Demolishing Supposed Bible Contradictions Volume 1

Demolishing Supposed Bible Contradictions #1

by Ken Ham

One of the most popular misconceptions by people who have walked away from the Church and their faith is that the Bible contains errors or inaccurate accounts. Many people also simply accept without question the claim by others that the Bible is full of contradictions. Even more disturbing is that a growing number of Christians are unable to respond when presented with an apparent inconsistency in the Bible. Now in a bold defense for the accuracy of Scripture, Ken Ham leads a powerful team of contributors in providing core biblical truths to help refute claims regarding the inaccuracy of God's Holy Word. Demolishing Supposed Bible With nearly two-thirds of young people leaving the Church when they move from home, there has never been a more important time to have a reasoned response for those who desire only to undermine your faith. This book is a great starting point in teaching you how to think and then respond to false claims regarding the Bible. It is imperative that believers are able to stand firm in their faith, and have answers to the culture's attacks on the Bible.

Genres: Christian, Nonfiction, Theology, Christianity, Christian Non Fiction, Religion

144 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2010

About the author

Dr. Ken Ham is the president of Answers in Genesis USA and is a well-known speaker and author on the subject of Young-Earth Creationism. He received a bachelor degree in applied science (emphasis on environmental biology) from the Queensland Institute of Technology, and a Diploma of Education from the University of Queensland. He has also received two honorary doctorates: a Doctor of Divinity from Temple Baptist College, and a Doctor of Literature from Baptist Liberty University.

He was a director of Creation Science Foundation (CSF) in Australia, an organization which he jointly founded with John Mackay. In 1987 he moved to the United States, still maintaining his links with CSF.

From 1987 to 1993, Ham worked for the Institute for Creation Research, and in 1994 set up what in 1995 became Answers in Genesis (AiG), a creation ministry dedicated to "upholding the authority of the Bible from the very first verse."

In 2008 Ham was described by well known atheist and evolutionary biologist PZ Myers as a "Wackaloon" for carrying out a prayer session with members of the Pentagon. Ham responded regarding the validity of that prayer breakfastand that PZ Myers and other critics were intolerant of his position.

Reviews

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am adjusting my star rating due to a recent experience of someone asking questions to prove certain things in the Bible. First off, I don't need to prove anything. But because there seemed to be an urgency in the questioning, I thought I'll sow the seeds, even though she said she was once involved in a religion and now claims to be an atheist.
The responses to my answers were as ridiculous as the ones in these books. I had thought surely those questions cannot be real, as ridiculous as they are. Now that I have experienced the ridiculous responses ignoring history, archaeology, and science, I have given both volumes three stars.
*****************
I'm not sure if it's the fault of the authors or the fault of the questions for the supposed conflicts. I suppose if someone it trying to nitpick every minutiae of the Bible then that explains it all.

Some of the questions were indeed ridiculous. For example here are two: How did Judas Iscariot die? Was it by hanging or was it by his body exploding. This isn't rocket science folks. If a person commits suicide by hanging, then they die. And if said body is left out in the sun for any length of time and it falls, (for whatever reason), the body can burst upon hitting the ground. Gruesome, I know.
Secondly, and this one is probably less ridiculous, because a lot of people may not know this if they don't read the Bible. Thou shalt not kill is not kill, it's murder. The commandment is thou shalt not murder. What's the difference you may be asking? If someone stalks me and kills me, that's murder. If that stalker comes after me, but I kill him, that's self-defense and called killing, not murder.

There is a volume 2 and I will be reading it, but hopefully the questions are better.

[BooksNCrannies · Rating 4 out of 5]

People ask about contradictions in the Bible.... How should we respond?

✏️ Review ✏️

I never knew there were this many so-called contradictions in the Bible! But Demolishing Supposed Bible Contradictions, Vol. 1 clearly exposes these "contradictions" for what they really are — fallible man's feeble attempts at discrediting God's infallible Word. Once these "errors" are considered with respect to context, language, genre, and syntax, the critics' claims and scoffs turn out to be rather foolish. A quick but thorough analysis of each contradiction claim shows that there simply is no backing whatsoever to the scoffers cry of "errors" or "contradictions" against the Bible. The first volume of this two-part series will be an invaluable resource towards equipping you with answers and truth in defense of God's inerrant Word.

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📊 A Quick Overview 📊

👍🏼 What I Liked:
•The quick but thorough response to each contradiction question.
•Can't think of any more specifics that I liked but the while book was great to read.

