How can Christians quote the Bible when the Bible contradicts itself?

To understand anything written in the Bible we have to keep it within the context of Jewish traditions and customs. Christianty was and should be thought of as a sect of Judaism. Jesus the Christ is the Jewish Messiah and did not start the "Christian movement".

OT - eye for an eye = The notion that for every wrong done there should be a compensating measure of justice.

NT - Jesus the Christ = Do unto others as you would have them do unto you

Edit:

I would suggest reading Matthew chapter 5. Jesus the Christ quotes from the Old Testament, because it is a way for the people around Him to know He is their promised Messiah. He is in effect saying: now that the promised Messiah has come, the Old Laws are no longer valid; there is no need to follow them. He is the sacrificial lamb that takes away the Old Ways and brings to the believers new ones. In Him all who believe and are baptized are new creations. Just like we are told through the words of John that one day there will be a New Jerusalem. (Revelation chapter 21)

There are many differences between the Old and New Testaments. Since the Old Testament was "fulfilled" by Christ, man is no longer living under the Old Testament laws. The New Testament took the place of the Old Testament and the New Testament is what we are to follow today.

It is similar to changing your Last Will and Testament. The new will may not be the same as the old will. Also, there can be only one will active at a time, hence the Old Testament (will) is not longer binding.

Changes in laws and commandments are NOT contradictions. There are NO contradictions in the Bible. Perceived contradictions are usually due to the lack of understanding of the verses in question.

You are comparing old testament and new testament. Things changed when Jesus arrived. Old laws were made null and void. Jesus fulfilled the law. When the bible contratidicts itself it is because people like you are digging to find contradictions. You take things out of context. There are many things in the bible do not understand. Especially the old testament. That was a different time and a different place. Their culture and religion and worship were all differrent. Also, people interpret the bible differently. It is all conjecture. There is not a for certain. I believe the bible to be true through faith. I know that I can't fathom all that is written in the bible.

In the book of Exodus where the statement "an eye for an eye" is found, God was giving laws about how judges whould sentence convicted criminals. Their sentence was to be proportion to the damage that they caused. For example, a person was NOT be executed if he knocked out your tooth. That would be over-punishing. Rather, it said that if he killed your cow, he owed you the price of a cow. If he damaged your crop, he owed you the price of the crop. If he knocked out your tooth, he owed you the value of a tooth. If he damaged your eye, he owed you the value of the eye. A person would probably receive money for his medical bills, lost wages, and some for "pain and suffering" to cover his damage if his eye were injured. The penalty was to match the value of the damage, "the price a cattle for a cattle, a field for a field, a tooth for a tooth and an eye for an eye". As Gilbert and Sullivan put it, "Let the punishment fit the crime".

By the time of Jesus, people had began to MISUSE this law by quoting it as justification for taking revenge on another person. If they did something to you, then you were right to do the same back to them. That was never the intend of the law. So Jesus CORRECTED this misuse of what was to be a sentencing guideline for judges by telling INDIVIDUALS that they were to turn the other cheek, or if sued to not only repay (give the person what they were entitled to under an eye for an eye) but to also give more as an apology for the damage that did. ("If someone sues you and takes you coat, give him your shirt also").

So there is no contradiction between the statements. Courts are to impose punishments that fit the crime ("an eye for an eye') but people are to "turn the other cheek". The are different principle spoken to different people at different times.

When you take the time to read the all of the book, you will find it has all of the answers.

Do you know what the Old and New Testament even mean?

Testament means Covenant, they're two different covenants between man and God, things were much harsher under the old testament, animal sacrifices had to be made to atone sins, and only the high preists could enter the presence of God

The whole point of Jesus coming and dying was to institute a new covenant

Plus the Old Testament never even says that. It was a saying people had back in the day. Before you try and act all intellectual and demeaning towards other people, get a freakin clue as to what your talking about

you speak of the traditions during the time of the Old Testament. "An eye for and eye and a tooth for a tooth" are what people live by then. In the new testament, Jesus preached "If a man strikes you on the cheek you are to turn the other cheek", therefore showing that it still wasn't the practice at the time.

traditions and teachings are different entities.

The Old Testament is based and laws, and it is much more literal. The New Testament is based on the Truth, and it relates more to our time. I understand what you mean, but you have to look at it from a different view.

How bout do a little research before hand!!!!

Its called the HOLY BIBLE!

You might want a King James Version & a New International Version to compare it to.

After you have researched and compared... please get back to us... we would LOVE to see what you have come up with

Have a nice day =)

Oh and Jesus STILL loves you!

It's obvious that you've done absolutely zero research before asking this question. Anti-christian debaters don't even use this anymore. It's been answered. Look it up.

Peace

Old Testament was the giving of the laws..NT was Jesus showing us how to LIVE the laws in love and not legalism.