Biblical Errancy

More of this Feature • Part 2: Original Sin • Part 3: Communism • Part 4: Universal Salvation • Part 5: Heaven  Join the Discussion "Let's debate contradictions in the Bible, one by one..." DOUG   Related Resources • Biblical Errancy - buy it!

The question of whether or not there are any errors, contradictions or general problems in the Bible is one which consistently comes up in discussions between Christians and nonbelievers. Even among Christians such questions come up, but more from the perspective of what texts means in relation to other passages.

Although various critiques of Christianity include critiques about the Bible, few books focus solely on this issue of errancy alone. There is, now, one book which does just that: list contradictions, errors and various difficulties in the Bible. Biblical Errancy: A Reference Guide, by C. Dennis McKinsey, is over 800 pages of information, all categorized by topic, replete with numerous quotes from the Bible along with commentary.

Unfortunately, it's an expensive book, so it's aimed more at people with a very serious interest in this topic. But if this is something which intrigues you a lot, you probably won't find a more comprehensive and informative work. I will present information here from some of the more interesting sections as a sampling of what you can find.

We'll start at the beginning with Original Sin: although a fundamental concept to Christianity, McKinsey finds little basis for it in the Old Testament. Next, we look at how we are supposed to live and whether or not something like communism is biblically based. After that is the question of salvation and whether or not the bible really does teach that all will be saved. And finally, after we are saved, what sort of heaven should we expect?

All of these issues allow for answers which are diametrically opposed to those we would expect to get from Christian evengelists and apologists. Since these people - especially the former - typically claim to be basing their beliefs on the Bible, the fact that this same Bible supplies radically different answers can provide for some interesting conversations.

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