👎🏼 What I Did Not Like:
•A few of the points could have been discussed in some more detail for further clarification.

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📖 BOOK BREAKDOWN 📖 (Overall: 4/5)
~Fundamentals {Nonfiction Version}: (1=worst; 5=best)

— 📑 Didactics: 4.5/5

— 📝 Writing: 3/5

— 👀 Engagement: 4/5

— 🧩 Clarity: 3.5/5

~Content: (0=none; 1=least; 5=most)

— 🤬 Language: 0/5

— ⚔️ Violence: 0/5

— ⚠️ Sexual: 0/5

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📣 Random Comments 📣

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💬 Favorite Quotes 💬

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[Omar · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was quite disappointed in this book. There are many difficult passages in the Bible that seem to be contradictory and this book deals with a few of those sections. However, many of the “contradictions” it “demolishes” are questions such as: Does Genesis 1 teach the sky was solid? Do snakes really eat dust like Genesis says? Was Solomon really going to cut a baby in half? How could Moses be the author of Deuteronomy when his obituary is listed as the last chapter?
Of the deeper questions discussed, there were several answers given that either avoided the real question, used poor logic, or grabbed proof-texts out of context to prove a point. For instance, on the question of Polygamy, he wrote: “Many Jewish leaders and patriarchs, including kings, were recorded to have polygamous relationships. However, these relationships brought about judgment and hardship. David was punished for his relationship with Bathsheba...” While it is true that David was punished for his relationship with Bathsheba, the Bible never gives any reason to believe that that punishment was in relation to polygamy but that she was already another man’s wife.
In opposition to “righteous lying,” he referenced the Egyptian midwives who did not kill the Israelite babies and told the authorities that the women gave birth too quickly before the midwives arrived. Since the babies were already born, the midwives were not lying. (I concede this is a possible interpretation, although one is then left to wonder for what action God blessed the midwives.) The (male) author wrote that the reason the midwives did not arrive soon enough may have been because, “what would make pregnant mothers more vigorous or lively to have the child born? Make them aware that if they do not give birth quickly their child's life may be in danger.” In other words, the reason your wife spent 18 hours in labor to give birth to your child is because she just wasn’t very motivated; if only she had had a good motivation, she could’ve given birth quickly! wow.
I have to conclude that this book was not written to convince real critics of the Bible, but for believers who want to feel better about “supposed contradictions” they didn’t know existed. Two stars because, though it did have some really good points, I felt the negatives of the book were enough to discredit even those good points.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dry as toast, but very informative.

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

A VARIETY OF COMMENTATORS DISCUSS “PROBLEMATIC” PASSAGES

Ken Ham is a prominent “Young Earth Creationist,” and the president/CEO and founder of Answers in Genesis, and the Creation Museum.

This 2020 book has contributions from a variety of authors, and is arranged in order of the Biblical books. The companion volume to this book is 'Demolishing Supposed Bible Contradictions Volume 2.'

Ham wrote in the Foreword, “Many people today buy into the assertion that the Bible is ‘full of contradictions,’ but they haven’t bothered to look into the claim for themselves. Since God’s Word is perfect, any alleged contradiction in the Bible is going to be due to fallible, imperfect people having misconceptions… Most Christians, however, fail to give a good answer when they are presented with an alleged contradiction… The inability to have answers to such claims has had a particular effect on the youth in our churches… It should make you wonder: would they have walked away from the faith if they had answers for these many alleged contradictions when growing up?”

About the “you shall surely die” passage, an author explains, “In Genesis 2:17, ‘yom’ referred to the action (eating) in the same way that ‘yom’ refers the action here… In neither case do they mean that was the particular day they would die, but the particular day they did what they weren’t supposed to do…. In other words, their… actions on that day were what gave them the final death sentence---it was coming, and they would surely die as a result of their actions. Therefore, the day in Genesis 2:17 was referring to when they ate (disobeyed), and not the day they died.” (Pg. 28-29)

About the order of creation events, it is said, “[Gen 2:19] appears to suggest that God made the animals after making Adam and then He brought the animals to Adam. However, in Genesis 1, we have an account of God creating animals AND THEN creating men and women. The difficulty … lies with the use of the word ‘formed.’ … The NIV suggests a different way of viewing the first two chapters of Genesis. Genesis 2 does not suggest a chronology… the animals being brought to Adam had already been made and were not being brought to him immediately after their creation… the verb in the sentence can be translated as pluperfect rather than perfect. The pluperfect tense can be considered as … a narration set in the past.” (Pg. 46-47)

