Valley of Achor: A Memorial to remind us of the danger of Sin

I have been thinking about my reading of Joshua 7.  This might not be new to others but it stood out to me.

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Bible Contradiction? Were the Israelites to spare the trees in the countries they invaded?

For today’s post we will tackle the question the Skeptic Annotated Bible asked:Were the Israelites to spare the trees in the countries they invaded?

Here are the two answers which the skeptic believes indicate a Bible contradiction:

Yes

“Then you shall strike every fortified city and every choice city, and cut down every good tree and stop up all the springs of water, and spoil every good plot of land with stones.’”” (2 Kings 3:19)

No

“When you besiege a city for a long time, to make war against it in order to capture it, you shall not destroy its trees by swinging an axe against them; for you may eat from them, so you shall not cut them down. For is the tree of the field a human, that it should ^[b]be besieged by you?” (Deuteronomy 20:19)

(All Scriptural quotation comes from the New American Standard Bible)

Here’s a closer look at whether or not there is a contradiction:

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Sola Scriptura and the Church Fathers Series: Scripture is Self-Authenticating

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

I have in the past written on the topic that Scripture is self-attesting.

Here’s a two part video discussions on this topic and also about Church history (church fathers) and Sola Scriptura.

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Jericho: A lesson on victory, God’s presence and not leaning on ourselves

I have been thinking about my reading of Joshua 6 last night with the story of the conquest of Jericho.  This might not be new to others but it stood out to me.

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Bible Contradiction? Who bought the sepulcher in Shechem from the sons of Hamor?

For today’s post we will tackle the question the Skeptic Annotated Bible asked: Who bought the sepulcher in Shechem from the sons of Hamor?

Here are the two answers which the skeptic believes indicate a Bible contradiction:

Jacob

“Now they buried the bones of Joseph, which the sons of Israel brought up from Egypt, at Shechem, in the plot of land which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of money; and they became the inheritance of Joseph’s sons.” (Joshua 24:32)

Abraham

“And they were brought back from there to Shechem and laid in the tomb which Abraham had purchased for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.” (Acts 7:16)

(All Scriptural quotation comes from the New American Standard Bible)

Here’s a closer look at whether or not there is a contradiction:

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Bible Contradiction? What animals must you sacrifice each day?

For today’s post we will tackle the question the Skeptic Annotated Bible asked: What animals must you sacrifice each day?

Here are the two answers which the skeptic believes indicate a Bible contradiction:

A bullock and two lambs

“Each day you shall offer a bull as a sin offering for atonement, and you shall purify the altar when you make atonement for it, and you shall anoint it to consecrate it. 37 For seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and consecrate it; then the altar shall be most holy, and whatever touches the altar shall be holy. 38 “Now this is what you shall offer on the altar: two one-year-old lambs each day, continuously. 39 The one lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight;” (Exodus 29:36-39)

Two lambs (without a bullock)

“Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Command the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be careful to present to Me My offering, My food for My offerings by fire, of a soothing aroma to Me, at their appointed time.’ 3 And you shall say to them, ‘This is the offering by fire which you shall offer to the Lord: two male lambs one year old without defect as a continual burnt offering every day. 4 You shall offer the one lamb in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight;” (Numbers 28:1-4)

(All Scriptural quotation comes from the New American Standard Bible)

Here’s a closer look at whether or not there is a contradiction:

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Bible Contradiction? Is it OK to use perfume?

For today’s post we will tackle the question the Skeptic Annotated Bible asked: Is it OK to use perfume?

Here are the two answers which the skeptic believes indicate a Bible contradiction:

Yes

Perfume rejoices the heart.

“Oil and perfume make the heart glad, And a person’s advice is sweet to his friend.” (Proverbs 27:9)

Esther used it to impress the king. (And she was one of God’s favorite women.)

“So it came about, when the command and decree of the king were heard and many young ladies were gathered to the citadel of Susa into the custody of Hegai, that Esther was taken to the king’s palace into the custody of Hegai, who was in charge of the women. 9 Now the young lady pleased him and found favor with him. So he quickly provided her with her cosmetics and food, gave her seven choice female attendants from the king’s palace, and transferred her and her attendants to the best place in the harem. 10 Esther did not reveal her people or her kindred, because Mordecai had instructed her that she was not to reveal them. 11 And every day Mordecai walked back and forth in front of the courtyard of the harem to learn how Esther was and what was happening to her. 12 Now when the turn came for each young woman to go in to King Ahasuerus, after the end of her twelve months under the regulations for the women—for the days of their beauty treatment were completed as follows: six months with oil of myrrh and six months with balsam oil and the cosmetics for women” (Esther 2:8-12)

The author of the Song of Solomon was a big fan of perfume.

