Write to Life blog

Here’s the link to this article by Merle Hertzler.

As we have seen, parts of our Bibles are probably mistaken. But what about the original source? I was taught to believe that holy men of God wrote down the Bible as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. Is this what happened? Is the Bible in its essence the words of God?

Now this is a rather extraordinary claim–that a mere book represents the words of God. We should expect that some would be skeptical about that claim, yes? After all, you yourself are probably skeptical of the claim that the Quran or the Book of Mormon is the word of God. You demand more than a simple assertion. You would like some real evidence. Very well then. It also seems to me that, if one wants people to believe the Bible is God’s inspired word, one needs to have a good reason why we should believe it.

Why Believe in Inspiration?

So why should we believe that the Bible is God’s Word? II Timothy 3:16 comes to mind: “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;” So here we have a claim. But a claim is not proof.

I think that II Timothy 3:16 does not count as significant evidence that the Bible is God’s word. First, we don’t know what books the author is referring to as scripture. He does not tell us. What do you think he refers to? The 66 books of the Protestant Bible? What makes you think he means those books? Unless he defines what he is talking about, how can we know what books he thinks are inspired?

Second, the passage has alternate translations. It could mean, “All scripture that is inspired of God is profitable.” In other words, it could simply mean that God has had a hand in certain books, and that they are worth reading. It may not even be claiming verbal inspiration or that the books are more inspired than other inspiring reading that you might find.

And finally, the author may be mistaken. After all, we don’t even know who wrote this book.

Oh yes, many will tell me that Paul wrote II Timothy. But could someone else have written it? After all, it was a common practice in those days to write a book and claim that some famous person had written it. The books could have been falsely attributed to Paul.

The vocabulary of these books does not match the rest of Paul’s writings, but rather, is similar to second century writings.[1] This book is never mentioned by the early church fathers, even though other books of Paul are frequently referenced. It appears that this book had not even been written until years after Paul. If you think Paul wrote it, why?

Even if you could show that Paul wrote it, we could argue that he could have been mistaken when he wrote this. Paul, after all, was human, and humans are sometimes mistaken.

Can you understand why many do not think that quoting this verse proves that the 66 books in your Bible are inspired?

The odd thing to me is that no book of the New Testament specifically claims to be inspired (with the possible exception of Revelation.)

Let’s look at one example. In Romans 1 we read, “Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God… to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints.” Now, according to Evangelical thinking, this book is not just expressing Paul’s thoughts. It is expressing the very thoughts of God. But where does the book say this?

Imagine that you were in the church of Rome and you received this personal letter from Paul. You would, of course, be thrilled to have a lengthy letter from this leader of your faith. But would you consider this letter to be the writings of God? You read right there that Paul wrote it. Nowhere does it say that God wrote it. Nowhere does Romans claim that Paul was merely the vehicle that God used to express his thoughts. And we have no record that the recipients thought this book was written by God.

Now look at the end of the book: In Rom 16:22 it says, “I Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord.”

Okay, so perhaps Paul didn’t do the writing, but he dictated it to a scribe. Imagine the chain of command–God told Paul what to write, Paul told Tertius, and Tertius wrote it down. Isn’t it possible that something was lost in transmission?

And how did Romans 16:22 get there? Was Paul dictating these words–“And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you… I Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord.” Can you imagine what Tertius would have said if he was taking dictation and Paul had said “I Tertius”? It’s just not natural. So, most likely Tertius wrote this verse on his own.

Did God switch modes, so that he was now inspiring Tertius instead of Paul? If so, why didn’t God just inspire Tertius in the first place, and leave Paul out of the loop? Or did Tertius just inject this verse on his own? If so, how many other verses did Tertius insert?

Regardless, we find that Paul takes credit for the book, and Tertius steps in and takes credit for his contribution, but somehow, they didn’t think it was important to mention that God was the author. Why would the book give credit to the channel (Paul) and the scribe (Tertius) and fail to mention the author (God)? How odd. If God wrote this, wouldn’t he have taken the credit?

Thus saith the Lord

Oh, but people will tell me that the Old Testament prophets often wrote, “Thus saith the Lord.” Does this prove that those verses are quotes from God? I think not. How would we know that the prophets were not just pretending that God said those things? Many prophets were doing that. You can read about them in Jeremiah 23. Jeremiah writes,

16 Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are leading you into futility; They speak a vision of their own imagination, Not from the mouth of the LORD… 21″I did not send these prophets, But they ran. I did not speak to them, But they prophesied. (Jer 23:16,21)

These prophets said, “Thus saith the Lord,” but Jeremiah says that they were lying. What do you think these other prophets said about Jeremiah? That’s right. They probably said that the Lord told them Jeremiah was lying. So, who was right? Can you see that merely claiming that God says something does not prove that the writer is correct?

To convince a skeptic that he is wrong, you will need to do more than state that you are right, and he is wrong. You will need evidence. What evidence do you have that the Bible is inspired? Many Christians have proposed evidence, including claimed prophetic fulfillment, miraculous biblical unity, and the Bible’s life-changing power. Do these things prove that the book is inspired? We are here to ask questions. Let’s ask.

