Ahmed Bahsoon, here is the rebuttal to your post about the 50 contradictions in the Bible: 1) According to Biblical scholar Lawrence Richards, the Book of Luke gives the genealogy of Mary (who was also of the royal Davidic line), while Matthew traces the family of Joseph. Thus, by both His mother and His earthly father, Jesus had a right to the throne of Israel. Different, but not contradictory. 2) The angel appears to Mary in person in Luke and to Joseph in a dream in Matthew. These are not necessarily contradictory acts. 3) Matthew speaks to the fact that Jesus’ parents knew that Jesus would be the Savior;. Luke is about finding Him in the temple and the fact that Joseph and Mary are mystified by Jesus behavior. 4) The angel told both of them, Mary, before the conception, Joseph after the fact. 5) It is suggested that the genealogy of Matthew does not include every single ancestor, but mentions only certain important heads of families. A similar argument has been made with regards to the Patriarchs of Genesis 11. 6) The most common explanation is that Jacob and Heli were uterine brothers and that we have an example here of a Jewish levirate marriage. 7) Emmanuel was never understood to be a proper name. It is a prophetic title originating with the prophet Isaiah and denotes the Messiah as a manifestation of Gods presence among His people. 8) Herod did not order the slaughter of all males under 2 years old, but of all males in Bethlehem under two, and according to Scripture, John the Baptist was not from Bethlehem. The Temple ritual mentioned occurred on the eighth day after Christs birth. The flight to Egypt happened after this, possibly sometime after, which is why Herod commanded children under two to be killed. 9) Matthew mentions He was tempted at the end of the 40 day period; Mark is not specific when the temptation happened. It only says Jesus was in the desert 40 days and that He was tempted. Both are accurate, but one is more specific. 10) In neither Gospel does the language suggest any succession. It just states again, the devil took him to a high mountain...again, the devil took him to the pinnacle of the Temple. In neither case is a strict chronology asserted. 11) On this one, the temptation of Christ in the wilderness is contrasted with Jesus statement in John 14:30 that the prince of this world cometh, and he has nothing in me. The traditional understanding and interpretation of this latter clause is that he has no power over me, as is translated in the Vulgate. Aquinas notes that the devil only has power over those who commit sin, and as Christ was free from sin, the devil, strictly speaking, had no power over Christ: But he has no power over me, for he has no power over us except because of sin. 12) The baptism with fire is the baptism with the Holy Ghost, as fire is one of the symbols of the Holy Spirit. 13) Matthew 11 does not suggest that John knew nothing of Jesus at all, only that he was uncertain what the arrival of the Messiah was supposed to look like. John clearly had a revelation from God that Christ was the Messiah, but he was not sure what the coming of the Messiah would look like, and in his imprisonment may have questioned Jesus timing in inaugurating the kingdom. 14) Jesus began His ministry in Judea prior to Johns arrest (John 3:22-24) but did not begin in Galilee until after (Mark 1:13-14). 15) They both saw the Spirit descend. 16) In none of the Synoptic Gospels does it say to whom the voice was addressed; neither Jesus nor the crowds are mentioned one way or another. 17) Here there is too much emphasis on the word immediately in the Gospel of Mark. Jesus was in Cana three days after the Baptism, per the Gospel of John, but we have no way of knowing how soon He went into the desert. The Greek word, eutheos, simply means forthwith or soon thereafter, and the word is imprecise in Greek even as it is in English. 18) These verses all say the same thing; the confusion arises from confusing Bethphage and the Mount of Olives as distinct places. The villages are in such close proximity to one another, and both at the base of the mountain, that they are often referred to collectively. 19) Mark is a more condensed version of the events of Christs life. Christ was in Capernaum, many times, and the episode in the synagogue related in Luke 4 is not necessarily the same visit mentioned in Mark 1. Even if they were the same, Luke does not deny that any disciples were present, so there is no contradiction in the strict sense. 20) For one thing, Lake Gennesaret and the Sea of Galilee are the same body of water. The Synoptic accounts are not problematic; all of this group of disciples were fishermen of Galilee, we simply have a more expansive list of who was present in Lukes Gospel. 21) Peters ministry was to the Jews. The preaching to the Gentiles Peter relates in Acts 15:7 refers not to his specific ministry, but to the fact that God chose Peter to deliver the message that salvation was now open to the Gentiles. This revelation came through the mouth of Peter (Acts 10). 22) This is an example of confusing the order of narration in the Gospel for a strict chronology when none is intended. The Gospel accounts of Jesus miracles are, by and large, compilations of different episodes clustered together broadly as occurring in the same general vicinity and the same general time, but not necessarily in any particular order, save when the Gospel specifically mentions an order (e.g., that Jesus was touched by the woman with the issue of blood after He had spoken with Jairus). 23) See number 22. 24) The account in Luke does not deny James and John were there; it simply omits them. The fact that the calling of the disciples occurs in chapter 5 does not mean that it happened chronologically after the events in chapter 4. Besides, it is not established that Luke 5 was the first time James and John had ever been with Jesus; it merely recounts that they were there and that Jesus called them. 25) Thaddeus is Jude. That is why he is known in tradition as Jude Thaddeus. 26) See number 22. 27) The citation from Mark refers not to the people, but to the disciples, and it does not say that they were not impressed, but that they did not understand. 28) Capernaum is on Lake Gennesaret. To go to Capernaum is to go to Lake Gennesaret. 29) To confess that the Word of God has become incarnate in the flesh is different than to confess that Jesus is the Holy One of God; even Muslims confess the latter while denying the former, so these are two different confessions. 