GospelJohn
Registered Senior Member
The traditional Christian creed holds that every word in the Bible is directly from God and therefore infallible. However, there are many cases where Biblical conflicts do indeed exist, or do they? This article will explore but a few of these potential conflicts and hopefully shed light upon how to discern the Truth.
One of the most common Biblical conflicts is that He is an omniscient God (1John 3:20) but continually changes His mind. For example, we are told that God is also unchanging (Malachi 3:6), but then we read that He repented (regretted) ever making Man to the point of deciding to kill almost everyone alive with a great flood (Gen 6:6). Here the question arises of how an omniscient, unchanging God could ever regret anything? Surely God already knew since the beginning what would occur up to the time of Noah, so why would He regret His decision to create Man when everything was unfolding exactly as He knew it would?
Then we learn that God hates a number of things, including lying, conspiring to break the commandments and anyone who desires to sow discord among us (Proverbs 6:16-19). However, all three of those things were violated by God and/or His heavenly host in the story of the demise of King Ahab (1Kings 22:21-23). That was where an omniscient God asked His heavenly host to devise the best way to ensure that King Ahab died. The answer they came up with was to lie to Ahab’s false prophets that he would prevail if he declared war against Jehoshaphat, knowing he would die in the first battle. We are told that the very things the Bible says God hates (lying, conspiracy and sowing discord) are the same means He used to do away with King Ahab. Also, we again run into the question of why an omniscient God needed to consult with anyone about what to do next, let alone be guided by His heavenly host to do exactly what He abhors in the choices of Man.
A final conflict to review here is between God’s unwillingness to have even one repentant soul perish (2Peter 3:9) and His creation of an everlasting and irreversible hell as detailed in the story of Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:26). Traditional Christianity explains this by saying it is our own free will choices made on earth that condemn us meaning anyone could be saved by accepting Jesus before they die. But if that’s true, who made up the arbitrary time limit of one human lifetime that could thwart God’s will? Apparently Paul did when he said we have but one life to live and then the judgment (Hebrews 9:27). The conflict here is that it makes no sense that such a rule came from our loving, omniscient Father knowing it would work against His wishes that we all repent and be saved.
If we accept Jesus’ story that the rich man was truly repentant after reaching hell, wouldn’t all souls tortured in hell gladly repent if given the chance? And if God loves us unconditionally, why wouldn't He allow the same “repentance” that saves souls while living on earth to also save souls who are tortured in hell? In this way, God could achieve His will that none perish, which is a perfect outcome worthy of our loving Father.
In closing, how could our omniscient, loving and unchanging Father regret ever creating Mankind? How could God invoke the very same abhorrent sins that can eternally condemn a soul (lying, conspiracy and discord) while expecting His children to “do as He says and not as He does?” And how could an omniscient God want to save us all but then thwart Himself with an arbitrary time limit of a single human lifetime to accomplish His will? To believe that such a God is omniscient, omnipotent and loves His children with an everlasting love is irreconcilable.
And so the logical and loving answer that we are left with is that there is no time limit against our salvation. His love and patience and perfect parenting skills are more than enough to reach and save us all. Why would we believe God incapable or unwilling to achieve His goal that none should perish? Clearly, the conflicted and anthropomorphic God portrayed in the traditional Christian creed of an infallible Bible hints at the blasphemy most of us hope to avoid. What do you think?
One of the most common Biblical conflicts is that He is an omniscient God (1John 3:20) but continually changes His mind. For example, we are told that God is also unchanging (Malachi 3:6), but then we read that He repented (regretted) ever making Man to the point of deciding to kill almost everyone alive with a great flood (Gen 6:6). Here the question arises of how an omniscient, unchanging God could ever regret anything? Surely God already knew since the beginning what would occur up to the time of Noah, so why would He regret His decision to create Man when everything was unfolding exactly as He knew it would?
Then we learn that God hates a number of things, including lying, conspiring to break the commandments and anyone who desires to sow discord among us (Proverbs 6:16-19). However, all three of those things were violated by God and/or His heavenly host in the story of the demise of King Ahab (1Kings 22:21-23). That was where an omniscient God asked His heavenly host to devise the best way to ensure that King Ahab died. The answer they came up with was to lie to Ahab’s false prophets that he would prevail if he declared war against Jehoshaphat, knowing he would die in the first battle. We are told that the very things the Bible says God hates (lying, conspiracy and sowing discord) are the same means He used to do away with King Ahab. Also, we again run into the question of why an omniscient God needed to consult with anyone about what to do next, let alone be guided by His heavenly host to do exactly what He abhors in the choices of Man.
A final conflict to review here is between God’s unwillingness to have even one repentant soul perish (2Peter 3:9) and His creation of an everlasting and irreversible hell as detailed in the story of Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:26). Traditional Christianity explains this by saying it is our own free will choices made on earth that condemn us meaning anyone could be saved by accepting Jesus before they die. But if that’s true, who made up the arbitrary time limit of one human lifetime that could thwart God’s will? Apparently Paul did when he said we have but one life to live and then the judgment (Hebrews 9:27). The conflict here is that it makes no sense that such a rule came from our loving, omniscient Father knowing it would work against His wishes that we all repent and be saved.
If we accept Jesus’ story that the rich man was truly repentant after reaching hell, wouldn’t all souls tortured in hell gladly repent if given the chance? And if God loves us unconditionally, why wouldn't He allow the same “repentance” that saves souls while living on earth to also save souls who are tortured in hell? In this way, God could achieve His will that none perish, which is a perfect outcome worthy of our loving Father.
In closing, how could our omniscient, loving and unchanging Father regret ever creating Mankind? How could God invoke the very same abhorrent sins that can eternally condemn a soul (lying, conspiracy and discord) while expecting His children to “do as He says and not as He does?” And how could an omniscient God want to save us all but then thwart Himself with an arbitrary time limit of a single human lifetime to accomplish His will? To believe that such a God is omniscient, omnipotent and loves His children with an everlasting love is irreconcilable.
And so the logical and loving answer that we are left with is that there is no time limit against our salvation. His love and patience and perfect parenting skills are more than enough to reach and save us all. Why would we believe God incapable or unwilling to achieve His goal that none should perish? Clearly, the conflicted and anthropomorphic God portrayed in the traditional Christian creed of an infallible Bible hints at the blasphemy most of us hope to avoid. What do you think?
