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WHO PROPHESIED THE POTTER'S FIELD?
(NIV) Contradiction: Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: They took the thirty silver
coins, the price set on him by the people of Israel, and they used them to buy the potter's field, as the Lord
commanded me. Matthew 27:9-10
The problem with the above verse in Matthew is that no passage in Jeremiah appears to speak of such an event
(the actual prophecy is found in Zechariah 11:12-13)! Matthew is simply employing a common exegetic
technique used in antiquity when referring to the prophets. Though the scattered verses in Jeremiah refer to a
potter, a field, and seventeen (not 30!) shekels, Matthew summarizes and combines the prophetic symbolism of
both prophets, giving credit to the greater of the two which was often done during his time.
SNAKES DO NOT EAT DIRT
(NIV) Contradiction: [The Serpent] will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.
Genesis 3:14
Surely we have all heard the expression Eat my dust and we understand it to not be a literal statement.
Throughout the Bible we see the act of eating/licking dust as a parallel to a demeaning lowly state (examples:
Psalms 72:9 and Isaiah 49:23). This verse is not literally cursing serpents to eat dust/dirt/soil.
CHRISTIANS ARE NOT IMMORTAL
(NIV) Contradiction: I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps My word, he will never see death. John 8:51
This verse is not promising physical immortality to Jesus' followers but eternal spiritual life and salvation from
judgment. The original Greek uses the word thanatos which can refer to both a physical and spiritual death. Jesus
even warns believers that many will be persecuted and even die for their faith so anyone can see that He is
promising an escape from spiritual death and damnation- not physical death.
SNAILS DO NOT MELT
(KJV) Contradiction: As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away: like the untimely birth of a
woman, that they may not see the sun. Psalms 58:8
(NIV) Accurate: Like a slug melting away as it moves along, like a stillborn child, may they not see the sun.
Psalms 58:8
This poetic verse in Psalms refers to the liquid trail snails leave behind as they move along- not a literal
reference to the creatures dissolving.
INSECTS DO NOT HAVE FOUR FEET
(NIV) Contradiction: There are, however, some winged creatures that walk on all fours that you may eat:
those that have jointed legs for hopping on the ground. Of these you may eat any kind of locust, katydid, cricket
or grasshopper. But all other winged creatures that have four legs you are to detest. Leviticus 11:21-23
The discerning reader can see the above verse differentiates between legs and feet used for transportation
versus limbs used for manipulation. It is not specifically stating insects have four feet.
IS THE EARTH ROUND OR FLAT?
(NIV) Contradiction 1: He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth... Isaiah 40:22
(NIV) Contradiction 2: He will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth.
Isaiah 11:12
An incorrect translation of Isaiah 40:22 is sometimes rendered sphere. A few apologists, apparently not aware of
the original Hebrew, believe this reveals the Bible's foreknowledge of a spherical earth (though it is fair to point
out the original Hebrew does not distinguish between a one-dimensional circle and a three-dimensional sphere-
their word chuwg could refer to both).
Regardless, neither of the above verses in Isaiah refer to a literal description of the earth. The context of Isaiah
40 is obviously poetic as it refers to people as grasshoppers! The second verse (sometimes translated as corners
instead of quarters) is also not a literal reference to the shape of the earth. Even today we sometimes use the
expression the four corners of the earth (and we obviously know better!).
ARE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH SUPPORTED/IMMOBLE?
(NIV) Contradiction 1: He suspends the earth over nothing. Job 26:7
(NIV) Contradiction 2: He set the earth on its foundations. It can never be moved. Psalms 104:5
(NIV) Contradiction 4: He shakes the earth from its place and makes its pillars tremble Job 9:6
- Job 26:7 According to modern scientific knowledge, this verse is correct as we know the earth is
suspended in space. - Psalms 104:5 The Hebrew word for foundation in this passage is yacad which literally refers to an
establishment or founding- not necessarily a physical base. - Job 26:11 The Hebrew word for pillars in this passage is ammuwd. Job 26 is in poetic format as the
context proves.
THE SUN DOES NOT STAND STILL
(KJV) Contradiction: ...So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a
whole day. Joshua 10:13
The Hebrew word used in Joshua for still is amad which represents many definitions. Regardless, even today we
say the sun rises in the east and sets in the west to describe dawn and dusk. Other modern terminology includes
high-noon, sunrise, and sunset. These are obviously not literal statements as we know better than to believe in a
stationary earth and a revolving sun. Likewise, the verse in Joshua is not necessarily referring to a geocentric
earth but to the apparent position of the sun.
THE EARTH IS NOT STATIONARY
(NIV) Contradiction: He set the earth on its foundations. It can never be moved. Psalms 104:5
The Hebrew word for moved in the above passage is mowt (totter, shake, slip, or to be dislodged) while the word
for foundation is yacad (establishment). As far as I can see, the above verse is not referring to the concept of a
geocentric earth (as critics suggest), but the establishment of the earth as created by God.
STOREHOUSES ARE NOT A PART OF THE HYDROLOGICAL CYCLE
(NIV) Contradiction: Have you entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail?
Job 38:22
Though Job uses metaphoric language to describe natural phenomena, if my memory serves me correctly, I
learned in 4th grade geology that storehouses are a part of the hydrological cycle. Of course, we use the term
clouds. :-)
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