“What is this coming up from the wilderness Like columns of smoke, Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, With all the scented powders of the merchant?” (Song of Solomon 3:6)

“How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much [a]sweeter is your love than wine, And the fragrance of your oils Than that of all kinds of balsam oils!” ( Song of Solomon 4:10)

“I arose to open to my beloved; And my hands dripped with myrrh, And my fingers with drops of myrrh, On the handles of the bolt.” (Song of Solomon 5:5)

And perfume was poured on Jesus’s feet.

“Mary then took a ^[a]pound of very expensive perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.” (John 12:3)

No, they are unclean

Perfume is for God, not you.

“And the incense which you shall make, you shall not make in the same proportions for yourselves; it shall be holy to you for the Lord.” (Exodus 30:37)

Only whores use perfume

“I have sprinkled my bed With myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.” (Proverbs 7:17)

The daughters of Zion used perfume. (So God discovered their secret parts.)

“Moreover, the Lord said, “Because the daughters of Zion are haughty And walk with heads held high and seductive eyes, And go along with mincing steps And jingle the anklets on their feet, 17 The Lord will afflict the scalp of the daughters of Zion with scabs, And the Lord will make their foreheads bare.” 18 On that day the Lord will take away the beauty of their anklets, headbands, crescent ornaments, 19 dangling earrings, bracelets, veils, 20 headdresses, ankle chains, sashes, perfume boxes, amulets, 21 finger rings, nose rings, 22 festive robes, outer garments, shawls, purses, 23 papyrus garments, undergarments, headbands, and veils. 24 Now it will come about that instead of balsam oil there will be a stench; Instead of a belt, a rope; Instead of well-set hair, a plucked-out scalp; Instead of fine clothes, a robe of sackcloth; And branding instead of beauty.” (Isaiah 3:16-24)

“You have journeyed to the king with oil And increased your perfumes; You have sent your messengers a great distance And made them go down to Sheol.” (Isaiah 57:9)

(All Scriptural quotation comes from the New American Standard Bible)

Here’s a closer look at whether or not there is a contradiction:

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Bible Contradiction? Is it OK to marry unbelievers?

For today’s post we will tackle the question the Skeptic Annotated Bible asked: Is it OK to marry unbelievers?

Here are the two answers which the skeptic believes indicate a Bible contradiction:

Yes

“But to the rest I say, not the Lord, that if any brother has an unbelieving wife, and she consents to live with him, he must not divorce her. 13 And if any woman has an unbelieving husband, and he consents to live with her, she must not [c]divorce her husband. 14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through [d]her believing husband; for otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy.” (1 Corinthians 7:12-14)

No, they are unclean

“Do not be mismatched with unbelievers; for what do righteousness and lawlessness share together, or what does light have in common with darkness? 15 Or what harmony does Christ have with Belial, or what does a believer share with an unbeliever? 16 Or what agreement does the temple of God have with idols? For we are [e]the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I will dwell among them and walk among them; And I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 17 Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord. “And do not touch what is unclean; And I will welcome you.” (2 Corinthians 6:14-17)

(All Scriptural quotation comes from the New American Standard Bible)

Here’s a closer look at whether or not there is a contradiction:

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Review: Exodus Old and New: A Biblical Theology of Redemption

Still away: A book I finished from my long flights.

L. Michael Morales. Exodus Old and New: A Biblical Theology of Redemption. Westmont, Illinois: IVP Academic,August 18, 2020. 224 pp.

5 out of 5

Purchase: Amazon

Are you looking for a book on biblical theology with the th. There eme of the Exodus that is found again and again in the Bible?  If so this is a must read.  This book is an amazing book.  It is so fascinating that it took me a long time to read it since I took allot of notes!  The author did a good job being biblically driven and his insights are amazing. Though it is not the main purpose of the book, it read as a devotional and also an apologetic book at the same time. Reading this made me worship the God of the Bible and also marveling at how this can’t all be a coincidence but the Bible must be divine in origin!

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Guest Post: Addressing Wells’ Contextual Gaffes on 1 Corinthians 6:9–11: Contradiction 434 Debunked

Note: This is a guest post since presently I am overseas. This is by Scott Stocking. Scott is no stranger to some of you who read this blog. His blog be found here.

 

Introduction

I want to say thank you to Jim Lee (“SlimJim”) for the opportunity to provide a “guest post” to this important blog. Just a little bit to introduce myself before I get into the topic. I was raised in the Presbyterian Church USA, but when I came to understand my need for a personal relationship with Christ, I eventually made my way to the Restoration Movement. After getting a BA in Psychology from the University of Nebraska Omaha, I earned a Master of Divinity in Old Testament/Hebrew from Lincoln (IL) Christian Seminary. I went on teach as an adjunct for several Bible-focused universities in biblical languages, hermeneutics, and worldviews, and other biblical studies courses.

