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How can we trust the Bible with all the contradictions?
In this episode, Cole and Terry break this objection down into three pieces: textual errors, factual contradictions, and factual errors. They discuss different approaches to reading the Bible and talk through some specific objections.
Can we trust what the Bible says? Are there too many contradictions in the Bible to be able to trust it?
The Arguments
We live in a culture that applauds deconstructionism. How do you deconstruct the Bible?
Our Western culture deals with precision and fine-pointed analysis of anything and everything. Every single minute detail has to match up. This way of thinking is magnified when it comes to how the unbelieving West approaches Scripture.
There are three basic contentions with the deconstructive mindset:
The original text (Hebrew and Greek) is not reliable.
There are contradictions.
There are historical errors.
Approaching Scripture
When one approaches Scripture from a presumption of contradictions, this brings to light an issue of the heart, and it brings out a hermeneutic of skepticism–that of extreme skepticism in approaching the Bible.
Another way to say this is a hermeneutic of suspicion–an interpretive lens of suspicion and not one of trust–one of questioning absolutely everything in the text. When you approach the Bible in this way, you are looking for contradictions. A much better way to approach Scripture is in the phrase coined by the early church, “Faith seeking understanding.” Do not approach with doubt. Rather, give the benefit of the doubt and in that context, investigate.
Understanding Scripture takes work and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. This knowledge cannot be gained by a general overview but requires diligent study.
There is a reason thousands and thousands of godly laypeople and faithful pastors have spent their entire lives studying this book–never reaching its depths and always amazed at how much they did not know.
Recommended Resources:
Can We Trust the Gospels? By Peter Williams
Why I Trust the Bible by William Mounce
Brittany Proffitt lives in Dallas and is a writer and content manager for So We Speak.