Obviously this gives us much more material with which to delineate any variant verses which may exist. Because we are dealing with accounts which were written thousands of years ago, we would not expect to have the originals in our possession today, as they would have disintegrated long ago. Read 200 articles, questions, and answers about "contradictions" in the Bible. The problem is the question itself. 7. Fortunately we have a large file of documents in papyrus from these three sources to which we can refer. The other possibility is forwarded by the learned Old Testament scholar R.K. Harrison, who suggests that at any rate the figure of 42,000 may be metaphorical, following “...the pattern of the Exodus and similar traditions, where the large numbers were employed as symbols of the magnitude of God, and in this particular instance indicating the triumphant deliverance that God achieved for His captive people” (Harrison 1970:1142-1143). Here again, as we found in challenge number 2 and 4, the author of the Chronicles has been more specific with his numbering, whereas the author of Kings is simply rounding off the number of months, assuming that the additional ten days is not significant enough to mention. Answered Contradictions in the Bible. Genesis 7:2 says Noah was to bring in 7 pairs of ‘clean’ animals and 2 pairs of every kind of ‘unclean’ animal. Chronologically the sura should have begun with Adam’s fall, then moved to Cain and Abel, Enoch, Abraham, Lot, Isaac, Jacob and Esau, Joseph, the sons of Israel and Moses, in that order. ( Log Out /  Confirmation of this type of copyist error is found in various pagan writers as well. When you compare the two passages you will note that the wording is significantly different in 1 Chronicles 21 from that found in a 2 Samuel 24. By: Jay Smith, Alex Chowdhry, Toby Jepson, James Schaeffer. 3:15)”. The Bible is a big, complex and deeply misunderstood book written over a period of 1,500 years by up to 40 authors in three different languages. Leave a Reply Cancel reply. 101 Clear Contradictions In The Bible. ( Log Out /  They simply say that it was pairs of clean and unclean animals or birds and creatures which entered the ark. However, where for the present no convincing solution is at hand we shall significantly honor God by trusting His assurance that His Word is true, despite these appearances, and by maintaining our confidence that one day they will be seen to have been illusions. As it turned out, however, David opted for God’s third preference, and thereby received three days of severe pestilence, resulting in the deaths of 70,000 men in Israel. You Can Find his 101 supposed Contradictions at Osama’s Website here: 1.Who incited David to count the fighting men of Israel? (note: because numbers 16-21 deal with the same census, I have included them as one). An example of this is 2 Samuel 1:24, which states: ‘O daughters of Israel, weep for Saul…’ As this is approximately 900 years after Israel (also called Jacob) actually lived, it is clear that this refers to the Israelite women, his distant female descendants. 0000003119 00000 n All of these cities are south-west of Jerusalem. According to the author, did Baasha, the king of Israel die in the 26th year of king Asa’s reign (1 Kings 15:33), or was he still alive in the 36th year ( 2 Chronicles 16:1)? What Muslims must understand is that Christians have always maintained that the Word of God, the Bible, was indeed written by men, but that these men were always under the direct inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:20-21). Anyone who has planned a school-coach trip to the beach can understand how typical a scenario this really is. Charles Wesley summarizes this high view of inspiration brilliantly when he says, “The Bible must be the invention either of good men or angels, bad men or devils, or of God. ( Log Out /  Some may have fallen into disagreement, others may have discovered business reasons to delay their departure until later, whereas in some cases there were certainly some illnesses or death, and in other cases there may have been some last-minute recruits from those who first decided to remain in Babylon. The first is that this is most likely a copyist’s error. Ezra, on the other hand, uses the earlier list of those who originally announced their intention to join the caravan of returning colonists back in Babylon, in the 450s BC. (Archer 1982:188-189 and Light of Life II 1992:189-190). Answer: There is no contradiction here. We now know that much of the Old Testament was copied by hand for 3,000 years, while the New Testament was copied for another 1,400 years, in isolated communities in different lands and on different continents, yet they still remain basically unchanged. If indeed the originals were in contradiction, we would see evidence of this within the content of the stories themselves. In time, perhaps we will find a use for that organ as well. (Category: misunderstood the historical context). BIBLE CONTRADICTIONS ANSWERED -- Biblical Errors Mistakes Difficulties Discrepancies Countered Countering Bible Contradictions Originally By: Andrew Tong, Michael J. Bumbulis, MaryAnna White, Russ Smith, and others (1994-1995) Introduction A word about the contributors. Obviously if there had not been more than two of each of these clean species, they would have been rendered extinct by their being sacrificed on the altar. One concerned the spelling of proper names (especially unfamiliar foreign names), and the other had to do with numbers. For that reason it is essential that we maintain an ongoing textual criticism as a means of detecting any slips that may have crept into the text in the course of its transmission. 