by Freedom rocks 27 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
A great resource for this is http://bibviz.com/
Just hover over any of the red arcs, and a popup in the corner will show the topic and Bible verses.
Or click on one of the red lines, and you'll end up on a details page.
Note: sometimes the verse numbers and quotes are a bit off. So if the quoted verse don't make the contradiction clear, look them up and read the context as well.
This is an amusing video on bible contradictions:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RB3g6mXLEKk
Gives a pretty good list, too.
I love this out of the atheists book of bible stories, my daughter was in stitches laughing at it.
Cain and Abel THE SACRIFICES
For some reason, these two boys got it into their heads that God liked gifts. There is no record of sacrifices prior to this point. The concept of sacrifice appears to be a later development that is transposed back on this ancient setting by a later writer. Where did Cain and Abel get this idea, and how did they know what to offer?
Particularly, how could they possibly have known that God preferred dead animals over vegetables? Actually, this whole preference seems to be backwards. You would think that God would not want his precious, freshly created animals to be slaughtered and hacked up. If anything, the produce of their farm would be humanity’s most valuable possession, and would therefore be the most valued sacrifice.
Let’s modernize this a bit. Imagine that you have two children. One of them picks a flower and presents it to his mother as a gift. The other one slits the dog’s throat and throws him on the barbie. Which is the good one?
I think God should rethink this part of the story, and make Abel the bad guy.
Check out The Bible Says What podcast. Dude calls up pastors and crushes them with their own book. It's a fun listen.
Another list of 531 contradictions in the Bible: http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/contra/number.html
remark of the author of that website:
I've never seen a contradiction that believers can't resolve, at least to their own satisfaction. It could have been this way, it could have been that. That's what it says, but that's not what it means. It was a copyist's error. Whatever.
Contradictions are, in my opinion, the least of the Bible's problems. I include them for just one purpose: it shows that the Bible, whatever else it may be, is not inerrant.
Will do dubstepped thanks
dozy - "...in the Societies publications where they attempt to explain some of them, often in the most bizarre fashion..."
I remember that.
Even as a young guy, I'd scratch my head over some of the obviously circular arguments and rhetorical fallacies the Org would put out trying to defend their stance.
I don't think they do it so much anymore, for a variety of reasons. 
When in doubt, this works most of the time:
If 2 scriptures contradict one another, one is "literal" and the other is "figurative" or "symbolic".
Which one is which depends on which belief you happen to want to defend.
Proverbs 26:
4. Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be like him.
5. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he become wise in his own eyes
The most compelling contradictions are found by reading the synoptic gospels 'horizontally'. That is, read an account in Mark (the earliest gospel) then read the same story in Matthew and Luke.
It is impossible to reconcile Jesus' birth and death narratives.
Was Joseph and Mary living in Galilee and then went down to Judea and later returned to Galilee, or were they living in Judea and then later fled to Galilee?
On what day did Jesus die, the Passover or the day or preparation for the Passover?
At what time of day was Jesus impaled? (You will need to include John's gospel for this one)
Who went to the tomb and what did they see?
Did the resurrected Jesus meet his disciples in Judea or Galilee?
