The Bible contains so many inconsistencies how can christians even begin to believe anything it says?

The average atheist says "I read the Bible. That's why I'm an atheist."

Well, I've got one better. "I UNDERSTAND the Bible. That's why I'm a Catholic." The truth is that percieved contradictions pointed out by non-believers are actually not contradictions at all. They are non-issues.

The Equality of Christ with God

Believe it or not, there are also some Protestant sects that deny the equality of Christ with God. Verses such as John 14:28 and Matthew 24:36 that seem to indicate that Christ is not equal to God the Father must be understood in light of passages such as Philippians 2:6-8; it shows us that Christ was speaking strictly in terms of His office as Messiah, which entailed a temporary giving up of certain divine prerogatives.

Christ subjected himself to the Father in order to undertake His role as the Incarnate Son and Mediator between God and man. But Jesus remains God, even while "humbling" Himself by becoming a man. Indeed, that He had to lower Himself to becoem man implies that Christ was divine.

Scripture also indicates that the Father is, in a certain sense, "subject" to the Son:

John 16:15: "All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that He will take what is mine and declare it to you." Also, in Luke 2:51, we even see that Jesus was "subject" to Mary and Joseph, and He is certainly greater than His mother and step-father! Besides this, submissiveness or servanthood is not presented as a sign of inferiority in Scripture. For example, Matthew 23:11 states:

"He who is greatest among you shall be your servant."

Christ's Omnipotence

Mark 6:5, stating that Christ could not perform any mighty deeds in his own home town, is not truly about Christ's abilities, but about the lack of faith of the people there. While Christ most certainly could have performed mighty deeds there in Nazareth if He had chosen to do so, he "could not" in the same sense that an earthly king in an absolute monarchy would have the power to pass some nasty law or another, that same earthly king can't pass said nasty law because his people would rise up against him.

In Jesus' case, He knew it was not yet time for the people to rise up against him and for Him to be crucified, and so He did nothing, for had He performed those great works, the uprising would have happened before its appointed time.

Christian Dispensation vs the Law

Another non-issue. The law, of course, refers to Old Testament law. However, the "passing away" refers not to a literal destruction of heaven and earth, but instead to Christ's resurrection. When Christ said that He had come to fulfill the law, He was referring to the prophecies of the Messiah, most of them oral tradition. which He had fulfilled.

Christ's Mission

Still no contradiction. Luke 2 is the infancy narrative, and does not describe Christ's mission so much as the ultimate goal, that of unity and peace amongst mankind through faith in God. In Matthew 10:34, however, Christ is giving us an accurate description of something that is going on even today. Households have been divided by one or more people converting to Christianity, or from one denomination to another. This was a prophecy, one that has very obviously been fulfilled.

Testimony

I can see where this might be misunderstood as being contradictory. However, when they are read in their proper context, these verses do not contradict each other at all! In the first verse, Christ is speaking in terms of the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. He does not accept their testimony because they do not have the Truth within them. In the second verse, however, the Apostles do have the Truth within them, and so their testimony is acceptable.

Christ's Witness

While this seems to be contradictory, the emphasis in John 8:14, 18 is on Christ's divinity, but not so in John 5:31.

Christ's Laying Down of His Life

Yet another non-issue. Laying down your life for your friends and laying down your life for your enemies are not mutually exclusive. One can lay down one's life for both at the same time.

The Lawfulness of the Jews Putting Christ to Death

Only John gives the reasin from John 18:31 for the Jews bringing Christ before Pilate. Jewish records give no indication of the competancy of the Senehedrin to execute people for political crimes. However, this is not a contradiction when one correctly understands history. At the time, the Romans ruled Judaia, and though, under Jewish law, Christ was to be put to death, under Roman law, the Jews could nto execute all of their own laws. So it was lawful under Jewish law, but not lawful under Roman law.

Children and the Crimes of their Parents

There is no contradiction because these are from two seperate covenants. God made several covenants with mankind before sending His Son, Jesus Christ, as the new and everlasting covenant.

Which version is true? The Catholic version! For only the Catholic version (in general, the Latin Vulgate, the Dho

Don't stain the whole Bible with a few inconsistencies in the Gospel. Funny how you could only find two contradictions from Torah, one of which was taken entirely out of context.

Exodus 20:5 speaks of the sins of the father being passed down to the children from generation to generation. Ezekiel doesn't go against this, the verse is speaking of redemption from sin through righteous action. The whole section of Ezekiel 18, if you bothered to read it entirely says if a person lives a righteous life and redeems the sins of the father then only he that sins is judged.

Quite simple really.

I can't vouch for the consistency of the Gospel, but don't defame Torah without understanding it, ever.

"I, for one, don't suppose in Him when you consider that of some thing written in any publication. I suppose in Him when you consider that of what He, through the Holy Spirit, has written upon my middle and in my brain. " Interesting. My middle pumps blood. How does one have anything written on his middle? A Hindu will say the equal factor approximately Vishnu. A Muslim will say the equal factor approximately Allah and an historical Greek can say the equal factor approximately Thor however that does not make it truly. "The Bible is a consultant, a map, a finding out device. Inspired through God and, by way of the Holy Spirit, its books had been written and compiled through believers for believers" The Bible is a host of reports written through nameless authors that was once edited, translated and changed when you consider that Christianity was once fitting the dominant faith and a holy publication was once wanted. That's a historic reality. It's a pleasant consultant for genocide, rape, slavery, malice and jealousy. Of direction, you Christians simply bypass over the entire circumstances of God commanding his favourite tribe to homicide others and take their ladies, to not point out God himself murdering the whole populace of the planet within the flood (nowhere does it say that little toddlers had been stored). God cares most effective approximately the Jews on this uncommon publication of yours. If you base your existence on that great publication, then you don't have any capacity to motive.

It sounds like two sides of a Sword is what one would be observing here.

As with many things with regards to civil and criminal justice systems, the situation and circumstances were to be taken into account.

The sins of the parents were those of the spiritual realm, or to whom one was submitted to as a child during their stay of earth; the kingdom of darkness or the lesser light or The Kingdom of Light of God.

For was this not the sign of the authenticity of the original writings that these things were not edited as some had proposed?

It is critical thinking skills of fact sets to understand a phenomenon called paradox. All of the statements are Truth, but they appear 'contradictory' when first examined.

You must believe in Darwinism as to the evolution of man. Because just like most those that believe in Darwinism you give a sentence or a statement and a conclusion but you never give an explanation of how you came to that conclusion.

So if these are inconsistencies you can't just say they are you have to prove they are.

Sooooo Get-r-done

Opps sorry you can't can you?

Christianity=pwned

If the Bible was not inconsistent it wouldn't be real. Didn't the early Christians see the different inconsistencies?

Then why didn't they change it?

Think about it.

You have to look at the whole picture. If read the whole thing it starts to make sense.

You should go to http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/ for the complete list.

I personally don't see how Christians can believe in the bible either.

Nice list. Who did you copy it from?

You do know that's all nonsense don't you?