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Apparent contradictions.
We have all heard people say that they do not believe the bible to be the word of God, but the words of imperfect men, because is full of contradiction. When these same folks are asked to point to one, many have trouble coming up with one. Others point to passages that do indeed appear as genuine contradictions, but are they?
I remember finding many apparent contradictions during my studies, but studying the text and context closer led me to find sound explanations for them.
To start: what is a contradiction? We must first establish what constitutes a contradiction because way too many people call something a contradiction, when there is no contradiction there.
Contradiction (NOUN) 1.something illogical: something that has aspects that are illogical or inconsistent with each other.
From:http://carm.org/dictionary-law-of-non-contradiction
Law of non-contradiction
The Law of non-contradiction is one of the basic laws in classical logic. It states that something cannot be both true and not true at the same time when dealing with the same context. For example, the chair in my living room, right now, cannot be made of wood and not made of wood at the same time. In the law of non-contradiction, where we have a set of statements about a subject, we cannot have any of the statements in that set negate the truth of any other statement in that same set. For example, we have a set of two statements about Judas. 1) Judas hung himself. 2) Judas fell down and his bowels spilled out. Neither statement about Judas contradicts the other. That is, neither statement makes the other impossible because neither excludes the possibility of the other. The statements can be harmonized by stating: Judas hung himself and then his body fell down and his bowels spilled out.
Share an apparent contradiction you have found and are having trouble reconciling or share an apparent contradiction and the reason why the passages do not constitute a legitimate contradiction. A discussion dealing with apparent contradictions can quickly become hard to follow, so let’s do our best to try to keep an order. Let’s try not to move on from an apparent contradiction until we have solved it.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Amanda on
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One that I recently began contemplating is found in James 4:6, But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." It's also mentioned in 1 Peter 5:5 and Proverbs 3:34. But grace is said to be unearned.
Wouldn't the proud need more grace than the humble?
Are there two kinds of graces?
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Permalink Reply by David Velasquez on
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Amanda,
English Standard Version (©2001)But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6
English Standard Version (©2001) Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 1 Peter 5:5
English Standard Version (©2001) Toward the scorners he is scornful, but to the humble he gives favor. Proverbs 3:34
>>Wouldn't the proud need more grace than the humble?
There are different types of graces, if we may. There is saving grace and there is general grace.
The proud, unregenerate heart would trample even more grace, if more was given to it, for it is proud and self sufficient. It boasts of great things. But the renewed heart of a born again Christian, though it remains in a flesh that hates surrendering, by the abundance of continuing grace, eventually learns to surrender each area of their lives, showing a humble spirit.
Before Christ saves us, we are all proud people in one way or another, but there are those who very proud. The "proud" spoken about in the verses quoted above are not your regular level of pride, but I believe it speaks of those who are blatancy and devilishly proud.
Indeed, the proud would appear to us, to need more grace than the humble and God has given extremely proud men saving grace throughout human history, but it appears from these verses that the majority only get general grace. The humble are those in Christ, and to us He gives abundance of grace.
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Permalink Reply by Rita Cullimore on
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I understand Grace to mean *unmerited favor*. Why would God give *unmerited favor* to a child who didn't belong to Him? So, I don't understand general grace vs saving grace.
God's grace on mankind was Christ dying for us, to enable us to be redeemed by His Blood. We have to accept His sacrifice in order to be redeemed by it. For those who haven't accepted Christ, they aren't accepting His Grace.
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Rita thank you for always asking great questions,
The term general grace is not one found in the bible, but the teaching that God is good to all his creation it's a biblical one. Scripture teaches that the sun comes out for the just and the unjust, so we learn from such passages that God loves everyone in general terms and gives benefits to all, but there is a difference in the love, the grace, that a child of God receives as to the one someone who is simply the creation of God receives.
God gives unmerited favor to the entire world. There is not one righteous, no, not one, so in a sense everyone gets unmerited favor. When people asked, "why has this or that calamity happened to me," which is a very normal question, we forget that the amazing thing is that God puts up with us, when the payment of sin is death and we sin all the time. The amazing thing is that we are not all dead when we continually disobey God.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_grace
Common Grace is a theological concept in Protestant Christianity... referring to the grace of God that is either common to all humankind, or common to everyone within a particular sphere of influence (limited only by unnecessary cultural factors). It is “common” because its benefits are experienced by, or intended for, the whole human race without distinction between one person and another. It is "grace" because it is undeserved and sovereignty bestowed by God.
Love and blessings to you sis.
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David,
Thank you for your response. I do understand the terminology now. I guess I never considered that as being *Grace*.
