John 3:16 says, “God loved the world so much, that He gave His one and only Son, Jesus, so that everyone who believes in Him will not go to hell but will spend eternity in paradise with Him.”
Fair enough. But then Jesus is recorded as saying in John 10:17,18 -
“I lay down my life — only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.”
What the heck
How can the Bible say on the one hand, that God lays His Son on the alter, and then have His Son say that He lays Himself on the alter?
Or how about this.
Paul tells us in Galatians 6:2 “Carry each other’s burdens and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”
Yet he says just a couple verses later:
“Each one should carry his own load.” Galatians 6:5
How can “God’s Book” contain such contradictions?
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How can the Bible say on the one hand, that God lays His Son on the alter, and then have His Son say that He lays Himself on the alter?
ReplyDeleteJesus is God. There is no contradiction.
"Carry each other’s burdens and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."
...
"Each one should carry his own load."
You can carry both your burden and others' burden. No contradiction.
But, I don't think it's talking about the exact same thing anyway. Carrying others' burden tells us to take care of others, especially those who are lost. 'Each one should carry his own load' is probably related to the idea that we are, alone, as individual, accountable to God, i.e., we are going to be judged against ourself, not with respect to others.
How can “God’s Book” contain such contradictions?
Because it was written over several hundred years, manipulated and translated, by people who were simply relating what they believed according to their particular cultural context and very limited knowledge of the world we live in. We thus expect to find contradictions, mistakes and absurdities; but the ones presented here were not good examples...
Hugo! That's very good. I'm genuinely impressed.
ReplyDeleteBang on for the first example.
For the second, it all hinges on the Greek words that were used.
"Burden" translates as something that happens to us: the death of a child, an illness, etc. We're to help others when these things happen to them.
"Load" on the other hand, refers to expectations. It comes from an analogy to the Roman soldier carrying his own gear. It was expected of him.
Transfered to Jesus' teaching it would relate to things like,
"Love your enemies" it's expected.
"Don't steal" it's expected.
"Be faithful to your marriage" it's expected.
"Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength," it's expected.
Your third paragraph is a bust but it's as good as you could be expected to do given your lack of knowledge.
At any rate, two out of three ain't bad.
Hugo! That's very good. I'm genuinely impressed.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I thought it was a good opportunity to show the way I approach claims. In other words, even though I don't believe the Bible is divine in any way, I am not going to jump to conclusions.
In other words, the claim here was that these examples were contradictions found in the Bible. Because I know there are some, it could have been tempting to conclude that the examples must themselves be examples of contradictions. Quickly reading through them told me another story, that you agreed with.
Your third paragraph is a bust but it's as good as you could be expected to do given your lack of knowledge.
What part of my last paragraph do you disagree with?
What knowledge do I lack?