Prophecy

One of the most frequently used arguments for the Bible’s inspiration is the claim of fulfilled prophecy. We are told that the writers miraculously predicted many things years before they happened. Let us look at some claimed examples.

One of the most famous is Micah 5:2, “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.”

We are told that this verse predicted that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem. But does it say that? First, look at whom this verse is talking about. Look at the context. We find more about this ruler in verses 5 and 6,

This One will be our peace. When the Assyrian invades our land, When he tramples on our citadels, Then we will raise against him Seven shepherds and eight leaders of men. They will shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword, The land of Nimrod at its entrances; And He will deliver us from the Assyrian When he attacks our land And when he tramples our territory.

Micah wrote during the time of Assyrian dominance and writes of somebody who will conquer Assyria. Does this sound like a description of Jesus? Did Jesus deliver “from the Assyrian?” No. So apparently the man spoken of in Micah 5–the one that was to come out of Bethlehem and defeat Assryia– is not even Jesus.

Some might argue that this verse could be taken figuratively, that Jesus symbolically defeated the Assyrian tyranny. But how many other people could be said to have figurative conquered Assyrian tyranny? Churchill, Washington, and Martin Luther King come to mind. In fact, thousands of people can be said to have figuratively conquered Assyria. So how can you be sure this is talking about Jesus? And if the conquest of Assryia is not to be taken literally, how do we know that “Bethlehem” is to be taken literally? If we are allowed to use figurative interpretations, hundreds of towns might figurative be Bethlehem, the city of David.

There is a second problem. The verse is probably not even referring to the town of Bethlehem, but to a man named Bethlehem, the descendent of Ephratah. I Chron 4:4 speaks of this man, “These were the sons of Hur, the first-born of Ephrathah and father of Bethlehem.” Now the “prophecy” in Micah refers to Bethlehem Ephratah. Sounds like Micah is describing a descendant of Bethlehem Ephratah, not a citizen of a town.

Third, how do we even know where Jesus was born? Sure, Matthew and Luke said he was born in Bethlehem, but could they have been mistaken? Or could the books have been altered to make it look like Jesus was born in Bethlehem?

It is no use arguing that the gospels are correct because they are inspired. That is the point we are trying to determine. Unless we can prove they are inspired, we cannot simply assume the issue under consideration. That would be arguing in a circle. So, the books could possibly be wrong on this point.

And, other than these two books–which conflict on the details–we have no record of Jesus being born in Bethlehem. So maybe the writers made this up so they could show a fulfillment of prophecy as they understood it. Once more, we have reason to be less than impressed with this prophecy.

So, I don’t find Micah 5:2 to be an impressive prophecy about Jesus.

How about Isaiah 53? This tells about a suffering servant. Many think it predicts Jesus. Again, let’s look at the passage in context. Notice the language.

3 He was despised, and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and as one from whom men hide their face he was despised; and we esteemed him not.4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

It seems to be talking about somebody in the past, that is, before Isaiah. “He was despised…was wounded…was bruised.”

The theme of the suffering servant appears throughout Isaiah 40 through 55. When Isaiah refers to this suffering servant, it appears he is talking about the nation of Israel. For instance, in Isaiah 44:1-2 :

1″But now listen, O Jacob, My servant, And Israel, whom I have chosen: 2Thus says the LORD who made you And formed you from the womb, who will help you, ‘Do not fear, O Jacob My servant; And you Jeshurun whom I have chosen.

We find that Jacob (Israel) is referred to as a servant. This theme is repeated throughout the later part of Isaiah. The passage could be telling us nothing more than that the nation of Israel suffered for the sins of the people. This passage could have nothing to do with a future savior. Perhaps Isaiah was not even writing a prophecy.

​ Prophecies: Imaginary and Unfulfilled by Farrell Till The Fabulous Prophecies of the Messiah by Jim Lippard A Chassidic Rabbi Makes a Startling Discovery By Moshe Shulman A humorous look at how easy it is to make a past saying sound prophetic.

Prophesy Links

Do you think the prophecies of the Bible are impressive? May I suggest a way to check this claim out for yourself? Start at the Psalms and read through to the end of the prophets. Lay aside the commentaries and chapter headings. Every time you see something that might be a prophecy of Christ, ask yourself if this is really prophesying a future event. Is the prophecy so vague it really predicts nothing? Is it talking about a contemporaneous event, and not even talking about the future? Is the reference so cryptic that it takes a specially trained eye to pick it out of context? Would God hide things like that? Read it from the perspective of a person who has never heard of Jesus. Would he be expected from these verses to know that some particular event would happen in the life of Jesus? I think you will find that the claimed prophecies melt away when you do this.

I remember the first time I read the book of Isaiah. I was excited to read all of those marvelous prophecies in context. What a surprise it was to read what was actually in the book. The “prophecies” come rather unexpectedly, in passages that are totally unrelated to Jesus. And most of the book consists of long diatribes about ancient affairs that mean little to modern people. I am not making this up. You can see it for yourself. Simply pick the Bible off the shelf and read the book of Isaiah.