Many times, when we are discussing different situations in the Bible, the line becomes very vague between the saved and the lost. Both get mixed together yet the instructions and meaning of a situation between the lost and the saved should be clearer. The meaning of the instructions would serve better if were made the distinctions clearer. That was what I couldn't get out of your first post. Sorry. We both know I'm a*little hard-headed*. :>)
Blessings to you.....
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Permalink Reply by jen on
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The rain falls on the just and the unjust.. would this be considered general grace?
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Yes indeed Jen that qualifies as common Grace/general grace.
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If I find a contradiction in the Bible, it means that I haven't studied the Bible properly to find all the parts of the statement. The contradiction is in me, not in what the Bible says. We often don't read an entire statement that the Bible makes and are misled by the portion that we have read.
The Bible is alive and being alive, it requires us to act. There are many occasions when God says I will (promise) IF
(required action by us). Most every blessing in the Bible is conditioned with an action by us. Christ was given to us but certain things had to happen first. John Baptist had to be here to introduce Him. That required prayer on the part of his parents. There had to be people living on earth who would accept Him (Christ). Judas had to betray Christ. Or, at least, someone had to in order to bring His sacrifice into being. Peter spoke through Christ, healing on the man sitting at the gate but the man had to accept the healing. The disciples accepted Christ's invitation to follow Him and they did it immediately. However, there was one invitation extended that wasn't accepted until the man had buried his parents. That was more or less withdrawn by Christ. (at least for that moment.)
The man plowing who looks back isn't fit for the Kingdom of Heaven. This isn't saying the man will never be fit...it means that he isn't ready at that moment. On the other hand, Lot's wife was told not to look back on the destruction of Sodom...but she did.
The Bible holds so many instructions that will bring us joy and peace IF we will read and study them in the context of which they were written.
Blessings.....
Rita
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Permalink Reply by Jenny on
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what about the four accounts of who found the tomb of Jesus empty and how?
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Jenny,
From: http://aviewfromtheright.com/2011/04/20/bible-contradictions-at-the...
1.Jesus’ ressurection at the cave. 2.Different people. 3.Different numbers. 4.Important people left out some times and other have them there.
Matthew 28:1-10; Mark 16:1-11; Luke 24:1-12; John 20:1-18.
Early Sunday morning, at least three women return to the tomb where Jesus had been laid, intending to rewrap His body with additional spices. Matthew (v.1) only names Mary Magdalene (M.M.) and “the other Mary”; Mark (v.1) names the two Marys, referring to the second as “the mother of James”, and Salome; Luke (v.1,10) names the two Marys & Joanna & mentions “other women”; John (v.1) mentions only Mary Magdalene.
Sometime before the women reached the tomb, an angel of the Lord descended and caused an (apparently very localized) earthquake to role the large stone away from the entrance. The guards were so scared that they had fainted. The women entered the tomb and saw that Jesus’ body was missing. Confused, they then noticed two young men (i.e., angels) in shining garments standing by them. The women were afraid, but the lead angel told them ‘Do not be afraid… He is risen… see the place where He lay… go quickly and tell His disciples… He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him…’.”
I wonder whether the guards at the tomb were more “shaken” by the quake or the appearance of the angels! Whatever it was, it must have been quite an experience to frighten Roman soldiers.
“The women left the tomb and ran back to town, not stopping to talk to anyone. When they reached the place where the mourning disciples were staying, they told what they had seen and the message given them. No one believed them. (Women weren’t usually considered reliable witnesses in that culture.) But Simon Peter and another disciple (“whom Jesus loved”) ran to the tomb to see for themselves. They saw that the body was missing and the burial linens lying folded; they believed and returned to the city. (Apparently, the angels weren’t required to appear to them.)
Meanwhile, Mary Magdalene (and possibly other women) had followed them back to the tomb at a slower pace — perhaps tired, perhaps still afraid. It isn’t clear if Simon Peter & the other ignored M.M., or if they took a different route back and didn’t see her. Now she stood weeping outside the tomb, still thinking the corpse had been moved somewhere by someone. (She must have been so distraught, or perhaps a little airheaded, that the angel’s words hadn’t sunk in, yet.) When she stooped to look inside, she saw the two angels again, this time sitting. After a brief exchange with them, she turned around and saw another man standing there.
It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize Him — perhaps due to her tears & state of mind, perhaps his appearance was somehow altered, maybe he was in shadow or wore a hood. Thinking He might be the gardener, she questioned Him about the missing body. When He addressed her by name, she cried “Master!” and began to “cling” to Him (perhaps grabbing His feet, as told in Matthew’s account). But, He gave her a message for the disciples and sent her back to them.
