In conversations with Christians, I often mention that the Bible contradicts itself in may areas. Mind you, I think that these contradiction do not provide a case for atheism. Rather, they do much to provide evidence that the Bible is a purely human document that was put together by writers who were using guesswork and borrowing myths from other cultures that surrounded them.
My only motive for producing this document is for use as a reference in the conversations where the subject comes up. As such, comments from those who disagree will not only be welcome, but I also plan to post them here for those interested to see some of the different ways these things can be viewed. I will choose the comments I post, but I plan to put chosen comments on the page in their entirety. I would also like to point out that this article is not intended to hold a complete list of the contradictions I have seen in the Bible. I have chosen a set of my ten favorites, listed in no particularly significant order. So, let's begin!
This is a pretty neat item to start off with. It examines the very nature of God as defined in the Bible. It is confused by the fact that the Bible teaches that God knows everything, both past and future, which leads to major philosophical problems concerning free will. I'll not bother about that right here, but we might touch upon it later. For now, let's have a look at the passages in the Bible that appear on both sides of this issue:
God doesn't change his mind:
Num 23: 19 - God is not a human being, that he should lie, or a mortal, that he should change his mind. Has he promised, and will he not do it? Has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
God changes his mind:
Ex 32:9-14 - The Lord said to Moses, "I have seen this people, how stiff-necked they are. Now let me alone, so that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them; and of you I will make a great nation." But Moses implored the Lord his God, and said, "O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, 'It was with evil intent that he brought them out to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth'? Turn from your fierce wrath; change your mind and do not bring disaster on your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, how you swore to them by your own self, saying to them, 'I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.' " And the Lord changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people.
2 Ki 20:1-6 - In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, "Thus says the LORD: Set your house in order, for you shall die; you will not recover." Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD: "Remember now, O LORD, I implore you, how I have walked before you in faithfulness with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight." Hezekiah wept bitterly. Before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the LORD came to him: "Turn back, and say to Hezekiah prince of my people, Thus says the LORD, the God of your ancestor David: I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; indeed, I will heal you; on the third day you shall go up to the house of the LORD. I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; I will defend this city for my own sake and for my servant David's sake."
Amos 7:1-6 - This is what the LORD God showed me: he was forming locusts at the time the latter growth began to sprout (it was the latter growth after the king's mowings). When they had finished eating the grass of the land, I said, "O LORD God, forgive, I beg you! How can Jacob stand? He is so small!" The LORD relented concerning this; "It shall not be," said the LORD. This is what the LORD God showed me: the LORD God was calling for a shower of fire, and it devoured the great deep and was eating up the land. Then I said, "O LORD God, cease, I beg you! How can Jacob stand? He is so small!" The LORD relented concerning this; "This also shall not be," said the LORD God.
Jonah 3:10 - When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way, he repented of the evil he had threatened to do to them; he did not carry it out.
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From Kadaitcha Man (in alt.atheism): My reply: Kadaitcha Man: My reply: |
If you listen to the words of the Bible, thinking that they are the Word of God, can you depend on God to always tell the truth? Most believers would say "yes" without hesitation. Yet, there is some reason to hesitate, especially when we see what the Bible has to say:
God always tells the truth:
Heb 6:17,18 - In the same way, when God desired to show even more clearly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it by an oath, so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible that God would prove false, we who have taken refuge might be strongly encouraged to seize the hope set before us.
God tells lies:
1 Ki 22:23 - "So you see, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the LORD has decreed disaster for you."
Jer 4:10 - Then I said, "Ah, LORD God, how utterly you have deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, 'It shall be well with you,' even while the sword is at its throat!"
2 Thess 2:8-12 - And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will destroy with the breath of his mouth, annihilating him by the manifestation of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is apparent in the working of Satan, who uses all power, signs, lying wonders, and every kind of wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion, leading them to believe what is false, so that all who have not believed the truth but took pleasure in unrighteousness will be condemned.