Before we move on, let’s look at one more prophecy claim. In Zechariah 11 we read:

2 I said to them, “If it is good in your sight, give me my wages; but if not, never mind!” So they weighed out thirty shekels of silver as my wages. 3Then the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter, that magnificent price at which I was valued by them.” So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the LORD.Zechariah 11:12-13

Now this has been claimed to be a marvelous prophecy of the fee paid to Judas. If this is a prophecy, then God has hidden it well. We find it is again written in the past tense. It tells the story of a discouraged shepherd trying to lead Israel. Having given up, he asks for his wages and throws the money to the potter. Now in what way does this represent Judas? The story simply doesn’t match. If Judas happened to receive the same wage as the man in the story, that is a coincidence. How is that a prophecy? You see, if one tries to find little matches between any two stories, one can usually do it. But that does not prove that the first story prophesied the second. (See, for instance, the “startling discovery” made by a rabbi in the sidebar above.)

Even if a story in the New Testament has parallels to something in the Old Testament that does not prove the Old Testament was prophetic. It is possible that the writers of the New Testament slanted the story to make it match what they read in the Old Testament.

It is no use claiming that the New Testament is right because it is inspired. That is the point in question. You cannot prove the Bible is inspired by assuming it is inspired.

So, if fallible men wrote the gospels, maybe their bias influenced how they told the story. In many places the New Testament says something happened “that it might be fulfilled” and then it references some passage in the Old Testament. So, if the writer knew about the Old Testament passage, and wanted to show a fulfillment, isn’t it possible that he slanted the story?

It turns out that the only sources we have for any of the details that are claimed to be fulfillment of messianic prophecy are the New Testament writers themselves. Could these writers have been biased? I find no clearly unbiased sources verifying the 30 pieces of silver, the birth in Bethlehem, the virgin birth, or any of the other claimed fulfillment. Once more, those who claim miraculous fulfillment have little support.

Even if you would find an impressive prophecy, does that prove that all 66 books of the Bible are inspired? Suppose you find an impressive prophecy by Nostradamus. Would that prove that all books in a collection that includes his book are inspired of God? Of course not. Would it prove that the book that the prophecy is written in is God-inspired? I doubt if you would conclude that. So even if you do find an impressive messianic prophecy– I have not yet found one– you are far from proving that all 66 books of the Protestant Bible are inspired by God.

Unity

Others have tried to claim that the Bible must be inspired since, in their opinion, the Bible has a tremendous unity of theme. They say that 40 authors wrote over a period of 1500 years and yet they put together a completely unified book. But is this true? It does not look consistent to me.

How can the Old Testament writers spend many chapters listing genealogies, while Titus 3:9 states that genealogies are unprofitable and worthless? Are Paul and Moses working in unity? Are they teaching the same gospel?

Or how can Matthew and Luke record the life of Christ without recording any instance of Jesus making the fantastic claims we read in the book of John? Are they presenting the same message?

Why do we find the constant emphasis in the Old Testament on the Jewish nation, only to find out in the New Testament that there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles? Is this a perfect work of harmony?

Perhaps you can find ways to fit the Bible together. Fine, but understand that many others have found ways of fitting it all together and their way does not match yours. For instance, some can interpret the Bible to be in accord with Calvinism, but others find it to be consistent with Arminianism or something in between. Some find biblical consistency that teaches us to ignore the Jewish laws such as Sabbath (Saturday) worship; others find a consistency that requires us to keep the Jewish Sabbath. Some find the Bible teaches salvation by grace through faith alone; some find that it teaches faith plus works. Some find the Bible to be consistently pre-millennial; others find it to be consistently amillennial or post-millennial. If the Bible is a miraculous unity, why do Christians have so much trouble figuring out what it is united about?

Calvinism and Arminianism One example of two incompatible views that both claim to fit the whole Bible together.

You will have a hard time convincing skeptics that this is a miraculous work of unity. So, the argument from unity is not a good argument for evangelists to use with informed people.

Power

Others point to the power of the book to change lives. That may be. But other books have had a powerful influence on people also. Does the influence of the book prove that God wrote it? I think not.

Others will tell me that it is amazing that the Bible survived history. But how does that prove inspiration? Is that not rather tribute to the fanaticism with which many accepted this book?

In conclusion, I find that the arguments from prophecy, unity, and power are not very convincing.

Should I Just Have Faith?

You may tell me that we will never prove the Bible is inspired, so we should just take it by faith. So, what should I say when my Catholic friends tell me to take it by faith that they are right? What should I say when the Mormons say to take the Book of Mormon by faith? What about the robed hippie on the streets that wants me to have faith in his way? It seems to me that I should ask them the same question that I ask here: Do you have convincing evidence that your source is an accurate record of God’s thoughts? I need a reason.

You want me to take it by faith–should I have faith in every verse? What about Leviticus 11:21-22? It tells me that grasshoppers walk on four legs. Should I try to have faith that this is true? How can I do that? Grasshoppers, like all insects, have six legs. I could try to have faith that grasshoppers have four legs as this verse says. But I have a scientific mind. And I can’t help but count the grasshopper’s legs. And my faith gets weak the moment the count reaches five.

Anything else about the Good Book?

Notes:

1. Kirby, Peter, I Timothy

Copyright Merle Hertzler 2002, 2005. All rights reserved.

Here’s the link to this article by Merle Hertzler.

