Bible Contradiction? Can God be found through reason alone?

 

For today’s post we will tackle the question the Skeptic Annotated Bible asked: Can God be found through reason alone?

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

Yes.

“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20)

No.

“‘Can you discover the depths of God? Can you discover the limits of the Almighty?’” (Job 11:7)

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

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Bible Contradiction? Are those who obey the law cursed?

 

For today’s post we will tackle the question the Skeptic Annotated Bible asked: Are those who obey the law cursed?

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

Those who follow the law are cursed.

“For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them.”” (Galatians 3:10)

Those who do not follow the law are cursed.

“‘Cursed is he who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’” (Deuteronomy 27:26)

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

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Bible Contradiction? When did Jesus say that he would return?

 

For today’s post we will tackle the question the Skeptic Annotated Bible asked: When did Jesus say that he would return?

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

Before his disciples preach throughout Israel.

““But whenever they persecute you in one city, flee to [b]the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes.” (Matthew 10:23)

 

After the gospel is preached throughout the world.

“This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come..” (Matthew 24:14)

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

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Apologetics Sermon Illustration #55: Bible Contradiction and Lyrics in Context

GO TO PART 54

Point: Sometimes when one engage in apologetics the issue of alleged Bible contradiction comes up.  There are times when those who assert that there are contradictory verses in the Bible fail to acknowledge that words can have more than one meaning and thus a word used in one context does not mean the same thing in another context.  But if one fail to recognize there are differences of meaning of the word being used in two separate contexts, a skeptic can easily assume there’s a Bible contradiction when there are none.  Are there any examples of this error to get the point across to a skeptic of their foolish methodology and mistake?

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Bible Contradiction? Which came first: the calling of Peter and Andrew or the imprisonment of John the Baptist?

 

For today’s post we will tackle the question the Skeptic Annotated Bible asked: Which came first: the calling of Peter and Andrew or the imprisonment of John the Baptist?

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

John the Baptist was imprisoned before Peter and Andrew were called.

“Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee; 13 and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: 15 “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— 16 “The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great Light, And those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death, Upon them a Light dawned.” 17 From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 18 Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 And He *said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”” (Matthew 4:12-19)

“Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” 16 As He was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men” (Mark 1:14-17)

Peter and Andrew were called before John the Baptist was imprisoned.

“One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He *found first his own brother Simon and *said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).” (John 1:40-42)

“After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He was spending time with them and baptizing. 23 John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there; and people were coming and were being baptized— 24 for John had not yet been thrown into prison.” (John 3:22-24)

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

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Quick Devotional from Matthew 5:17 (Observation from the Greek)

This is from my daily Greek exercise of sight reading some time ago, courtesy of Vincent S Artale Jr.

Our text is from the Greek translation of Matthew 5:17.  Here is my translation:

“Μὴ νομίσητε ὅτι ἦλθον καταλῦσαι τὸν νόμον ἢ τοὺς προφήτας· οὐκ ἦλθον καταλῦσαι
Do not think that I come to abolish the law or the prophets I came not to destroy

ἀλλὰ πληρῶσαι. ”
but to fulfill

Here are some observations:

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Bible Contradiction? How did Peter and Andrew become Jesus’s disciples?

 

For today’s post we will tackle the question the Skeptic Annotated Bible asked: How did Peter and Andrew become Jesus’s disciples?

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

Jesus called them directly as they were fishing on the Sea of Galilee.

“As He was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” (Mark 1:16-17)

“Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee; 13 and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: 15 “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— 16 “The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great Light, And those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death, Upon them a Light dawned.” 17 From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 18 Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 And He *said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”” (Matthew 4:12-19)

They were with John the Baptist and approached Jesus on their own.

“Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and *said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 And Jesus turned and saw them following, and *said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?” 39 He *said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He *found first his own brother Simon and *said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).” (John 1:35-42)

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

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Objection to Prayer: If God is sovereign why pray?

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Selected Verse

Establish the need: If God is sovereign why pray?

Purpose: Today we shall consider six points in answering the question: If God is sovereign why pray?

1. Point 1: We need to affirm God is sovereign
2. Point 2: We pray simply because prayer is commanded by God
3. Point 3: Prayer requests presupposes God’s sovereignty
4. Point 4: The question wrongly assumes prayer is just asking for things
5. Point 5: Prayer doesn’t change God’s mind
6. Point 6: Prayer changes our situation

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Bible Contradiction? Who was Salah’s father?

