What Our Youth Needs

The church is not in the business of entertaining young people, but calling them to discipleship in Christ and separation from the world and holiness of living.  It is true that what you win them with you win them to.  If a church use worldly means to win young people, those thus won will be worldly.  If a church has an organized youth group, it must be very careful about the selection of those who lead the youth.  Young people don’t need a “good times Charlie.”  They don’t merely need another buddy who will pal around with them in fun and games.  They get plenty of that.  What they desperately need, and what the church is required by God to give them, are godly, spiritually mature people who will love them and show them the path of God’s perfect will, who will call them to reject the vain, “cool” ways of this present wicked world, who will challenge them to be pure, to pull down the worldly idols from their hearts, to give themselves wholly to the service of Jesus Christ while there is still time, to yield to Christ’s command to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.

David W. Cloud, Contemporary Christian Music Under the Spotlight, pg.201

Bible “Contradictions” Rebutted, #7

This is the final post of the series.

Contradiction claim #52, What were Jesus' last words?

Matt. 27:46,50:  And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, eli, lama sabachthani?" that is to say, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" ...Jesus, when he cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.

Luke 23:46:  And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, "Father, unto thy hands I commend my spirit:" and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.

John 19:30:  When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, "It is finished:" and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

None of this is contradictory; each author just told the part that he wanted to report or what he remembered. Here is the most likely sequence, combining the three texts:  And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, eli, lama sabachthani?" that is to say, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, “This man calleth for Elias.”  After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, “I thirst.”  Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: And straightway one of them ran, and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.  The rest said, “Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him.”  When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, “It is finished.”   And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst.  And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit”: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.

Contradiction claim #53, What was the color of the robe placed on Jesus during his trial?

Matt. 27:28  Scarlet

John 19:2  Purple

John MacArthur, commenting on Matthew 27:28, says of the apparent discrepancies, “scarlet robe. Mark 15:17 and John 19:2 say ‘purple,’ suggesting that the robe may have been something between royal purple, and ‘scarlet,’ the closest thing they could find to the traditional garb of royalty.”  The NET Bible says, “The scarlet robe probably refers to a military garment which had the color of royal purple, and thus resembled a king’s robe.”  Apparently the color is a cross between scarlet and purple, which means the description is the best the writer could describe it.  If anything, the color descriptions are complimentary, not contradictory.

Contradiction claim #54, What did they give him to drink?

Matt. 27:34  Vinegar 

Mark 15:23  Wine with myrrh

Matthew 27:34 actually says they gave him vinegar “mingled with gall.”  “Gall” refers to something bitter, while Mark identifies it specifically as the narcotic myrrh.  What is translated as “vinegar” in Matthew is actually sour wine, so both passages are saying the same thing.

Contradiction claim #55, Who was at the Empty Tomb?

Matt. 28:1  In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.

Mark 16:1  And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.

John 20:1 The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.

None of this is contradictory.  Matthew doesn’t say only Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came; he only reports on these two. Mark mentions both of them (the other Mary being Mary the mother of James), but he also tells us of Salome’s presence with them.  John only mentions Magdalene, but again he does not say she was alone. For some reason Mary Magdalene was of enough importance that all three report her presence.  Could it be because she was the one Jesus freed from demons, and she knew the freedom of that which led her to be a disciple?  Anyway, not reporting all who are present is not contradicting someone who does.

Contradiction claim #56, Whom did they see at the tomb?

Matt. 28:2-5  And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:  And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.  And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.

Mark 16:5  And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.

Luke 24:4  And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:

John 20:12  And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.

These are complimentary rather than contradictory.  Each person is telling part of the story.  None say their story is complete in all aspects. This is common among anyone witnessing an event.  Each person gives some of the details and when all put together gives us the complete story.

Contradiction claim #57, Is Jesus equal to or lesser than God?

John 10:30  I and my Father are one.

John 14:28  Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.