Of the destruction ordered in Joshua 6:21 of the inhabitants of Jericho, the commentator says, “Is there ever a time when divine genocide is justified? The answer must be yes, because the judge of the whole earth always does what is right. Scripture makes it abundantly clear that in time the longsuffering of God will transform itself into judgment if the warnings are not heeded.” (Pg. 71-72)

As to whether Ahaziah was 22 or 42 when he began his reign [2 Ki 8:26/2 Chr 22:2], the writer notes, “There are two primary answers… The ‘42’ is in reference to the beginning of the kingly reign of which Ahaziah is a part… [Or] this was a copyist error… Many fail to realize that several ancient texts have 22 … instead of 42 as listed in the Masoretic Text (MT) in 2 Chron 22:2… Regardless, all of these texts underwent some copyist mistakes, as they simply do not agree with each other… The point is that copies and translations are not inerrant… Recognizing this gives more credit to God’s originals and focuses less on the fallible copyists since… either explanation … reduces this alleged discrepancy to nothing and neither harm the integrity of the original inerrant Bible manuscripts.” (Pg. 77-81)

About Jesus’ prediction [Mt 12:40] that he would be in the earth for ‘three days and three nights,’ the writer observes, “by comparing these passages [cf. Mt 28:1/Lk 24:5-7], we can see that in the minds of people in Bible times, ‘the third day’ is equivalent to ‘after three days.’ In fact, the way they counted was this: part of a day would be counted as one day… Jesus died on Good Friday; that was day one… day one includes the day and the previous night… So although only part of Friday was left, that was the first day and night to be counted. Saturday was day two. Jesus rose in the morning of the Sunday. That was day three. Thus, by Jewish counting, we have three days and nights, yet Jesus rose on the third day. It should not be a surprise to us that a different culture used a different method of counting days.” (Pg. 116)

Bodie Hodge states in the Conclusion, “I suggest that many non-Christians want the Bible to be full of contradictions so that it gives them a form of justification for rejecting God… The sad part is that all men love ‘darkness’ rather than ‘light.’ This metaphor illustrates that people prefer sin and evil as opposed to forgiveness and salvation. Therefore, many do not receive this free gift of salvation that Christ has offered, and in trying to justify themselves, they try to attack God and His Word with alleged contradictions to try to make God look like an ‘ogre.’ But God is not an ‘ogre,’ and His Word does not contain any legitimate contradictions.” (Pg. 132-133)

This book will be of keen interest to those (particularly with a YEC perspective) studying biblical apologetics.

[Nathan Bayer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book for every Christians library. Nice, short, easy to understand answers to many supposed Bible contradictions.

[Tony Breeden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beginning with a brief survey of misconceptions that often lead folks to suppose the Bible is in error, Demolishing Contradictions provides reasonable answers for some 40 challenges to the integrity of Scripture. Contributors to this volume include Bodie Hodge, Gary Vaterlaus, Stacia McKeever, Roger Patterson, Paul F. Taylor, John Upchurch, Steve Fazekas, Dr. Jason Lisle and Dr. Georgia Purdom. This resource is divided in to five sections of questions (Genesis, Exodus through Deuteronomy, Joshua through Malachi, Matthew through John, and Acts through Revelation), which is likely to make it a handy grab-off-the-shelf reference tool.

In all honesty, I actually learned a few things from this resource – and I’m quite nearly a lifelong Bible scholar and preacher of the Gospel. No apologist should be without this handy reference, which in light of 2 Peter 3:15 is to say that no Bible-affirming Christian should neglect to read this material.