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Kadaitcha Man: My reply: Kadaitcha Man: My reply: Kadaitcha Man: My reply: |
This one is a basic one for all Christians. After all, the whole religion is built around the idea that Jesus represented the Ultimate Sacrifice, the only way possible for salvation to be accomplished. Yet, even at this very basic level, we see that the message of the Bible is not only muddled, but downright unintelligible.
Sacrifice is required by God:
Ex 20:23-26 - "You shall not make gods of silver alongside me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold. You need make for me only an altar of earth and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your offerings of well-being, your sheep and your oxen; in every place where I cause my name to be remembered I will come to you and bless you. But if you make for me an altar of stone, do not build it of hewn stones; for if you use a chisel upon it you profane it. You shall not go up by steps to my altar, so that your nakedness may not be exposed on it."
Ex 29:8-14 - Then you shall bring his sons, and put tunics on them, and you shall gird them with sashes and tie headdresses on them; and the priesthood shall be theirs by a perpetual ordinance. You shall then ordain Aaron and his sons. You shall bring the bull in front of the tent of meeting. Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the bull, and you shall slaughter the bull before the Lord, at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger, and all the rest of the blood you shall pour out at the base of the altar. You shall take all the fat that covers the entrails, and the appendage of the liver, and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, and turn them into smoke on the altar. But the flesh of the bull, and its skin, and its dung, you shall burn with fire outside the camp; it is a sin offering.
Eze 43:18-21 - Then he said to me: Mortal, thus says the LORD God: These are the ordinances for the altar: On the day when it is erected for offering burnt offerings upon it and dashing blood against it, you shall give to the Levitical priests of the family of Zadok, who draw near to me to minister to me, says
the LORD God, a bull for a sin offering. And you shall take some of its blood, and put it on the four horns of the altar, and on the four corners of the ledge, and upon the rim all around; thus you shall purify it and make atonement for it. You shall also take the bull of the sin offering, and it shall be burnt in the appointed place belonging to the temple, outside the sacred area.
Eze 43:27 - When these days are over, then from the eighth day onward the priests shall offer upon the altar your burnt offerings and your offerings of well-being; and I will accept you, says the LORD God.
Mal 1:6-9 - A son honors his father, and servants their master. If then I am a father, where is the honor due me? And if I am a master, where is the respect due me? says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name. You say, "How have we despised your name?" By offering polluted food on my altar. And you say, "How have we polluted it?" By thinking that the Lord's table may be despised. When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not wrong? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not wrong? Try presenting that to your governor; will he be pleased with you or show you favor? says the Lord of hosts. And now implore the favor of God, that he may be gracious to us. The fault is yours. Will he show favor to any of you? says the Lord of hosts.
Eph 5:1,2 - Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Sacrifice is not required by God:
Ps 40:6 - Sacrifice and offering you do not desire, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required.
Ps 50:8-13 - Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you; your burnt offerings are continually before me. I will not accept a bull from your house, or goats from your folds. For every wild animal of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the air, and all that moves in the field is mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and all that is in it is mine. Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?
Ps 51:16,17 - For you have no delight in sacrifice; if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased. The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Prov 21:3 - To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.
Is 1:11 - What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? Says the LORD. I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats.
Jer 7:21-23 - Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices, and eat the flesh. For in the day that I brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to them or command them concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. But this command I gave them, "Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people; and walk only in the way that I command you, so that it may be well with you."
Hos 6:6 - For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
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Kadaitcha Man: My reply: |
An interesting sub-note to the issue of sacrifices is just what was it about killing an animal that made it a good way to relate to God? What was it that happened that allowed a person to be freed from this thing called "sin"? Once again, we find some interesting, confusing thoughts on the subject:
Spilling blood is required:
Gen 9:3-7 - "Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you; and just as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. Only, you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. For your own lifeblood I will surely require a reckoning: from every animal I will require it and from human beings, each one for the blood of another, I will require a reckoning for human life. Whoever sheds the blood of a human, by a human shall that person's blood be shed; for in his own image God made humankind. And you, be fruitful and multiply, abound on the earth and multiply in it."