Jesus and God the Father are one in that they are both one God, part of the trinity.  However, in roles the Father is greater than the Son. Some thoughts about John 14:28:

a.  Revealing the subordinate role Jesus accepted as necessary part of the incarnation.  Must be understood in light of the unity in John 10:30

b.  Speaking at a time when he had done as stated in Philippians 2:6-7.  He became "lower than the angels” (Heb. 2:9).

c.  The Father is greater in that the incarnate son derives his being from Him.  The "greaterness" of the Father means that the revelation of Him manifested in Jesus is full so far as was possible in a human person.

d.  His state with his Father would be much more excellent and glorious than his present state; his returning to his Father would be the advancing of him to a much higher condition than that which he was now in.

e.  The Father is greater by office, but not by nature, since both are God.  Jesus is equal to the Father in essence, in nature, in character.  The Father is greater in function, in office, in position.

f.  The word "greater" is used to point to the Father's greater position (in heaven), not a greater nature. The word used was not "better".

Contradiction claim #58, Did those with Saul/Paul at his conversion hear a voice?

Acts 9:7  And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.

Acts 22:9  And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me.

In Acts 9:7 they heard the sound of the voice, which is what the Greek (tes phones) means, but did not understand the speech. The NIV and other newer translations make this clear.  Acts 22:9 says they did not “hear,” i.e. they did not understand the words of the Lord.  The Greek word for “voice” here is “ten phonen".  Only Paul heard with understanding. As John MacArthur says, “Since Jesus spoke only to Paul, only he understood the Lord’s words.  His companions heard the sound, but could not make out the words.”

Contradiction claim #59, Judging?

1 Cor 2:15  The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment: (NIV)

1 Cor 4:5  Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.

The context of these two passages are about different things. The first text is speaking about spiritual discernment in regards to teaching.  The second text is in regards to them judging Paul compared to other so-called apostles, and he is saying they are not to judge the heart.  Nowhere in Scripture does it tell us not to judge at all, on the contrary, there are many passages that tell us to judge righteously.

Contradiction claim #60, Who bears guilt?

Gal. 6:2  Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Gal. 6:5 For every man shall bear his own burden.

This is intentionally removing the context.  It is quite easy to see the difference just by reading the passage of Gal. 6:1-5.  In the first passage the context is helping others with leaving their sins behind.  That’s the burdens we bear. The second passage is about doing our own work and testing our own actions and not comparing ourselves to others.  It has nothing to do with bearing guilt.

In this series I’ve addressed 60 claims of contradictions in the Bible.  I have come across a lot more, of course, but these are the ones I’ve most frequently seen, and were the ones provided me by the college student requesting responses.  I hope my readers have found this useful.

Good, Bad, and Ugly

The Good:

A very good analysis of the Jehovah’s Witness’ erroneous reading of John 17:3. 

Things to know about the formation of our Bible.

Pull the Plug on CCM

How patriarchy saved her from feminism.

The Bad:

This short video is really sort of funny, because it demonstrates the intellectual schizophrenia of the Catholic Church — be sure to read the statement at the end because it really sums up the problem.  This is just more proof that the Pope does NOT represent Christ in any way, shape, or form.

I am one of the “wolf hunters” who alert the sheep to wolves like Michael Brown.

The Seventh-day Adventist book Steps to Christ, by E.G. White, is a false gospel.

Another solid alert about false teacher Lisa Bevere.

And then don’t forget false teacher Shawn Bolz.

A whole caboodle of false prophets will tell you what the Lord has said is in store for 2017.  The sad thing is that too many Christians listen to these lies.

Watch out for the “Orange Strategy” Sunday School curriculum.  Bad news!  This article also has lots of links to Andy Stanley stuff.

The lies told by the likes of Sid Roth and Jeff Jansen.

Yoga and Christianity are NOT compatible.

The Ugly:

Visions Beyond Fatima — evidence that such visions are demonic in nature.

The Word of Faith heresy cult continues to prove just how awful it is.

