NONSENSE FROM THE BIBLE Read online

  So, if every scripture was inspired by God and if God does NOT change, it should be impossible for there to be any variations or inconsistencies and definitely no contradictions in those heavenly inspired scriptures - the Bible.

  As we have already read in previous chapters, there are many variations in the stories as recorded by different authors concerning the same event. If we were to study the entire Bible we should discover hundreds more.

  CONTRADICTIONS AND/OR VARIATIONS

  IN THE BIBLE - HERE ARE FEW

  THE AGE OF AHAZIAH WHEN HE BECAME KING

  The age of Ahaziah when he began to reign has two versions - so was he 22 or 42?

  2 Kings 8:26

  Two and twenty years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign; and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri king of Israel.

  Twenty Two!

  2 Chronicles 22:2

  Forty and two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign , and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was Athaliah the daughter of Omri.

  Forty Two!

  WAS JESUS THE ONLY ONE

  WHO ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN?

  YES

  John 3:13

  And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

  The author of the Gospel of John forgot or didn’t know about Elijah - was that information inspired by God or had God forgotten as well?

  NO

  2 Kings 2:11

  And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold,there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

  DID MICHAL HAVE ANY CHILDREN?

  NO

  2 Samuel 6:23

  Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death.

  YES - FIVE!

  2 Samuel 21:8

  But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bare unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite:

  DID GOD EVER TEMPT ANYONE?

  He certainly tempted Adam and Eve but James thought God never tempted anyone. Had God forgotten to tell him about Abraham?

  NO

  James 1:13

  Let no man say when he is tempted, I a m tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil , neither tempteth he any man:

  YES

  Genesis 22:1

  And it came to pass after these things,that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.

  GOD OF PEACE OR MAN OF WAR?

  PEACE

  Romans 15:33

  Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

  WAR

  Exodus 15:3

  The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.

  JESUS CONTRADICTED HIS OWN WORDS

  You may remember the following scriptures were included in Chapter Four, God is Love - as we noted that Jesus contradicted God’s methods of treating his enemies. Here Jesus clearly contradicts himself!

  Matthew 5:43-44

  Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

  Luke 6:27-29

  But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also.

  So Jesus said - Love your enemies

  Here in a later Chapter of Luke - Jesus completely contradicts those earlier instructions and principles - now he wants his enemies killed!

  Luke 19:27

  But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me

  In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus warns against calling someone a fool:

  Matthew 5:22

  But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

  Then in a later Chapter in the book of Matthew, Jesus contradicts himself!

  Matthew 23:17

  Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?

  HAS ANYONE EVER SEEN THE FACE OF GOD?

  NO

  John 1:18

  No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

  Exodus 33:20

  And he said, Thou canst not see my face:

  YES - Many!

  Genesis 32:30

  And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.

  Exodus 33:11

  And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.

  Isaiah 6:1

  In the year that King Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.

  Here it is reported that 74 people saw God!

  Exodus 24:9-10

  Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.

  IS THERE ANYONE

  WHO IS GOOD OR RIGHTEOUS?

  NO - NOT ONE!

  Psalms 14:3

  They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

  Romans 3:10

  As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

  Mistake again!

  YES - there were several.

  Job 1:1

  There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.

  Luke 1:5-6

  There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

  Now the big question:

  WAS JESUS GOD AND EQUAL WITH GOD?

  MAYBE?

  The author of the book of John was not certain and Luke didn’t think so.

  John 10:30

  I and my Father are one.

  John 14:9

  Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?

  NO

  John 14:28

  Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.

  Luke 18:19

  And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God

  Remember - 2 Timothy 3:16-17

  All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

  IF that scripture is true then there should not be any errors or contradictions in the Bible.

  There are many, many more contradictions in the Bible - the Skeptics Annotated Bible website lists 462 contradictions and another site lists 1,001 Bible contradictions!

  Should we seriously believe that the Bible
is a reliable and accurate source of information about the existence of God? or the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus?

  Truth or nonsense? - It has to be nonsense!

  GOD HEALS THE SICK

  BIBLE NONSENSE NUMBER 10

  When I was the pastor of a fundamentalist, Pentecostal, evangelical church I believed in divine healing. Since I had been born again, I was taught in similar churches and in Bible school that God heals the sick as there is healing in the Name of Jesus!

  There are many Bible verses which give credibility to these beliefs - most are from the life of Jesus and his teaching concerning healing by prayer and ‘the laying on of hands.’ We all believed those verses and spent much time teaching and acting on those instructions, we prayed for the sick at almost every service and held special ‘healing’ services during each week.

  There are also verses in the Old Testament of promises by God to heal the sick - here are three examples:

  Exodus 15:26

  And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.

  Psalms 103:2-3

  Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;

  Jeremiah 30:17

  For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the LORD; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after.

  So according to the Bible God heals the sick. This means that we can pray to him according to his ‘word’ and we should receive healing.

