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How to Solve Biblical Difficulties

By Jeremy Myers
8 Comments

How to Solve Biblical Difficulties

bible mistakes

When dealing with the inerrancy of Scripture, it is important to recognize that there are typically only 24 problems that people point to, and of these, only 12 are fairly serious.

Here are some examples:

  • Genesis 1:11-12 says that the land produced vegetation, but in Genesis 2:5-7, it says that no shrub had yet sprung up from the land.
  • Many people like to ask, “Where did Cain get his wife?” Genesis 4:17 says that he had a wife, but up to this point in the text, the only people on earth were Adam, Eve, and Cain (Abel was born, but murdered).
  • Number 25:9 says that 24,000 died in a plague, but in talking about the same plague, 1 Corinthians 10:8 says that 23,000 died.
  • In 2 Samuel 24:1, we read that God incited David to take a census of Israel, but 1 Chronicles 21:1 says that it was Satan who incited David.

How can apparent errors in Scripture be solved?

There are, of course, way more than just 24 problem passages in the Bible.

Guidelines for Solving Biblical Difficulties

There are some basic guidelines for solving all biblical difficulties. Here is what I was taught in seminary:

  1. Recognize that the existence of tensions and apparent contradictions is not something new in the study of Scripture.
  2. The admission of certain textual problems is an honest and open response that invites study and positive evaluation.
  3. Be clear about the distinction between actual and apparent errors.
  4. Realize that the resolution of these problems must take place within an interpretive framework that takes account of the Bible as a whole.
  5. Remember that the doctrine of inerrancy teaches that solutions to problems in Scripture do exist, but the doctrine itself does not guarantee a ready solution.
  6. Recognize that there are currently unexplained difficulties, but this does not mean that they will always be unexplained. Further research in linguistics, archaeology, science, and Scripture may uncover a solution in the future. Many of the difficult Scriptural problems from previous centuries have been solved this way in recent years to the satisfaction of both Evangelicals and non-Evangelicals alike.

What do you think of these six points? To critics of biblical inerrancy, it sounds like we Christians are making the same argument as this man uses:
Bible errors
Is this what we do with Scripture? Do we need to be right so much that we arrogantly blind ourselves to the errors of Scripture, and when we cannot “explain away” some of them, we simply say, “Well, someday the Bible will be proved right”?

Or is it true that we really, truly have a book which is absolutely, completely free of all errors?


God is z Bible & Theology Topics: Theology of the Bible

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The Prophetic Imagination

By Jeremy Myers
20 Comments

The Prophetic Imagination

I keep of list of all the books I read in my 4000 books post, ย but a book I finished yesterday struck a chord with me, and so I wanted to say a few things about it. The book is The Prophetic Imagination by Walter Brueggemann.

I think that if there is one thing the world needs today, it is prophets. Not the zany kind you get in some Pentecostal and Charismatic churches where apparently the goal is to connect Hotline in the business.

The Prophetic ImaginationNo, Bruggeman paints a portrait of the Biblical prophet as one who contends against the normal order of society and culture which has set itself up at the expense of the marginal, the outcast, the poor, and the weak. Bruggman calls this “the royal consciousness” but I think we could also refer to it as “the Powers that Be” and here in the United States goes by such names as “the multinational corporation” and “politics in Washington D. C.”

Bruggeman argues that the prophet does not contend against such entities with arms and use of force, but with the much more powerful weapon of imagination and creativity.

To make this point, he uses the examples of Moses against Pharaoh, Jeremiah against the Monarchy, and Jesus against the religion of Israel.

One of the things that so struck me about this book is that ever since I was in high school, every time I took one of those odd (and error-prone) “spiritual gift inventory” tests, I always came up with “Prophet” as my top spiritual gift.

When I was a pastor, and because I didn’t believe that prophets (the way I thought of them) were in use today, I interpreted this to mean that I was to proclaim or “forthtell” the Word of God, rather than foretell future events or predict the future.

[Read more…]

God is z Bible & Theology Topics: Books I'm Reading

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Sharing Some Love

By Jeremy Myers
4 Comments

Sharing Some Love

I appreciate all the comments and interaction I have been getting recently on my posts, and wanted to share some love in return with those of you who are commenting, and some of the other blogs I read around the internet.

thanks for blog comments

Share the love and go check some of these out:

Websites of Recent Blog Commenters

  • Anthony Ehrhardt – Great posts on theology, politics, and current events.
  • Sam – Looking for Jesus – Some of the best posts I have ever read on loving our neighbors like Jesus.
  • Rich Langton – He blogs about life, faith, doubt, and following Jesus. Check him out!
  • Loren Philips – Great posts on time management, such as using twitter wisely, and redeeming your commute time.
  • Brian Swan – aka Swanny – Edgy, insightful commentary on leaving “church” behind to be the church.
  • Bible Characters – a Squidoo lens on Bible Characters
  • FedExMop – Posts about Developing Community and Mission through a Motorcycle Ministry
  • Elias Toscano – Make sure you “Friend” him on Facebook

[Read more…]

God is z Bible & Theology Topics: Blogging

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Finding Work as an Ex-Pastor

By Jeremy Myers
54 Comments

Finding Work as an Ex-Pastor

resigning as pastorSo you want to resign from the professional paid pastorate so you can be a better pastor? There is only problem.

How are you going to get paid?

The simple answer is that you are going to have to find another job. I know, I know. I told you that by resigning from pastoral ministry, you would not have to leave pastoral ministry. That’s true.

But the reality is that you still need to get income, and so you need to find a job. And if you find a job, and still want to be a pastor as well, then you are going to have radially redefine “pastoral ministry.” But this is a good thing when you do. We’ll look at all of this tomorrow.

First, let’s focus on finding a job.

The trouble is that with millions of people out of work right now, it is extremely difficult to find work. If you are interested in resigning from the pastorate, I strongly suggest you move in that direction. Don’t just quit without having a job lined up.

[Read more…]

God is z Bible & Theology Topics: Close Your Church for Good

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Coked-up Whore

By Jeremy Myers
14 Comments

Coked-up Whore

Sheโ€™s just a coked-up whore,
Strung out and lying on the floor, abandoned, forsaken, forgotten, ignored.

Sheโ€™s just a coked-up whore,
While a fat man with foul breath pants and heaves and rips at her dress.

Sheโ€™s just a coked-up whore,
Sold for the highest bid, which wasnโ€™t muchโ€ฆbarely more than youโ€™d pay for lunch.

[Read more…]

God is z Bible & Theology Topics: Discipleship

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