Ten Principles When Considering Alleged Bible Contradictions

from Cold Case Christianity

As a detective, I’ve learned to accept the variation I see between eyewitness accounts. I’ve interviewed witnesses of crimes (occurring just hours earlier), only to find what appeared to be significant “contradictions” between the accounts. It’s my job, as the investigator, to determine why the eyewitnesses appear to contradict one another, even though there is no doubt the event occurred and the witnesses were telling the truth. There are times when similar variations (or alleged “contradictions”) are observed in the Biblical accounts. It’s our job, as Christian Case Makers, to apply a few simple investigative principles to determine whether or not these differences impact the reliability of the accounts. I want to offer a few investigative principles and filters for investigating these alleged Bible contradictions. These principles are not outrageous or unusual. They’re not specific to the Bible. They’re not Christian tricks or devices used to cover up inadequacies. They are straightforward tools and approaches useful when examining any ancient document or piece of evidence. If we objectively examine the Scriptures with these principles in mind, we’ll not only grow in our understanding of the Bible, but we’ll better comprehend and resolve the difficulties:

Principle #1: Begin With A Fair Attitude
Imagine you’re driving down the street and you come to a stop sign. You don’t assume the sign is wrong. Even if you don’t see opposing traffic or you don’t understand the reason for the sign being at that particular corner, you still stop for the sign. Even if no other car shows up at the intersection, you don’t simply blow through the sign. You give the sign the benefit of the doubt. In essence, you don’t assume a street sign is wrong until proven right. When you begin to read the Bible and examine what it says, it’s important to start off with a fair attitude. You don’t need to treat it as something unquestionable and beyond examination, but you do need to afford it at least as much consideration as you would afford a street sign, a box of macaroni or a friend. Before you jump up and call it a liar, take a second to examine what it says fairly.

The Example of Biblical Genealogies 
As an example, let’s examine Biblical genealogies. Some have tried to use the Biblical genealogical lists with a particular attitude about why God included the lists in the first place. Were they given to us to determine the chronological dating of the account or were they given to establish the rich heritage of the readers and their connection to God’s covenant? Our attitude will determine how we read the text. If they were written to provide dating information, we might determine the age of the earth, for example, by examining the genealogies in Genesis Chapter 5 and 10 and the lifespans offered by the text related to people in the genealogical lists. If this is the purpose of the lists, we would expect them to provide us with the proper, accurate genealogical sequences necessary to accomplish their goal. But what if our attitude about the purpose of the genealogies is wrong? Upon closer investigation, it’s clear Biblical genealogies are not as comprehensive as some would like to think they are. Biblical genealogies contain gaps. When someone is said to be a “father” of someone else, it often simply means he is an “ancestor”. In a similar way, when someone is said to be a “son” of someone else, it often simply means he is a “descendant”. This is why Jesus is called the “Son of David” when He is actually a distant descendant. This can also be seen in Matthew 1:8, where the Scripture says Jehoram is the father of Uzziah. If we look at 1 Chronicles 3:11-12, we can see three generations actually separate Jehoram from Uzziah. Clearly the word “father” is used to indicate “ancestor”. In addition to this, if we compare Genesis 10:24 to Luke 3:36, we discover Cainan has been omitted from the Genesis genealogy. There are undoubtedly other gaps as well, as the list of names is meant to paint the genealogy broadly without concern for chronological precision. It was God’s desire for us to understand the genealogical roots of our heritage, not the precise chronological age of the text or the planet on which we live.

Read the others at: http://coldcasechristianity.com/2014/ten-principles-when-considering-alleged-bible-contradictions/#sthash.QINm5cRX.dpuf