One of the things Demolishing Contradictions indirectly highlights is the bankruptcy of the King James Only movement. Like a lot of preachers I know, I’m King James – just not King James Only. As Bodie Hodge and Stacia McKeever note “the idea that one inerrant copy lineage has been passed along is a relatively new idea that, sadly, doesn’t take into account the past” (p. 82 emphasis in original). Even the translators of the King James Version noted that translation was necessary, for “without translation into the vulgar tongue, the unlearned are but like children at Jacob’s well (which is deep) [John 4:11] without a bucket or something to draw with” [http://www.ccel.org/bible/kjv/preface...]. It is an unfortunate and stubborn fact that the Authorized Version is written in Early Modern English and, as a consequence, the language is becoming increasingly anachronistic. For example, as Demolishing Contradictions alludes to, the KJV translators rendered the word owph in Leviticus 11:13 as “fowls,” which makes it seem as if Moses is calling a bat a bird in Leviticus 11:19; as Bodie Hodge notes “owph simply means “to fly” or “has a wing.” So the word includes birds, bats, and even flying insects’” (p. 56). One also has to caution modern readers that the word “replenish” in Genesis 1:22 doesn’t mean “refill,” but rather to “fill.” “The English word has changed meaning over the centuries so that the word replenish today generally means ‘refill’” (p. 33). By insisting that the Living Word be arbitrarily preserved in an increasingly dead language, the King James Only movement repeats the historical error of the Catholic Church who tried to have the Bible arbitrarily preserved in Latin and forbade translation into “vulgar tongues;” both commit the error of “burying their talent in the sand” when they ought to be multiplying what the Master has given them [Matthew 25]. They also make the Bible increasingly inaccessible to those who need it; it is not those who are well who need a healer but the sick [Mark 2:17] – church folk need to sort out their priorities. The King James needs a faithful update. The Great Commission requires it.

Having said this, I do not want to give the impression that Demolishing Contradictions is an attack on the King James. It is not. As I said, in answering some of these alleged Bible contradictions, the contributors have unavoidably highlighted the issue.

As the back cover reminds us, “With nearly two-thirds of young people leaving the church when they move from home, there has never been a more important time to have reasoned response for those who desire only to undermine your faith… It is imperative that believers are able to stand firm in their faith, and have answers to the culture’s attacks on the Bible.” Here’s a list of the questions this resource answers:

•Was Abel eating meat soon after the Curse when he wasn’t supposed to be (Genesis 1:29), since he kept the flocks and sacrificed an animal in Genesis 4:2-4?
•Why didn’t Adam and Eve die the moment they ate, as Genesis 2:17 implies?
•Does Genesis 1 teach the sky was solid?
•Why would God tell Adam and Eve to “replenish” the earth in Genesis 1:22 if they were the first humans?
•Were Noah’s sons born when he was 500 as Genesis 5:32 says or not as stated in Genesis 7:6 and Genesis 11:10?
•Why do names of places appear in both the pre-Flood and post-Flood world? Does this refute a global Flood that should have destroyed such places?
•Do Genesis 10 and 11 contradict each other about the origins of nations and people groups?
•Is Lot Abraham’s nephew or his brother?
•Do snakes really eat dust like Genesis says?
•Do Genesis 1 and 2 give different accounts?
•Does Genesis 1:15 say the moon emits its own light?
•Is it okay to kill, like David killing Goliath or Joshua eliminating Canaanites? Or is killing forbidden?
•Did Moses make an error when he called a bat a bird?
•Did Moses say that insects have only four legs?
•How could Moses be the author of Deuteronomy when his obituary is listed as the last chapter?
•Does God both bless and condemn marriages between close relations?
•Can God be seen face to face (Genesis 32:30; Exodus 33:11) or not (Exodus 33:20; John 1:18; 1 John 4:12)?
•Does God change His mind?
•Could the loving God of the Old Testament order the complete destruction of the inhabitants of Jericho found in the Old Testament?
•Was Solomon really going to cut a baby in half?
•Does God condone polygamy?
•How could Ahaziah be both 22 years old and 42 years old when he started to reign?
•Was Jehoiachin set free from prison on the 25th day (Jeremiah 52:31) of the month or the 27th day of the month (2 Kings 25:27)?
•Did Matthew (27:9) falsely attribute a prophecy to Jeremiah that came from Zechariah (11:12-13)?
•How could the young Samuel have been sleeping in the temple when the temple was not built until much later?
•Does the Bible make a mistake in claiming that pi equals 3?
•Was Matthew incapable of basic math in his genealogy?
•Was Jesus wrong in Matthew 13:31-32 when He said that the mustard seed was the “least of all the seeds”?
•Doesn’t Jesus contradict Old Testament teachings by not stoning the adulteress, which was commanded?
•If Jesus is God’s “only begotten Son,” then how can angels and Christians also be God’s sons?
•Did Jesus tell His disciples to take a staff?
•Why does Joseph (Jesus’ supposed father) have two different fathers listed in Matthew 1:16 and Luke 3:23?
•If Jesus is God (John 1; Colossians 1; Hebrews 1; Philippians 2:5-8), then why was the Father greater than Jesus in John 14:28?
•Why do the inscriptions on Jesus’ Cross differ among the four gospels?
•Does the genealogy in Luke 3:36 give an extra Cainan not found in similar genealogies, such as Genesis 11:12?
•If Jesus was to be in the grave three days and three nights, how do we fit those between Good Friday and Easter Sunday?
•Why was Rahab praised for lying in James 2:25 when lying is forbidden in the Ten Commandments?
•Did Judas Iscariot die by hanging (Matthew 27:5) or did he die by falling and bursting open (Acts 1:18)?
•Can all sins be forgiven (Acts 13:39; Titus 2:14; 1 John 1:9) or not (Matthew 12:31; Mark 3:29; Luke 12:10)?
•How could Jesus be the Creator (John 1:1-3) if He was the firstborn of all creation (Colossians 1:15)?
•Can man be held accountable for his sinful actions, and yet have Christ act as a substitute for his sins?

