Response to Contradictions in the Bible by reasonproject.org

bibleContra_big copy <<click to download and view original Reason Project PDF detailing perceived Biblical errancy.

Perceived Contradiction #1 “How many men did the chief of David’s captain kill?

⁸ These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb-basshebeth a Tahchemonite; he was chief of the three.^[a] He wielded his spear^[b] against eight hundred whom he killed at one time. (2 Samuel 23.8 ESV)

¹¹ This is an account of David’s mighty men: Jashobeam, a Hachmonite, was chief of the three.^[a] He wielded his spear against 300 whom he killed at one time. (1 Chronicles 11.11 ESV)

• Say I drink 8 cans of Sun Drop on any given day and then refer to others to tell such an exciting story. One person testifies to my drinking of 8 cans while another testifies that I drank from 3. Who is correct? Tis’ the same with many stories written by different hands. Does Jashobeam wielding his spear against 800 mean that he did not rise it against 300? Does his rising against 300 discredit his rising against 800? Why should it? If he did indeed rise against 800, it must also be true that he rose against 300 for the 300 must be contained within the 800. If this were not so, there simply cannot be 800. At this point, and with the first accusation, it seems as though this reason project is experiencing a case of non-reason in which it looks for contradictions that do not exist because of its seemingly mislead presuppositions.

Perceived Contradiction #2 “Was Abraham justified by faith or by works?”

² For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. (Romans 4.2 ESV)

²¹ Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? (James 2.21)

• Romans 4 declares, especially in the verse after the one listed, that Abraham was justified by faith. James 2, especially in the verse after the one listed, states that Abraham’s works came from his faith and was thus justified by faith. So it seems that this same reason project is not only unreasonable, but also fails to sufficiently examine the collection of documents it hopes to attack. Again, looking for contradictions were there are none to be found.

Perceived contradiction #3 “How many sons did Abraham have?”

¹⁷ By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, (Hebrew 11.17 ESV)

² He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” (Genesis 22.2 ESV)

¹⁵ And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. (Genesis 16.15 ESV)

² And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. ³ Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac.^[a] (Genesis 21.2,3 ESV)

25 Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah. ² She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. (Genesis 25.1,2 ESV)

²² Zillah also bore Tubal-cain; he was the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah. (Genesis 4.22 ESV)

• Oh no! Abraham had more than one son! You’ve destroyed the Christian faith! Sarah died in Genesis 24.67, before Abraham took another wife. Meaning that all of her children were born after Issac was grown… The only son born to Abraham before the story with Isaac was Ishmael. Since Sarah could not conceive, she gave Abraham her slave (Hagar) and Ishmael was born illegitimately (because Hagar was not Hebrew). Hebrew culture did not allow Ismael to be considered a legitimate son of Abraham and surely not a firstborn. Thus, Isaac would have been considered, at the time of the story, Abraham’s only son. Reason project has once again displayed its incompetency by not exploring cultural and historic values from which the Hebrew scripture came, and therefore have failed to understand it. It seems as though they are lacking both reason and intellegence.
• Zillah was the wife of Lamech, not Abraham… It seems as though reason project has also mastered incoherence. =)

Perceived contradiction #4 “Was Abiathar the father or the son of Ahimelech?”

²⁰ But one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled after David. (1 Samuel 22.20 ESV)

⁶ When Abiathar the son of Ahimelech had fled to David to Keilah, he had come down with an ephod in his hand. (1 Samuel 23.6 ESV)

¹⁷ and Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were priests, and Seraiah was secretary, (2 Samuel 8.17 ESV)

¹⁶ and Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were priests; and Shavsha was secretary; (1 Chronicles 18.16 ESV)

⁶ And the scribe Shemaiah, the son of Nethanel, a Levite, recorded them in the presence of the king and the princes and Zadok the priest and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the priests and of the Levites, one father’s house being chosen for Eleazar and one chosen for Ithamar. (1 Chronicles 24.6 ESV)

• In a culture where names are important, it is not uncommon to find a person that receives the same name as his grandfather. In order to know if there is anything contradictory here, reason project would have to prove that Abiathar did not give his son the same name that his father had (Ahimilech). I would address this as a misunderstanding of a culture where names are important, but we see names being addressed like this everywhere in the world even today. Project reason, at this point, just seems to be ignorant of the external world and content with the ability to only understand what existing ideas it already holds. You guys really need to get out more.

many of these contradictions look the same, so in the interest of time we will sort through some of the 439 listed perceived contradictions. If you see one that I did not address and legitimately want it addressed, just ask =).

Perceived contradiction #11 “The two contradictory creation accounts.”

²⁵ And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make man^[a] in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

²⁷ So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them. (Genesis 1.25-27 ESV)

¹⁸ Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for^[a] him.” ¹⁹ Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed^[b] every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. ²⁰ The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam^[c] there was not found a helper fit for him. ²¹ So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. ²² And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made^[d] into a woman and brought her to the man. (Genesis 2.18-22 ESV)

¹⁴ “You shall not commit adultery. (Exodus 20.14 ESV)

¹⁸ “‘And you shall not commit adultery. (Deuteronomy 5.18 ESV)

⁴ Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. (Hebrews 13.4 ESV)

¹⁸ But all the young girls who have not known man by lying with him keep alive for yourselves. (Numbers 31.18 ESV)

² When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord.” (Hosea 1.2 ESV)

3 And the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins.” (Hosea 3.1 ESV)