jdj55611 (03/24/83)
Two weeks ago I submitted several contradictions I noted in the Bible to the net. I saw a response from Dave Lee on this topic, but due to a vacation I was not able to respond. Please pardon me for the lapse of time but I have my priorities. The first error dealt with the people who were with Paul when he was converted. Quoting form Acts 9:7, "And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. In Acts 22:9 it says " they heard not the voice." Dave Lee stated that this second scripture should be translated as "understood not the voice" leaving no contradiction. Sorry Dave, if you go back the the Hebrew you will find that the "hearing" in chapter 9 and the "heard" in chapter 22 are derived from the SAME Hebrew word. If you twist the meaning of one, you have to do it to the other. I still see a contradiction! The second error concerned the death of Judas. In Matt 27:5, it says that Judas "hanged himself" while in Acts 1:18 described it as "falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and his bowels gushed out." Dave Lee indicated that a liberal definition of lynching solved the problem. According to the Interpreters Bible, the term "falling headlong" was translated from an ancient Hebrew medical term for excessive swelling of the body. Assuming the Luke the physician inserted the commentary on Judas in the Acts ( that is a widely held opinion ), he should know what he was talking about. The crux of the matter is: Matthew indicates that Judas' death was by his own hand, while Acts indicates that it was externally delivered. If you follow along in the passage in Matthew, you will find this in 27:9: "Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value." The problem is that this refers to a prophecy spoken be Zecheriah NOT Jeremiah! This is found in Zech 11:12,13. The Interperters Bible calls this a mistake and I agree. The third error concerns missing scripture. There are seventeen references to scripture in the Bible which are not found in the Bible. One example is the reference to the prophecies of Enoch in Jude 14. Dave Lee refered to Josh McDowell's book and said historians are continually been proven wrong. Well... I dug into Evidence That Demand a Verdict and found nothing to explain why re that we have today is different from what was available to Jude. The question remains: If it is quoted by scripture, why isn't it scripture? One final note. John concludes his Gospel with: "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen." Does it sound like John would be satisfied with the six books and 21 letters that make up the New Testament? I don't think so. Please excuse the typos. I'm still trying to get used to the cold here after Phoenix. J. J. Naperville, Illinois