Christians do you believe?

I find the following two verses to be contradictory.

Proverbs 26:4 Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him.

Proverbs 26:5 Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.

We are told NOT to answer the fool according to his folly, and immediately after we are told to answer him.

They were placed together on purpose. I believe they contradict each other intentionally. Perhaps we are supposed to utilize some unstated wisdom to decide when we should answer the fool, and when we should not. But I find it confusing, and it is clearly contradictory.

Do not beat yourself up, the Bible is the Word of God, but His thoughts are not our thoughts. Perhaps we simply cannot understand some of the nuances yet. Keep studying, and maybe the things you see as contradictory will prove themselves otherwise.

I have come to the conclusion that the verses I quoted above will remain contradictory and no amount of further study will change this. But this will not in any way change my faith in Jesus.

Another thing.

Acts 2:21 And it shall come to pass, [that] whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Matthew 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

On the surface these are contradictory. I simply figure it amounts to the sincerity of the heart of the person calling on the name of the Lord.

So, I do not worry about it.

This is the main thing.....God does not want us to worry.

Matthew 6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day [is] the evil thereof.

Also, we know that doubt is sinful.

Romans 14:23 And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because [he eateth] not of faith: for whatsoever [is] not of faith is sin.

So, I figure I will not worry about the little things, and I will not allow these things to cause me to doubt.

We have the testimony of Jesus Christ and we keep the Commandments of God, so God is for us. We need not worry.

Please e-mail me with the verses you find contradictory, these interest me highly, and perhaps we can resolve them.

On a light note, sometimes the KJV (which I use exclusively) will use a word that amuses me to no end. Like this.

Jer 24:2 One basket [had] very good figs, [even] like the figs [that are] first ripe: and the other basket [had] very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad.

naughty figs........hilarious.......they could have simply translated it as "bad figs" but I am glad they didn't.

p.s. (formerly Richardatf, gonna try this name out for awhile then I might change it to "naughty fig")

It depends on what you mean by contradictions. There is a proverbs verse that goes something like "don't give a fool advice", then in the very next sentence it says "give a fool advice." Certainly the contradiction is meant for a purpose.

There are contradictions that are just because the people in those times didn't know better or were using hyperbole such as saying the Mustard seed is the smallest of all seeds. Well there is a South American Orchid that has a smaller seed, but they had no way of knowing about that in biblical times, and it could be hyperbole in that they are not saying it absolutely, but saying it to an extent of degree.

no, a lot of the words in the english, having a different meaning or even a deeper meaning in the hebrew. the website i use that gives great bible study articles, gracethrufaith, suggested The Defender's Study Bible.

you will across exactly what i mentioned about the hebrew words in a lot of his studies, which will open things up even more spiritually. He also has questions and answers sections where people ask the same and other common questions.

then there is the CARM website, that also clarifies what people think are contradictions. you have to know the history, proverbial saying of the times, who the writer is, who he is writing and why....to keep it in context. just like any other classic book that is older and being read by a newer generation.

No, I can say that there are no contradictions. I read the bible every day and also have to study it for our meetings. Even when something does not seem to add up, I always find the answer and it always ends well.

God's Word, is that! It can not contain contradictions for He is a God of Order.

If one did find a contradiction, then the fault has to lie with the translators themselves.

You are welcome to email me if you would like to get some answers.

No, there is not one contradiction in the Bible, every single question people have today can be answered and has been answered, the problem today is not that the Bible has contradictions but of ignorance of the Bible.

I suggest you get into a good Bible study and I can recommend a good one for you to start in if you like.

http://www.thruthebible.org/site/c.irLMKXPGLsF/b.4...

No. The bible is the inerrant word of God. There are apparent contradictions, but the misunderstanding is on the part of the reader, not a flaw in the scripture.

There are numerous APPARENT contradictions (many non-believers cite them here on Yahoo Answers, but they are quickly and effectively rebutted by believers) in the Bible, but many of them require simply looking at the context of the verses, or by knowing the meanings of certain idioms to eliminate them as being "contradictions".

there is No fault in God if there was then there would never be so much perfection in the creation of God ?

look at the sky , ocean, Stars the moon , the sun , the whole universe.perhaps just have a look at your own self if you know yourself then you would know God.

humans are those who make mistakes but as long as we repent and don't make those mistakes again we will be forgiven but we have to believe in God and only in one God and All the prophets .

and i like the fact that you've noticed the beautiful creation God .

there are many contradictions in the bible.

Translation errors, yes..... down right contradictions, no..... that is why ALL believers need to dig in deep and STUDY the Word, and pray that God sends us each a greater amount of decernment..... go in peace..... God bless

i think catholics are Christian considering that they settle for Jesus Christ! My mum is catholic and he or she has an exceptionally massive kinfolk whilst in comparison with my dad so maximum my kinfolk is catholic. i'm a non-denominational Christian and became into pondering starting to be catholic yet then i found out staying non-denominational is the main suitable for me.