If you don’t know the Bible-affirming answers to these questions, you should by this book, because there are answers to all of these alleged Bible contradictions. Bodie Hodge sums it up nicely: “I suggest that many non-Christians want the Bible to be full of contradictions so that it gives them a form of justification for rejecting God. In short, they don’t want God to be God, so they don’t have to be accountable to Him… [I]n trying to justify themselves, they try to attack God and His Word with alleged contradictions…, [yet] such allegations seem to ‘evaporate into thin air ‘ when one looks at the text logically, in context, and so on” (p. 132-33). We need to get these answers to an unbelieving world because as Jesus warned, if we can’t trust His Word when it speaks of earthly things, how could we trust it when it speaks of spiritual things [John 3:12]? Fortunately, as Demolishing Contradictions demonstrates, “the Bible stands solidly when faced with alleged Bible contradictions, and then logically it stands solidly in its pronouncement of the Gospel.”

[Jo · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm struggling to accept this book.

So, regarding the death of Judas..

We have 2 men inspired by the spirt of god writing about the death of Judas, neither of them actually witnessed it.

Georgia Purdom gives the car crash analogy. She says a witness could describe the accident, and she says a coroner could come later and describe the scene and the injuries, and both of these descriptions would be correct.

How is that equivalent to two men guided by the spirt of god describing the death of Judas?

I'm not convinced that this contradiction was 'demolished'

[ScarlettShadw · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who enjoys diving deeper into the Bible as well as studying apologetics, this was a very good read. I had heard of answersingenesis.org a time or two but had not given the website much thought until after reading this book. (I am adding it to the list of tools I have to study the Word more.) I loved hearing what arguments some people may have against the Bible when they claim there is a contradiction and seeing how some theologians would answer such claims. I highly recommend anyone who is interested in such topics and have - at the time of this posting - already started Vol. 2.

[Caitlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like many other reviewers, I was not satisfied with the selection of questions/answers. Many of the chapters discussed "contradictions" that I thought were obviously answered or silly (such as "does the Bible teach that snakes eat dust?") while avoiding more difficult-to-answer topics. I had several questions that I was hoping this book would address, but was disappointed. Maybe volume two will provide some answers?

[Justin W · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book helped open your eyes to different perspectives of the Bible, and did so biblically. I think many things were explained well, but a few of them were very confusing, and the explanations didn’t make much sense, even though we know the Bible does not contradict itself. Overall, I think this was a good read, and I would recommend it to others. It’s a good book to enjoy leisurely, and I would recommend taking time to read and understand what each chapter is pointing out.

[Neil Draper · Rating 5 out of 5]

an answer to those doubts

This book gives a list of the most common assumed contradictions found in the Bible with answers for those who need help in answering attacks from people who try to defame the Bible in this way. It truly will give the reader ammo for when you find yourself in a position having to defend the truth of the word of God

[Brendan Engel · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I were a non-believer and I read this book I think I would leave with very little. Maybe 2 of these contradictions are legitimately asked by people, but some of them I genuinely have never heard. Also the way Bodie Hodge writes... it almost feels smug? The other contributors were better reads and felt unbiased.

[Rachel Grepke · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a quick little book to start you thinking about objections you may come against as a believer. Easy to read and understand. I do wish some of it went a bit deeper, but the Answers books do that well. A decent addition to any theological collection.

