Category Archives: Contradictions

Had the Spirit been given before?

Contradictions

Fairly early in the gospel of John, it mentions that believers would later receive the Spirit, but that up to that time it had not been given to anyone, because Jesus hadn’t been “glorified” yet. Later in John, shortly before Jesus was arrested, he stated that he had to go away before “the Advocate” would come to his disciples. So it sounds like no one was ever given the Spirit until after Jesus died. Later, Paul says the Spirit has revealed insights about Christ to certain people like him, but not to anyone in any other generations.

But there are plenty of passages in the Bible before those, that indicate that people had already been given the Spirit, most of them having received it many generations before this. Or at least Christian translators like to make it look that way. And some of those people had insights into Christ, long before he was even born. Or at least that’s how Christians like to interpret their prophecies.

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Does everyone who asks receive?

Contradictions

Yes.

When Solomon asked God to answer the prayers of whoever prayed toward his temple, God agreed. Solomon’s temple doesn’t exist anymore, but now we have Jesus. And he says you can ask him for anything, and he will do what you ask. All you have to do is ask for something in Jesus’s name, and God will give you whatever you asked for. Because God is willing to satisfy the desires of everyone and everything alive.

It doesn’t matter who you are or what you’re like. God gives generously to everyone who asks, without finding fault. Ordinary human beings can control the weather, just by asking God. If you don’t have what you want, it’s only because you haven’t asked God for it.

And it’s not just God who will always give you what you ask for. Jesus says everyone who asks receives. So you could ask anyone for anything, even from someone evil, and you will definitely get what you want.

Maybe?

Elihu said you can pray and God will turn your life back around… at least if there happens to be an angel around and the angel decides to ask God to spare your life. That sounds like a pretty specific kind of situation, so it doesn’t seem like he’s saying this is how it will always be for everyone. And we don’t even know if Elihu is right, since God never clarified whether Elihu had spoken the truth about him or not.

When God agreed to Solomon’s requests about the temple, God said now he would be attentive to the prayers offered there. Is that unusual? Does he normally ignore the prayers offered in other places?

Jesus says even evil people know how to give good gifts to their children. So God will certainly give good gifts to those who ask him. But will he give bad gifts? What happens if you ask God for a bad gift? Jesus doesn’t say.

James states that if you ask anything of God according to his will, he’ll do it. That condition he’s added there pretty much negates the whole statement. Of course God is going to do what he wants, regardless of what you think he should do. But then when James attempts to restate the same thing, he forgets to include that condition, which means he’s saying something very different this time. Do these people even know what they’re saying?

No.

Obviously Jesus is wrong when he says everyone who asks receives. The Bible itself contains plenty of counter-examples.

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Does every firstborn male belong to God?

Contradictions,

Yes.

When God killed the firstborn of the Egyptians, he decided that the firstborn of the Israelites would be set apart to be his. So God commanded his people to consecrate every firstborn male to him. He said the first son of every female animal or human in Israel belongs to him. You can never choose to dedicate a firstborn animal to God, because the firstborn already belongs to God by default.

That means the people have to give all their firstborn males over to God. You must give him the firstborn of your sons, doing the same thing you do with the firstborn among your livestock: They can only stay with their mothers for seven days, then you hand them over to God. They are to be set apart and never put to work the way others would be. This is how God decided it will be, therefore this is how it will be forever, and it can never be changed.

No.

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Who chose Saul?

Contradictions

The Bible says God is always the one who establishes who the authorities are. So naturally it was God who sent Saul to the prophet Samuel to be anointed king of Israel. When Samuel privately anointed Saul, he said it was God’s doing. After that, Samuel publicly cast lots as a way of letting God choose a king. They brought out Saul after he was chosen by lot, and Samuel described him as “the man the Lord has chosen“.

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Did God allow a census of Israel?

Contradictions, , ,

The Bible says when David took a census of Israel, that was Satan’s idea. Joab couldn’t believe David wanted to do such a repulsive thing, and he only helped because he had to. David was conscience-stricken afterward, and believed he had done a very foolish thing and sinned greatly. And God agreed that there would have to be a severe punishment for this evil act.

But the Bible also says that census was God’s idea! David was just doing what God wanted him to do, as he always did, so why would God have a problem with that? There was never any law against taking a census. On the contrary, God had commanded his chosen leaders to take a census of Israel multiple times in the past, and it was not a problem. God had also made laws about how to do it properly, which implies that taking a census was going to be a regular occurrence.

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Does the Law give you freedom?

Contradictions

Yes.

The longest chapter in the Bible is all about how great somebody thinks God’s Law is. One of the things he says about it is that he can walk about in freedom as a result of always seeking and obeying the law.

Paul says being under the law kills you… but dying frees you from the law. So the law does give you freedom. From itself. Paul also says the law of the Spirit sets you free from the law of death. That seems to contradict what he said about the law killing you, unless “the law of the Spirit” is something different from the Law from God that he was talking about before… but either way, he is still saying the law frees you. And James too says the law gives freedom if you follow it.

No.

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Did Satan tell Jesus to jump off the temple before or after he told him to worship him?

Contradictions, , , ,

The gospel of Matthew has Satan take Jesus to the temple roof and challenge him to jump off. Then it has him take Jesus to a mountain and offer him the world in exchange for worshiping him.

The gospel of Luke has Satan take Jesus to a mountain and offer him the world in exchange for worshiping him. Then it has him take Jesus to the temple roof and challenge him to jump off.

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Does everyone who seeks find?

Contradictions

Yes.

David told his son Solomon that if he sought God, then he would find him. And Solomon told his son that if he looked for insight and understanding like he was looking for treasure, then he would find knowledge and understanding of God. Solomon says Wisdom says those who seek wisdom find it.

But is this a general thing, or does it only apply to God, wisdom, and… God-wisdom? According to Jesus, it’s a universal principle: Just as everyone who asks receives, the one who seeks finds. But according to the Bible, Jesus is wrong. Plenty of people have sought and not found.

No.

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What were the twelve tribes of Israel?

Contradictions

The Bible says the nation of Israel consisted of twelve tribes, and it often lists all of those tribes. Or tries to. But those lists of tribes are very inconsistent. All of these lists agree that the twelve tribes included Judah, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and Benjamin. But beyond those six, the various lists of tribes in the Bible can’t agree on what the rest of the tribes of Israel were.

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