There are other minor differences between the accounts, but the main questions you raised were regarding the dramatis personae. These can be summed up as follows:
1) The Women: Each Gospel writer names a different “set” or individual, M.M. being the only constant.
2) The Guards at the Tomb: Only Matthew mentions their presence.
3) First Angelic Encounter: Matthew & Mark mention only one angel; Luke mentions two angels; John doesn’t describe the encounter at all.
4) Jesus’ appearance to the women: In Matthew, it sounds like Jesus greeted the women on their way back from the tomb the first time. But, John indicates that it was after visiting the tomb the second time (and it was only M.M.).
5) Peter’s trip to the tomb: Luke & John mention it, but only John mentions the unnamed “other disciple” that accompanied him.
6) Second Angelic Encounter: Only John mentions that Mary Magdalene followed the men back to the tomb and had a second angelic encounter.
7) Who first saw Jesus?: Mark mentions that “He appeared first to Mary Magdalene”, but only John gives details on the meeting; was anyone else with M.M. at the time?
“I think it is worth remembering that women were second-class citizens in that culture. While Jesus (and later the disciples) taught that women were to be respected and basically treated as equals, at this point His followers were still trying to “digest” much of what He taught. It would not be surprising if they fell back into old habits during this traumatic time. This is evidenced by the fact that no one believed the women’s initial report and is one possible explanation for why Peter apparently said nothing to her on his return from the tomb.
It is also a good reason for why very few women were actually named as present during these events at & near the tomb. It is/was not unusual to leave out non-central characters when re-telling a story — all the more reason if they were “just women”. It is interesting that the angels and Jesus appeared first to women disciples rather than men. Perhaps as another reminder that “women are people, too”? I think it is significant that Mary Magdalene was the only woman named in all four accounts. She had a somewhat unique role in Jesus’ ministry both before & after His death (as seen here), and perhaps the Gospel writers couldn’t ignore that. As for why one mentions Joanna and another Salome, your guess is as good as mine. (Maybe they were related to the respective writers? Maybe they were somewhat known for telling their own eyewitness accounts?)
Matthew seems to have opted for a much compacted version of the scene(s) at the tomb. (It wasn’t the first time he did something like that.) He pretty much included the basics — angel rolled stone away, women saw the tomb was empty, angel tells them what happened and gives instructions, Jesus makes first post-resurrection appearance — and leaves it at that. Perhaps he relied on others to include further detail. Perhaps he included detail about the guards — first fainting and later reporting to chief priests & receiving bribe (v.11-15) — because no one else had.
Regarding the angel(s) involved in the first encounter, I notice that Matthew & Luke say these beings shone quite brightly (i.e., “like lightning”). It occurs to me that, if the second was very close to or perhaps behind the lead angel (i.e., presumably the one that caused the earthquake), he might have been obscured from at least some of the women’s view, or perhaps the radiance was so blinding that they only noticed one before being half-blinded. If Matthew and/or Mark read an account by one of these women or interviewed one, that would have been what went in their Gospels. On the other hand, Luke states in the opening of his Gospel that he was aware of several eyewitness accounts that had been “handed down” and that he had “investigated everything”, so it would not be surprising that he got the “full story” about there being two angels.
Again, I think Matthew telescoped the events, so that Jesus’ appearance to Mary Magdalene (and other women?) in his account actually happened after she/they visited the tomb the second time. John indicates from Jesus’ speech that M.M. clung or held onto Him. Matthew says that He greeted them and “They came to Him, clasped His feet and worshipped Him.” Perhaps when M.M. had the second angelic encounter in the tomb, the other women remained a few paces off, until they saw her talking to Jesus, and then the women joined them. Or, perhaps they were a few minutes behind M.M. and only reached the tomb about the time Jesus revealed himself to M.M.
Finally, we come to the men’s visit to the empty tomb. First, in case you aren’t aware, the disciple “whom Jesus loved” is generally recognized as the Gospel-writer John himself. I think he was the youngest of the Twelve, maybe only a teenager, which may have something to do with why Luke neglected to mention him. The fact that it was John himself is probably why he was sure to include it in detail in his own account. (What an exciting thing to experience!) While Peter’s (and perhaps John’s) confirmation of the women’s report was important, Matthew & Mark’s not mentioning it might have been because neither Jesus nor the angels appeared to them (at that time). If Matthew relied heavily on Mark as some think, or vice versa, perhaps one just followed the other’s lead on this one. But, if Mark was indeed relating Peter’s recollections, it does seem odd that he left out Peter’s part in this story.
Not being an expert in any of this, I’m sure there are other considerations that I’m not aware of. There may be another equally or more valid way to harmonize the accounts. But, that’s my best shot — for now.”
