Thursday, July 4, 2019

Alleged Bible Contradictions...some considerations.

Consider 4 eye-witness accounts of an accident; here are their statements:
Witness #1 – These two drivers hit head on
Witness #2 – This truck came across the yellow line and hit the other driver
Witness #3 – The woman turn right into the path of that man
Witness #4 – This red VW was hit by a white truck

Contradictions, or simply four detailed accounts of the same incident, each giving partial, yet differing details?
To understand the truth in regard to the accident, ALL the evidence must be considered.
LAW OF CONTRADICTION
…also implies that a proposition cannot, with reference to the same matter, be both true and false. To say that Jane Smith is a wife, and then assert that Jane Smith is not a wife is a contradiction. But, to say that Jane Smith is a wife, and then add that she is a mother, does not constitute a contradiction. The two terms, although different, supplement each other, but do not contradict each other.

“It is sometimes possible, by means of close study, to show without forcing the issue that two supposedly contradictory passages are really complementary.”
It must be absolutely impossible to harmonize two statements before we conclude that they are contradictory.
“It is the first principle of historical science that any solution which affords a possible method of harmonizing any two statements is preferable to th:e assumption of inaccuracy or error – whether these statements are found in the same or different writers. To act on any other basis, it is clearly acknowledged, is to assume, not prove, error.”
Two statements are not contradictory unless it is impossible for both to be true. “…that if, on any rational hypothesis, they both can be supposed true, they both may be true, and no contradiction is made out.
This rule is made necessary by the fact that writers and speakers often omit details, the absence of which gives their statements the appearance of inconsistency, whereas their presence in the narrative would have prevented this appearance.
It is unjust to refuse any writers the benefit of this rule; for in doing so we are liable to charge with falsehood the most truthful writers, and with incorrect information those best informed.”
The absence of a solution to so-called contradictions does not constitute evidence that there is no solution. It is possible that many of us may be unable to solve many of the difficulties which have been pointed out by infidels as contradictions, while others who have delved more deeply into the scriptures have little trouble solving the difficulty.
As with the accident stories given above, compare from the Bible 4 accounts from the gospels of what was written and placed on the cross of Jesus:
Matt. 27:37 – This is Jesus the King of the Jews.
Mark 15:26 – the King of the Jews.
Luke 23:38 – This is the King of the Jews.
John 19:19 – Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews.
Conclusion: This is Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews.
Contradictions???
The psalmist stated long ago, "The SUM [entirety] of Thy word is truth..." ~ Psalm 119:160


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