In 2011, I took the Strengths survey from Gallup, and discovered I had the “gift” of intellection. One of the suggestions for me to develop that gift further was to write a blog, which I had just started to do. I had committed to reading through the Greek New Testament and writing about my discoveries along the way. That was the birth of my Sunday Morning Greek Blog. I went on to read through the Greek New Testament again in 2012 and continued writing. In the last couple years, after churches began to open up again after the pandemic, I found myself filling pulpits, so most of my recent posts are my sermons.

Tackling the Easy Stuff First

For my topic today, I want to address Mr. Wells’ treatment of 1 Corinthians 6:9–11 in The Skeptic’s Annotated Bible. He identifies three issues with his symbols on this passage: injustice, intolerance, and homosexuality. I want to dispense with his first error, because it’s easy to do so. He says, “Paul lists ten groups of people who will never enter heaven.” Actually, he only lists one group, “the unrighteous,” and lists ten subgroups, hardly exhaustive, that, on their own merits, would certainly not inherit the kingdom of God.

But verse 11, which Wells completely ignores, provides important context for Paul’s statement. He says, “For such were some of you,” and goes on to indicate they have been sanctified and justified so that the promise of the kingdom is indeed theirs to claim. This also answers Contradiction #434: People who were once thieves, or living any of the other sinful lifestyles identified for that matter, can be redeemed. One more point: the Greek word for “thief” in 1 Corinthians 6:10 (kleptēs) is not the word used in Mark 15:27 (lēstēs; KJV: “thief”; NIV: “rebel”) or Luke 23:39 (kakourgos; KJV: “malefactor”; NIV: “criminal”). These are not the contradictions you’re looking for, Mr. Wells. Move along.

Word Study on the Greek Terms Behind “Effeminate” and “Abusers of Themselves With Mankind”

For someone who wants to be skeptical about the Scriptures, he doesn’t seem to have done much homework on the things he’s skeptical about. I’ve seen comments to that effect from many of the Veritas Domain readers here. I want to help mitigate his ignorance of who the “effeminate” (KJV) are. One of the most basic steps he could have taken was to check how other English versions translated the underlying Greek term here. I’ll discuss those below, but I want to start with tools available for those who don’t have access to Greek. Let’s look at how some of the modern translations translate the passage.

(KJV) “effeminate…abusers of themselves with mankind”

(NIV 2011) “men who have sex with men” (this actually conflates the two Greek words translated “effeminate” and “abusers”)

(ESV) “men who practice homosexuality” (again, a conflation of the two terms)

(TNIV; precursor to NIV 2011) “male prostitutes…practicing homosexuals”

(RSV) “sexual perverts” (conflation)

(NRSV) “male prostitutes…sodomites”

(NASB) “effeminate…homosexuals”

(NKJV) “homosexuals…sodomites”

So as one can easily see, none of the translations are particularly flattering for these two terms, nor are the rest of the terms in the two verses flattering in any way. The NIV gives a rather basic description without using any labels, perhaps because they’re focusing on the sinful act more than on the labels.

But let’s dig a little deeper to see just what’s behind these translations. (For a detailed look at these words, please see my post, μαλακός (malakos) “soft,” “weak,” “effeminate”: A Look at Classical and Biblical Greek Usage.) The Greek term translated “effeminate” is malakos. The word is only used a few times in the NT, and not always with sexual meaning. The word is used in the Gospels in two parallel passages (Matthew 11:8, Luke 7:25) to speak of people in palaces who wear “fine” clothes. This is completely consistent with one of the semantic domains of the word in classical Greek writings. That particular domain has the general meaning of “soft” or “delicate,” and can refer to anything from someone’s appetite to soft turf on which a horse is trained to the soft coat of a horse or other animal. It is used in opposition to the Greek word for hard, sklēra. It can also be used of furniture. That seems to be more of a neutral, benign use of the word.

But it also has a negative connotation that again has nothing to do with sexuality. Broadly speaking, the semantic domain for this use has to do with weakness (this is what the abstract noun form, malakia, means, but still applied to the substantive form malakos). It is used in parallel with the Greek word for “weak” and in contrast with “strong.” It even describes the defeated (and deceased) Hektor after a battle scene, or the character of an army or military leader who refuses to fight when necessary. This is definitely not flattering, especially in a male-dominated culture that valued strong men and warriors.

Like the Bible, classical Greek does use the word to refer to sexual activity or orientation. Herodotus describes Telines as someone “soft and effeminate,” using the word for femaleness in parallel with malakos. This is one reason why I believe this is referring to someone who acts like a female. In fact, Louw & Nida, in their lexicon for Bible translators, define the word as the “passive male partner in homosexual intercourse.” This is further bolstered by the complementary term that follows, arsenokoitēs (KJV: “abusers of themselves with mankind”; yeah, all that for one Greek word!), which is a compound word meaning literally “lying with

men.” Louw & Nida indicate this is the term for the “active male partner in homosexual intercourse.”

