagle,
LEV 11:19 And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.

DEU 14:11 Of all clean birds ye shall eat.
DEU 14:12 But these are they of which ye shall not eat: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray,
DEU 14:13 And the glede, and the kite, and the vulture after his kind,
DEU 14:14 And every raven after his kind,
DEU 14:15 And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind,
DEU 14:16 The little owl, and the great owl, and the swan,
DEU 14:17 And the pelican, and the gier eagle, and the cormorant,
DEU 14:18 And the stork, and the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.
(Ok, so it's not really a contradiction, but I'd like to point out that bats aren't fowls, which leads me to question the intelligence of those that wrote the bible...)
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LEV 11:21 Yet these may ye eat of every flying creeping thing that goeth upon all four, which have legs above their feet, to leap withal upon the earth;
LEV 11:22 Even these of them ye may eat; the locust after his kind, and the bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the grasshopper after his kind.
LEV 11:23 But all other flying creeping things, which have four feet, shall be an abomination unto you.
(Same conclusion, different reason... I don't know many insects that have 4 feet.
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GEN 1:20 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.
GEN 1:21 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.

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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Matt.27:46,50: "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, eli, lama sabachthani?" that is to say, "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."
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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)
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"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)
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GAL 6:2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

GAL 6:5 For every man shall bear his own burden.
(I guess, theoretically, they could have clarified that Man bears his own burden AND the burden of anothers. I dunno... besides that, I thought that Christ was all about bearing the burden of everybody so we don't have to. Ah, the convenience of Christianity!)
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SA2 6:23 Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death.

SA2 21:8 But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bare unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite:

I dunno. There are also things like how God made things in days before he made the sun, so there wouldn't have even BEEN days, then. Also, it seems like He makes a lot of corrections for a guy that's so infallible. I mean, shouldn't he have anticipated Adam getting lonely? Also, if God is so perfect, and we're created in His image, then why are we so "sinful?"

I don't accept the bible... it's just a freakin' story. Also, there are plenty of ancient documents written with a lot of detail, you probably just aren't familiar with them (granted, neither am I, but I was only barely able to drag myself through the bible.)

As far as it being translated "perfectly" throughout generations... well, have you ever heard of a game called "telephone?"

This post brought to you by www.infidels.org.

Originally Posted by Wonko

I dunno. There are also things like how God made things in days before he made the sun, so there wouldn't have even BEEN days, then.

But there was light and there was darkness, hence day and night.

Originally Posted by Wonko

Also, it seems like He makes a lot of corrections for a guy that's so infallible. I mean, shouldn't he have anticipated Adam getting lonely? Also, if God is so perfect, and we're created in His image, then why are we so "sinful?"

In his image does not mean exactly the same, otherwise we ould all be God. An artest can make a painting of himself in his image but the painting would not be him.

Originally Posted by Wonko

I don't accept the bible... it's just a freakin' story. Also, there are plenty of ancient documents written with a lot of detail, you probably just aren't familiar with them (granted, neither am I, but I was only barely able to drag myself through the bible.)

There are lots of other ancient documents written with just as much accuracy and detail? And these are things that neither I nor you have heard about? Then how do you make these claims?

Originally Posted by Wonko

As far as it being translated "perfectly" throughout generations... well, have you ever heard of a game called "telephone?"

Have you ever heard of a thing called the dead sea scrolls? Copys of the earlyest evrsions of the Bible were found and compared to with todays Bible and nothing has been lost in two thousand years of translation, I don't know about you but I think thats a freaking amazing game of "telephone".

Originally Posted by ChrisHoulihan

There are lots of other ancient documents written with just as much accuracy and detail? And these are things that neither I nor you have heard about? Then how do you make these claims?

"Memphite Drama" (3000 BC, Egypt)
"The Flood" (Sumer, 25XX BC)
"Maxims of Ptahhotep" (25XX BC, Egypt)
"Song of the Harp Player" (2100 BC, Egypt)
"Dialogue of a Misanthrope and his Soul" (20XX BC, Egypt)
"The Admonitions" (18XX BC, Egypt)
"The Shipwrecked Sailor" (1990 BC, Egypt)
"The Adventures of Sinuhe" (1875 BC, Egypt)
"The Plea of the Eloquent Peasant" (1875 BC, Egypt)
"Abydos Passion Play" (1849 BC, Egypt)
"The Disappeared God" (Hittite, 16XX BC)
"Kumarbi-ullikummi" (Hittite, 16XX BC)
"The Dragon Illujanka" (Hittite, 16XX BC)
"Book Of The Dead" (15XX BC, Egypt)
"Rig-Veda" (1500 BC, India)
"Tale of Aghat" (14XX BC, Ugarit)
"Baal & Anat" (Ugarit, 14XX BC)
Amenemope (Egypt, 13XX BC)
"Gilgamesh" (12XX BC, Babylon)
"Enuma Elish" (Babylon, 11XX BC)
"Atrakhasis" (Babylon, 10XX BC)
"Iliad" (9XX BC, Greece)
"Odyssey" (85X BC, Greece)
"Ramayana" (100 BC, India)
"Avesta" (50 BC, Persia)

^all B.C. by the way.

Originally Posted by Wonko

PSA 145:9 The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.

Psalm 145 was written by King David and by definition is a song of praise. If he writes "The LORD is good to all", it's his personal opinion.

Originally Posted by Wonko

JER 13:14 And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together, saith the LORD: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them.

If you read a little back, you'll see that He will destroy them IF they do not listen to His word and continue to worship false gods. Namely, Baal.

