Bible Contradictions

One of my favorite topics to talk and write about is apparent contradictions in the Bible.  I don't believe there are any, though I admit, it can sometimes be hard to reconcile certain verses.  Without knowing Hebrew or Greek, many times the anomaly can be directly attributed to translation errors.  If you have trouble reading an ordinary King James version, I would like to recommend a newer translation.  The New International Version (NIV) or the New American Standard Bible (NASB) might help when studying God's Word.  These versions, and some others like it, do a good job of clarifying passages by using our modern-day dialect while still preserving the main idea from the original manuscripts.  The kind I have is a parallel Bible.  It contains the King James version on one side of the page and the NASB version on the other.  By using this type of Bible, I have been able to settle in my mind what I once believed were contradictions.

"Contradictions" can also be perpetuated, not because of translation errors, but because some people mis-interpret the definition of the word.  What exactly is a contradiction?  Logically speaking, a contradiction consists of a logical incompatibility or discrepancy between 2 or more statements.  Put another way, a thing can not be both "a" and "non-a" at the same time.  For example, it can't be both day and night (non-day) at the same time and place.  As another example, suppose two witnesses to a bank robbery are testifying in court.  One witness said he saw one man in the bank while the other witness claimed he saw two men.  Is this a contradiction?  No, not at all.  The two statements differ but are not contradictory.  In fact, both statements are complementary.  There may have been 2 men in the bank, but our first witness only saw one.  This is very similar to an event in the Bible that some people believe is a contradiction.   Matthew 20:29-34 says that Jesus healed one blind man near Jericho, yet Mark 10:46-52 and Luke 18:35-43 say there were two blind men healed by Jesus.  For whatever reason, Matthew chose to only mention one man.  Again, this is not a contradiction.

As I stated earlier, I love to debate and debunk what some believe are Bible contradictions.  If you have one and can't reconcile it in your mind, please Email me.  I would love the opportunity to research your question or topic.  By doing this, I am able to grow and understand more about our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  I want to know all I can about Him.