Heb 9:11,12 - But when Christ came as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation), he entered once for all into the Holy Place, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.
Heb 9:22 - Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
Spilling blood is not required:
Lev 16:21,22 - Then Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the inequities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and sending it away into the wilderness by means of someone designated for the task. The goat shall bear on itself all their inequities to a barren region; and the goat will be set free in the wilderness.
Is 6:6,7 - Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said, "Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out."
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Kadaitcha Man: My reply: |
Next, we get into a slightly less vital area for the Christian religion - that of morality. For many believers, morality is defined by the old Jewish laws - something I personally disagree with, but I don't intend to go into that in detail here. What I do want to point out is that even the Bible has vastly different things to say concerning the laws:
The Laws are good and easy to follow:
Deu 30:11 - Surely, this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away.
1 Jn 5:3 - For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome...
The Laws are bad, unlivable:
Eze 20:25,26 - Moreover I gave them statutes that were not good and ordinances by which they could not live. I defiled them through their very gifts, in their offering up their firstborn, in order that I might horrify them, so that they might know that I am the LORD.
Heb 8:7-9 - For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need to look for a second one. God finds fault with them when he says: "The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; not like the covenant that I made with their ancestors, on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; for they did not continue in my covenant, and so I had no concern for them, says the Lord."
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Kadaitcha Man: My reply: |
Oddly enough, there seems to be an awful lot of confusion on this issue in the Bible. I would have thought that something like this would be an easy call, from a moral standpoint. Apparently, it wasn't such an easy call for those who wrote the Bible:
Each person is punished only for his own sin:
2 Ki 14:6 - But he did not put to death the children of the murderers; according to what is written in the book of the law of Moses, where the LORD commanded, "The parents shall not be put to death for the children, or the children be put to death for the parents; but all shall be put to death for their own sins."
Eze 18:1-4 - The word of the LORD came to me: What do you mean by repeating the proverb concerning the land of Israel, "The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge"? As I live, says the LORD God, this proverb shall no more be used by Israel. Know that all lives are mine; the life of the parent as well as the life of the child is mine; it is only the person who sins that shall die.
1 Pet 1:17 - If you invoke as Father the one who judges all people impartially according to their deeds, live in reverent fear during the time of your exile.
Others get punished for someone else's sin:
Ex 20:5,6 - You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Num 16:23-35 - And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: "Say to the congregation: Get away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram." So Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram; the elders of Israel followed him. He said to the congregation, "Turn away from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, or you will be swept away for all their sins." So they got away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrance of their tents, together with their wives, their children, and their little ones. And Moses said, "This is how you shall know that the LORD has sent me to do all these works; it has not been of my own accord: If these people die a natural death, or if a natural fate comes on them, then the LORD has not sent me. But if the LORD creates something new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up, with all that belongs to them,then you shall know that these men have despised the LORD. As soon as he finished speaking all these words, the ground under them was split apart. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up along with their households - everyone who belonged to Korah and all their goods. So they with all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol; the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. All Israel around them fled at their outcry, for they said, "The earth will swallow us too!" And fire came out from the LORD and consumed two hundred fifty men offering the incense.
Jos 7:24-26 - Then Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan, son of Zerah, with the silver, the mantle, and the bar of gold, with his sons and daughters, with his oxen, donkeys and sheep, and his tent and all that he had; and they brought them to the Valley of Achor. Joshua said, "Why did you bring trouble on us? The LORD is bringing trouble on you today." And all Israel stoned him to death; they burned them with fire and cast stones on them, and raised over him a great heap of stones that remains to this day. Then the LORD turned from his burning anger. Therefore that place to this day is called the Valley of Achor. [Trouble].
1 Sam 3:13-14 - "For I have told him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be expiated by sacrifice or offering forever."