Conclusion

When I was a campus minister many years ago, the school I ministered at had the largest Gay-Lesbian Student Union (as they called it at the time; mid 1990s). Many of them tried to argue that the term malakos meant “morally soft,” in keeping with nonsexual semantic domains. But Paul makes it clear in the context of 1 Corinthians 6:9–10 that these were sins that often led to some sort of social stigma or isolation. The irony is, such a misguided interpretation “softens” the hard reality of the passage.

These sins, or perhaps more accurately, sinful lifestyles, identified in 1 Corinthians 6:9–10 are evidence of life lived outside of God’s grace and apart from belief in Jesus as the Messiah. In fact, we often need to remind ourselves as Christ-followers that we ALL have sinned and fall short of God’s glory. It’s not the sins themselves that keep us out of heaven; it’s the lack of acknowledging that Christ is the only one who can cleanse us of our sins, restore us to a right relationship with God, and ensure for us the hope of eternal life in his coming kingdom. Christ died for us while we were ungodly, while we were still sinners (Romans 5:6–8). Let us be shining lights in a world of darkness so the world can know God’s salvation.

Thank you for allowing me to share with you. Peace to all.

My opinions are my own and do not necessarily reflect the owner of this blog.

Scott Stocking

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Resolving 54 Bible Contradictions from Jesus’ Final Week to His Ascension

This last year I tried to put out more posts resolving Bible contradictions concerning the final week of Christ through His Ascension to add to the list I put out last year.  It takes some time on my part to go through them to provide exegetically sound refutations; Lord willing I will add more to this lists next year.  See my post I wrote on why refuting Bible Contradictions Takes Time.  As of Passion Week 2023 I have responded to fifty four alleged Bible contradictions that took place during the final week of Jesus’ life up to His Ascension.  These posts are arranged below roughly in chronological order in the Gospel with additions we wrote after last Resurrection Sunday labeled “NEW” in red:

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Bible Contradiction? When was the Holy Ghost given?

For today’s post we will tackle the question the Skeptic Annotated Bible asked: When was the Holy Ghost given?

Here are the two answers which the skeptic believes indicate a Bible contradiction:

After the resurrection of Jesus

“But this He said in reference to the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” (John 7:39)

“And when He had said this, He breathed on them and *said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” ( John 20:22)

“When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly a noise like a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 And tongues that looked like fire appeared to them, distributing themselves, and a tongue rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with different tongues, as the Spirit was giving them the ability to speak out.” (Acts 2:1-4)

Before resurrection of Jesus

“David himself said in the Holy Spirit, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Until I put Your enemies under Your feet.’” (Mark 12:36)

“For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while still in his mother’s womb.” (Luke 1:15)

“When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.” (Luke 1:41)

“And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying:” (Luke 1:67)

“And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him.” (Luke 2:25)

“Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.” (Acts 1:16)

(All Scriptural quotation comes from the New American Standard Bible)

Here’s a closer look at whether or not there is a contradiction:

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Bible Contradiction? Did Mary Magdalene recognize Jesus when he first appeared to her?

For today’s post we will tackle the question the Skeptic Annotated Bible asked: Did Mary Magdalene recognize Jesus when he first appeared to her?

Here are the two answers which the skeptic believes indicate a Bible contradiction:

Yes, she recognized him.

“And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Rejoice!” And they came up and took hold of His feet, and worshiped Him.” (Matthew 28:9)

No, she didn’t recognize him.

“When she had said this, she turned around and *saw Jesus standing there, and yet she did not know that it was Jesus.” (John 20:14)

Jesus didn’t appear to her; she had a vision of angels who told her that he was alive.

“and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive.” (Luke 24:23)

(All Scriptural quotation comes from the New American Standard Bible)

Here’s a closer look at whether or not there is a contradiction:

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Bible Contradiction? Did the eleven disciples believe the two men who claimed to see Jesus?

For today’s post we will tackle the question the Skeptic Annotated Bible asked: Did the eleven disciples believe the two men who claimed to see Jesus?

Here are the two answers which the skeptic believes indicate a Bible contradiction:

Yes, since he had already appeared to Simon.

“And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together and those who were with them, 34 saying, “The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon!”” (Luke 24:33-34)

No.

“Now after that, He appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking along on their way to the country. 13 And they went away and reported it to the rest, but they did not believe them, either.” (Mark 16:12-13)

(All Scriptural quotation comes from the New American Standard Bible)

Here’s a closer look at whether or not there is a contradiction:

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Not Misapplying Ephesians 3:20

Many love Ephesians 3:20:

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,

It is a great verse.

But it can be misapplied. I have seen this used to promote prosperity Gospel.

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