Before reading Hertzler’s article, look carefully at what the Southern Baptist Convention says about the Holy Bible:

I. The Scriptures

The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God’s revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.

(excerpted from the Baptist Faith & Message 2000, here) :

And, read what a local church, Mount Vernon Baptist says about the Bible:

The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God’s revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation. 

Church website, here.

They’re the same. Right? Now, look under the hood by reading Hertzler’s article.

We have seen how I have come to the conclusion that the earth is billions of years old, and that we humans are the product of evolution. Many of you might see the value of my arguments from science, but you keep wondering how this all fits in with the Bible. Does not the Bible teach specific creation in 6 days? Well, yes, it does. That is literally what it says.

In response, many have found ways to interpret the Bible in a way that is consistent with evolution. I have read their arguments and somehow, I am not convinced. It seems to me that Genesis conflicts with science. So, I turn now to another question: “Is it possible that the Bible is mistaken about creation?”

Now I am sure that this question raises a few eyebrows. How dare I question the Bible? Is not the Bible infallible?

I am sorry, but it does seem like a good question to ask. So let us ask it. After all, if we were to declare all questions about the Bible to be off limits, how would we ever know how the book would stand if questioned? If the book is indeed inerrant, shouldn’t the case for the book be even stronger after it is questioned and found to stand firm?

Similarly, some have told me that the Quran is without errors. Should I accept what they say, and never question the assertion? Surely it must be okay to question the Quran. If I may question the Quran or the Book of Mormon, then why would you object to me questioning the Bible?

And so, rather than resolving the conflict between Genesis and science by creative reinterpretation of scripture, perhaps we could ask if Genesis could be mistaken. It is a good question. And I see no harm in asking. Could the Bible have some errors? If it does, then perhaps Genesis 1 is in error.

Errors?

I have read the entire Bible six times. Whenever I read the Bible, it does not take long to find something that does not look right to me. By example, Lev. 11:4-6 says, “‘Nevertheless, you are not to eat of these, among those which chew the cud…the camel…the rabbit also, for though it chews cud, it does not divide the hoof, it is unclean to you.”

Wait, what? Rabbits don’t chew their cud. Something is wrong here. Have we found a mistake?

Believers will argue that this passage is not mistaken. Some have told me that rabbits can ingest their feces, and this has some similarities to chewing the cud. Well, perhaps, but this verse does not say that rabbits do an action similar to chewing the cud. It says they chew the cud. And the original Hebrew is even stronger. The words literally mean, “bring up the cud,” In no sense does a rabbit bring up the cud.

Others have told me that rabbits move their mouth to look like they are chewing the cud, and this is what the verse means. If this is the case, then the writer is mistaken. He doesn’t say they look like they chew the cud. He says they chew their cud. This statement would not be true if they merely looked like they were chewing the cud.

Others have suggested that this refers to an extinct rabbit that used to chew its cud. But we find no evidence for such a rabbit. If the writer intended modern readers to read this verse, wouldn’t he explain that he is referring to an extinct animal that is not to be confused with modern rabbits?

Not only does the verse appear to be wrong, but it appears to be rather pointless. Why do we need a verse forbidding rabbit stew? Hunters simply ignore this command. Why does the Bible condemn rabbit stew?

But some will look at these verses and explain to me that this is one small detail that we do not understand. They will tell me that God knows the solution, and that I should move past this small question to get into the big truths of the Bible.

Now if this was the only such problem, explanations like this might be acceptable. But alas, I find many similar problems in the Bible. In addition, when I look at the explanations that believing scholars have offered to defend these verses, I find much of their reasoning is just as contrived as the explanations for the rabbit verse.

Now if I am to believe that the Bible is inerrant, I must either believe such wild explanations in every case, or I must accept that at least one error could exist in the Bible.

Let’s look at another example of an apparent error. I Kings 4:26 says Solomon had 40,000 stalls of horses for his chariots, and 12,000 horsemen.”

But II Chronicles disagrees. It tells us, “Now Solomon had 4,000 stalls for horses and chariots and 12,000 horsemen.” (II Chronicles 9:25 )

So was it 4000 stalls, or 40,000? One of these verses must be wrong. Do you agree?

Granted, these issues seem trivial. Who cares how many stalls Solomon had? Who cares if rabbits actually chew their cud? What does it matter?

It matters to me. In each case, at least one of these verses must be wrong. If these are in error, then the Bible is not inerrant, and it is not perfect. If one of these verses is in error, we would need to conclude that the Bible we are reading is imperfect.

Errant Copies

However, some of you will not agree. You will tell me that God inspired the writers of the Bible to write his perfect word. Even if one believes this, he does not necessarily need to believe that the Bible he holds has no errors. After all, he is not holding the original copy that was said to be inspired.

In fact, leading Evangelical scholars often admit that the Bibles they hold may have errors.

For instance, the conservative Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy affirms that the scriptures are the authoritative Word of God, but includes this caveat: “Copies and translations of Scripture are the Word of God to the extent that they faithfully represent the original.”

