Contradictions in The Bible?
First and foremost, let me be perfectly clear on the position of Muslims regarding the authenticity of the Holy Bible. It is a condition of faith for believers to believe in all of God's Books and scripture as stipulated by the Quran, the Last and Final Testament from Almighty God to mankind, that the previous scriptures, including of course the Old Testament (Arabic = Torah), the Psalms (Arabic = Zabur) and the New Testament (Arabic = Injeel) were all from Almighty God (Arabic = Allah) in their original form. The beginning verses of the Quran clearly spell out the position of the 'Believer' with regard to these scriptures. As the translation from Arabic may be rendered regarding the conditions of believers:
"And they (believers) believe in what is being sent down to you (Muhammad, peace be upon him) and they believe in what has been sent down before (previous Holy scriptures to Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon, and of course Jesus, peace be upon them all)."
[Noble Quran 2:4]
Therefore, it must be established that Muslims do accept that Almighty Allah did send down many Holy Books and He did allow the people to alter, change, delete and make additions to these Books, and as such, they can not longer be considered as the "Word of God" in their present condition. This is something immediately agreed upon by all qualified Biblical scholars.
Incidentally, there is sufficient evidence in the Quran to prove the remainder of the Bible still contains many of the original teachings and sayings of the prophets to whom the various scriptures were revealed.
From the previous chapter we can easily determine that the original source of the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments have been lost and are no longer extant in any language. What has remained and been referred to for translations, is in fact nothing more than old copies that do not necessarily agree with each other and there does exist in them obvious corruption in additions and deletions. Additionally, they are not complete and do not have full agreement of the scholars of the Bible as to their meanings.
Just to offer a few of the many contradictions and errors of that which is being presented as the "Word of God" in the Bible I would like to quote the research of scholars of the Bible:
VERSES THAT CONTRADICT THEMSELVES
| Genesis 6:3 and Genesis 11:11 - Life limited to 120 years? Genesis 32:30 and Exodus 33:20 - Jacob's life was preserved? Exodus 4:22 and Jeremiah 31:9 - Who was God's firstborn? Numbers 23:19 and Genesis 6:6-7 - Does God repent or not? 2 Samuel 6:23 and 2 Samuel 21:8 - Did Michael have children? 2 Samuel 8:4 and 1 Chronicles 18:4 - 700 or 7000 horsemen? 2 Samuel 8:9-10 and 1 Chronicles 18:9-10 - Toi or Tou? Hadadezer or Hadarezer? Joram or Hadoram? 2 Samuel 10:18 and 1 Chronicles 19:18 - 700 or 7000 charioteers? 40,000 horsemen or footmen? Captain's name? 2 Samuel 24:1 and 1 Chronicles 21:1 - Who provoked David? 2 Samuel 24:9 and 1 Chronicles 21:5 - 800,000 or 100,000? 2 Samuel 24:13 and 1 Chronicles 21:11-12 - 7 or 3 years? 1 Kings 4:26 and 2 Chronicles 9:25 - 40,000 or 4,000 stalls? 1 Kings 5:15-16 and 2 Chronicles 2:2 - 3300 or 3600? 1 Kings 7:26 and 2 Chronicles 4:5 - 2000 or 3000 baths? 2 Kings 8:26 and 2 Chronicles 22:2 - 22 or 42 years old? 2 Kings 24:8 and 2 Chronicles 36:9 - 18 or 8 years old? 3 months or 3 months and 10 days? Ezra 2:65 and Nehemiah 7:67 - 200 or 245 singers? Matthew 1:12 and Luke 3:27 - Who was Salathiel's father? Matthew 1:16 and Luke 3:23 - Who was Joseph's father? Matthew 9:18 and Mark 5:22-23 - Dead or not? Matthew 10:5-10 and Mark 6:7-8 - Bring a staff or not? Matthew 15:21-22 and Mark 7:24-26 - The woman was of Canaan or Greece? Matthew 20:29-30 and Mark 10:46-47 - One or two beggars? Matthew 21:1-2 and Mark 11:1-2 - What happened to the ass? Matthew 26:74-75 and Mark 14:72 - Before the cock crow once or twice? Matthew 27:5 and Acts 1:18 - How did Judas die? John 3:16 and Psalms 2:7 - Only begotten son? John 5:31 and John 8:14 - Was Jesus' record true or not? |
VERSES THAT CONTRADICT THE TRINITARIAN DOCTRINE AND/OR THE DIVINITY OF JESUS:
| Exodus 33:20, John 1:18, 1 Timothy 6:16 - No one saw God. Isaiah 42:8 - Do not praise and worship images. Isaiah 45:1 - "Anointed" does not mean "God". Matthew 14:23, 19:13, 26:39, 27:46, 26:42-44 - Jesus prayed. Matthew 24:36 - Jesus was not all-knowing. Matthew 26:39 - Jesus and God had different wills. Matthew 28:18 - All power was given to Jesus. Mark 1:35, 6:46, 14:35-36 - Jesus prayed. Mark 10:17-18 and Luke 18:18-19 - Jesus denied divinity. Mark 12:28-29 - God is one. Mark 13:32 - Jesus was not all-knowing. Mark 16:19 and Luke 22:69 - Jesus at the right hand of God. Luke 3:21, 5:16, 6:12, 9:18, 9:28, 11:1-4, 22:41 - Jesus prayed. Luke 4:18, 9:48, 10:16 - Jesus was from God. Luke 7:16, 13:33, 24:18-19 - Jesus was a prophet. Luke 10:21 - Jesus gave thanks. Luke 23:46 - The spirit of Jesus was commended to God. John 4:19 - Jesus was a prophet. John 4:23-24 - Worship in spirit and truth. John 14:28 - One was greater than the other. John 5:19, 5:30, 7:28, 8:28 - Jesus was helpless. John 5:20 - The Father showed the son. John 5:30 and 6:38 - Jesus and God had different wills. John 5:31-32 - Jesus' witness was not true. John 6:11 and 11:41-42 - Jesus gave thanks. John 6:32 - The Father was the provider, not the son. John 7:29, 16:5, 16:28 - Jesus was from God. John 7:16, 12:49, 14:24, 17:14 - Jesus' words were not his. John 8:42 - Jesus did not come of himself. John 10:29 - "My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all." John 14:1 - Jesus said, "...believe also in me." John 14:16, 17:1, 17:9, 17:11, 17:15 - Jesus prayed. John 14:31 and 15:10 - Jesus followed commands. John 17:6-8 - "I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me." John 20:17 - Jesus had a God. Acts 2:22 - Jesus was "a man approved of God." Romans 8:34 - Jesus was an intercessor. 1 Timothy 2:5 - Jesus was the mediator between God and humans. |
Incidentally, these are really only some selections of contradictions and inaccuracies found in the modern versions of the Bible. There are many more but for the sake of time and space we have limited ourselves to those listed above.
Again I would like to repeat, the Muslim must believe in all original texts coming from Almighty God. The only subject being discussed here is whether or not the Bible being offered today in the English language is in fact, the real "Bible".
[Please continue to chapter 3 - "Who is the God of the Bible?"]
