Does the Bible Contain
Errors?
Other seeming contradictions in the
Bible
are related to times and dates. One
example of
this is that Israel used both a civil
and a sacred
calendar. The civil year began in the
autumn
with the month of Tishri, while the
sacred year
began in the spring with the month of
Nisan
or Abib. When two writers seem to
disagree
regarding the timing of a particular
event,
the seeming discrepancy can be
clarified by
ascertaining which of the two calendars
they
are using.
In another matter of timing, John
19:14
seems to disagree with Matthew 27:45.
John
described events that occurred
before
the
crucifixion and says that they took
place at
about the “sixth hour.” Matthew
agrees with
Mark 15:33 and Luke 23:44 when he
says
darkness covered the land
after
the crucifixion
from the sixth to the ninth hours. Is
there a
real discrepancy between these
accounts?
No! The answer lies in the fact that
the
Jewish state was then under Roman
control
and John used the Roman reckoning of
time,
which began at midnight. The “sixth
hour” in
John’s reckoning was 6:00 in the
morning.
However, the Jewish method of
timekeeping
started from that time of the
morning, counting it as the first hour of the day. So the sixth
hour of the day according to Jewish
reckoning
was noon.
The crucifixion occurred between the
sixth
and ninth hours of the day—Jewish
time.
Thus, the four Gospel accounts do not
contradict; instead they complement each other.
Answers may not be readily apparent
What about other scriptural passages
that
contain apparent discrepancies? Some
of
these are the result of faulty
translations;
some Bible translations are simply
more accurate than others in rendering particular verses.
With other passages the difficulties
may be
more substantial.
In any case, one should not be
alarmed at
what appear to be errors in the
Bible. There
are answers and solutions to these
passages
that may not be readily apparent. As
noted
Bible scholar Gleason Archer writes:
“As I have dealt with one apparent
discrepancy after another and have studied the alleged contradictions between
the biblical
record and the evidence of
linguistics, archaeology, or science, my confidence in the trustworthiness of
Scripture has been repeatedly
verified and strengthened by the
discovery
that almost every problem in
Scripture that
has ever been discovered by man, from
ancient times until now, has been dealt with in a
completely satisfactory manner by the
biblical
text itself—or else by objective
archaeological
information .
.
.
“There is a good and sufficient
answer in
Scripture itself to refute every
charge that has
ever been leveled against it. But
this is only to
be expected from the kind of book the
Bible
asserts itself to be, the
inscripturation of the
infallible, inerrant Word of the
Living God” (
En
-
The Bible is the Word of God, and we
can
depend upon it as the Book that
illuminates
the pathway to salvation. It is
reliable. The
apostle Paul wrote that “all
Scripture is given
by inspiration of God” (2 Timothy
3:16). Jesus
said that “the Scripture cannot be
broken”
(John 10:35).
This is a promise from Jesus Christ
on
which we can rely and in which we can
place
our complete confidence. So, when we
read
the Bible, let us be assured that we
are indeed
reading a book that is inspired of
God and
contains the full backing of the
Eternal God
who desires to give us the salvation
the book
promises us.
A little research with commentaries
and
other Bible helps can usually resolve
Bible
difficulties.
The Bible and You
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