If the Bible was inspired by God why there are contradictions?

Answer 1

To the careless reader there may appear contradictions,but to the careful,diligent student who like a miner works hard each day to mine the depths for precious gems of truth there is no contradiction only harmony.

Answer:

God didn't "inspire" all the many translations of The Bible... He inspired the "original manuscripts" through the men He called out of the world for that purpose.

There are no contradictions in God's Word... just misinterpretations and misunderstandings among men whom God hasn't called. The Bible isn't written for these men. It's written for the training, guidance, correction and character development of those whom God is calling to rule the coming Kingdom of God on earth with Christ [II Tim.3:16-17].

"I have told these men about you. They were in the world, but then you gave them to Me. Actually, they were always yours, and you gave them to Me; and they have kept your Word. Now they know that everything I have is a Gift from you, for I have passed on to them the Words you gave Me; and they accepted them and know that I came from you, and they BELIEVE you sent Me." (John 17:6-8 NLT New Living Translation)

"Make them Pure and Holy by TEACHING THEM YOUR WORDS OF TRUTH." (verse 17)

God's Word, the Bible, is contradictory to all whom God is NOT calling out of the world. The natural, carnal human mind is not subject to the laws of God and the Truth of His Word... and is contrary and rebellious [hostile] to it [Rom.8:7]. This "hostile" attitude toward God looks for... seeks out... any apparent flaw in God's Word to pick at in any attempt to discredit it in their heart and mind.

God's Word is written for the "humble" -- those with a child-like attitude of Trust in God; who revere and respect His Word.

"'I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, who TREMBLE AT MY WORD.'" (Isa.66:2 NLT)

So, there are no contradictions in God's Word, the Bible. Contradictions are in the hearts and minds of unbelievers in His Word:

"Why can't you understand what I'm saying? It is because you are unable to do so! For you are the children of your father the Devil, and you love to do the evil things he does... There is no Truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.

"So when I tell the Truth, you NATURALLY DON'T BELIEVE ME!" (John 8:43-45 NLT)

The "natural" mind of man is attuned to the input of his five "physical" senses and the frequency and wave-length of the god of this world ["...the prince of the power of the air..." - Eph.2:2]-- "...the Devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world..." (Rev.12:9 NLT)

Here is the contradictory influence in the hearts and minds of natural men regarding the Truth of God's Word. The contradiction is not in God's "inspired" Word -- it's in the misguided hearts of men.

Answer 2

To the faithful, there may appear to be no contradictions, because the truth they are looking for is the truth of faith. The biblical scholar sees the contradictions and must then explain those contradictions.

Genesis 7:2 says God told Noah to take seven of each clean animal onto his Ark, but in Genesis 6:19-20 he told Noah to take two of each kind, whether clean or unclean. The explanation in this case is that there are two different stories of the flood, written by two different authors and so cleverly interleaved by the Redactor that they appear to the casual reader to be simply one, rather complex story of a great flood. The two anonymous authors are now known as the Priestly Source and the Yahwist.
· The Flood verses attributed to the Priestly author are: Genesis 6:9-22, 7:6, 7:8-9, 7:11, 7:13-16a, 7:18-21, 7:24, 8:1-2a, 8:3b-5, 8:7, 8:13a, 8:14-19, 9:1-17.

· The verses attributed to the Yahwist are: Genesis 6:5-8, 7:1-5, 7:7, 7:10, 7:12, 7:16b-17, 7:22-23, 8:2b-3a, 8:6, 8:8-12, 8:13b, 8:20-22.


Have a very close look at the nativity stories in Matthewand Luke. Bethlehem was the home town of Joseph and Mary in Matthew's Gospel, and they fled with Jesus from Bethlehem to Egypt, later to begin a return trip to Bethlehem but turning aside to settle in Galilee, in a town called Nazareth. Nazareth was their home town in Luke's Gospel, where they returned peacefully from Bethlehem to Nazareth shortly after the birth of Jesus, travelling from Nazareth to Jerusalem each year for the Passover (Luke 2). In this case, neither author even knew the other existed and would write about the nativity of Jesus, so each wrote a plausible story of what might have happened.