0000001301 00000 n This may offer us an idea as to why Muslims in general seem so fond of looking for, and apparently finding “contradictions” in the Bible – most of which are very easily explained by appealing to the context. Genesis 28:18-19 says before meeting Rachel, but Genesis 33:18 and 35:6-7 says just before Rachel dies. If this is the best that Zathras can do, he should go pick up a hundred year old book on higher criticism. Answers to Alleged 101 Contradictions in the Bible It is obvious that Shabbir Ally has misquoted the text in the 6th chapter of Genesis, which makes no mention of any ‘clean’ animals in its figure, while the 7th chapter specifically delineates between the clean and unclean animals. 101 contradictions in the bible answered pdf writer * Galoob Micro Machines Big 39s hairstyles with our. Joab’s report in 2 Samuel 24 uses the word ‘is hayil, which is translated as “mighty men”, or battle-seasoned troops, and refers to them numbering 800,000 veterans. / thousands of Errors And Contradictions In The Quran and Hadith It was towards the end of David’s reign, and David was looking back over his brilliant conquests, which had brought the Canaanite, Syrian, and Phoenician kingdoms into a state of vassalage and dependency on Israel. By: Jay Smith. Does He simply move the writers by challenging their heart to reach new heights, much like we find in the works of Shakespeare, Milton, Homer and Dickens, all of which are human literary masterpieces? This is not a proposition to which Christians can or should give assent. It is far less likely that the copyist would have mistakenly seen an extra ten stroke that was not present in his original then that he would have failed to observe one that had been smudged. A more likely scenario, however, is that this is yet another case of scribal error, evidenced commonly with numbers. 11. Why did Shabbir not mention the second half of this verse which stipulates 2 pairs in his challenge? The number of contradictions vary depending on whom you are talking to. Kairanvi’s Izhar-ul-Haq presents 119 numbered contradictions, while others such as Shabbir Ally have supposedly found 101 contradictions. The reason for this is that the Israelites moved the Ark of the covenant twice. 13. 23. A further system was introduced whereby the spelling out of the numbers in full was prescribed by the guild of so-perim. The two groups would therefore make up the 1,100,000 men in the 1 Chronicles 21 account which does not employ the Hebrew term ‘is hayil to describe them. The Bible speaks many times of its inspiration: In Luke 24:27,44; John 5:39; and Hebrews 10:7, Jesus says that what was written about him in the Old Testament would come to pass. And I will be dividing the Sections into Parts. In 2 Samuel 24:13 the question is “shell seven years of famine come to you?” In 1 Chronicles 21:12 we find an alternative imperative, “take for yourself either three years of famine…” From this we may reasonably conclude that 2 Samuel records the first approach of the prophet Gad to David, in which the alternative prospect was seven years; whereas the Chronicles account gives us the second and final approach of Nathan to the King, in which the Lord (doubtless in response to David’s earnest entreaty in private prayer) reduced the severity of that grim alternative to three years rather than an entire span of seven. Following this, we read about Moses and Jesus, then we read about Moses and the golden calf, and then about Solomon and Abraham. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life…”. Did the ' 101 Cleared-up Contradictions in the Bible ' meet the challenge? He had an attitude of pride and self-admiration for his achievements, and was thinking more in terms of armaments and troops than in terms of the mercies of God. If such a blatant chronological mix-up can be found in this sura of the Qur’an, then Shabbir would do well to explain it before criticizing what they deem to be an error in the Bible. This agrees completely with Joshua 15:63, which states that Judah could not dislodge the Jebusites in Jerusalem. Why? Apparent inconsistencies should not be ignored. But in the case of the unclean animals and birds, a single pair would suffice, since they would not be needed for blood sacrifice. For instance, a century ago there were about 100 parts of the body whose function were mysterious to doctors, and people would say “This is proof of evolution as these are left over parts which we don’t need anymore”. It is reasonable that there were an additional 300,000 men of military age kept in the reserves, but not yet involved in field combat. 101 "Contradictions" In The Bible by Matthew Elton. (Category: misunderstood the author’s intent, or copyist error). This aya says (referring to the Jews), “…who is more unjust than those who conceal the testimony they have from Allah…?” Yet, nowhere does this aya state that the Jews and Christians corrupted their scriptures. Does God use mechanical dictation, similar to that which we find claimed for the Qur’an, or does He use the writers own minds and experiences? One concerned the spelling of proper names, and the other had to do with numbers. If this is the recurring theme in both the Bible and the Qur’an, it is hardly likely that we would find a scripture with such a multiplicity of contradictions which Muslims claim are found in the Bible. This apparent contradiction rests on the understanding of the Hebrew word bat, equivalent to the English daughter. Once the prophet Samuel narrates David’s victory over the Philistines, he tells us about both times when the Ark was moved. It merely mentions that certain Jews have concealed “the testimony they have from