From The Onion...
STILLWATER, OK—The world's theological community is in an uproar following Monday's discovery of a slight inconsistency in the Bible.
"I was reading Jeremiah 17:4, in which God says, 'Ye have kindled a fire in mine anger, which shall burn forever,'" said Pastor Theodore Strait of First Lutheran Church in Stillwater. "And I immediately recalled Jeremiah 3:12, which says, 'For I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger forever.' I thought, how can this possibly be? The Bible, contradicting itself?"
Biblical scholars are scrambling to explain the strange paradox, believed to be the first time a passage in the Bible has been found to contain flaws in logic.
2 comments:
I know that mockery is the favorite anti-Christian tactic today, as it has proven its effectiveness, but honestly, this is just bad logic.
A prophet relays one message, later on, he relays another message. If those messages differ, that does not fall into the category of "logical flaw". Nor does it mean the overall book contradicts itself.
You could say accurately that God (or Jeremiah) contradicted himself, true enough, but, well, so what? Everyone says different things at different times, for different purposes and different effects.
Like, I tell my students during the first class that I am very strict and a hard grader, but later on I reveal that actually I am very sympathetic and won't fail anyone who makes the effort. Does that contradiction discredit me? Or does it demonstrate that I speak at different timed for different purposes (the first to scare slacker students into a higher standard, the second to strengthen flagging students to push through to the end).
I personally think that reading the book literalistically as a skeptic is just as foolish as reading it literalistically as a believer.
Those are good points, Justin. However, I feel that most Christians are not as rational as you are. As you point you, reading the Bible “literalistically” is “foolish.” However, many Americans DO take the Bible literally.
According to a 2007 Gallup poll, 35% of Americans said the Bible is the “actual word of God to be taken literally.” 48% said the Bible was the “inspired word of God.” And 19% said the Bible was “ancient fables, history, and legends by man.”
I have no inherent desire to be difficult with those in that middle 48%. But those who are in that 35% category could use some education, IMHO.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/27682/onethird-americans-believe-bible-literally-true.aspx
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