What about contradictions in the Bible?

BIBLICAL BACKING

  1. God is not the author of confusion.

    “For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.” — 1 Corinthians 14:33 (ESV)

    Therefore, a book inspired by Him will reflect that nature.

  2. All Scripture is breathed out by God.

    “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” — 2 Timothy 3:16 (ESV)

    “God-breathed” (Greek: theopneustos) means it originates from a perfect mind. A perfect mind doesn’t contradict itself.

  3. Scripture cannot be broken.

    “Scripture cannot be broken.” — John 10:35b (ESV)

    Jesus Himself upheld the absolute integrity of Scripture. If it could contradict itself, He would not have said this.

  4. The sum of God’s Word is truth.

    “The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.” — Psalm 119:160 (ESV)

    Not part, but the sum—even the hard parts—are truth. It harmonizes fully.

PHILOSOPHICAL REASONING

1. A contradiction is a logical impossibility.

By classical logic, a true contradiction is a statement that affirms and denies the same thing in the same sense at the same time (Law of Non-Contradiction).

Example: “Jesus died on the cross” and “Jesus did not die on the cross” — that would be a contradiction.

But most alleged biblical contradictions are not this. They fall into categories:

  • Perspective differences (e.g., four Gospels)

  • Time distinctions

  • Figure of speech or hyperbole

  • Copyist variations (in numbers or spelling) — which are scribal, not theological.

  • Reader misunderstanding (e.g., ancient idioms misunderstood today)

Philosophically: If a perfect, omniscient being inspired a book, the presence of tension or complexity is not a contradiction — it’s an opportunity for deeper revelation.

HISTORICAL/THEOLOGICAL CONTEXT

1. Ancient Literature Was Not Western Journalism

  • Biblical writers weren't aiming for modern forensic precision.

  • They used parallelism, round numbers, genealogical compression, non-linear narratives, and selective emphasis — all standard literary devices of the ancient world.

  • God used real human authors with real styles, vocabularies, and cultural methods to communicate His Word.

Example: The differences in resurrection accounts (Matt. 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 20) aren’t contradictions — they are complementary views of the same event, like witnesses describing a car crash from different vantage points.

2. Apparent Numerical Contradictions

Example:
2 Samuel 24:9 says 800,000 men in Israel
1 Chronicles 21:5 says 1,100,000

This is not a contradiction — it's a difference in classification. One author may have excluded standing army or mercenaries, while another included them. Ancient war records varied based on audience and purpose. The Chronicler had a theological purpose distinct from Samuel’s author.

REAL-WORLD ANALOGY

Imagine four eyewitnesses in a courtroom:

  • One says, “I saw a man in red run from the scene.”

  • Another says, “He had a red hoodie and black jeans.”

  • Another says, “There were two men running.”

  • Another says, “One of them dropped a knife.”

Are they contradicting each other? No. They are giving pieces of the same event. If all testimonies were word-for-word identical, the judge would suspect collusion or fabrication.

The same applies to the Gospels and other biblical writings. Variation is the mark of authenticity, not error.

CLARITY

Most people who claim “the Bible has contradictions” have never actually studied it carefully or deeply. They’re parroting a slogan.

Here’s the bold truth:

The Bible does not have contradictions — it has tension, complexity, and depth — but not error.

The “contradiction” claim is often a smoke screen. Why?

  • Moral resistance: People don’t want the Bible to be true because of what it demands of them.

  • Spiritual blindness:

    “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God... he is not able to understand them.” — 1 Corinthians 2:14 (ESV)

  • Surface-level reading:

    “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.” — Matthew 22:29 (ESV)

No serious biblical scholar or theologian today claims there are irrefutable contradictions in the Bible. They may challenge interpretation, but not inspiration.

COMMON “CONTRADICTIONS” — ANSWERED

1. Who carried Jesus’ cross?

  • John 19:17 — Jesus carried it.

  • Mark 15:21 — Simon of Cyrene carried it.

Answer: Jesus began carrying it, but Simon was compelled to finish it. No contradiction — it’s a sequential account.

2. How did Judas die?

  • Matthew 27:5 — He hanged himself.

  • Acts 1:18 — He fell headlong and burst open.

Answer: Both are true. He hanged himself, and his body later fell (possibly when the rope or branch broke), causing the gruesome details described in Acts. Complementary, not contradictory.

CONCLUSION: THE BIBLE IS A COHERENT MASTERPIECE, NOT A MAN-MADE MESS

To say the Bible contradicts itself is to expose your own contradiction:

  • You trust ancient history with far less documentation.

  • You trust science books that change every decade.

  • You trust news media that contradict themselves daily.

But you doubt a book preserved through 40 authors, over 1,500 years, across 3 continents, in 3 languages — with perfect theological unity?

That’s not intellectual honesty. That’s rebellion disguised as skepticism.

There is no contradiction in the Bible. There is only contradiction in the heart of man who resists its authority.