There you have it. It ain’t pretty. Not everything fits neatly together, but there are no actual contradictions. (It’s not like one writer said Peter slept all night in front of the tomb and the others said he was in town with the rest of the disciples the whole time. That would be a clear contradiction.) Nothing ad hoc, just a little reasonable speculation. A non-combative approach to these sorts of things — one that takes into account factors like cultural norms, personal vantage points of eyewitnesses, writing focus & style, etc. — allows for a logical way(s) to reconcile most (perhaps all) seeming paradoxes.
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http://www.gotquestions.org/resurrection-accounts.html
Question: "Can the various resurrection accounts from the four Gospels be harmonized?"
Answer: The events surrounding Jesus’ resurrection can be difficult to piece together. We must remember two things: first, the news of Jesus’ resurrection produced much excitement in Jerusalem, and in the ensuing chaos many people were going many different directions. Groups were separated, and several different groups paid visits to the tomb, possibly more than once. Second, the writers of the Gospels did not attempt an exhaustive narrative; in other words, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John had no intention of telling us every detail of the resurrection or every event in the order that it happened.
In the battle with skeptics regarding Jesus' resurrection, Christians are in a "no-win" situation. If the resurrection accounts harmonize perfectly, skeptics will claim that the writers of the Gospels conspired together. If the resurrection accounts have some differences, skeptics will claim that the Gospels contradict each other and therefore cannot be trusted. It is our contention that the resurrection accounts can be harmonized and do not contradict each other.
However, even if the resurrection accounts cannot be perfectly harmonized, that does not make them untrustworthy. By any reasonable evaluation, the resurrection accounts from the four Gospels are superbly consistent eyewitness testimonies. The central truths - that Jesus was resurrected from the dead and that the resurrected Jesus appeared to many people - are clearly taught in each of the four Gospels. The apparent inconsistencies are in "side issues." How many angels did they see in the tomb, one or two? (Perhaps one person only saw one angel, while the other person saw two angels.) To how many women did Jesus appear, and to whom did He appear first? (While each Gospel has a slightly different sequence to the appearances, none of them claims to be giving the precise chronological order.) So, while the resurrection accounts may seem to be inconsistent, it cannot be proven that the accounts are contradictory.
Here is a possible harmony of the narratives of the resurrection of Christ and His post-resurrection appearances, in chronological order:
Jesus is buried, as several women watch (Matthew 27:57-61; Mark 15:42-47; Luke 23:50-56; John 19:38-42).
The tomb is sealed and a guard is set (Matthew 27:62-66).
At least 3 women, including Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome, prepare spices to go to the tomb (Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:1).
An angel descends from heaven, rolls the stone away, and sits on it. There is an earthquake, and the guards faint (Matthew 28:2-4).
The women arrive at the tomb and find it empty. Mary Magdalene leaves the other women there and runs to tell the disciples (John 20:1-2).
The women still at the tomb see two angels who tell them that Jesus is risen and who instruct them to tell the disciples to go to Galilee (Matthew 28:5-7; Mark 16:2-8; Luke 24:1-8).
The women leave to bring the news to the disciples (Matthew 28:8).
The guards, having roused themselves, report the empty tomb to the authorities, who bribe the guards to say the body was stolen (Matthew 28:11-15).
Mary the mother of James and the other women, on their way to find the disciples, see Jesus (Matthew 28:9-10).
The women relate what they have seen and heard to the disciples (Luke 24:9-11).
Peter and John run to the tomb, see that it is empty, and find the grave clothes (Luke 24:12; John 20:2-10).
Mary Magdalene returns to the tomb. She sees the angels, and then she sees Jesus (John 20:11-18).
Later the same day, Jesus appears to Peter (Luke 24:34; 1 Corinthians 15:5).
Still on the same day, Jesus appears to Cleopas and another disciple on their way to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-32).
That evening, the two disciples report the event to the Eleven in Jerusalem (Luke 24:32-35).
Jesus appears to ten disciples—Thomas is missing (Luke 24:36-43; John 20:19-25).
Jesus appears to all eleven disciples—Thomas included (John 20:26-31).
Jesus appears to seven disciples by the Sea of Galilee (John 21:1-25).
Jesus appears to about 500 disciples in Galilee (1 Corinthians 15:6).
Jesus appears to His half-brother James (1 Corinthians 15:7).
Jesus commissions His disciples (Matthew 28:16-20).
Jesus teaches His disciples the Scriptures and promises to send the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:44-49; Acts 1:4-5).
Jesus ascends into heaven (Luke 24:50-53; Acts 1:6-12).
Recommended Resource: The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus by Gary Habermas.
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:)
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