The Church as AMWAY

More on the horrid teachings of Mike and Debi Pearl.  Marital abuse gets a pass.

Willam Paul Young’s Christless “Shack.”

That’s it for today. I hope to have my last episode on “Bible ‘Contradictions’” posted tomorrow.

Bible “Contradictions” Rebutted, #6

With this episode, I begin looking at claims of contradictions in the New Testament.

Contradiction claim #42, Who is the father of Joseph?

Matt. 1:16  And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

Luke 3:23 And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli.

The modern hoops theologians go through to fix an apparent contradiction in the genealogies overlook the real case that Eusebius explained 1700 years ago!  Heli and Jacob, who are both called Joseph’s father, were half brothers with the same mother, Estha. 

Matthan (descended from Solomon and named in Matthew’s list) was Estha’s first husband and they had Jacob.  Melchi (descended from Nathan, and named in Luke’s list) was her second husband and they had Heli.

According to the information Eusebius found in his research, Heli died childless and, under the Levirate marriage laws, Jacob took Heli’s wife and had Joseph. Ergo, Joseph was the biological son of Jacob, but the legal son of Heli.  

Notice that Matthew uses the term “begot” for Joseph’s physical descent. Luke doesn’t use that term, rather he just says “the son of.”

Eusebius cited historical information for these details.

Contradiction claim #43, Human vs. ghostly impregnation.

Matt. 1:18  Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

Acts 2:30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;

Mary gave birth “according to the flesh” and she was a descendent of David.  Jesus was the fruit of her “loins” and Mary was the fruit of her parents’ loins.  Acts did not say she was impregnated “according to the flesh,” only that Jesus would be a descendant of David (the literal term “fruit of his loins according to the flesh merely means that he will be a descendant).  

Contradiction claim #44, Jesus' first sermon on a plain or mount?

Matt. 5:1,2: "And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying...."
Luke  6:17,20:  "And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people...came to hear him.. And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples and said..."

Where does it say these are the same sermon?  His teachings were the same no matter where he taught.  There is no contradiction even apparent.

Contradiction claim #45, How many beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount?

Matt. 5:3-11  Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.  Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.  Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.  Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.  Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.  Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.  Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

Luke 6:20-23   And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.  Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.  Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake.  Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.

If these were the same sermon, which isn’t necessarily the case, all it demonstrates is that one gospel recorded a more complete account.  However, Matthew says Christ stood on a mountain, while Luke is recording a teaching taking place “in the plain.”  Where is the contradiction?

Contradiction claim #46, Do we display our good deeds?

Matt 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. (NIV)

Matt 6:3-4  But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (NIV)

The first passage is discussing how the Christian is to behave, while the second passage - in context - is rebuking the idea of giving offerings with the show of broadcasting how much you give.

Contradiction claim #47,  How long was Jesus in the tomb?

Depends where you look; Matthew 12:40 gives Jesus prophesying that he will spend "three days and three nights in the heart of the earth," and Mark 10:34 has "after three days (meta treis emeras) he will rise again." As far as I can see from a quick look, the prophecies have "after three days," but the post-Resurrection narratives have "on the third day."

Well, commentators disagree on what day Christ was crucified, with most holding to the traditional Friday, which leads to some convoluted explanations about how part of a day equals a whole day, and so forth.  But it still doesn't give us three nights if He was buried Friday and rose Sunday AM.  However, John tells us it was a special Sabbath (John 18:28) and not the weekly Sabbath. There have been computations as for the Passover Sabbath beginning at sundown Wednesday.  So, if Christ was placed in the grave on Wednesday, he spent Wednesday night, Thursday night and Friday night in the tomb, but arose Saturday evening, which began the first day of the week.  It was early morning Sunday, before dawn, when the women first went to the tomb and He was already gone, not having spent Saturday night in the tomb.  As for the days, He spent all day Thursday, all day Friday and all day Saturday, rising before sunset began the new day.  So Saturday made 3-days in the tomb and it was also the 3^rd day since Wednesday.  If, as other commentators suggest, Christ was crucified on Thursday and rose Sunday morning, then one would count the partial Thursday, all day Friday and all day Saturday as the days, and Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights as the three nights. Then rising on Sunday would be the 3^rd day since Thursday.

