Does the Bible Contradict Itself?

Keeping Faith in an Age of Reason: Refuting Alleged Bible Contradictions, Jason Lisle.  Green Forest: Master Books, 2017.  Softcover, 254 pages.

Spend any time discussing Christianity with unbelievers and eventually you’ll hear how the Bible is unbelievable because of its countless contradictions.  I’ve noticed that even ex-Reformed unbelievers will trot out this claim.  Unbelievers will Google “Bible contradictions” and they’ll come up with lists and lists of them.  They’ll bombard you with them and expect you’ll have no way to respond.  More than likely, you’ll feel overwhelmed at the volume of unbelieving fire that seems to be raining down on you.

Jason Lisle’s Keeping Faith in an Age of Reason is the resource you need for moments like that.  Lisle has catalogued 420 supposed Bible contradictions.  He puts them into six categories:

• Quantitative Differences
• Names, Places, and Genealogies
• Timing of Events
• Cause and Effect
• Differences in Details
• Yes or No?

Dr. Lisle also helpfully points out the mistaken reasoning used by Bible critics.  At the beginning of the book he outlines some common fallacies.  With most of the contradictions he’ll then indicate which fallacy is being used. 

Here’s an example from the fifth category (Differences in Details):

Was Jonah swallowed by a fish or a whale?  Jonah 1:17 says fish, but Matthew 12:40 says whale. 

Semantic anachronism fallacy.  The Linnaean classification system by which whales are classified as “mammals” and not as “fish” was not invented until the 1700s.  So, obviously the Bible isn’t going to use that system.

The Greek word translated as “whale in Matthew 12:40 in the KJV is ketos, which includes both whales and large fish.  Likewise, the Hebrew word for “fish” in Jonah 1:17 is dag and is not exactly the same as our modern Linnaean category.  So, there is no inconsistency in the original Hebrew and Greek languages.  (p.162)

Like this one, some of the “contradictions” only need a short response, while others span over several pages.

Since this book spans so much biblical interpretation, there are a few places at which I differ from Dr. Lisle.  Most of those instances remain within the pale of orthodoxy.  The only exception might be Lisle’s apparent concession that baptism could validly be done in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit OR in the name of Jesus (p.108).  However, I didn’t detect anything else that might contradict what Reformed believers confess.  This is happily different from at least one other book of this genre:  Gleason Archer’s Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties.

Keeping Faith in Age of Reason helpfully concludes with an explanation for how only the Christian worldview can provide the necessary foundations for the law of non-contradiction.  Unbelievers can’t justify their concerns about contradictions from within their own worldview.  Therefore, in order to argue against Christianity, they have to steal from the Christian worldview – thus illustrating how unsound their reasoning really is.

Perhaps a young person you know could benefit from this book, especially if they’re in an environment where the Christian faith is always under attack.  Bible teachers would be well-served by it too – maybe do a unit on alleged Bible contradictions and use Lisle as a text.  Whoever uses it will find their confidence in the trustworthiness of God’s Word bolstered.  You’ll soon find Jason Lisle’s words verified:

The critic did not perform a fair and objective analysis of the text.  Rather, he relentlessly pulled the verses out of context, drawing unwarranted and incorrect inferences.  Clearly, the critic is not interested in the truth.  He has an ax to grind.  He doesn’t like the Bible.  And he is not above distorting the text of Scripture in an attempt to persuade others that the problem is in the text.  But this really shows that the problem lies with the critic.  (p.241)

Surviving Religion 101

From time to time I search online for “ex-Can RC.” I’m curious as to why people would leave the Canadian Reformed Churches. What makes people walk away from the church and sometimes the faith in which they were raised? What can I learn from that as a pastor?

Several individuals mention how they were told not to study philosophical or scientific questions, not to think too deeply about things, nor to read widely for themselves outside of the “approved CanRC authors.” Church leaders allegedly told them to check their brains at the door. Well, we all know what some people do when they’re told not to do something. They started reading and studying for themselves and soon discovered that they’d been brainwashed and hoodwinked by their church leaders. The exit came into view.

If we presume these stories are even a little accurate, what might lead pastors or elders to give those kinds of warnings to their flock? Perhaps it’s fear. Maybe they’re afraid that the arguments of unbelievers will persuade their members. Connected with that, possibly it is the worry that we don’t readily have solid counter-arguments so “You just have to believe.”

To continue reading this book review, head over here to Reformed Perspective.

The Pastor as Counselor

You can read my review of David Powlison’s latest (posthumously published) book here at Reformed Perspective. It’s helpful for more than just pastors.

Men and Women in the Church

You can read my review of Kevin DeYoung’s latest book over here at Reformed Perspective.

Carl Trueman on today’s sexual madness

My review of The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self is now online at Reformed Perspective.