2 Sam 12:13-18 - David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." Nathan said to David, "Now the LORD has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the LORD, the child that is born to you shall die." Then Nathan went to the house. The LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and it became very ill. David therefore pleaded with God for the child; David fasted, and went in and lay all night on the ground. The elders of his house stood beside him, urging him to rise from the ground, but he would not, nor did he eat food with them. On the seventh day the child died...
2 Sam 21:1-6 - Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David inquired of the LORD. The LORD said, "There is bloodguilt on Saul and on his house, because he put the Gibeonites to death." So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not of the people of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; although the people of
Israel had sworn to spare them, Saul had tried to wipe them out in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah). David said to the Gibeonites, "What shall I do for you? How shall I make expiation, that you may bless the heritage of the LORD?" The Gibeonites said to him, "It is not a matter of silver or gold between us and Saul or his house; neither is it for us to put anyone to death in Israel." He said, "What do you say that I should do for you?" They said to the king, "The man who consumed us and planned to destroy us, so that we should have no place in all the territory of Israel - let seven of his sons be handed over to us, and we will impale them before the LORD at Gibeon on the mountain of the LORD." The king said, "I will hand them over."
1 Chr 21:7-12 - But God was displeased with this thing, and he struck Israel. David said to God, "I have sinned greatly in that I have done this thing. But now, I pray you, take away the guilt of your servant; for I have done very foolishly." The Lord spoke to Gad, David's seer, saying, "Go and say to David, 'Thus says the Lord: Three things I offer you; choose one of them, so that I may do it to you.' " So Gad came to David and said to him, "Thus says the Lord, 'Take your choice: either three years of famine; or three months of devastation by your foes, while the sword of your enemies overtakes you; or three days of the sword of the Lord, pestilence on the land, and the angel of the Lord destroying throughout all the territory of Israel.' Now decide what answer I shall return to the one who sent me."
Jer 15:3,4 - And I will appoint over them four kinds of destroyers, says the LORD: the sword to kill, the dogs to drag away, and the birds of the air and the wild animals of the earth to devour and destroy. I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth because of what King Manasseh son of Hezekiah of Judah did in Jerusalem.
Jer 29:32 - ...therefore, thus says the LORD: I am going to punish Shemaiah of Nehelam and his descendants; he shall not have anyone living among this people to see the good that I am going to do to my people, says the LORD, for he has spoken rebellion against the LORD.
Lam 5:7 - Our ancestors sinned; they are no more, and we bear their iniquities.
Matt 23:29-33 - "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous, and you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.' Thus you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your ancestors. You snakes, you brood of vipers! How can you escape being sentenced to hell?"
Rom 5:18-21 - Therefore just as one man's trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man's act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. For just as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. But law came in, with the result that the trespass multiplied; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, just as sin exercised dominion in death, so grace might also exercise dominion through justification leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
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Kadaitcha Man: My reply: |
OK, so we're back to a central issue for Christians. This one is about as muddled as you can get. There appears to be a wide spectrum of ideas on this issue, and that's rather surprising to me - I would have thought that something as central and vital as this would be as clear and rigidly delineated as possible in the Bible. I break up the verses into two general categories. In reading the passages, you'll see that there are many differences:
Salvation by works:
Matt 6:14,15 - For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Matt 10:39 - Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.
Matt 19:20,21 - Then someone came to him and said, "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?" And he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments." He said to him, "Which ones?" And Jesus said, "You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your father and mother; also, You shall love your neighbor as yourself." The young man said to him, "I have kept all these; what do I still lack?" Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."
Matt 25:41-46 - Then he will say to those at his left hand, "You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me." Then they also will answer, "Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?" Then he will answer them, "Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me." And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
Mk 11:25 - "Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses."
Lk 6:37 - "Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven..."
Lk 18:18-22 - A certain ruler asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: 'You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your father and mother.' " He replied, "I have kept all these since my youth." When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."