Do you see what these authorities are saying? You may hold a copy or a translation of the original in your hands. But you do not hold the original. They declare such copies are the authoritative Word of God only to the extent that they faithfully represent the original. In other words, they are admitting that the copy you hold in your hands might not always faithfully represent the original. Where your copy differs from the original, it might not be authoritative; it might not be inerrant; and it might not be the exact Word of God. This caveat blows the whole claim of inerrancy wide open. The copy you hold in your hands might be mistaken.

Surely this is a reason to question claims of inerrancy. Nobody has the originals. Nobody knows what was written there. Yes, one can claim that the originals were perfect, but we can never test that claim unless we were to see an exact representation of the original. If we cannot test the claim, nobody can be sure it is true. So, we will have to settle for the copies that we have, and they might be flawed. If your copy does not faithfully represent the original, then most Evangelical scholars would say your copy could be in error at that point.

Nobody knows exactly where her copy differs from the original. Therefore, nobody knows for sure if what she is reading might be mistaken.

Now let’s look at how those errors might have gotten there.

Translation Errors

First, translation errors have occurred. After all, we have many translations and they sometimes conflict with each other. Are all of those translations perfect? I doubt that anybody makes that claim. Are some of those translations perfect? If one was, how would we know it?

Most Christians acknowledge that all the translators are human. They may have made a few mistakes. Your translation may have errors.

Text Selection

The problem goes deeper. Which text are we going to translate from? There are thousands of manuscript copies, with thousands of differences. There are 1438 significant disputed readings in the New Testament alone, not including spelling errors. [1] No two manuscripts of any significant length agree on everything. So which manuscript will you select? Why should we use the one that you choose? If they all differ, and you have no good reason for declaring one to be perfect, then the one you select probably has errors.

Most translations recognize that no manuscript is perfect, so they use a document that is a combination of many texts. Scholars analyze the passages that differ and try to select the reading that has the greatest support in the available manuscripts. Do you know if they have made the right choices? They probably have good reasons for their choices. That is not the question. Are they perfect in their choices? Probably not.

For example, in II Sam 21:8, some translations speak of the five sons of Saul’s daughter Merab. Other translations translate it as the sons of a different daughter, Michal. Why the difference? Some translations have a footnote explaining this. For instance, the English Standard Version tells us that two Hebrew manuscripts and the Greek Septuagint support the reading Merab. But it also notes that most Hebrew manuscripts read Michal. Which is correct? How would you possibly know?

The difference is important. Why? Because II Samuel 6:23 tells us that “Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death.” So, if chapter 21 is indeed telling us that Michal had 5 children, how can she have had no children to the day of her death? The reading Michal in chapter 21 is supported by the most manuscripts. But if that reading is correct, then we have a contradiction with chapter 6.

You see the issue. Translators could either follow the majority of manuscripts, and translate II Sam 21:8 as Michal. But then they have a contradiction with chapeter 6. Or they could follow the 2 manuscripts that say Merab in chapter 21. Presto! Contradiction gone. But is the choice Merab justified based on only 2 manuscripts?

Regardless of which word choice is correct, we all can see the dilemma. The translators had to choose between the available manuscripts. Do they follow the majority of manuscripts that say Michal, or do they follow the few that say Merab? If they choose wrong, the Bible they give us is not matching what the original said.

So, a possible source of error is that translators selected the wrong manuscripts.

Possibly they even followed the temptation to deliberately choose the less supported reading in order to put the Bible in its best light. After all, if they wanted to sell Bibles, they would need to consider that their readers wanted a version without this contradiction in it. Did this bias affect the manuscripts they chose?

Your Bible may sometimes be using the wrong source.

Copies of Copies

How did all of those differences end up in the various manuscripts? Well, first there are copying errors. Scribes copied documents by hand, and sometimes made mistakes.

But there is another reason that the copies differ. Perhaps the scribes were not honest. Perhaps they changed the text on purpose.

For instance, it looks like 1 John 5:7 was inserted many years later. How do we know this? No Greek manuscript before 1500 AD had this verse. None. It appears certain that this verse was added after that date. Was it an accident? I doubt it. How does one accidentally insert a whole verse into the Bible? Most likely somebody did it on purpose. The verse became popular and was included in many copies, eventually becoming incorporated into the King James Version. But modern scholars do not recognize it. If you have a modern translation, that verse is probably missing, or a footnote indicates that it is doubtful. Somebody inserted it years later.

Another example is Mark 16:9-20. These verses do not appear in the earliest manuscripts we have. Were they added later? Again, modern Bibles indicate they probably were. They suggest that somebody came along and added 12 verses to Mark. Now, when I was growing up, these 12 verses were still in the Bible. Preachers preached that it was wrong to remove these verses from the Bible. Now we carry around Bibles that say they probably don’t belong. Times have changed.

All of this causes me to question. What other insertions have been made to the Bible? We don’t know. The above insertions can be detected because they were made many years after the Bible was written. Other copies existed when the change was made, and so we now have copies that differ. But what about changes that were made before copies were widely distributed? It would have been easy to make changes the first couple of times that the book was copied, and such changes might appear in all surviving manuscripts. You may think that people had too much respect for the Bible to alter it, but the examples above indicate otherwise. People have tinkered with the Bible.

Will our grandchildren find that additional verses in our copies need to be deleted or changed? Will they delete those verses just like we have deleted the ending of Mark; the ending that our grandparents thought surely belonged there?