 

For today’s post we will tackle the question the Skeptic Annotated Bible asked: Who was Salah’s father?

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

Salah’s father was Arphaxad

“Arpachshad became the father of Shelah; and Shelah became the father of Eber.” (Genesis 10:24)

“Arpachshad lived thirty-five years, and became the father of Shelah” (Genesis 11:12)

Salah’s father was Cainan.

“the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Heber, the son of Shelah, 36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,” (Luke 3:35-36)

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

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Purpose of Prayer

Note: Kind of late posting this, multiple things, last 24 hours has been crazy.

Selected Verse

Establish the need: Why do we pray?

 

Purpose: Today we shall see the purpose of prayer outlined as 3 “A”s so that we would pray purposefully today.

• To Ascribe Glory to God
• To Associate Relationally with God
• To Ask for God’s Benefits for us

 

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Quick Thoughts on the self attesting nature of the Bible

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Someone asked the following: “How and in what ways is the Bible self attesting and self authenticating? I want to understand this doctrine better.”

Here’s my quick thoughts:

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Bible Contradiction? Did John the Baptist recognize Jesus as the Son of God?

 

For today’s post we will tackle the question the Skeptic Annotated Bible asked: Did John the Baptist recognize Jesus as the Son of God?

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

Yes, he recognized him immediately.

“The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and *said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is He on behalf of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’ 31 I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.” 32 John testified saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. 33 I did not recognize [d]Him, but He who sent me to baptize [e]in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes [f]in the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”” (John 1:29-34)

No, he still wasn’t sure when he was in prison.

“Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to Him, “Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?”” (Matthew 11:2-3)

“Summoning two of his disciples, John sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?”” (Luke 7:19)

(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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Bible Contradiction? Was Solomon alone when he sacrificed 1000 burnt offerings at Gibeon?

 

For today’s post we will tackle the question the Skeptic Annotated Bible asked: Was Solomon alone when he sacrificed 1000 burnt offerings at Gibeon?

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

Yes

(At least no one else is mentioned)

“The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place; Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.” (1 Kings 3:4)

No, everyone in Israel was with him.

“Then Solomon and all the assembly with him went to the high place which was at Gibeon, for God’s tent of meeting was there, which Moses the servant of the Lord had made in the wilderness. 4 However, David had brought up the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim to the place he had prepared for it, for he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem. 5 Now the bronze altar, which Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made, was there before the tabernacle of the Lord, and Solomon and the assembly sought it out. 6 Solomon went up there before the Lord to the bronze altar which was at the tent of meeting, and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it.” (2 Chronicles 1:3-6)

(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 Asa remove the high places?

 

For today’s post we will tackle the question the Skeptic Annotated Bible asked: Did Asa remove the high places?

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

Asa removed the high places.

“for he removed the foreign altars and high places, tore down the sacred pillars, cut down the Asherim, 4 and commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers and to observe the law and the commandment. 5 He also removed the high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah. And the kingdom was undisturbed under him.” (2 Chronicles 14:3-5)

Asa did not remove the high places.

“But the high places were not taken away; nevertheless the heart of Asa was wholly devoted to the Lord all his days.” (1 Kings 15:14)

“But the high places were not removed from Israel; nevertheless Asa’s heart was blameless all his days.” (2 Chronicles 15:17)

(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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Why Matthew said two men were possessed with demons at the country of the Gadarenes?

In my post Bible Contradiction? How many men were possessed with demons at the country of the Gadarenes? I have already shown that there is not a logical contradiction between Matthew 8:28 pitted against Mark 5:12 and Luke 8:26-27 which mentioned there are two men and one man Jesus healed respectively.

A sister in the Lord asked a follow up question:

What then is the significance of Matthew saying 2 versus Mark and Luke saying “a man”? Since most details in God’s Word have a reason or significance behind it, I’m wondering if there’s a deeper meaning/reason behind why each account mentioned the number the way they did?

I don’t think this is easy to answer.  Still I think its a fruitful exercise to consider the question by examining more deeper the Scriptures.  I will first make some observations and close with some thoughts on its significance.

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