Paul thinks it’s glorious for a woman to have long hair, but it’s disgraceful for a man to have long hair. He thinks this is common sense, and anyone should be able to see this just by considering the basic nature of things. But at least some people in the Old Testament, including God, don’t seem to agree with Paul.
Continue reading Is it disgraceful for a man to have long hair?Category Archives: Contradictions
Do all who draw the sword die by the sword?
David says wicked people who draw the sword to kill poor innocent people will be killed with their own swords. And Jesus says all who draw the sword will die by the sword. So you don’t even have to be wicked, or kill innocent people, or even kill anyone at all. If you draw the sword, you will be killed with a sword.
Of course, Jesus was wrong, as usual. He was talking to Peter, who had just drawn his sword and injured an innocent person, yet Peter did not die by the sword. Apparently he died by crucifixion. The Bible doesn’t actually say how Peter died, but it does have a few confirmed counterexamples to Jesus’s claim:
Continue reading Do all who draw the sword die by the sword?Can sin exist without the law?
No.
According to Paul, the law produces sin, and without the law, there is no sin. Sin only comes to life when there are commandments to give it an opportunity. He says the only reason we have any desire to sin is that the law makes us feel that way. Where there is no law, there can be no transgression. And 1 John says if someone sins, then there must be a law that they’re breaking, because that’s what sin is.
Yes.
Continue reading Can sin exist without the law?What was the name of the king who thought David was insane?
In the story where David acts like a madman in front of a Philistine king because David is so evil that he’s actually less threatening that way, it says the king in question was Achish of Gath. But in the note at the beginning of a psalm that David supposedly wrote at that time, it says the king’s name was Abimelek.
Continue reading What was the name of the king who thought David was insane?Does God need anything?
No.
One time when God was telling his people why he wasn’t happy with them, he assured them that it had nothing to do with them not sacrificing enough animals to him. He explained that he didn’t need anyone to give him animals for food, because he doesn’t eat the flesh of bulls. And anyway, all the wild animals in the world belong to him already. So even if he did get hungry, he wouldn’t have to demand food from someone else.
So God doesn’t need to be fed. God doesn’t need anyone to make him a house, either. In fact, God doesn’t need anything from anyone. Why would he? He’s the all-powerful creator who provides everything humans need, not the other way around.
Yes.
God needs food. He demanded, many times, that his people regularly give him food offerings, which are the food of God. (And don’t forget the salt!) When his people don’t do what he wants, he just devours their fields. God also needs water. He needs to drink from a brook, so he’ll be refreshed enough to continue heaping up the dead.
Jesus, who the Bible says is God, ate food during his days on earth. And he got hungry when he went without food. Even now, Jesus expects people to let him into their homes so he can eat them eat with them. But does he actually need food? Yes, he said he plans to send people to hell for failing to give him free food, drink, shelter, clothes, and healthcare when he needs it.
God also needs money. He once cursed his chosen nation for “robbing” him because they weren’t giving him as much of their wealth as he wanted. I’ve never heard of God actually buying anything with money, but he must need money for something. Why else would people be telling people to give their money to God? I mean, unless “giving money to God” was some kind of scam, or something…
Continue reading Does God need anything?Do people need to worry about not having the resources they will need?
No.
Jesus advised people not to worry about what they would eat or drink or wear. Why worry about those things? There’s more to life than having the things you need to live! He says you should follow the example of the birds and the flowers. Birds don’t bother with farming or storing up food, and they’re doing fine, aren’t they? Flowers don’t bother making clothes, and they still look great, don’t they?
Jesus said the reason the birds and flowers don’t have to worry about agriculture and tailoring is that God cares about them. And God cares about us a lot more, so he’ll definitely provide us with everything we need without us having to work for it. So just don’t worry about it. Never plan ahead. Worrying is for pagans. And being worried wouldn’t actually change anything anyway.
Paul agreed that you shouldn’t worry about anything. You should just let God take care of everything.
Yes.
Continue reading Do people need to worry about not having the resources they will need?Which creature is the greatest?
Genesis says God created humans in his own image to rule over all the animals. Sound like we’re the greatest of God’s creatures, then.
David says humans may be insignificant compared to God, but God has indeed crowned us with glory and honor, and made us rulers over the rest of his creation, putting all the animals under our feet.
Except he says humans are a little lower than the angels. So we’re actually not quite the greatest of all creatures, then. Angels are.
Then there’s Solomon, who wisely points out that humans don’t even have any advantage over animals.
Continue reading Which creature is the greatest?Do God’s people love or hate their siblings?
There are a couple of epistles that say you should love them. The book of Hebrews says to keep loving one another as brothers and sisters. (Maybe that’s not actually about actual siblings, but it still only makes sense if you should love your actual siblings.)
1 John says has quite a bit to say in favor of loving your siblings. It says if you love your brother or sister, you live in the light, and there’s nothing in you that will make you stumble. But if you hate your brother or sister, you’re walking blindly in the darkness. It says God has commanded that we must love our brothers and sisters. If people don’t love their siblings, you know they’re liars, murderers, and children of the devil, who don’t love God and will not have eternal life.
Jesus himself says just being angry with your brother or sister will bring God’s judgment on you. He seems to think God takes grudges between siblings more seriously than things that God actually made laws about.
But Jesus also says people who don’t hate their brothers and sisters can’t be his disciples. And Paul says the debt to love one another is a debt that should remain outstanding. In other words, don’t love anyone.
Continue reading Do God’s people love or hate their siblings?Can any detached branch bear fruit?
Jesus says no branch can bear fruit by itself. A branch can only bear fruit if it remains in the vine. (So if it’s a detached tree branch that was never even part of a vine to begin with, it definitely can’t bear fruit, then.)
But the Old Testament says Aaron’s staff once sprouted, budded, blossomed, and produced almonds, which are fruit seeds. So either Jesus proves the Old Testament is wrong, or the Old Testament proves Jesus is wrong.
Continue reading Can any detached branch bear fruit?Were there stars when the earth was created?
The answer in Genesis is that there were no stars when the earth was created. God didn’t make the stars until three days after he made the earth.
But in the book of Job, God has a different answer. Now he says he laid the earth’s foundation while the morning stars sang. So there were stars, then.
Continue reading Were there stars when the earth was created?