Allah.” In other words the testimony is still there (thus the reason the afore-mentioned suras admonish Muslims to respect the former scriptures), though the adherents of that testimony have chosen to conceal it. In 1 Thessalonians 2:13, Paul when referring to that which he had written says, “…you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the Word of God…” Peter speaks of the inspiration of Paul’s writings in 2 Peter 3:15-16, where he maintains that, “…Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom that God gave him. This writer begins with two presuppositions (1) God exists (2) God reveals. So it was the kings, not their cities, who were captured. With the group as large as the 3,300, sickness and death certainly did occur, requiring reserves who would be called up as the need arose. It should be noted that Shabbir (in his debate on 25th February 1998 against Jay Smith in Birmingham, UK) quoted this “contradiction” and added to it saying that if the bath had a diameter of 10 cubits it cannot possibly have had a circumference of 30 cubits as the text says (since ‘pi’ dictates that it would have a circumference of 31.416 or a 9.549 diameter). See how many of yours are in this list. There is little narration, and passages interject other passages with themes which have no connection. We sent him the Gospel… Let the people of the Gospel judge by what Allah hath revealed therein, if any do fail to judge by the light of what Allah hath revealed, they are (no better than) those who rebel…” Again, in Sura Ma-ida 5:68 we find a similar call: “People of the Book!…Stand fast by the law, the Gospel, and all revelation that hath come to you from YOUR LORD. the differing stories of Abraham and the idols found in Suras 21:51-59 and 6:74-83; 19:41-49). In the New International Version (NIV) of the Bible, the corrections have been included in the texts. There are some Muslims, however, who contend that according to sura 2:140 the Jews and Christians had corrupted their scriptures. Some are real questions; however, positive and biblical answers are possible for all. Ahaziah is said to have been 22 in 2 Kings 8:26; while in 2 Chronicles 22:2 Ahaziah is said to have been 42. In both cases the timing of events is the same. (Category: copyist error, or misunderstood the historical context). In that count how many fighting men were found in Israel? Therefore, through these rebuttals we are doing what Shabbir has asked, spreading the truth! ESSA: 101 Clear Contradictions In The Bible 101 Answers to Alleged Bible Contradictions. How many fighting men were found in Judah? Even if we were to disregard the historical problems for early Qur’ans, a further problem concerns the numerous Muslim traditions which speak of the many differing copies of Qur’anic codices which were prevalent during the collating of the Uthmanic recension of the Qur’an in the mid-seventh century, and that the conflicting copies were all destroyed, so that we cannot know today whether the Qur’an in our possession was even similar to that which was first revealed. Joshua 10:28-42 records the rest of this particular military campaign. If ye realize this not, Ask of those who possess the message.”, Finally, in Sura Ankabut 29:46 Muslims are asked not to question the authority of the scriptures of the Christians, saying, “And dispute ye not with the people of the book but say: We believe in the revelation which has come down to us and that which came down to you.”. The principle of non-contradiction has been elevated to the status of an absolute criterion, capable of being applied by human beings in judging the authenticity of God’s word. The age of 8 is unusually young to assume governmental leadership. You can use them to display text, links, images, HTML, or a combination of these. 22. To this extent, at least, the Holy Spirit has exercised a restraining influence in superintending the transmission of the text. 101 Contradictions In The Bible. 0000002319 00000 n Satan’s motive in all these examples, including the census by David was driven by malicious intent, while the Lord in all these cases showed an entirely different motive. I will be making a Refutation to Shabir Ally’s 101 Contradictions in the Bible. This consisted of a horizontal stroke ending in a downward hook at its right end to represent the numbers in tens (thus two horizontal strokes one above the other would be 20). (Archer 1982:229-230 and Light of Life II 1992:219-220). Both God and Satan allowed Jesus the three temptations during his ministry on earth. Contradiction #2 In that count how many fighting men were found in Israel? This, however, in no way negates the authenticity nor the authority of the scriptures which we have. In that count how many fighting men were found in Israel? It required only a smudge from excessive wear on this scroll-column to result in making the yod look like a lamed. Today many older manuscripts have been found which we can use to corroborate those earlier manuscripts. They maintain that the word for chariotry (rekeb) was inadvertently omitted by the scribe in copying 2 Samuel 8:4, and that the second figure, 7,000 (for the parasim “cavalrymen”), was necessarily reduced to 700 from the 7,000 he saw in his Vorlage for the simple reason that no one would write 7,000 after he had written 1,000 in the recording the one and the same figure. In order to respond to this challenge it is important that we begin by recognizing and understanding clearly the presupposition and thinking that underlies such a challenge. Bible Baptist Church, Ballincollig Bible Baptist Church, Mallow www.biblebc.com biblebc@gmail.com : Associated Articles. 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