JER 12:16-17

And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, The LORD liveth; as they taught my people to swear by Baal; then shall they be built in the midst of my people.

But if they will not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation, saith the LORD.

There was a thread about this a few months ago: Biblical contradictions...

It has a page with these contradictions in it. That there are contradictions is logical: Multiple writers + multiple translations + hundreds of years. It would be a wonder if the book was flawless.

Originally Posted by Strain

If you read a little back, you'll see that He will destroy them IF they do not listen to His word and continue to worship false gods. Namely, Baal.

Oh, thats fair. Since they have "false" gods lets destroy them if they wont listen to us, who have the "true" religion. No problems with destroying older relgions, none at all.

And sure, the bible does contain some intresting historical information, but in my opinion, it is not a book we should listen to. I mean, seriusly, it contains the thoughts of men 2000 YEARS ago, not wierd some of it is saying that women are bad(from the old bible but, well well)

Sorry for going a bit of topic(if I did)

Originally Posted by Anarand

Oh, thats fair. Since they have "false" gods lets destroy them if they wont listen to us, who have the "true" religion. No problems with destroying older relgions, none at all.

Considering that acccording to the book, God is the only real God anyway, there should be no problem with Him destroying the fake ones. Sorry if the bible isn't politically correct, but it wasn't meant to be.

The Bible was not written for animals, unless I'm mistaken. Why, then, Wonko, did you assume that God's promise to humankind extended to animals, as well?

Matt.27:46,50: "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, eli, lama sabachthani?" that is to say, "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."

These are not really contradictions. The omission of some of His statements simply exemplifies points of emphasis as far as His last words before His death. Each of the Gospels is known for placing emphasis on different points or aspects of Jesus's life.

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)

We do not know what God means when He says, "No man can see me and live." He could mean to see Him in His entirety for all we know. That is the assumption I hold. If my assumption is correct, then Moses could have beheld "part" of God, and not the whole, and still lived to tell the tale. "See my face" in the context in which it is used in the Exodus passage could mean a number of things outside the literal.

Originally Posted by 8bit

"Memphite Drama" (3000 BC, Egypt)
"The Flood" (Sumer, 25XX BC)
"Maxims of Ptahhotep" (25XX BC, Egypt)
"Song of the Harp Player" (2100 BC, Egypt)
"Dialogue of a Misanthrope and his Soul" (20XX BC, Egypt)
"The Admonitions" (18XX BC, Egypt)
"The Shipwrecked Sailor" (1990 BC, Egypt)
"The Adventures of Sinuhe" (1875 BC, Egypt)
"The Plea of the Eloquent Peasant" (1875 BC, Egypt)
"Abydos Passion Play" (1849 BC, Egypt)
"The Disappeared God" (Hittite, 16XX BC)
"Kumarbi-ullikummi" (Hittite, 16XX BC)
"The Dragon Illujanka" (Hittite, 16XX BC)
"Book Of The Dead" (15XX BC, Egypt)
"Rig-Veda" (1500 BC, India)
"Tale of Aghat" (14XX BC, Ugarit)
"Baal & Anat" (Ugarit, 14XX BC)
Amenemope (Egypt, 13XX BC)
"Gilgamesh" (12XX BC, Babylon)
"Enuma Elish" (Babylon, 11XX BC)
"Atrakhasis" (Babylon, 10XX BC)
"Iliad" (9XX BC, Greece)
"Odyssey" (85X BC, Greece)
"Ramayana" (100 BC, India)
"Avesta" (50 BC, Persia)

^all B.C. by the way.

Your point is? Givng a list of documents still doesn't proove their historical accuracy or detail.

Also BCE is the proper term not BC

Originally Posted by ChrisHoulihan

Your point is? Givng a list of documents still doesn't proove their historical accuracy or detail.

Also BCE is the proper term not BC

No but atleast we accept that there is a lot of fantasy and myth in it, why not with the bible?

And why is the whole world using BC than? Wiseman?

The Sea scrolls, yes very interesting. Did you know that:

The Scrolls are for the most part, written in Hebrew, but there are many written in Aramaic. And they used the Bible to translate some words hmmm....

The scrolls contain previously unknown stories about biblical figures such as Enoch, Abraham, and Noah. The story of Abraham includes an explanation why God asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac.

In the Scrolls are found never before seen psalms attributed to King David and Joshua.

The last words of Joseph, Judah, Levi, Naphtali, and Amram (the father of Moses) are written down in the Scrolls.

About 40% of the Scrolls, mostly fragments from Cave 4, remained unpublished.

So they didn't know the language, there were loads of new stories and 40% has been unpublished.

1: Seems that during 'telephone' a lot went missing
2: (Conspiracy theory allert!) What do they have to hide by not publishing 40%! Seems like a lot to me.

Originally Posted by ChrisHoulihan

Your point is? Givng a list of documents still doesn't proove their historical accuracy or detail.

Also BCE is the proper term not BC

Lack of detail? Really? Do you know how long the Illiad is, just to give you an example? No? 24 books. Much longer than any one book of the bible. (And being that each book of the Bible was actually written at different times by different people it is only fair to compare it to one book at a time.)

Also (if possible) can we use the King James Version? I (you may not) belive that is the only Bible we should use, because its a direct translation from the Hewbrew and Greek language (wich is now dead, at least Greek is that I know of, and I may be wrong) with only little words added (and the he etc...). So far I do not see anything that I can answer, so I will wait. Also, keep in mind im a 15 year old, and Im still learning, so I may be unable to answer some of your questions, but I will try to help.