Verified answer

Why are people who don't know the scriptures very well so quick to claim there are inconsistencies?

The inconsistencies I've heard people claim are things like, Here in this verse it says, "Jacob's son, Reuben" but in the other verse it says, "Reuben, Jacob's son". See! It's so contradictory!"

Or if one author of the gospels describes an event and doesn't include everything a different author included, it makes supposedly makes it contradictory. Like someone who describes an elephant's tail and tusks as being thin while another describes it's legs and body as being large and thick.

Having said that, there are few inconsistencies like when the fig tree withered after Jesus cursed it. Matthew describes it as being immediately, (Matt. 21) while Mark (Peter) says they noticed it had withered while they were gone. (Mark 11)

Such few and minor inconsistencies don't in any way reveal the Bible to be untrustworthy or a fake.

If you're serious about this subject you would probably find these books most helpful - "Is God a Moral Monster?" by Paul Copan

and "The Case for the Real Jesus" by former atheist Lee Strobel.

We do! In fact, in Seminary, some of the Profs showed us them. E.g., proverbs that contradict each other. And, a story about Jesus entering/leaving a particular city, with 2/3 companions, who meets a blind man with 1/2 friends. The man calls out to Jesus, who heals him. So, the details of the story differ in the 3 Gospel accounts, but, all agree on the healing, and how it was done.

And, that actually is key to giving the story validity. Police well know that eye-witness accounts of an event will always differ somewhat. In fact, if two people have an identical story, they are most likely in collusion, and they are the ones you suspect. Normal people will have differences. The fact that this story does in fact lends it credibility.

And, NONE of the inconsistencies changes the underlying theme, or ideas in the stories. Remember, the dozens of books of the Bible were written by just over 40 different people. Things will be different - this is only to be expected. The Bible was NOT written by God!

And, sin can be defined as a separation from God. So, God can't sin.

Killing is different from murder. Killing is not a sin (ie. kill a goat for ancient Judaic sacrifice. Kill in a war to protect a city. etc.)

Murder is spawned out of hatred or selfishness and is a sin (ie. serial murderers, abortions, etc.)

The Bible is perfectly consistent. The problem is that the fool looks for errors and misses the picture. The wise person looks at the pictures and the errors aren't errors because they don't exist.

Here is an example:

If you looked closely at the painting of the Last Supper, you would criticize it as being eroded, worn, colorless, and ugly.

But if you looked at it from a distance, and knew the knowledge about its history and who painted it, you would appreciate it and conserve it.

In the same way, fools look at the Bible full of errors, inconsistencies and full of stupidity. But the Christian knows that the author is God himself, and despite the criticism, it is supremely valuable.

That you see inconsistencies in the Bible reveals a lack of spiritual insight into the things that the Holy Spirit has given the writers of the text. Christians do not expect the Bible to make sense to non-believing critics. The issue is not your ability to read, but the non-believers' ability to understand the text and grasp its overall purpose.

There are eight major promises made by God to mankind in the Bible. Find them. Study them. Learn from each one of them. Each of these promises is a covenant, and will be preformed perfectly by God.

The most recent one is the New Covenant promised in Jeremiah, and fulfilled in the New Testament.

Sorry to have to tell you this, but at present, you are ill-equipped to understand the text. The more you understand it, the fewer inconsistencies you will see.

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"The Bible is consistent throughout!" and I am NOT avoiding the point.

I have been studying the Bible since the late 70s, and have yet to find even one.

You have not notated any either - so the Bible has no inconsistencies !!!

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Hmm...no where in the bible does it say "thou shalt not kill."

The #6 commandment is: thou shalt not murder.

And yes, the bible IS consistent throughout...no, I'm not saying that in ignorance. My father is a 20+ year scholar and he hasn't found any inconsistencies as of yet. And yes, I ask him when I think I've found one.

Biblical literalists can't afford to. Their entire house of cards would fall down. There is a small industry devoted to making up excuses for the inconsistencies.

I come from a Mormon background and in my experience, many Christians are so passionate about their beliefs that they are blind to any inconsistencies, or they simply refuse to ask any questions about things that don't make sense. They just accept that the Bible and other religious books are the word of God and that every word is truth, and since no one can physically prove otherwise...

God is the Creator of all living creatures and God is the only one who can rightfully take a life. You don't really give any inconsistencies so can't answer you. Most times it is the reader's lack of understanding the context.

i hope this helps but this is an islamic point of view muslims believe that jesus (arabic term Esa) was a messenger like muhammad from god and not the son of god so like muhammad he brought the bible but the (sorry for my wording) people who wrote the bible were inspired by god but the quran was sent down by god himself so as the centurys passed the bible had addidions and subtractions from humans and the difference with the quran is that people spend decads then and now memorising word for word of the quran and can spot even the smallest of changes to it and it todays figures over 1 billion mulims have memorised it inluding myself. (hope this helps with you question)