[Michael Toleno · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually read this on line at answersingenesis.com (no edition correlates to this). Ken Ham, as always, does a great job of unraveling the relevant arguments and presuppositions and accurately expositing God's word with sound hermeneutics. (I'm writing the same review for both volumes.)

[Justin Kuhl · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is filled with some great knowledge and teaching. It was not what I was looking for. Low rating is more for style than content.

[Johnny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Makes a lot of sense and explains how somethings are just misunderstood. Most or many of the supposed contradictions can be ruled out and others certainly aren't deal breakers, great resource.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Demolishing Supposed Bible Contradictions" is a collection of articles written by various people explaining why various alleged contradictions in the Bible aren't actual contradictions. Dr. Jason Lisle started the book out with an article explaining what, exactly, a contradiction is. He also explained the general categories these alleged contradictions fell into and why these categories aren't true contradictions (like the word is used in a difference sense in different places or the dilemma wasn't an either/or but both are possible). This will help the reader identify the problems with and know how to respond to alleged contradictions even if they're not specifically answered in this book.

After that, various authors took turns explaining how this applied to a variety of specific examples. The arguments were easy to follow and well-written. I'd highly recommend this book, especially to anyone who has been asked about (or wondered about) apparent contradictions in the Bible and didn't know the answer.

The alleged contradictions that were specifically covered were:

* If Abel kept flocks, did he eat meat?
* Why didn't Adam and Eve die immediately in Gen 2:17?
* Does Genesis 1 teach the sky is solid ("firmament" in KJV)?
* Does Genesis 1:22 imply a first creation and then a second re-creation ("replenish" in KJV)?
* Were Noah's sons triplets born when Noah was 500 or were they born several years apart?

* Why are some location-names the same before & after the Flood if the locations no longer existed?
* Do Genesis 10 & 11 contradict each other about the origin of the post-Flood nations?
* Was Lot Abraham's nephew or brother?
* Do snakes really eat dust like Genesis 3:14 says?
* Are Genesis 1 and 2 different, conflicting creation accounts?

* Does Genesis 1:15 say that the moon emits its own light?
* Is it okay to kill or did God forbid it?
* Did Moses really call a bat a bird?
* Did Moses say that insects have only four legs?
* How could Moses be the author of Deuteronomy when his obituary is listed as the last chapter?

* Does God bless or condemn marriages between close relations?
* Can God be seen face to face or not?
* Does God change his mind?
* If God is loving, how could he order the complete destruction of the inhabitants of Jericho?
* Was Solomon really going to cut the baby in half?
* Does God condone polygamy or not?

* How could Ahaziah be both 22 years old and 42 years old when he started to reign?
* Was Jehoiachin set free from prison on the 25th day or 27th day?
* Did Matthew falsely attribute a prophecy to Jeremiah that came from Zechariah?
* How could the young Samuel have been sleeping in the temple when the temple was not built until much later?
* Does the Bible incorrectly claim that pi equals 3?

* Was Matthew incorrectly counting in Matthew 1:17 when he summarized Christ's genealogy?
* Was Jesus wrong in Matthew 13:31-32 when he said that the mustard seed was the smallest seed?
* Didn't Jesus contradict Old Testament law by not stoning the adulteress?
* How can Jesus be God's "only begotten son" when angels and Christians are also called God's sons?
* Did Jesus tell His disciples to take a staff or not?

* Was Joseph's father named Jeconiah or Heli?
* Is Jesus lesser than or equal to God the Father?
* Why do the inscriptions on Jesus' cross differ among the four gospels?
* Why does the genealogy in Luke 3:36 give an extra Cainan not found in similar genealogies, such as Genesis 11:12?
* If Jesus was to be in the grave three days and nights, how does that fit between Good Friday and Easter Sunday?

* Is lying okay or not?
* How did Judas die--by hanging or falling into a field?
* Can all sins be forgiven or not?
* How could Jesus be the Creator if He was the firstborn of all creation?
* Can man be held accountable for his sinful actions and yet have Christ act as substitute for his sins?

I received this book as a review copy from the publisher.

[George W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read. Great for Bible and Christian apologetics.

[Nathaniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good, short book that went into contradictions and why the Bible is still true even though some people think it says things that don't work together. I thought it was very informative and the format was easy to get into. Overall I really enjoyed it and I highly recommend it to Christians and non-Christians who just have questions.

[Foundations Creation · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Bible is full of contradictions!" says the skeptic. You reply in protest, "Show me one!" To your shock, the skeptic flips to a series of passages in the Old and New Testaments, which, to your horror, appear to contradict one another! What do you do now? Do you give up, try to explain it away, or do you give an answer as we are commanded to do in 1 Peter 3:15?

