Biblical errors.

[Elijah John]

someone recently said:

there are no biblical errors

For debate, perhaps we can list a few. And having done so, will the supporters of the quoted statement above revise the statement? Will they admit that the Bible is, in fact, not perfect?

Or will they maintain their claim of Biblical perfection in spite of evidence to the contrary?

I'll start with a few general assertions to the contrary,

a) The Bible has internal contradictions, some important, some minor.
b) The Bible sometimes contradicts what we know about science.

And finally, if the Bible is less than perfect, does that mean it is useless as a source of life-guidance or as a source of Spiritual inspiration?

Or to put it another way, why defend the supposed perfection of the Bible in light of contrary evidence?

[1213]

a) The Bible has internal contradictions, some important, some minor.
b) The Bible sometimes contradicts what we know about science.

I would like to see real examples of a and b cases.

[ttruscott]

Consider that the Bible as the word of GOD says exactly what HE wants it to say and is perfect, that is complete, for HIS purpose to bring HIS sinful elect to redemption and those condemned already to the Great White Throne.

In the same way HE looked at a world full of fallen angels, two sinful humans and a serpent with evil on his mind yet calls it all 'very good.'

[benchwarmer]

a) The Bible has internal contradictions, some important, some minor.
b) The Bible sometimes contradicts what we know about science.

I would like to see real examples of a and b cases.

a) Two differing creation stories.
b) The earth is spherical.

I'm sure you folks know your bible well enough to know which passages I'm referring to (they've been mentioned multiple times recently in other threads).

[Cephus]

[Replying to post 3 by ttruscott]

Why would anyone in their right mind assert that the Bible is the word of some god when it hasn't been demonstrated to be such, any more than any other holy book is the word of some other imaginary deity. You're just making claims, you're not stating demonstrable fact.

[Wootah]

a) The Bible has internal contradictions, some important, some minor.
b) The Bible sometimes contradicts what we know about science.

I would like to see real examples of a and b cases.

a) Two differing creation stories.
b) The earth is spherical.

I'm sure you folks know your bible well enough to know which passages I'm referring to (they've been mentioned multiple times recently in other threads).

I've researched that and they're fine. Just google and answers are there. What else? I doubt even you consider them as strong arguments?

[hoghead1]

[Replying to post 6 by Wootah]

I don't know what specific sources you have googled. I do know that are many online sites run by self-appointed apologists who really aren't qualified and generally don't know what they are talking about, giving all sorts of bogus arguments that may appeal to some uninformed laity, but don't cut it in serious biblical scholarship one bit. The fact of the matter is that modern biblical scholarship has well documented at least 100 major contradictions in Scripture. No question about it. one immediate example that comes to mind is 2 Sam. 21:19, which, in the original Hebrew states that Elhanan killed Goliath. Some translations gloss this contradiction, writing in "bother of" before Goliath. But the original Hebrew has no "brother of." Best guess is that it is a scribal error, which itself shoots down the inerrancy theory of Scripture. However, it could also be that David has his scribes spin-doctor accounts, writing a puff piece about himself, and that in 2 Sam. 21:19 the truth broke freer. Now, there are all sorts of online sites that will try and sweep all this away, with all sorts of ridiculous arguments about their being two Goliaths or that Elhanan is really David's name, etc., but that all proves out to be bogus, believe me. Another example would be the contradictory creation accounts found in Genesis. In Gen. 1, first animals, then man and woman together., In gen. 2, first man, then animals, then woman. these accounts are in two very different literary styles and probably came from two very different scribes at different periods in history, reflecting two different POV's butt edited together by the redactors. Now, again, you can find all sorts of online sites that will dance you all over with this one. But forget it. All bogus solutions. I can go more into detail if you want.

[Zzyzx]

.

Consider that the Bible as the word of GOD . . .

In the same way HE looked at a world full of fallen angels . . .

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[ttruscott]

[Replying to post 3 by ttruscott]

Why would anyone in their right mind assert that the Bible is the word of some god when it hasn't been demonstrated to be such, any more than any other holy book is the word of some other imaginary deity. You're just making claims, you're not stating demonstrable fact.

YES I make claims I can't prove but I believe in dialectical conversation as being more useful than debate stifled by the rules of debate which are so obviously weighted in favour of secular materialism - which are also ignored by the secular side who make claims about GOD which can't be proven.

I have experienced the GOD who wrote the bible and I'm faithful in relaying what He told me it meant to HIM. If HE is false GOD, so be it.

And I don't care if this is not demonstrable to you - I live by faith, not by sight/proof. Now if you want to demonstrate that the Bible is not the word of GOD then I will listen but your unwillingness to demonstrate this is not meaningful to me except as a debate tactic.

[bjs]

[Replying to Elijah John]

In my experience, this is an area where people tend to see what they want to see. Some people refuse to entertain the notion that there could be a contradiction within the Christian scriptures. Others are so desperate in their opposition to Christianity that they will cling the slightest glimmer of inconsistency, even if they would never see it that way in any other writing.

I do not think that anyone is immune to bias in this area. For my own part, I admit my bias is against contradictions being in the scriptures.

I do not think that the Bible ever contradicts science, unless we say that miracles are contradicting science or that every word must be viewed as precisely literal. Such cases involve the individual misusing the Bible to fit their ends and cannot rightly be considered a weakness of the Bible itself. Since the Bible makes no attempt to be a science textbook, and was written before the modern concept of science existed, this issue does not come into play often.

I understand that there are a few internal discrepancies between the accounts in 1 & 2 Kings and the accounts in 1 & 2 Chronicles. They are on such minor details that it is hard for me to work up any strong response to them. I just don’t care in what year of Asa’s reign it was that Baasha died. It does not change anything meaningful about the text, flow of the story, or my understanding of God. If this is what destroys someone’s faith in God then I would suggest that they never had a faith that was worth destroying to begin with.