Skeptics and critics have asserted that Ezekiel’s prophecy is false. Was Egypt literally devastated, as Ezekiel 29:1-16 predicted? Could the prophecy have only been fulfilled in a figurative sense?
Here is an example of the assertions of skeptics and critics of the Bible:
Possibly the most pessimistic of the Old Testament prophets, Ezekiel proclaimed impending doom upon everyone from Judah itself to the enemy nations surrounding it. The failure of his prophecies to materialize as he predicted makes a compelling argument against the Bible inerrancy doctrine. In one of his doom’s-day prophecies, Egypt was to experience forty years of utter desolation:read more
Did Jesus ride into Jerusalem on one animal? This is an alleged Bible contradiction:
Jesus rode into Jerusalem on how many animals? (a) One – a colt (Mark 11:7; cf Luke 19:3,5). “And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments on it; and he sat upon it.” (b) Two – a colt and an ass (Matthew 21:7). “They brought the ass and the colt and put their garments on them and he sat thereon.”
Jesus obviously did not ride into Jerusalem on two animals, only on one.
Zechariah 9:9 foretold that the future King, the Messiah, would ride into Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey. Matthew quotes this fact inZechariah 9:9, as he records the fulfillment of the prophecy: “Now this took place so that what was spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled:
“SAY TO THE DAUGHTER OF ZION,‘BEHOLD YOUR KING IS COMING TO YOU, HUMBLE, AND MOUNTED ON A DONKEY,EVEN ON A COLT, THE FOAL OF A DONKEY.’” The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them, and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their cloaks on them; and He sat on the cloaks.”—-Matthew 21:5-7 NASBread more
Is there a contradiction in the Bible about whether everyone sins?
Here is an alleged contradiction:
Does every man sin? (a) Yes. “There is no man who does not sin” (I Kings 8:46; see also 2 Chronicles 6:36; Proverbs 20:9; Ecclesiastes 7:20; and I John 1:8,10) (b) No. True Christians cannot possibly sin, because they are the children of God. “Every one who believes that Jesus is the Christ is a child of God. (I John 5:1). “We should be called children of God; and so we are” (I John 3: 1). “He who loves is born of God” (I John 4:7). “No one born of God commits sin; for God’s nature abides in him, and he cannot sin because he is born of God” (I John 3:9). But, then again, Yes! “If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (I John 1:8)read more
Did Jesus Die Before Or After The Temple Curtain Was Torn?
Some skeptics and critics have claimed there is a contradiction in the gospels about whether Jesus died before or after the Temple curtain was torn in two. The article will examine the question, “Did Jesus Die before or after the curtain was torn?”
Here is claimed “contradiction”.
Did Jesus die before the curtain of the temple was torn? (a) Yes (Matthew 27: 50-5 1;Mark 15:37-38) (b) No. After the curtain was torn, then Jesus crying with a loud voice, said, “Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last (Luke 23:45-46)
When we actually carefully read the scriptures that are alleged to contradict, we see there is no contradiction after all.
“When Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom”—Matthew 27:50,51 NIV
“The curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.’ When he had said this, he breathed his last”—Luke 23:45,46 NIV
“With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. The curtain of the temple was torn from top to bottom”—Mark 15:37,38 NIVread more
Was Baby Jesus’ Life Threatened In Jerusalem – Contradiction?
Was baby Jesus’ life threatened in Jerusalem? (a) Yes, so Joseph fled with him to Egypt and stayed there until Herod died (Matthew 2:13 23) (b) No. The family fled nowhere. They calmly presented the child at the Jerusalem temple according to the Jewish customs and returned to Galilee ( Luke 2:21-40)
The above is a claimed contradiction in the Bible accounts of Matthew and Luke. However, by combining the gospel accounts, we get a better picture of the events in Jesus’ life.
“Eight days later when the baby was circumcised , he was named Jesus . . . Then it was time for their purification offering, as required by the law of Moses after the birth of a child; so his parents took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord”—Luke 2:21,22 NLT In Luke’s account, Jesus’ parents took him to the Temple to be presented to God after he was circumcised on the 8th day after his birth. read more
Is The Law of Moses Useful Today? – Bible Contradiction?
