Contradictions in God's Character
I was scrolling through YouTube one night, as I often do before I sleep, and I came across an interesting video. I really wasn’t sure why it showed up on my recommended videos, but out of simple curiosity I decided to watch it. The video is titled, “Quiz Show (Bible Contradictions).” As of this posting, the video has over 3.2 million views. The video is quite simple, really. The premise of the video is a play on the game Jeopardy. There are two contestants and a host. The host asks the contestants questions about the Bible. In doing so, each of the contestants comes up with a totally opposite answer, yet both of the answers are correct. The point obviously being to show the contradictions found in the Scriptures.
But, are there contradictions in Scripture? Is this video, after 2,000 years of various attacks on the Church and on Scripture, really the final nail in the coffin that proves the Bible is full of contradictions? I believe it is not. To prove it, I will walk through each alleged contradiction in this game show, walk through Scripture and prove that, indeed, the Bible is the inerrant and infallible word of God.
For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is the power of God to us who are being saved. For it is written, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will set aside the intelligence of the intelligent.’
1 Corinthians 1:18-19
A few things to start:
It is important to note that this video will be broken down into 3 separate parts. In the video, there are three main types of contradictions that are listed. One, contradictions about God, His character, and His design. Two, contradictions in the narratives in the Bible. And three, contradictions in the different Gospel accounts.
I actually have been given some instructions by the people who uploaded the video! They write:
How NOT to respond to this movie:
a) By assuming that I have not looked into these contradictions with any level of depth and accusing me of not having tried to understand any kind of "deeper meaning". Wherever possible, I consulted Christians' explanations. I've given them a good go. They're just s***.
b) By saying that these aren't errors at all, rather, that they are simply copyist's errors. Uh- derr. A copyist's error is an error. I don't care what kind of error it is, just don't make the claim that the bible is completely free of errors, except for the cases in which there are errors, which are only copyist's errors only, which aren't really errors.
c) If you agree with me that English translations of the bible contain errors, but you think that the original Hebrew and Greek manuscripts are pure and therefore true - DON'T tell me this and then go on to criticize me and other skeptics for pointing out that the English translations contain errors!
Totally fair. I do believe that this person did preparation for this video. It would be foolish not to. Second, none of my claims will be that they are copyist errors. I believe that God has preserved His Word throughout time and will continue to do so from translation to translation. And third, I believe that we have excellent English translations of the original Greek and Hebrew manuscripts. It’s just that the “contradictions” they point out are not, in fact, contradictions at all.
Also, my purpose in writing these posts is not to show how silly or stupid the authors of this video are. As we just read in 1 Corinthians, the Bible and God’s truth is utter foolishness to those who do not believe. My purpose is simply to defend the faith, as we are commanded to do in 1 Peter 3. I pray that this post will be an encouragement and tool to Christian readers and a challenge to non-Christian readers.
Part I: Contradictions In God’s Character
“How long does God’s anger last?”
This is the very first question the host asks the two contestants, Ken and Craig (surely a nod to two famous Christian apologist Ken Ham and William Lane Craig). Ken answers that God’s anger lasts forever and Craig answers that God’s anger does not last forever. The host then says that they are both correct and cites Micah 7:18 and Jeremiah 17:4.
Who is a God like you, forgiving iniquity and passing over rebellion for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not hold on to his anger forever because he delights in faithful love.
Micah 7:18
You will, on your own, relinquish your inheritance that I gave you. I will make you serve your enemies in a land you do not know, for you have set my anger on fire; it will burn forever.
Jeremiah 17:4
Well, there it is. God says that his anger will burn forever, but also we are told that he does not hold on to his anger forever. So what are we to make of this? It’s honestly quite simple. Yes, God’s anger lasts forever on some and not forever on others. This is the entire point of the Gospel! Because of our sin, God’s wrath is headed straight for humanity! However, for those who repent and believe in the Gospel, Christ took on the full wrath of God in our stead. Therefore, God’s wrath was satisfied and our sins were forgiven. God’s wrath no longer remains for those who are in Christ.
The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who rejects the Son will not see life; instead, the wrath of God remains on him.
John 3:36
It’s also important to note, that God does waylay his wrath on humanity. We are not all immediately killed for our sin as we ought to be.
For the wages of sin is death.
Romans 6:23
God, in his grace, gives every human being a life to live here on earth. Because of this, for the Christian, it is our duty to carry the gospel to those who have not heard. And for those who are not Christians, it is a call to repent and believe in the Gospel. Turn from your sin, and place your faith in Christ who took the wrath of God for you!
“Does God tempt people?”
As will be a common theme, the answers given by Ken and Craig are “yes” and “no.” However, according to the game show host, both answers are correct. For this, they cite Genesis 22:1 and James 1:13
After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, ‘Abraham!’ ‘Here I am,’ he answered.
Genesis 22:1
No one undergoing a trial should say, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ since God is not tempted by evil, and he himself doesn’t tempt anyone.
