In the beginning God ..
A popular mistake is to take things out of context. It is easy to “create contradictions” when there are none by violating the context of the passage(s) in question.
More significant, though less mentioned, is violating the context of belief. Christian understanding is a synthesis of many beliefs, and Biblical teachings are often interpreted through this background belief which has been synthesized. Such a synthesis may include other facts, not directly related to the contradiction in question, but nevertheless, relevant. When the critic proposes a contradiction, he ought to do so within the context of this background belief. By failing to do this, he merely imposes alien concepts into the text as if they belong. This error is common when the critic tries to cite contradictions related to doctrine or beliefs about the nature of God.
Is religious liberty fast becoming a disfavored right? Is the separation of church and state constitutional principle about to become an historical footnote?
Since the accounts in the Bible are rarely intended as exhaustive and precise descriptions, it would be prudent to see if differing accounts complement, rather than contradict one another.
Approach to Bible Study
- openness to the fact that it is the word of God;
- reverence when they discover that it is so;
- a sense of conviction that we are sinners in the view of this word;
- the knowledge that it meets us with forgiveness because of Christ at the center of this book; and then,
- hope that we can press on in life, and that this book will give us all the guidance we need.