Skeptics and critics have claimed that the Bible contradicts itself regarding the Law of Moses is useful for Christians today. Here is the alleged “contradiction”:
Is the Law of Moses useful? (a) Yes. “All scripture is… profitable…” (2 Timothy 3:16) (b) No. “ . . . A former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness… “(Hebrews 7:18)
This is a case of the scriptures being taken out of context.
The Old Mosaic Law Covenant was”set aside”, because it was “canceled” (Ephesians 2:14 NLT) since it could not permanently remove sin. “The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, but not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they never were able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship” (Hebrews 10:1 NLT). read more
Skeptics and critics often assert that the Bible contradicts itself about the details of Judas’ death and the “Field 0f Blood” (Matthew 27:8; Acts 1:19). Let’s first get some background information from the scriptures.
The field, known as the “Field of Blood”, or Akeldama, is traditionally located in the Hinnom Valley near Jerusalem. This purchase is indirectly attributed to Judas, as the chief priests used the returned silver to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners (Matthew 27:6-8). This act fulfills the prophecy found in Zechariah 11:12-13, which speaks of the thirty pieces of silver and the potter’s field.read more
Skeptics and critics frequently claim that the Bible is full of contradictions. One of them is about who heard Jesus’ voice on the Damascus road. Here it is:
When Paul was on the road to Damascus he saw a light and heard a voice, did those who were withhim hear the voice? (a) Yes (Acts 9: 7) (b) No (Acts 22: 9)
Many Bible translations do not precisely translate the Greek, which makes it appear that there really is a contradiction as to who heard Jesus’ voice. However, this supposed “contradiction” is easily cleared up when we look at an accurate translation of the verses under examination.read more
Do Gospels Contradict About the Earthquake & the Stone Moved?
Do the gospels contradict about when the earthquake occurred and the stone was moved at the resurrection of Jesus?
Critics claim that the gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke and John contradict about the time when the earthquake occurred and the stone was moved at the time of Jesus’ resurrection.
“I am struck by a certain consistency among otherwise independent witnesses in placing Mary Magdalene both at the cross and at the tomb on the third day. If this is not a historical datum but something that a Christian storyteller made up and then passed along to others, how is it that this specific bit of information has found its way into accounts that otherwise did not make use of one another? . . . all of our early gospels–not just John and Mark (with Matthew and Luke as well) but also the Gospel of Peter, which appears to be independent of all of them–indicate that it was Mary Magdalen who discovered Jesus’ empty tomb. How did all of these independent accounts happen to name exactly the same person in this role? It seems hard to believe that this just happened by way of a fluke of storytelling. It seems much more likely that, at least with the traditions involving the empty tomb, we are dealing with something actually rooted in history”—Peter, Paul, and Mary Magdalene, p 226, by Bart Ehrman read more
Different Resurrection Appearances – ‘Proofs,’ or Contradictions?
Some have claimed the different accounts of resurrection appearances are “proof” of contradictions
Some have claimed the different accounts of Jesus’ resurrection appearances in the four Gospels and 1 Corinthians are “proofs” these Bible books are riddled with errors and contradictions. If true, these would, in turn,” prove” the Bible not to be inspired of God, or infallible, as many Christians believe that it is.
The Bible itself says that these different resurrection appearances confirm the Bible’s inspiration by God.
“To whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” (Acts 1:3 NKJV, emphasis added)
When people point out the differences in the reporting in the Gospels and 1 Corinthians of which individuals saw the resurrected Jesus and claim these are contradictions, they actually point out something that defeats their own argument. Rather than contradicting one another, the differences in the reporting actually show that these five different accounts are independent of one another. They were written, not in collusion with each other to fabricate a myth or legend, but by five different men who had different perspectives. Each of the writers accurately recorded the events they wrote about from their differing perspectives.
