Contradictions Within the Bible?

Examples from the Old Testament and how the New Testament resolves these issues

Miniature Scroll of Esther written on sheep skin. The Scroll is written in Sephardic style; source: https://www.gracetranscendingthetorah.com/scrolls/tnk/

One reason many people lose their faith is that when the actually read the Bible from one end to the next, they find contradictions.

This is particularly true in the Old Testament, whereas contradictions in the New Testament can be ascribed to translation errors, misinterpretations or, frankly, deliberate deception by those who found the actual text too radical.

I remember when I first read part of the Bible I was a young girl visiting India. My uncle had a large collection of books, among them the 4 books of the Gospel — Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

I remember devouring these. The stories were so interesting, and Jesus was so compelling.

Years later, I was basically an atheist. I was going to MIT, and believed in rational thought and science, not religion.

However, out of curiosity, I went to a Christian church with a friend — and something changed.

I cynically went up to the pastor after the service and asked him questions. I pointed out contradictions within the Bible to him.

And he did something that brought me back to his church every week for the next two years.

He said, “Those are good questions. I can answer some of them. The ones I can’t answer, I promise to research and let you know what I find. I welcome your questions because it helps me deepen my own faith.”

That humility and openness, plus the actual love I felt within that church from the members brought on Sundays. Eventually I was baptized.

However, it turns out that my experience was not the norm.

Too many times people, particularly children, who have questions and see the contradictions are told that they are wrong, or made to feel bad for not having enough faith.

But all we have to do is look at Ezra and Nehemiah, and compare to the book of Ruth.

Both Old Testament prophets forbade marriage to foreigners. In fact, Ezra commanded the Israelites to abandon their foreign wives and children. This led to immense suffering for those abandoned.