30) Jesus did not curse the fig tree so that it would not bear fruit; He found no fruit on it and therefore cursed it that it would never bear fruit again. But why did Jesus curse the fig tree if it was not the right season for figs? The answer to this question can be determined by studying the characteristics of fig trees. The fruit of the fig tree generally appears before the leaves, and, because the fruit is green it blends in with the leaves right up until it is almost ripe. Therefore, when Jesus and His disciples saw from a distance that the tree had leaves, they would have expected it to also have fruit on it even though it was earlier in the season than what would be normal for a fig tree to be bearing fruit. Furthermore, the prophets speak of the destruction of the fig tree as a metaphor for judgment upon Israel (Hosea 2:12; Isaiah 34:4), so this action had a prophetic significance relating to the rejection of Christ by the people of Israel and their subsequent judgment by God. 31) Matthew offers a more condensed account; in any case, the tree withering the next day would certainly qualify as immediate since the withering of a tree would normally take many weeks. 32) It is precisely because Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father that He is the perfect mediator. Jesus oneness with the Father in substance while preserving a personal distinction is not a contradiction - it is the doctrine that Christians call the Trinity, whereby God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one being, one substance but three distinct hypostases, persons. It is a mystery, not a contradiction; it goes beyond reason. 33) 1 John 5:7 does not say there are three gods but that there are three who bear witness. 34) While Jesus urges us to honor our parents, our duties to God are superior to those to our parents. We must obey and honor them, but if this obedience would stand in between a man and his duty to honor God, God must be honored above parents. The statement call no man father is not meant in a literal sense; it is a warning against those Jews who believe they are righteous in Gods sight because they claim Abraham as their ancestor. Christ warns that God will not be pleased with someone just because they are a son of Abraham. 35) Jesus is using hyperbole in the Sermon on the Mount, just as he does when He says pluck out your eyes or cut off your hands. He does not mean that you go to hell if you utter the words you fool; sometimes it is good to tell a person they are behaving foolishly, provided it is done in charity, as St. Paul does to the Corinthians. 36) The implication is that the angry person mentioned in the Sermon on the Mount is angered without just cause. 37) Whether we are answered or whether the door is opened depends upon the disposition with which we seek. In the former verses, Christ is speaking to the faithful, in the latter He is speaking to those whose commitment is lukewarm or who are lax in their obligations to God. 38) Matthew refers to the faithful not being judgmental and condemnatory towards other people, 1 John refers to the necessity of Christians understanding the difference between good and evil spirits, or what has been called discernment of spirits. 39) The first verse refers to the fact that the truths of the Gospel are incomprehensible to the prideful and those who are wise in their own sight; the latter refers to the fact that at the Last Judgment every secret, both the good and the bad, will be revealed. 40) The verses in Matthew and Luke are more specific explanations of what was summarized in Mark. The many signs given were given to those who believed; those who did not believe did not receive signs. 41) The moral teachings of the law are always valid always and everywhere, but the ceremonial aspect of the law passed away with the coming of the New Covenant. 42) Both Matthew and Luke agree that Jesus was on the mountain, except Luke mentions that Jesus came down and stood on a level place while He delivered His sermon; it does not say He was on a plain. Jesus had spent the night in prayer on the mountain (Luke 6:12); presumably when it was time to preach, He came down the mountain somewhat to find a level spot to speak from. 43) Presumably Jesus gave this instruction more than just one single occasion. 44) The house referred to in Mark 2:15 is the house of Levi the tax collector, not the house of Jesus. 45) It is a praiseworthy thing if good works are witnessed and men praise God because of them; good deeds done in public are condemned only when they are done to be seen by men (Matt. 6:1); i.e., for the purpose of winning the praise of men. 46) None of the passages suggest salvation is only for Jews; the passages from the Gospel note that the ministry of Jesus was confined to the Jews (Matthew) and that salvation would come from the Jews (John). The passage from Romans mentions all Israel will be saved and says nothing about salvation belonging exclusively to the Jews. God willed Christ to preach at first only to the House of Israel, but after the Ascension, through the message granted to Peter and the ministry of Paul, the message was to spread to the Gentiles. 47) The verse cited from Romans says, the gifts and the calling of God are without repentance, and refers not to the repentance by which man repents of his sins, but to the fact that God does not go back on the good gifts He gives. It is said with reference to God, not man. 48) Non-believers receive mercy by becoming believers and by accepting baptism, believe and be baptized (Acts 2:38). 49) This is the mystery of predestination, something that, like the Trinity, cannot be fully comprehended. The Scriptures and the Church both teach that, while nobody can be saved apart from God positively enabling it, God also has given every man true freedom to reach out to call upon the Lord. Free will and predestination do not cancel each other out. 50) The former refers to those who have truly come to Christ and given their lives over to Him. The latter refers to those who claim His name but do not truly seek Him. Those referred to in Matthew are basically non-believers who go through the motions of accepting Christianity but without actually doing so.
Posted on: Wed, 28 May 2014 14:26:29 +0000
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