Contradiction claim #48, What was Jesus' prediction regarding Peter's denial?

Matt. 26:34  Before the cock crow

Mark 14:30  Before the cock crow twice

Matthew didn’t say how many times the cock would crow so he is not contradicting Mark who said it would be twice.  Matthew just says the cock will crow.

Contradiction claim #49, Who prophesied the potter's field?

Matthew 27:9-10 mentions “Jeremy” but no such verse in Jeremiah, but it is in Zechariah 11:12-13

This one is indeed difficult.  Gleason Archer gives the following explanation in his book, “Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties”:  There are significant differences between the Zechariah passage and the quotation in Matthew, which has the prophet paying out - or at least giving - the purchase money, and has him turning over the money for a field rather than giving it to the potter personally. Yet the whole point of the quotation in Matthew is directed toward the purchase of the field. The Zechariah passage says nothing at all about purchasing a field; indeed, it does not even mention a field at all.  But as we turn to Jeremiah 32:6-9, we find the prophet purchasing a field in Anathoth for a certain number of shekels.  Jeremiah 18:2 describes the prophet as watching a potter fashioning earthenware vessels in his house.  Jeremiah 19:2 indicates that there was a potter near the temple, having his workshop in the Valley of Hinnom.  Jeremiah 19:11 reads: “Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘Even so I will break this people and this city as one breaks a potter’s vessel, that cannot be made whole again; and they shall bury them in Tophet.’”  It would seem, therefore, that Zechariah’s casting of his purchase money back to the potter dated back to the symbolic actions of Jeremiah.  Yet is it only Jeremiah that mentions the “field” of the potter - which is the principal point of Matthew’s quotation.  Matthew is therefore combining and summarizing elements of prophetic symbolism both from Zechariah and from Jeremiah.  But since Jeremiah is the more prominent of the two prophets, he mentions Jeremiah’s name by preference to that of the minor prophet.  A similar procedure is followed by Mark 1:2-3, which attributes only to Isaiah a combined quotation from Malachi  3:1 and Isaiah 40:3.  In that case also, only the more famous of the two prophets is mentioned by name.  Since that was the normal literary practice of the first century A.D., when the Gospels were written, the authors cannot be faulted for not following the modern practice of precise identification and footnoting.

Contradiction claim #50, Who bought the potter’s field and how did Judas die?

Matt. 27:5-7:  And he [Judas] cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. And the chief priests...bought with them the potter's field.

Acts 1:18: Now this man [Judas] purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.

Judas cast the coins in the temple, with which the priests bought the field. It was Judas’ money and therefore he did indeed buy the field, as Peter ironically stated.  I can send one of my family members to buy something for me and yet tell someone later that I bought it.  As for how he died, he did indeed hang himself, and the place of his hanging in a tree was most likely over some sort of precipice into which the body fell. How long he was hanging prior to the fall is not stated, but it could have been until Christ was crucified, during which time the conditions which caused the temple curtain to tear and the earthquakes to open the ground could have broken the branch on which Judas hung, dropping the body to the ground and causing it to burst.

Contradiction claim #51, How many apostles were in office between the resurrection and ascension?

Matt. 27:3-5 (minus one from 12)

Matt. 28:16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.

Acts 1:9-26 (Mathias not elected until after resurrection)

1 Corinthians 15:5 (12)
Matthew 27:3-5 tells of the death of Judas, which means 11 were left.  Matthew 28:16 spells out that there were 11 men.  And Acts 1:9-26 tells of the replacement.  So what does 1Corinthians 15:5 mean when Paul says “the Twelve”?  It is not contradictory, rather Paul is using a title of the group: even if some are missing they will always be known as “the Twelve”.

