About Me

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I am a born-again Christian, who is Reformed, but also charismatic, spiritually speaking. (I do not speak in tongues, but I believe glossalalia is a bona fide gift not given to all, and not as great as prophecy, for example.) I have several years of college education but only completed a two-year degree. I was raised Lutheran and confirmed, but I didn't "find Christ" until I was in the Army and responded to a Billy Graham crusade in 1973. I was mentored or discipled by the Navigators in the army and upon discharge joined several evangelical, Bible-teaching churches. I was baptized as an infant, but believe in believer baptism, of which I was a partaker after my conversion experience. I believe in the "5 Onlys" of the reformation: sola fide (faith alone); sola Scriptura (Scripture alone); soli Christo (Christ alone), sola gratia (grace alone), and soli Deo gloria (to God alone be the glory). I affirm TULIP as defended in the Reformation.. I affirm most of The Westminster Confession of Faith, especially pertaining to Providence.
Showing posts with label contradictions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label contradictions. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 25, 2020

How Do I Deal With "Contradictions" In The Bible?

 I don’t believe in them; this is not a state of denial, I just haven’t been exposed to any that I cannot resolve or scholars haven’t explained. I admit there are many difficult passages and hard sayings but they have been resolved if one knows the right source to seek for answers and doesn’t rely on the so-called secular experts.

My faith isn’t shaken because I don’t know all the answers and even doubt and questions can coexist with faith. Faith isn’t knowing everything but putting what you do believe into action and practicing the Bible, not just believing it. Faith is defined as doing something and trusting in what you have good reason to believe.

Most people who think there are contradictions in the Bible haven’t read it and don’t even know what its main message is. It doesn’t contradict itself, but really contradicts them. If there was perfect agreement, one could suspect collusion. I have read the Bible all my life and yet to be convinced of a real contradiction and if I saw one I probably wouldn’t lose my faith but just admit I don’t know everything and would suspend judgment until it could be answered by some scholar or biblicist I trust.

Many so-called contradictions are not that at all but just different ways of looking at the same facts or event such as when they harmonize the gospel resurrection accounts to show they don’t contradict after all. I recommend two scholarly volumes: Archer Gleason’s Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties and John W. Haley’s Alleged Discrepancies of the Bible.


In sum, most people who disbelieve the Bible for so-called contradictions, or parts that offend him, aren’t as much not believing in the Bible as believing in themselves!   Soli Deo Gloria!