James 1:13
I’m honestly not sure why they put this one in the video. The only English translation of the Bible that uses the word “tempt” in Genesis 22:1 in the King James Bible. Every other major English translation uses “tested” which is a much more appropriate translation of the Hebrew word “nasah” “נָסָה” which simply refers to something being put to the test or being proved.
So, simply put, James 1:13 stands quite true.
God is not tempted by evil, and he himself doesn’t tempt anyone.
James 1:13
God cannot tempt someone with evil. Rather, he places His people through trials that prove and test faith in God. This is quite true, but should never be conflated with temptation.
“Can salvation be attained by works?”
The answers from the contestants, again of course, are both yes and no and both are said to be correct. I was quite excited when I first heard this one. This is an age-old discussion, not just among non-believers and believers. But among self-proclaimed Christians and other Christians as well. The citations for this question are Matt 19:17, Luke 10:26-28, Romans 3:28, and James 2:24.
‘Why do you ask me about what is good?’ he said to him. ‘There is only one who is good. If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.’
Matthew 19:17
‘What is written in the law?’ he asked him. ‘How do you read it?’ He answered, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ ‘You’ve answered correctly,’ he told him. ‘Do this and you will live.
Luke 10:26-28
For we conclude that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.
Romans 3:28
You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
James 2:24
I’m not going to lie, if I were a non-believer or a new Christian, this would certainly trip me up. Jesus is the one speaking in the Matthew and Luke passages. And He is clearly saying that if one keeps that commandments, he can be saved!
If that’s the case, then, why does Paul say that a person is justified by faith apart from the law? James just seems to be saying what Jesus was saying!
Here’s the kicker:
We can’t keep the law. In the story of the Rich Young Ruler (the Matthew passage), Jesus is fully aware that the man has not kept and cannot perfectly keep the law. Because no man has kept the law apart from Christ! Similarly, in the passage in Luke, Jesus is tested by a scholar in the Torah, or the Old Testament Law. He gives the man the same answer, “Do this,” keep the commandments, “and you will live.” However, the man has not kept the commandments! We know this because of the next verse. Luke 10:29, “But wanting to justify himself,” he continues to ask Jesus more questions. The man knows that he has not kept the law. And when Jesus tells these people, “Do this and you will live,” he is fully aware that He alone is the one who can do as he says. (For an excellent lecture on this passage in Luke, see D.A. Carson’s Sizemore Lecture from March 29, 2016 at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary).
Also, let me be clear, James is not making the case that we are saved by works either. James is making the very clear point in chapter 2 that if your faith does not have works to back it up, it is not saving faith! That faith is worthless.
For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.
James 2:26
Our faith, a faith that saves, produces good works. In the production of the good works, it is as though the good works is what saves us. Not directly, but good works because of the faith given to us by God!
My friends, we are saved by works, but not our own. We are saved by the works of Jesus Christ.
“What are the consequences of seeing God’s face?”
The answer given to this question are “death” and “preservation of life” or, not death. Admittedly, this one may create pause in some people. There are a few references that the video gives to the Bible. So I will list them here: Exodus 33:20, Genesis 32:30, Genesis 12:7, Exodus 33:11.
In the passage in Exodus, verse 11 tells us that Moses met with God “face to face, as one man meets with a friend.” However, later on in the same chapter in verse 20, we read, “But he added, ‘You cannot see my face, for humans cannot see me and live.’” The answer is quite simple, but an important distinction must first be made.
When a non-believer reads a passage like this, their first assumption (as shown by the creator of this video) is to believe that this proves that the Bible has contradictions. However, those of us who are Christians come from the understanding that if something seems to be a contradiction in the Bible, we are not understanding it properly. I’ll admit, this may seem like a cop out. We have essentially created a non-falsifiable entity in their minds. But let me make something very clear: if the Bible is truly authoritative, if it truly is the Word of God, how can we do anything else but come with a humble attitude toward the Scriptures?
So, then, It’s quite simple really. When God appears to people in the Old Testament, there are one of two ways in which he appears. We believe that the Scripture teaches that God is Spirit. He does not have a physical form. So, either this meeting “face-to-face” is a Christophony, which is an appearance of Christ before his birth in the Gospels, or it is a use if anthropomorphic language that helps the readers understand what is happening using language in which we humans can relate. They met face to face, as one meets with a friend. The point being that God and Moses had a far more intimate conversation than anyone else had experienced.
Secondly, when God says that “You cannot see my face, for humans cannot see me and live” He is speaking of seeing Him in His full glory! We cannot see God, right now, in His full glory and still keep our lives.
This is why the first coming of Jesus Christ is so incredible and so miraculous!
Jesus said to him, “Have I been among you all this time and you do not know me, Philip? The one who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”
John 14:9
For those who got to see Christ face to face, as we will someday, they got to see the veiled deity of God Himself! How glorious!
We’re just scratching the surface in this deep dive into God’s character in Scripture, and dismantling the apparent contradictions therein. Read part 2 of this apologetics journey here »
What about you? What questions do you have from Scripture? Let us know in the comments and we’ll answer them in a future article!