  Healing was a major part of the ministry of Jesus during those three years prior to his execution, or so it is claimed in the Bible.

  Matthew 8:16-17

  When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.

  This was another of those so called prophecies, and again notice the line: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet.

  (Note: Esaias was the Greek form of Isaiah)

  The New Testament has many verses which are claimed to reveal the healing of the sick by Jesus as he travelled and preached. Here are just two examples:

  Matthew 9:35

  And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.

  Matthew 15:30-31

  And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus’ feet; and he healed them: Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel.

  So it is reported that Jesus not only preached but he also healed the sick including the blind, dumb and those with every sickness and disease. Having demonstrated his healing powers, he then instructed his disciples to do the same in his name. In fact he told them to do things which he had not done, so we are told in Mark’s Gospel:

  Mark 16:17-18

  And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

  The additions for the disciples were: To speak in other tongues (languages)*29 and they could also take hold of snakes and even drink ‘deadly things’ and they would be immune from the poisons. Jesus had not, according to the Bible, included any of these additions during his own ministry.

  Luke 9:1-2

  Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure disease. And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.

  Jesus commissioned his disciples to go into all the (known) world and to preach and to heal the sick. Healing then was a major part of the ministry of Jesus and of his disciples. When Jesus was no longer on earth his disciples continued as Jesus had instructed and here the Apostle James gave further teaching on the subject of the healing ministry.

  James 5:13-14

  Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:

  These verses by James are used today in Pentecostal and other churches which believe in divine healing. The elders of the church are to anoint the sick one with oils and then they are to pray over him or her.

  This was the method we adopted in our church when we prayed for the sick, usually also by the laying on of hands - to the head or shoulders of the one we were praying for as the Apostle Mark had directed (see above)

  So are the people healed in these services?

  I can only say that many people certainly claimed to have been healed, especially when it was only a matter of minor problems such as muscular pains or headaches. There were others with more serious conditions who also believed that God was in the process of healing them after they had been prayed for.

  The most tragic of all unanswered prayers were for the chronically sick and terminally ill. I saw many who were prayed for who claimed that they had been healed but a few days or weeks later they were back in the prayer line asking again for prayer. This could happen again and again over a period of time and then eventually they may have recovered or they died. This is all particularly distressing when the one asking for prayer is young yet terminally ill. It would require a miracle to bring healing but despite much prayer and fasting by possibly hundreds of faithful believers, no lasting improvement was experienced and death prematurely claimed another victim.

  At the time I believed that God was working with us, especially when we saw what we considered to be results. Now some 22+ years later, I believe emotional and ‘spiritual’ support was experienced by those who claimed to be healed. I cannot say that there was any evidence that there was divine intervention in the normal course of nature that affected the health of anyone. I also attended many huge conventions in USA, Australia and New Zealand where prayers and ministry for healing were made for hundreds of people by well known international evangelists.

  There are many evangelist ministries which major on healing; many have a following of hundreds of thousands, especially those with global television programmes. Their meetings or crusades are usually held in the largest auditorium in town, seating upwards of 20,000 or more. They have a huge team of voluntary assistants available to pass out the collection buckets when it is time to take the ‘offering’ - this is usually a major event in the service before prayers for the sick.

  The service begins with up to an hour of ‘praise and worship’ led by excellent singers and musicians. The atmosphere is charged with emotion and expectation and then the star of the show - the evangelist comes onto the stage to greet the people and to pray for the offering which is about to be taken. The evangelist at this time tells the people that God will bless them as they give into the Gospel and some even suggest that if they give more than they can afford they will receive even greater blessings! First the ‘offering envelopes’ are usually passed out which may also have printed suggested donation amounts listed such as $10 - $50 - $100 or more. The purpose of the envelopes is also for those giving to claim tax relief on their gift if they write their name and address on the envelope. This is also a good means for the ministry to add them to their mailing list to enable the ministry to follow up with further requests for offerings, sometimes i
n exchange for receiving ‘free gift’ from the ministry. I remember the first time we attended a huge convention in Tulsa in 1978; we gave $100 and received a ‘free’ Bible as a gift!

  After the offering, the evangelist preaches for about 45 minutes, usually using some texts from the Bible concerning God’s promises of healing. He then asks the sick to come to the front in preparation for him to pray for each them. Some may come in wheelchairs or on crutches, and in turn groups are ushered onto the platform and lined up to receive the ‘power of God’ - which they had been told would happen. The evangelist then rapidly touches each one and as he does they collapse, the ushers (or catchers) are already behind them and catch each one and gently lower them to the ground. As each line falls to the floor, they are quickly lifted up to make room for the next group. The preacher is almost running and ready for the next line-up and so the performance is repeated until all have been prayed for. There is a special time when those in wheelchairs or with crutches are prayed for as the preacher pulls them up and out of the wheelchairs so they can stand or take a step or two - the attendants push the chair away and everyone believes they are healed. Hallelujah! Those with crutches have them tossed aside to provide a similar demonstration of the power of God!