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A book on the claimed contradictions in the bible
Back when St Antony's magazine was good, they used to publish Pope Shenouda's "claimed contradictions in the bible". Does anyone know if there is a book written by any Orthodox that deals with these?
Comments
They are targeting a younger demographic
Unfortunately yes they are, now there is no Coptic magazine that has as much information as the old magazine had. They should have continued and created a seperate magazine for youth. Either way does anyone know of a book with claimed contradictions?
http://britishorthodox.org/glastonbury-review/
God bless you
Father Peter
http://britishorthodox.org/glastonbury-review-archive/
I am not aware of any particular book by Orthodox about the reported contradictions in the Scripture. It would be interesting to study the commentaries of the Fathers on those passages. I rather suspect that the paradigm used by the Fathers is not always the same as the one which we might have adopted from the world around us, and so it may well be that they were not interested in resolving contradictions in the way we sometimes are.
It also seems to me that in evangelistic terms, very few people are argued into faith. Those who do not have faith will not have faith even if all the supposed contradictions were entirely resolved. But there is a value in responding to various points for the sake of those within the Church, who hopefully share an Orthodox worldview.
I note that there is a document here (partially available on google books) which lists 101 contradictions in the Bible.
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=-JFl33TqO4gC&printsec=frontcover&dq=contradictions+bible&hl=en&ei=SdMwTKygDoyTjAemuICXBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false
It seems to me that most of the 'contradictions' listed here are simply matters of numbers and therefore not anything which affects the message of the Bible at all. It also seems to me that if we are supposed to be shocked by these '101 contradictions' it is only because the author is assuming that we have a Protestant view of the Bible. We do not need to believe that every word in the Bible has been preserved from spelling mistakes in the transmission of the text to believe strongly in the spiritual value of the Scriptures. The ecumenical councils were inspired by God, but were also fully human, and therefore tended to be controversial, argumentative and not entirely transparent in their outcome. We need not believe that the Scriptures have been delivered to us without any human influence or interaction, like the Koran or the Book of Mormon.
Contradiction #7 says...
Jehoiachin ruled for three months according to 2 Kings 24:8 and three months ten days according to 2 Chronicles 36:9
This doesn't strike me as a contradiction at all. I am 47 years old, but I am also 47 years and 1 month old. Both are entirely accurate according to a different degree of specificity.
Contradicition #8 says...
The chief of the mighty men of David killed 800 men at one time according to 2 Samuel 23:8 and 300 at one time according to 1 Chronicles 11:11.
Does this matter? I don't believe so. It would only matter if the difference in the narrative related to something theologically significant, otherwise it seems to me that we are expecting a level of specificity that the early authors, and Fathers of the Church, did not expect. The Bible is not a newspaper report, or a legal witness statement. It is the report of God's activity in the world by the pen of ordinary men, inspired by the Holy Spirit. This is not the same, let me say again, as the Koran or the Book of Mormon.
But if we look at this 'contradiction' in more detail we see that it is in fact not a contradiction at all. In the first passage the Chief of the Mighty Men is Adino the Eznite. While in the second passage it is Jashobeam the Hachmonite who is described. It is not clear that they need be the same man. Both of these passages are looking back over David's life and considering some of the great warriors who fought with him. There is no necessity that the two writers are considering the same person. (Just as two people writing about the best players in a football team of the past might not pick exactly the same list).
Now if we do accept that they refer to the same person, then there is still not a contradiction. The number 8 does not only have our modern mathematical meaning, but also has the sense of 'fulness' or 'more than completeness' and therefore in the one author we are told that 300 people were killed in one attack, and in the other author we are told that this warrior killed 'an abundance' of the enemy, by the use of the number 8.
It seems to me that only Protestants and atheists would worry about such differences - let us not call them contradictions. But as I said, and as I hope these examples show, when we need to discuss these with our own faithful it seems to me that there is always an answer.
Father Peter
That might be something I could do, since I could look at one contradiction at a time.
Do you think that list of 101 contradictions I provided is complete? Does it deal with the most important supposed 'contradictions'? Do you want to point me in the direction of any particular books that you have found useful but not Orthodox?
I do know that the Fathers do deal with some supposed 'contradictions', and if I was going to embark on such a project then I would want to explore what the Fathers say on each one.
God bless you
Father Peter
Many of these 'contradictions' are not worth wasting ink over, but there are others where a reasonable response can be made. I will have to see if the Lord gives me time and understanding to write anything.
Father Peter
The only contradictions are in their own regard as a battle to try to avoid the Holy Spirit.
There are no contradictions in the Holy Bible. Those who call upon contradictions did not read the Bible in Its entirety, nor have they reached out to the Holy Spirit for enlightenment and fulfillment.
The only contradictions are in their own regard as a battle to try to avoid the Holy Spirit.
I personally do not consider them contradictions, but it is clear when reading the Gospels that sometimes the times in which Christ did something does not match up, or for instance judas dies two different ways etc. I think the proper way to look at that IS historically. Historical documents always have these sort of things, this is why we say the Gospel according to... because it is from a different perspective. The teachings within are indeed holy and flawless, but I do not view the bible as muslims view the Koran, or even how protestants view the bible.
I view the bible as historical and spiritual in one, without seperation. If you lose one of these you lose the proper interpretation and view of the scripture. Men did indeed write it, yet were inspired by God to write it, it was not written by the actual hand of God, so in a historical aspect, yes of course some things might now match up, this does not mean it is in error. Actually if all the Gospels were to match up perfectly I think one could make the case that there is something fishy. I am probably going to get flak for this, but let me make it clear, I do not believe these are contradictions. The Gospel writers were writing from memory and possibly getting info from other sources, so of course they saw things different or were not present for some things.