In conclusion, it seems we need to admit that things have been added to the Bible. This is another source of error.

The Canon

There are other reasons that errors might be there. Even if we assume that God has specifically inspired books of the Bible to be error-free, how do we know which books he has selected to be part of that error-free Bible? Do Hebrews and Revelation belong there? How about Macabees? The Shepherd of Hermas? The Epistle of James? The Epistle of Barnabas? Daniel? These books were all disputed for years. There were many books to choose from. Which ones belong?

The Protestant Bible with its 66 books is so familiar, it is easy to assume that these books were always joined together as one book. They were not. Christians have had many canons (the collection of inspired books). Which canon is correct? Are you sure you are using the right one?

We find no reference to a specific set of books anywhere in the writings of the church before 140 AD. We find only scattered references to tradition and to some of the books. Nobody seems to have gathered the inspired books into a common collection. Why not? Would not the followers of Peter and Paul want to gather the inspired writings together? Would not someone make a list of these books? Would not the Christians want to know which were genuine, which were inspired, and which were not? We find no such list.

In fact, many of the books of the New Testament are almost completely unknown before 100 AD. It appears that the early Christians did not think that these were special, inspired books. Clement of Rome, for instance, a leader in the Church at Rome at the end of the 1st century, appears to be completely unaware of the four gospels. Apparently, the whole idea of recognizing an authoritative set of books–the “canon”–did not occur until years later.

Marcion wrote the first surviving New Testament canon around 150 AD. It consisted of one gospel, the Diatessaron, (which we no longer have) and ten epistles. Was he mistaken? But his is the earliest canon on record. How do you know that the later canons are better?

Around 200 AD, the scholarly Clement of Alexandria recognized Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, the Gospel of the Hebrews, the Traditions of Matthias, Hermas, the Epistle of Barnabas, the Apocalypse of Peter, the Didakhe, Acts, 1 Peter, 1 John, Revelation, and various oral traditions. This is quite different from the modern list. Was he wrong?

Then there was the Muratorian Canon (date unknown) which lists the 4 gospels, Acts, the Apocalypse of John (not to be confused with Revelation), the Apocalypse of Peter, the Book of Wisdom, and all the epistles accepted today except for Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, and 3 John. Once again, this is far from the list that is recognized today. What is wrong? Why are we finding no lists that look close to today’s lists?

Then there was a list from around 300 AD. It includes the four gospels, Acts, the Acts of Paul, 10 of Paul’s 13 epistles, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, James, Jude, 1,2, and 3 John, Barnabas, Hermas, Apocalypse of John, and the Apocalypse of Peter. Again, we find many books that modern Christians exclude. Many books from today’s list are missing.

The lists differ. Modern Christians say none of these lists are correct.[2 ] How is it that none of these early Christians got it right? None of the canons from the first 3 centuries is close to ours.

Later developments of the canon began to approach the list we now recognize. In 327 AD Eusebius recognized the four gospels, Acts, the Epistles of Paul (possibly including Hebrews), 1 Peter, 1 John, and the (now unrecognized) Apocalypse of John. He lists some texts separately as disputed texts including the now accepted books of James, Jude 2 Peter, 2 John, and 3 John. He also lists as “disputed” the Acts of Paul, Hermas, Apocalypse of Peter, Epistle of Barnabas, Gospel of Hebrews, Teachings of the Apostles, and the Apoclypse of John, none of which we recognize today. (Confusingly he lists the Apocalypse of John in both lists.)

The Codex Sinaiticus, a surviving manuscript of the whole New Testament from that period–possibly by Eusebius himself–includes the 27 books we now recognize, as well as the Epistle of Barnabas and Hermas. The surviving document ends in the middle of Hermas, so we don’t know if it originally included any other books.

In 350 AD Bishop Cyril issued an official pronouncement declaring that there were 26 books in the New Testament. He did not include Revelation. So, by 350 AD we are finding canons that are very close to modern canons, but still nobody has yet mentioned the exact list we have today. And this is over 300 years after the reported life of Christ.

All of these canons consist of the opinion of one person only. We do not have a single list that was published by a council of leading church officials before 363 AD, when the Synod of Laodicea decreed that there were 26 books in the New Testament. They excluded Revelation. So, we finally have a group pronouncement. But modern Christians would say they got it wrong! Their list differs from today’s list, for it leaves out Revelation. Do you think they made the wrong decision? If so, how do you know that you are right, and they were wrong?

In 367 AD Athanasius declared that there were not 26, but 27 books in the New Testament. His list matches the list that we have today. Finally! But it is only the stated opinion of one man. No church organization has yet endorsed this list as the correct one.

Finally, in 393AD, 397 AD, and 419 AD three councils met and confirmed this list. These councils represented the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, which had taken control. They were able to force their will over most of Christendom. Does that make them right? No? So why does your Bible use their list of 27 books, and not use one of the earlier lists? [2]

Flaws in the Process

Some may argue that it took time to sort things out, and that the surviving books are the ones that truly belong. But one needs only to look at the process to see how wrong this view is. Look at the reasoning that was used to put the canon together.

Irenaeus, for instance, decreed that there must be exactly four gospels, for there are four directions and four principal winds. Uh, no, that is not sound reasoning.

