Ham - Demolishing Supposed Bible Contradictions Volume 1

Demolishing Supposed Bible Contradictions Volume 1

Exploring Forty Alleged Contradictions

Ken Ham

First printing: October 2010

Second printing: January 2011

Copyright 2010 by Answers in GenesisUSA. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles and reviews. For information write:

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ISBN: 978-0-89051-600-3

Library of Congress Number: 2010937902

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version of the Bible.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to say thanks to all the reviewers of the various chapters in this book. They are: Steve Fazekas, Dr. Terry Mortenson, Frost Smith, Peter Galling, Bodie Hodge, Roger Patterson, Paul F. Taylor, Stacia McKeever, Gary Vaterlaus, Dr. Jason Lisle, Dr. Georgia Purdom, John Upchurch, Ken Ham, and Dr. Tommy Mitchell.

Contents

Ken Ham

Dr. Jason Lisle

Genesis

Bodie Hodge

Bodie Hodge

Gary Vaterlaus

Stacia McKeever

Bodie Hodge

Bodie Hodge

Gary Vaterlaus

Roger Patterson

Gary Vaterlaus

Paul F. Taylor

John Upchurch 48

Exodus Deuteronomy

Roger Patterson

Bodie Hodge

Bodie Hodge

Roger Patterson

Gary Vaterlaus

Bodie Hodge

Stacia McKeever

Joshua Malachi

Steve Fazekas

Roger Patterson

Roger Patterson

Bodie Hodge & Stacia McKeever

Bodie Hodge

Paul F. Taylor & Bodie Hodge

Paul F. Taylor

Dr. Jason Lisle

Matthew John

Bodie Hodge

Stacia McKeever

Roger Patterson

Stacia McKeever

Stacia McKeever

Bodie Hodge

Paul F. Taylor & Bodie Hodge

Dr. Georgia Purdom

Paul F. Taylor

Paul F. Taylor

Acts Revelation

Bodie Hodge

Dr. Georgia Purdom

Bodie Hodge

Bodie Hodge

Roger Patterson

Bodie Hodge

Bodie Hodge

Foreword

O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith. Grace be with you. Amen (1 Timothy 6:2021).

In more than 30 years of defending the authority of the Bible from its very first verse, I can't recall the number of times that someone has told me there are contradictions in the Bible. I ask them to name one. This is usually followed by silence, or perhaps a few vain attempts to name one.

Many people today buy into the assertion that the Bible is "full of contradictions," but they haven't bothered to look into the claim for themselves. Since God's Word is perfect, any alleged contradiction in the Bible is going to be due to fallible, imperfect people having misconceptions. I have found time and time again that when an alleged Bible contradiction is brought up, it only takes a little research to refute it.

Most Christians, however, fail to give a good answer when they are presented with an alleged contradiction. This is especially true regarding the Book of Genesis and the charge that evolution/millions of years contradicts the Bible. The inability to have answers to such claims has had a particular effect on the youth in our churches. In my co-authored book Already Gone, which presents statistics about young adults (in their 20s) who have walked away from their conservative churches, 44 percent said they did not view the Bible as true and accurate. These 44 percent were asked "why?" Some of the top responses were:

24 percent the Bible was written by men (which means the Bible would be in contradiction, for it calls itself the Word of God)

15 percent the Bible contradicts itself

14 percent science shows the world is old (which signifies that the Bible in Genesis is in contradiction)

11 percent the Bible has errors (which means again that it is in contradiction)

4 percent evolution proves the Bible is wrong (another alleged Bible contradiction)

At least 68 percent of these young adults gave an answer that indicated that the Bible had contradictions. It should make you wonder: would they have walked away from the faith if they had answers for these many alleged contradictions when growing up?

These sad statistics show why it is so important for Christians to answer the alleged Bible contradictions. These young people would have discovered how easy it is to answer the challenges. This book is a great starting point in answering these alleged difficulties, and to teach you how to think and then respond to such claims. Otherwise, just as the Apostle Paul said to Timothy, they could stray from the faith. When Paul wrote these words about 2,000 years ago, he was warning Timothy to avoid a number of things, including contradictions that lead to false knowledge. We should heed this advice as well, and not buy into false claims, as some Christians have (including many seminary and Bible college professors). When even some professing Christians bring up alleged contradictions in Scripture, they have a contradiction of their own to tackle: how can they call the Bible the Word of God and say God got some things wrong?

I hope this book will be an encouragement as it equips you to stand on the authority of God's Word with all boldness and without compromise.

Ken Ham

President and CEO,

Answers in Genesis

Introduction

Dr. Jason Lisle

"You can't trust the Bible! It's full of contradictions!"

It is a popular view these days. Many people have the impression that the Bible is simply an outdated book of fairy tales and contradictions. We are told that biblical stories are fine for children, and perhaps they even contain some moral value. "But surely" says the critic, "such stories cannot be taken seriously in our modern age of science and technology."

After all, the Bible speaks of floating ax-heads, the sun apparently going backward, a universe created in six days, an earth that has pillars and corners, people walking on water, light before the sun, a talking snake, a talking donkey, dragons, and a senior citizen taking two of every animal on a big boat! On the surface, these things may seem absurd, particularly to those unfamiliar with the Christian worldview. But to make matters even worse, it is alleged that the Bible contains contradictions. That is, the Bible seems to say one thing in one place, and then the opposite in another. Which are we to believe? Obviously, two contradictory statements cannot both be true.