The Whenever I Get A Chance Newsletter

Wednesday, November 25, 2009 No. 0911

The Whenever I Get A Chance Newsletter

"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 Many people have the impression that the Bible is simply an outdated book of fairytales and contradictions. I have been 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 backwards, 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 a biblical 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.

While we might come to accept many of the peculiar claims of Scripture, a genuine contradiction cannot be true even in principle. It is not possible to have a sunny night, a married bachelor, dry water, a true falsehood, and so on. Thus, the claim that the Bible contains contradictions is a serious challenge indeed. For if the Bible has even one real contradiction, then it cannot be completely true. Yet the true believer asserts that the Bible is the Word of God and without error. The claim of contradictions is a serious allegation against the Christian worldview, and we must be prepared to defend the Bible against such claims.

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: Peter 3:15 KJV ER

Did Abel Break God' Law?

Was Abel eating meat soon after the curse when he was not supposed to be (Genesis 1:29), since he kept the flocks and sacrificed an animal in Genesis 4:2–4?

This supposed contradiction comes from assuming Abel was doing something that Scripture does not say he was. The relevant passages are:

And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. Genesis 1:29 KJV ER

And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering to the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect to Abel and to his offering: Genesis 4:2-4 KJV ER

Those assuming this is a contradiction are assuming that Abel, who was commanded by God to be vegetarian, was eating the meat from his sacrifice. Matthew indicates that Abel was righteous and therefore was surely not being disobedient to God’s command in Genesis 1:29 to be vegetarian.

That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom you slew between the temple and the altar. Matthew 23:35 KJV ER

So, there is no reason to assume that Abel was eating any of the meat, and consequently, there is no contradiction.

What was the Post-Flood World Like?

The Flood of Noah’s day was the greatest catastrophe in earth history, and it involved much more than rain. It reshaped the surface of the earth, spawning massive volcanoes and earthquakes that dwarf anything observed in modern times. Such a tremendous catastrophe would have radically altered the earth’s climate, resulting in an Ice Age.

In general terms, an “ice age” is a time of extensive glacial activity that covers a relatively large area with ice. During the Ice Age, which ended a few thousand years ago, 30% of the land surface of the earth was covered by ice. In North America an ice sheet covered almost all of Canada and the northern United States.

We know the extent of the Ice Age because the glaciers left features on the landscape similar to features we observe around glaciers today, such as lateral and terminal moraines. A “lateral moraine” is a mound of rocks of varying sizes deposited to the side of a moving glacier, and a “terminal” or “end” moraine is a mound of rocks dumped in front of the glacier.

Two particular aspects of the Flood were instrumental in causing the Ice Age: (1) extensive volcanic activity during and after the Flood, and (2) the warm oceans following the Flood.

Evolutionist Quote of the Month

“But the reports of Eve’s death may have been greatly exaggerated. Indeed, no one argues with the idea that all modern humans inherited their mitochondrial DNA from one common female ancestor. But what is in dispute is the hypothesis first put forth in 1987 by molecular anthropologist Allan Wilson of University of California, Berkeley who claimed to know Eve’s age and whereabouts—that she lived about 200,000 years ago in Africa.”

Ann Gibbons, Mitochondrial Eve: Wounded, But Not Dead Yet, Science, Vol. 257, p. 873, August 14, 1992.

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