General editor Ken Ham (president/CEO of Answers in Genesis and Creation Museum) leads a team of apologists (defenders of the faith) to refute 40 of the most common alleged contradictions in Demolishing Supposed Bible Contradictions - Volume 1. Each chapter covers a separate contradiction, from the two creation accounts in Genesis, to the slaughter of the Canaanites in Joshua, to Jesus' statement of the Father being greater in the Gospels, to the "firstborn Creator" in Colossians. Each of these chapters helps build confidence in the the truth and inspiration of Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16), and shows that the Bible "is an anvil which has worn out many hammers."

Some of the things I personally enjoyed about this book:

- With each chapter being only a page to two pages long, it is an easy book to pick up and read on the go or when you are in a discussion or debate with someone on Bible contradictions.
- Because the authors stand on the authority of Scripture, all of the research they do comes directly from the pages of Scripture, rather than dismissing each of these "contradictions" as errors.
- As stated throughout, this book helps Christians to better understand the issue at hand and how to refute Bible contradiction arguments from skeptics, by simply defining "contradiction" and reading the passage within context.
- My faith in the Bible was strengthened, as passages which once bothered me due to their "contradictory nature" now fit into their place.

Would I recommend Demolishing Supposed Bible Contradictions - Volume 1? I wouldn't only recommend it, but I would say that it is a must have for any Christian's library. Now I have to get my hands on the sequel!

Thank you New Leaf Publishing Group for sending me a review copy!

[Alechia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book in a Goodreads giveaway and received it within five days of being notified that I won. I was really excited to be one of the first to read the book. My sister had also entered for that giveaway, so I loaned her the book as soon as I finished it.
The best part about this book is the introduction, which gives an overview of the strategies used to reconcile these supposed contradictions. The examples used in the book mostly fell into three categories: "contradictions" that I had never heard of, and didn't care about; contradictions that I had already explained to myself (the explanations in the book echoed my own); and really obviously explained ones, like that a difference in number in two passages might have been a copyist error. There was one item from Matthew that was covered that I had been wondering about, and I found the explanation in the book to be elucidating and rational. It's a good read for doubters or believers.
There were many grammatical errors and apparent typos which need to be fixed. I also disliked the explanation for the contradictions in the creation story. The response *spoiler* was that saying the evidence that we have for evolution and an old earth contradicts the creation in the Bible is begging the question--saying the Bible is wrong because the Bible is wrong. The author of that section says that we are just assuming that science is right, but that we don't really know. I think this was a cheap explanation and would have liked to see something about how science can be reconciled with the story of Genesis. After all, the Bible never says that evolution DIDN'T happen, and I believe that it very well could have been part of God's creative process and just not explained in detail in the Bible because the process by which God created the universe has no bearing on the purpose for which the Bible was written.

[Adam T. Calvert · Rating 4 out of 5]

After a great introduction, at first this book seemed pretty basic and kind of petty, seeming to take on "contradictions" that can only be based on the reading of the King James version of the Bible - e.g. God telling Adam and Eve to "replenish" the earth, p. 33.

But...a few more chapters into it, and the authors really did an admirable job of tackling some of the tougher things in Scripture: marriages between close relations, p. 60, the age of King Ahaziah when he started to reign, p. 77, Matthew's fulfilled prophecy speaking of Jeremiah or Zechariah, p. 86.

Overall, this book is really great. The introduction is very helpful because it gives the reader basic principles to use when approaching seeming contradictions in the Bible. The content then demonstrates those principles in practice. And at the end, the book acknowledges itself as an introduction to the subject.

This work is not exhaustive (although it does have "Volume 1" on the front cover, so I expect that more are coming), but it does give the reader a start on seeing how seeming contradictions can be cleared up pretty easily with a little more context, and with a proper approach to Scripture. My only complaint is that the table contents doesn't give specific verse references, and there's not index either. So, it's great to read, but it's not the most accessible if you're looking for a specific verse.

For an exhaustive one-volume reference, the Bible student might find Geisler and Howe's "The Big Book of Bible Difficulties" more helpful (although, know going into it that Geisler is not a young-earth creationist). But as an easy read, this work is by far a great resource.