Bible “Contradictions” Rebutted, #5

We’ve been looking at claims of contradictions in the Old Testament.  Now we will begin looking at claims which compare something in the O.T. with something in the N.T.

Contradiction claim #32, Can God be seen?

God CAN be seen:

Gen. 32:30:  For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.
Exod. 33:23:  And I will take away my hand, and thou shalt see my backparts. 

Exod.33:11: And the Lord spake to Moses face to face, as a man speaketh to his friend.
God CANNOT be seen:
Exod. 33:20:  And he said, “Thou canst not see my face; for there shall no man see me and live."

John 1:18: No man hath seen God at any time.
1 Tim. 6:16:  Whom no man hath seen nor can see.

God has revealed portions of his glory, but even that is too much for man. The first passage is an anthropomorphism since God doesn’t have “back parts” because He is spirit (John 4:24).  Speaking to God “face to face” merely means God was talking to him audibly in some vision or the like.  The follow from “When Skeptics Ask” addresses this issue with Exodus 24:9-10:

First, it should be noted that God invited them to see Him. In Exodus 19:12–13 God told Moses to set the boundaries around the mountain so that no one should even touch its base without the punishment of death. However, God specifically invited these people to ascend the mountain in order to consecrate them for the service to which they had been appointed, and to seal the covenant which had been established between God and the nation of Israel.

Second, it is clear from the description and from other passages of Scripture (Ex. 33:19–20; Num. 12:8; John 1:18), that what these people saw was not the essence of God, but rather a visual representation of the glory of God. Even when Moses asked to see God’s glory (Ex. 33:18–23), it was only a likeness of God which Moses saw (cf. Num. 12:8 where the Hebrew word temunah—“form,” “likeness”—is used), and not the very essence of God.

Contradiction claim #33, Does God tempt people?

Gen. 22::  And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham. 

James 1:13: Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man. 

Context, context.  The word in KJV that is translated “tempt” has different meanings.  In the first passage God was “testing” Abraham.  In the second passage the context is temptation to sin, which is something God does not do.  Before someone makes these sorts of claims they should investigate the original languages since KJV English is quite different from current English. Using a modern translation will eliminate much of this type of problem.

Contradiction claim #34,  Does God change?

Mal. 3:6:  For I am the Lord, I change not…
James 1:7:  Every good gift…cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variableness…
1 Sam. 15:29:  For he is not a man, the he should repent [meaning change his mind] 

Johan 3:10:  and God repented of the evil, that he had said he would do unto them; and he did it not.
Gen. 6:6:  And it repenteth the Lord that he had made man on earth.

The first three demonstrate that God is unchanging.  Jonah’s passage is from man’s view that God changed his mind, but actually God had given a condition for not bringing destruction, so the condition was satisfied and the destruction not done.  Gen. 6:6 is translated in modern English as saying that God was “grieved.”  God is always grieved over our sin.

Contradiction claim #35, Whose sepulchers?

Acts 7:16:  And were carried over into Sychem, and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor the father of Sychem.

Gen.23:17,18:  And the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the borders round about, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city. 

 Henry Morris makes the following observation on Gen. 23:17:  “There is a seeming discrepancy between this passage and the statement of Stephen (Acts 7:16) that Abraham’s purchased sepulcher was in Shechem.  A possible explanation is that he bought the latter for his later family born of Keturah (Genesis 23:1; 25:1).  These children then eventually lost it to the Hivites, from whom Jacob repurchased it for an altar eighty-five years after Abraham’s death (Genesis 33:20).  It later was given to Joseph, and he and probably his brothers were eventually buried in it (Joshua 24:32; Acts 7:15,16).

Contradiction claim #36, Is God of War or Peace?

Exod. 15:3:  The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.

Rom 15:33:  Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

Ex. 15:3 is telling about how God was a warrior on the side of Israel leading them out of Egypt.  Rom. 15:33 is a different context.  God’s peace is that which comforts the believer.  God is a God of war and peace, as  the United States is a nation of peace and war.  The character is whatever the situation demands.  God certainly can have both attributes.   