Two of these writers were “apostles whom He had chosen” during His earthly ministry, “to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs” (Acts 1:2-3 NKJV), namely Matthew and John. “Mark, my son in Christ,” as Peter called him, was his recorder of his eyewitness account, so Mark’s gospel is essentially the apostle Peter’s eyewitness account. (1 Peter 5:13 NCV) Luke, who was not an eyewitness himself, notes that others had “set out to write accounts about the events that have been fulfilled among us. They used eyewitness reports circulating among us from the early disciples.” (Luke 1:1-2 NLT) These writings were not legends, or rumors, they were accurate historical accounts based on eyewitness statements. Luke says that he, “having carefully investigated everything from the beginning … decided to write a careful account” (Luke 1:3 NLT), using accurate, truthful, factual material. Luke traveled extensively with the Apostle Paul, who had encountered the resurrected Jesus a couple of years after Jesus’ resurrection. Jesus personally selected Paul to be his “chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as the people of Israel.” (Acts 9:15 NLT) Paul and Luke, during their extensive travels, spent time with many of the original early Christians over a period of a number of years. Furthermore, the fact is that the “Spirit of the truth” would “guide [them] into all truth”(John 16:13 NLT), as Jesus promised. So it proved to be, the New Testament writings were guided by the holy Spirit.
Another point worth noting is that each writer had to be highly selective in choosing which material to record. Why? John, using hyperbole, explains in his endnote: “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” (John 21:25 NIV, emphasis added) John also made a similar admission when he stated the purpose of his writing: “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.” (John 20:30 NIV), emphasis added) So John plainly states there are multitudes of Jesus’ activities that he did not record. Although the synoptics do not explicitly state it, it is obvious also that they had to be highly selective about which of numerous events in Jesus’ life to record.
If each Gospel account was identical, then why would the New Testament not have but one Gospel book? In that case, there would be no need to waste all the time writing materials and make four copies of the same identical account. The reason the New Testament includes these four Gospels is because there are four independent, accurate accounts of Jesus’ life, with major emphasis on the events of the week leading up to his execution, and the events that follow.
If the differences in the four Gospels and 1 Corinthians concerned the main points, there may be some cause for concern. Let’s take an example of this. Mark’s Gospel in its original form ended at 16:8, and included no resurrection appearances of Jesus. The other three Gospels and 1 Corinthians do record resurrection appearances of Jesus, with variations. Is Mark’s omission here a contradiction? No, omission is not tantamount to contradiction, in, and of, itself. Notice two key points:
None of the four Gospels, or 1 Corinthians, individually, give all the details regarding Jesus’ resurrection appearances. These accounts supplement each other. No group of four or five witnesses, news reporters, or news outlets will give identical reports when reporting a series of major events. They will agree on the main points, but the details will differ.
Yes, the four Gospels and 1 Corinthians differ in their reporting of who saw the resurrected Jesus. Critics claim these differences amount to contradictions. However, this is actually not the case. Why not? For one thing, most of the reporting done in the five accounts lacks specific time references, which pulls the rug out from under the so-called “chronological contradictions.”
While carefully examining the five accounts of the witnesses of the resurrected Jesus, we can come up with who saw Jesus first, etc. (John 20:1-18) But the exact chronological order of these witnesses is not the major event. The event of gigantic proportions is the resurrection of Jesus.
One alleged contradiction is Paul’s list of witnesses in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8. He lists Cephas (Peter) first, so critics claim this contradicts John’s account in which Mary Magdalene first meets the resurrected Jesus. However, looking carefully at Paul’s account, we notice that he does not say that Cephas (Peter) saw the risen Jesus first. Paul states “that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas.” (1 Corinthians 15:4-5 NIV) Paul writes factually, without giving every detail, including an exhaustive list of different witnesses.
As to the critics’ assertion that none of the writers of the four Gospels met with the risen Jesus, again, a careful examination of the evidence proves this to be an invalid objection, as follows:
“The apostles he had chosen” were given “many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days.” “The apostles he had chosen” included Gospel writers Matthew and John. Peter was also an apostle, and we know Mark was his writer for the second Gospel. (Acts 1:1-3 NIV)
Risen Jesus commanded them: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift…. Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem…. Those present were Peter, John… and Matthew.” (Acts 1:4, 12-13 NIV) They decided to select a replacement for Judas, “appointed to serve with us as a witness to his resurrection.” (Acts 1:22 NJB) The new apostle had to be one who had witnessed the risen Jesus, so he could “serve with us as a witness to his resurrection.” “Us” here included witnesses Matthew, Peter and John.
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