[Jesse · Rating 1 out of 5]

So, I won this book in a goodreads giveaway and finally finished it. I found it hard to get into, not because it was difficult to read, but because the tone is a little off-putting. The voice is certainly nonacademic, despite what the author may believe. I found too many exclamation points, too many glosses and slides, too many straw man arguments to be convinced by the arguments. Many of them are solid, but simply because the "contradictions" the author "demolishes" are stupid. We gloss over authorial intention, and the extremely difficult dichotomy that creates between human author and divine inspiration. We slide past the obvious follow-up questions. Often the author is right because he only presents a tiny problem and immediately addresses it. At least once, he cites another book he has written as a source.

There is an appendix from the website of something connected to the author at the end (I'm not too sure what) that sort of drives the book into the ground. I do not believe the writer was the author (the book is ... in the other room and I don't care to check), it is still included in the text. Here we get a weird Holocaust analogy that flirts dangerously with some horrific implications--that lying to protect Jews is a sin, that there is perhaps a greater purpose to both the Holocaust in a general sense and in specific cases, that the Jews themselves should find salvation in Jesus... and more! It was really the unsavory dessert to what was until then a harmless but not delicious meal.

[Tintinrulz · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Demolishing Supposed Bible Contradictions: Volume 1" is edited by Ken Ham, Bodie Hodge and Tim Chaffey and written by a group of biblical creationists. There are two volumes in this series. Herein, supposed Bible contradictions are challenged and found wanting. The introduction discusses the logical and psychological problems associated with so-called contradictions and how most objections to the Bible relate. The book looks at contradictions and the challenges they present: That a difference of sense or relationship can be an issue. There's also the false dilemma and contextual considerations, sweeping generalisations and translational issues. There are contradictions of inference and factual contradictions and the fallacy of begging the question. Then there's the law of non-contradiction, which presents a problem for the non-Christian.
All of these 'problems' are addressed in this biblically-sound, well-researched book. The book does a great job doing what it was designed to do, but it's a rather dry read at times. Recommended, but maybe more as a reference book, rather than something to read from beginning to end.

The book can be read online for free at the link below:
https://answersingenesis.org/answers/...

8/10

[Martha · Rating 3 out of 5]

2/8/11 - This book is good and I'm glad I read it. It is divided into sections with contributing writers explaining each supposed Biblical contradiction. Some of the explanations were already known by me (but I could see where a new Christian or a non-Christian who is looking for answers would benefit). Some were interesting, "OK that makes sense!". There were a couple that left me shaking my head and thinking "You've got to be kidding." But that was rare in this book and, let me stress again, I'm really glad I read it.

Ken Ham is the general editor. He is also the president & CEO of Answers in Genesis. Nowhere in the book is there any info about either him or any of the "powerful team of contributors" who "provide core biblical truths ...". (Quotes taken from the back of the book.) Maybe I'm odd, but I always like to know a little about the authors I'm reading and I think it's even more important in a book of this type. You'll have to visit their website to learn more about them.

12/20/10 I've just won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. I look forward to reading it when I receive it.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very interesting book to read. I learned of some supposed inconsistencies that I had never even thought about as inconsistencies; they seem to be last ditch efforts of people who would do anything to try to prove the Bible is wrong. On the other hand, I myself have seen things that do not make sense to me and do appear to be inconsistent, at least on the surface. I appreciated the explanations and information to explain these. Sometimes original language was looked at, many times other passages of the Bible were applied, and often just basic logical reasoning was able to disprove the alleged inconsistency. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to dig deeper into the Bible and really understand it, and be able to support and defend it. A 2nd volume has recently been published, and I plan to purchase it.

[Terry Cave · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good concept, however I actually found the contradictions to be very very soft (not the answers provided, but the actual contradictions). It saddens me to think that people actually put credibility to some of these so called contradictions.

I thought that the answers provided were great and should pretty much squash any thought that the Bible is not the inerrant word of God.

Another quality product from Answers in Genesis. Thank you.

[Marsha Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Demolishing Contradictions was an easy to read book on the issues that people have with accepting the Bible. I think that for believers, the contradictions are accepted on faith. I'm not sure you can convince a non-believer even with this credible information but I will try if given the challenge. Thank you for this interesting book.

[J.M. Brister · Rating 5 out of 5]

This books is excellent. I highly recommend it to Christians who have begun the path of witnessing to others. And I also highly recommend it to non-believers, who may have been told or who have assumed that the Bible has "contradictions." The book gives textual and linguistic evidence that this is simply not the case.