The Muratorian Canon says it rejected the Apocalypse of Peter because church leaders did not want its disturbing descriptions read aloud. Does that prove anything? Can we throw out a book simply because it is disturbing to read?

Eusebius writes that he accepted those books that were accepted by every orthodox leader he knew. Who was orthodox in his view? Of course, it was the ones that agreed with him! He ignored the lists of leaders like Marcion with whom he disagreed. So, we find that everyone that agreed with the list of Eusebius agreed with the list of Eusebius. Yes, indeed. What does that prove?

The New Testament canon selected by the councils at the end of the fourth century was accepted by most later Christians, but it was far from final. Martin Luther, for instance, did not accept Hebrews, James, Jude or Revelation. The Syrian Orthodox Church still does not accept the book of Revelation. And Catholics accept a number of books written before the New Testament–known as the Apocrypha–that Protestants do not accept.

The Formation of the New Testament Canon Excellent! The Canon of the Bible Are you sure that all of these books belong?

​Links on the Canon

Perhaps our list is wrong. We really don’t know which books, if any, God has selected. So this is another source of error. Perhaps an errant book has somehow slipped into the Bible. After all, an unauthorized ending was apparently appended to Mark. How do we know that nobody ever inserted a whole book that didn’t belong? Perhaps James or even Genesis doesn’t belong there. If they don’t belong, then they might be in error.

Some might suggest that Genesis definitely belongs because other books quote it. What does that prove? Jude quotes the book of Enoch, but we do not include that book in the Bible.

Perhaps you would argue that God guided the process. How so? If God was selecting the books, how did he allow so many differences in the early lists?

Perhaps your parents or church or denomination have told you that the books in their Bible are the correct ones. If you agree with them, then you must think that all lists that differ with yours are wrong. What reason do you have for believing that your list is right, and other lists are wrong?

If there is one thing that my years of debate have taught me, it is that we had better have a good reason for telling another person he is wrong. One cannot simply go to somebody and tell them that their list is wrong.

The fact that your pastor or mother agree with you is not sufficient reason. After all, a Mormon’s mother might agree with him. Does that prove that he is right and that you are wrong? No? It is not sufficient to say that many people agree with you. More people reject your list of books than accept it. If we go by a popular vote, you lose.

If we cannot think of a convincing reason for people to accept your list, then it seems to me that you ought to admit that your list might possibly be wrong. And if your list might be wrong, then you could be carrying around books in your Bible that don’t belong there and are in error.

In conclusion, we may have some misplaced books in our Bible. We have another possible source of error.

Errant Originals

There is one other error source that we need to consider. How do you know that the originals had no errors? Even if you believe that God inspired the originals (a claim we will examine later) isn’t it possible that the original writers got some words wrong? Isn’t it possible to be inspired yet fallible? Most evangelical scholars think the current versions of the Bible are inspired yet have errors. And they believe God can still use them. So, if you think that God uses these books today, even if they have errors in them, couldn’t he have used errant originals?

And so, even if God’s Spirit told the original writers what to write (a claim I will critique later), we would still have many possible sources of error. There may be translation errors, manuscript selection errors, copying errors, deliberate insertions or changes, wrong selection of books to include in the Bible, and misunderstandings by the original authors as to what the Spirit was saying. Even if you do not agree with all of these sources, if you agree to at least one, you agree that the Bible may be mistaken.

Contradictions

With this in mind, let’s look at some of the claimed errors. Let us not approach the problems with the attitude that the Bible cannot possibly be wrong, for we have found good reasons to believe that the copies we hold in our hand may be wrong. So perhaps, when we examine the claimed errors in the Bible, we will find that there are indeed real errors. Here is a table showing some examples, but there are many, many more.

SELECTED BIBLE CONTRADICTIONS

Who was Joseph’s father?

Matthew 1:16 Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.

Vs.

Luke 3:23 When He [Jesus] began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph, the son of Eli,

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How did Judas die?

Mt.27:5 And he [Judas] threw the pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary and departed; and he went away and hanged himself.

Vs.

Acts 1:18 (Now this man [Judas] acquired a field with the price of his wickedness, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his intestines gushed out.

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Has anyone seen God?

Gen.12:7 The LORD appeared to Abram and said, ” To your descendants I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him.

Gen.32:30 So Jacob named the place Peniel, for he said, ” I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved.”

Ex.33:11 Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses returned to the camp, his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.

Vs.

Jn.1:18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.

1 Tim.6:16 who alone possesses immortality and) dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.

1 Jn.4:12 No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.

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To whom did God speak at Jesus’ baptism?

Mk.1:11 and a voice came out of the heavens: ” You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”

Lk.3:22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.” Vs.

Mt.3:17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”

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Is it permitted to divorce an unchaste partner?

Mk.10:11 And He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her;

Lk.16:18 Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries one who is divorced from a husband commits adultery.

Vs.

Mt.5:32 but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Mt.19:9 “And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”

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Was David alone when he asked for holy bread?

1 Sam.21:1,6 Then David came to Nob to Ahimelech the priest; and Ahimelech came trembling to meet David and said to him, “Why are you alone and no one with you?” 6 So the priest gave him consecrated bread; for there was no bread there but the bread of the Presence which was removed from before the LORD, in order to put hot bread in its place when it was taken away.