Contradiction claim #37, Ascend to heaven?

2 Kings 2:11:  And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

John 3:13:  No man hath ascended up to heaven but he that came down from heaven, ... the Son of Man.

Here we again have a context problem.  I’ll let “When Skeptics Ask” explain this:  In this context, Jesus is setting forth His superior knowledge of heavenly things. In essence He is saying, “No other human being can speak from firsthand knowledge about these things, as I can, since I came down from heaven.” He is claiming that no one has ascended to heaven to bring down the message that He brought. In no way is He denying that anyone else is in heaven, such as Elijah and Enoch (Gen. 5:24). Rather, Jesus is simply claiming that no one on earth has gone to heaven and returned with a message such as He offered to them.

Contradiction claim #38, Does every man sin?

1 Kings 8:46:  If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near; 

2 Chron 6:36:  If they sin against thee, (for there is no man which sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them over before their enemies, and they carry them away captives unto a land far off or near; 

Prov. 20:9: Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?

Eccl. 7:20:  For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not. (Ecc. 7:20)

1 John 1:8-10: If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

1 John 3:9:  Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

The Bible plainly says in many, many passages that all mankind sins.  The last passage cited, in context, is saying that the one who is a Christian does not live a lifestyle of sin, that his life is not defined by sin, not that he will never sin.

Contradiction claim #39, Is it folly to be wise or not?

Prov. 4:7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.

Eccl. 1:18  For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.

1 Cor.1:19: For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.

Context, context, context.  Prov. 4:7 is the general principle, because having wisdom is very important in life.  Now, Ecclesiastes is about the vanity - the futility - of life.  The more wisdom and knowledge one has, indeed the more sorrow one ends up with because of all the stuff you know about that does bring sorrow (learning about Planned Parenthood’s destruction of babies, e.g.).  Wisdom is still good, but one needs to understand that wisdom and knowledge leads to more and more understanding of the sinful condition of the world.  1 Corinthians is addressing those who think by their wisdom they have God figured out.  Paul here is citing Isaiah 29:14 where the leaders of Israel were placing their own teachings over God’s law.  The context of 1 Cor. is continued in 3:18-19 where Paul says one must give up worldly wisdom so that he can become wise in the things of God.

Contradiction claim #40, Views of marriage?

Proverbs 18:22
1 Corinthians 7 (whole book. See 1,2,27,39,40)

Proverbs 18:22 says that “He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord” (NIV).  1 Corinthians 7 has a long discussion about marriage that must be read in its entirety if one wants to understand the context.  Paul is repeating questions about whether it is good to touch a woman, questions that were sent to him in reference to some false teachings.  Paul says it is indeed good to touch a woman but it must be in the context of marriage.  While he feels it is better to be single so as to spend more time working for the Lord without distractions, he realizes that not everyone has that gift and so says marriage is okay.  However, he also gives rules for divorce and remarriage.  Marriage is indeed good because God ordained it from the beginning and at the end of creation - after giving Adam and Eve in marriage - God said it was “very good.”  

Contradiction claim #41, The shape of the earth

Isa. 40:22  It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:

Matt. 4:8   Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;

Astronomical bodies are spherical, and you cannot see the entire exterior surface from anyplace. The kingdoms of Egypt, China, Greece, Crete, sections of Asia Minor, India, Maya (in Mexico), Carthage (North Africa), Rome (Italy), Korea, and other settlements from these kingdoms of the world were widely distributed.

Isaiah describes the earth’s shape quite well as a “circle”; it is indeed circular as a globe.  The same word translated “circle” here is translated “compass” in Proverbs 8:27 and “compassed” in Job 26:10.  There certainly is nothing wrong with this shape description.  As for Matthew’s passage, Jesus is God and Satan is an angel, both of which have the ability to spiritually see anywhere.  From the “high mountain” they could have seen physically much of the area’s kingdoms, while in a vision could have seen the entire world.