Lk 19:8,9 - Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much." Then Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham."
Lk 19:20-27 - "Then the other came, saying, Lord, here is your pound. I wrapped it up in a piece of cloth, for I was afraid of you, because you are a harsh man; you take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.' He said to him, 'I will judge you by your own words, you wicked slave! You knew, did you, that I was a harsh man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? Why then did you not put my money into the bank? Then when I returned, I could have collected it with interest.' He said to the bystanders, 'Take the pound from him and give it to the one who has ten pounds.' (And they said to him, 'Lord, he has ten pounds!') I tell you, to all those who have, more will be given; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them-bring them here and slaughter them in my presence.' "
Rom 11:26-29 - And so all Israel will be saved; as it is written, "Out of Zion will come the Deliverer; he will banish ungodliness from Jacob." "And this is my covenant with them, when I take away their sins." As regards the gospel they are enemies of God for your sake; but as regards election they are beloved, for the sake of their ancestors; for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
1 Cor 6:9,10 - Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, sodomites, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, robbers-none of these will inherit the kingdom of God.
1 Cor 7:12-14 - To the rest I say-I and not the Lord-that if any believer has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. And if any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is made holy through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy through her husband. Otherwise, your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.
2 Cor 5:10 - For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil.
Eph 5:4,55 - Entirely out of place is obscene, silly, and vulgar talk; but instead, let there be thanksgiving. Be sure of this, that no fornicator or impure person, or one who is greedy (that is, an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Jam 1:25-27 - But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act-they will be blessed in their doing. If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
Jam 2:14-17 - What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill," and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.
Salvation by faith:
Lk 10:25-28 - Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he said, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" He said to him, "What is written in the law? What do you read there?" He answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." And he said to him, "You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live."
Jn 3:16-18 - "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
Jn 6:48-51 - "I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."
Rom 3:28-31 - For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since God is one; and he will justify the circumcised on the ground of faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.
Rom 10:8-10 - But what does it say? "The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.
Rom 11:5,6 - So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
Gal 2:15,16 - We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is justified not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law.
Now, we're into a few nits to pick, but I have found them to be amusing. For instance, let's look at the claims made in the bible about who has seen God.
Only Jesus has seen God:
Jn 1:18 - No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known.
Jn 6:45, 46 - "It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father."
1 Jn 4:12 - No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.
Lots of people have seen God:
Ex 33:11 - Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then he would return to the camp; but his young assistant, Joshua son of Nun, would not leave the tent.
Deu 34:10 - Never since has there arisen a prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face.
1 Ki 22:19 - Then Micaiah said, "Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, with all the host of heaven standing beside him to the right and to the left of him.
Job 42:5 - [Job speaking] "I had heard you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you."
Is 6:1 - In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the LORD sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple.
Amos 9:1,2 - I saw the LORD standing beside the altar, and he said, "Strike the capitals until the thresholds shake, and shatter them on the heads of all the people; and those who are left, I will kill with the sword; not one of them shall flee away, not one of them shall escape. Though they dig into Sheol, from there shall my hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, from there I will bring them down.
Now this one is, I'm sure you'll understand, rather near to me personally. After all, you never know what iteresting things can happen to a person over the course of a lifetime. It'd be nice to know whether I need to worry over such changes for the future.
Ex-believers can be brought back:
Jam 5:19,20 - My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner's soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
Ex-believers can't be brought back:
Heb 6:4-6 - For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, since on their own they are crucifying again the Son of God and are holding him up to contempt.
I can hear it all now. Its only natural that the Bible should be studied! What sort of question is that? Well, let's look...
You should study the Bible:
Tit 1:9- He must have a firm grasp of the word that is trustworthy in accordance with the teaching, so that he may be able both to preach with sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict it.
You shouldn't study the Bible:
Matt 10:17-20 - Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues; and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles. When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
Lk 21:12-15 - "But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. This will give you an opportunity to testify. So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict."