Vs.

Mt.12:3-4 But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he became hungry , he and his companions, 4 how he entered the house of God, and they ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone?

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When did the cursed fig tree die?

Mt.21:19-20 Seeing a lone fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it except leaves only; and He said to it, “No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you.” And at once the fig tree withered. 20 Seeing this, the disciples were amazed and asked, “How did the fig tree wither all at once?”

Vs.

Mk.11:13-14, 20-21 Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were listening. 20 As they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. 21 Being reminded, Peter said to Him, “Rabbi, look, the fig tree which You cursed has withered.”

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How should parents be treated?

Ex.20:12 Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you.

Vs.

Lk.14:26 If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.

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Did Jesus come to bring peace?

Lk.2:14 Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

Vs.

Mt.10:34 Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.

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How many years of famine were offered to David?

II Samuel 24:13 So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, “Shall seven years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months before your foes while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ pestilence in your land? Now consider and see what answer I shall return to Him who sent me.”

Vs.

I Chronicles 21:11-12 So Gad came to David and said to him, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Take for yourself 12 either three years of famine, or three months to be swept away before your foes, while the sword of your enemies overtakes you, or else three days of the sword of the LORD, even pestilence in the land, and the angel of the LORD destroying throughout all the territory of Israel.’ Now, therefore, consider what answer I shall return to Him who sent me.”

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Should children be punished for the sins of their fathers?

Isaiah 14:21 Prepare for his sons a place of slaughter Because of the iniquity of their fathers. They must not arise and take possession of the earth And fill the face of the world with cities.

Exodus 20:5 You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me,

Vs.

Deut. 24:16 Fathers shall not be put to death for their sons, nor shall sons be put to death for their fathers; everyone shall be put to death for his own sin.

Ezek.18:20 “The person who sins will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the father’s iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son’s iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself.

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Is salvation by faith alone?

John 5:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

John 6:47 Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.

John 6:28-29 Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”

Vs.

( Matt 19: 16-21 ) 16 And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?” 17 And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” 18 Then he said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, ” YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER; YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY; YOU SHALL NOT STEAL; YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS; 19 HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER; and YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” 20 The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

Bible Numerical Problems Old Testament Problems New Testament Problems Skeptic’s Annotated Bible: Contradictions By Steven Wells. Why isn’t the Bible consistent? Are There Contradictions in the Bible? by Bruce Gerencser

Links on Contradictions

Notice that the last contradiction mentioned is a very serious one. The Bible is not even consistent on the way of salvation. In some places the Bible says salvation is by faith alone. But in other places, it declares that one must do certain works to obtain salvation. In the passage quoted from Matthew, Jesus is given the chance to settle the matter. His answer is the opposite of what the Bible declares elsewhere. He declares that salvation is based on keeping commandments and giving to the poor. ( Matt 19: 16-21) And so we find that the Bible is not even consistent on important issues, such as the way of salvation.

Apologist Responses

Apologists have many clever ways of explaining away the contradictions mentioned above. For instance, they will tell me that Luke is talking about Mary’s father, not Joseph’s. Hence, there is no contradiction with Matthew. But that is a totally unsupported assertion. Anyone can see that the passage refers to Joseph’s father, not Mary’s.

And apologists will argue that Judas died in a bizarre combination of hanging and a fall, thus making both accounts true. But their account, in which the rope broke, and Judas fell off a cliff, doesn’t really match either passage.

Likewise, they will tell me that the command to hate parents does not really mean hate. Silly translators! If it doesn’t mean “hate”, why did they translate it that way?

The list of explanations is endless. Are the explanations credible? It can be quite eye-opening to see the contortions that some go through to explain away the contradictions.

Now if we had to buy only one of their clever stories in order to believe in inerrancy, it might be possible. But when we see long lists of implausible explanations, what is the chance that every one of those excuses is true? The skeptic must show only one error to prove that the Bible is not perfect.

I cannot escape the conclusion that the Bible is not only occasionally mistaken but is quite frequently mistaken.

Conclusion

We have been dealing only with the copies of the Bible and have shown reasons to think that the copies we have today have errors. We cannot prove that the originals truly had errors. However, the extent of the errors that have been found in the copies have convinced many that the originals also must have had errors.

So, let’s get back to Genesis 1. When I look at the scientific errors in Genesis 1 when read literally, I do not need to develop an elaborate scheme of how it can be interpreted consistent with the findings of modern science. There may be a much simpler solution. Perhaps Genesis is mistaken.

You may not like to think about mistakes in the Bible. You would like to have a perfect book that tells you exactly what to do. That may well be what you want, but we are not here to discuss what we want. We are here to discuss what is true. It will do us no good to pretend the Bible is perfect. It appears it is not.

Notes

1. Aland, Barbara et al, The Greek New Testament, 4th rev. ed., United Bible Societies, 1994, p. 2. Cited by Richard Carrier

2. See The Formation of the New Testament Canon by Richard Carrier for more information on the canon.

Copyright Merle Hertzler 2002, 2004, 2005, 2022. All rights reserved.