Here are some bible verses that seem to have contradictory meanings to them in the bible. Most christians try to cover up contradictions like these by coming up with some "how it could have been explanations" to make the contradictions go away. However, it really doesn't matter what they say, it is still a contradiction. Also, under certain bible verses that contradict each other I have put in yellow letters arguments that christians have used to attempted to make those verses less contradictory and explain why their arguments don't work.
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Exodus 6:3
"And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name Jehovah was I not known to them."
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Exodus 25:18 "And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat."
Numbers 21:8 "And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole...."
Many christian apologetics, claim that the commandment in Exodus 20:4 is only intended to prevent the worship of idols, and that images not made for worship are acceptable. However, it doesn't say it's OK to make graven images or likenesses as long as you don't worship them - it says no images, no likenesses. Period.
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Numbers 23:19
"God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent."
1 Samuel 15:29
"And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent."
: Christian apologetics I've spoke to claim that God indeed cannot and will not change his mind because he knows the future and that the Hebrew word "nacham" translated as "repent" in the KJV should actually be understood along the lines of "regret" or "grieve". Perhaps, but both Numbers 23:19 and 1 Samuel 15:29 use the exact same word; both say that nacham is what God will not do. Therefore, the contradiction stands. Why would an all-powerful God do something he knew he would regret later?
Exodus 34:6-7 "And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation."
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Ezekiel 18:19-20
"When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live. The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him."
Deuteronomy 24:16
"The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin."
: Christian Aplogetics claim that the first two verses deal with the inevitable natural consequences of sin, while the second two deal with the legalistic penalties. However, the context of Ezekiel chapter 18 is not discussing the human legal system, but divine justice so the contradiction stands. Furthermore, the apologists' claim is mere hairsplitting and does not solve the problem anyway. What good does it do you to escape human punishment for your father's sin if God kills you anyway?
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Judges 11:30-39
"And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the Lord's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.... So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the Lord delivered them into his hands.... And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child.... And it came to pass at the end of two months, that [Jephthah] did with her according to his vow which he had vowed."
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Jeremiah 7:22
"For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices."
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Leviticus 1-9
"But he shall wash the inwards and the legs with water: and the priest shall bring it all, and burn it upon the altar: it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord." (1:13)
"And he [the sinner] shall bring his trespass offering unto the Lord, a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation, for a trespass offering, unto the priest: And the priest shall make an atonement for him before the Lord: and it shall be forgiven him for any thing of all that he hath done in trespassing therein." (6:6-7)
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Ecclesiastes 8:15
"Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry."
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With a sword: 1 Samuel 17:51
"Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith."
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David sinned by taking a census: 2 Samuel 24:10
"And David's heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. And David said unto the Lord, I have sinned greatly in that I have done."
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Jeremiah 17:4
"I will cause thee to serve thine enemies in the land which thou knowest not: for ye have kindled a fire in mine anger, which shall burn for ever."
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John 8:14
"Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true."
: Christians explains this one by saying that Jesus is not bearing witness for himself alone because God also bears witness for him in chapter 5. However, the contradiction is not resolved. When Jesus bears witness for himself in chapter 8, if it is true, then he has plainly contradicted himself; if it is false, he has also contradicted himself.
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Those who are not against Jesus are for him: Mark 9:40
"For he that is not against us is on our part."
Those who are not against Jesus are for him: Luke 9:50
"And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us."
: Many Christians that try to defend this bible verse say that there is no middle ground with Jesus, but there is nothing in any of those bible verses that indicate that. Also, what about the people that lived before and during the time the alledged Jesus who never heard of him, such as the Chinese or Native Americans? How can these people be with or against Jesus if they never heard of him? Wouldn't that makes anything about anyone being with or against Jesus useless?
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Not until the next morning: Mark 11:13-14,20-21
"And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it. And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away."
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Men: 1 Peter 2:13
"Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake."
: Many aplogetics that I've argued with about this bible verses claims that Christians are to obey men's laws except when they conflict with God's laws. However, verse 1 Peter 2:13 says to obey every law created by man and makes no such exception.
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Some humans are masters: Ephesians 6:5
"Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters."
Some humans are masters: Colossians 3:22
"Servants, obey in all things your masters...."
Some humans are masters: 1 Peter 2:18
"Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward."
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They will go to Heaven: Romans 11:26
"All Israel shall be saved."
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"I am": Mark 14:62
"But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? And Jesus said, I am."
Matthew 20:17-19 "And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again."
Luke 18:31-33 "Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: and they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again."
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John 20:9
"For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead."
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Only when the wife commits adultery: Matthew 5:32
"But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery...."
Only when the wife commits adultery: Matthew 19:9
"And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery...."
Only when the unbelieving partner wants it: 1 Corinthians 7:13-15
"And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him..... But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases."
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Matthew 6:1-4
"Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.... when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: that thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly."
: Many Christian Apologetics claim that the commandment in chapter 6 is only intended to warn people against doing good works in public for the purpose of showing everyone how great you are or to show off. However, the following verses instruct us to do good works in secret, while the other verse from chapter 5 states to let men see them. So which is it?
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Mark 8:12
"And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation."
Only the sign of Jonah: Luke 11:29
"And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet."
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John 8:15
"Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man."
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On the first day of Passover: Mark 14:12-17
"And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover, [Jesus'] disciples said unto him, Where wilt thou that we go and prepare that thou mayest eat the passover? ... And his disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover. And in the evening he cometh with the twelve."
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James 1:13
"Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man."
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Romans 3:10
"As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one."
Romans 3:23
"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."
Psalms 14:3
"They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one."
Ecclesiastes 7:20
"For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not."
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Acts 10:34
"Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons."
Romans 2:11
"For there is no respect of persons with God."
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Proverbs 16:7
"When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him."
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John 3:13
"And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven."
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Job 7:9
"As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more."
Ecclesiastes 9:5
"For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten."
Many Christian I've argued with about this contradiction claim that this is not a contradiction because Elijah actually did not ascend to Heaven. One of their excuses is the Hebrew word in the 2 Kings verse, shamiyim, means "sky" and not "Heaven" in the sense of a place for the righteous dead, while the Greek word Jesus used in John 3:13, ouranos, does mean "Heaven". However, a simple lookup proves that "Heaven" is a valid translation of shamiyim - the OT simply did not have the well-developed view of the afterlife that the NT does, and so this is the closest equivalent it has for that concept. Also, for the sake of argument assuming that the aplogetics were right about the hebrew translation of the word "Shamiyim" if Elijah is no longer on earth as verse 16-17 is implicating, then where else could he be at? Did God reward Elijah by carrying him high into the upper atmosphere to die of suffocation and exposure (if physics applied that is)? The only thing that would make since to conclude is that god did take Elijah up to heaven. The contradiction still stands.
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The tables, Aaron's rod, and a pot of manna: Hebrews 9:4
"[The Jewish tabernacle] had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant."
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God is love, and love is not jealous: 1 John 4:8, 1 Corinthians 13:4
1 John 4:8: "He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love [Greek agape]."
1 Corinthians 13:4 (RSV): "Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful..."
1 Corinthians 13:4 (KJV): "Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity [agape] envieth not..."
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1 Corinthians 14:33
"For God is not the author of confusion...."
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Luke 24:39
"For a spirit hath not flesh and bones."
John 4:24
"God is a spirit."
