Alleged Contradictions in the Bible

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Dr. James White just finished a publicly moderated debate with Islamist Shabir Alley in South Africa.

Dr. White writes:

Dear Shabir:

Last evening in the mosque in Erasmia you raised, I believe anyway for the first time in our encounters, your booklet of 100 alleged contradictions in the Bible. I have had your little booklet for quite some time. But I will be honest, I assumed it was an “early” work for you, and as such, I did not focus much on it, assuming that as you obtained your education at a higher level you would produce a much more nuanced and forceful argument. But given that you cited it last evening, I can only assume you continue to feel this list has sound merit.

When I began my ministry thirty years ago I encountered, and then engaged, an atheist by the name of Dennis McKinsey. McKinsey put out a little monthly publication titled “Biblical Errancy.” Reading his little flyer gave me plenty of examples of how people can, by ignoring context, original language, and plain common sense, accuse any document, let alone a document of ancient origin, of error. I do not know if any atheists out there put out something like “Qur’anic Errancy,” but the very same methodology could surely do so, though not to nearly the same extent, given the Qur’an is barely half the length of the New Testament, and only one fifth as long as the Tanakh, and hence only 14% as long as the entire Bible.

With all affection and respect for you, Shabir, your list is very, very unworthy of you. It is barely up to the level of most atheist lists, and does not include, to be honest, the most serious questions I have wrestled with regarding the accuracy of the Biblical text. No serious discussion of the contexts are provided, as you know. Answers have been provided—consistent, scholarly, accurate answers—to your allegations since the days of the early church. And I have published full refutations of a number of your allegations, long before you put them in print under your name.

Let me provide three examples from my book, Letters to a Mormon Elder, first published almost a quarter of a century ago! The first refutes #55 in your list: Continue reading →

Do I have to know the date?

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questionmarkredstandingPastor John, I was greatly troubled in a service recently when the preacher said that unless each person could identify the specific day that they prayed “the sinner’s prayer” they were not converted. He then said that if in fact they were not sure of the date, pray the prayer and then sign the date and time in the front of their Bibles. I feel sure I am converted but this preacher has unsettled me enormously. What are your thoughts on this?

Thanks for your question. My opinion? What the preacher told you was pure unadulterated hogwash! Both you, and those in attendance in the service were victims of gross error and a total misunderstanding of biblical conversion perpetuated by this preacher.

Nowhere in Scripture are we told to record the day we pray a prayer and if we should somehow forget the date, we are not truly saved. There is nothing in the Bible to suggest such a thing. Instead, we are told to simply examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith – in other words, to look for signs of spiritual life.

The Scripture says, “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” – 2 Cor. 13:5

If you have ever seen the movie “Crocodile Dundee” (which is set in a backwater area of Australia, very much unaffected by urban culture) you might recall an incident where the leading figure, Mick Dundee, recounts the story of him asking his tribal elder when he (Dundee) was born. The answer from the elder was simple, “In the summer time.”

Because that is all the information he received, Dundee went through life never quite sure of how old he was. Yet as frustrating as that may have been for him, it would be totally erroneous to conclude that Dundee was never born (just because he did not know the day or even year of his birth). It is obvious that Dundee had a birth by the very fact that he was alive, living and breathing, in the present day.

In the same way, spiritually speaking, there are many Christians who although are very much spiritually alive, can only speak in vague terms about the date of their conversion. Some can indeed identify the day and the hour of their conversion, as it happened in a very dramatic way. Others however might say “I was converted to Christ somewhere between my 5th and 8th birthday.” Another might say “it was somewhere around the age of 14.”

The fact is that the New Testament does not tell people to look back on a date when a prayer was prayed as a ground for assurance, but the presence of spiritual life in the here and now.

Just as when paramedics encounter a person at the scene of an accident and immediately check to see if there are signs of physical life (by checking for a pulse, etc.) we are to look for signs of spiritual life.

I realize that this task is a subjective one, and none of us at any given time, live a single day with an absolute love for Christ, love for His word, or love for the people of God; yet if we understand what the Bible teaches about the spiritual condition of unregenerate man, we know that none of these components exist in the heart of stone. Only a truly converted (regenerated) person has any discernible love for Christ and His gospel. The stony heart is incapable of such love.

If someone is spiritually alive now because they show signs of spiritual life (they have a love for the Biblical Christ, and believe and embrace the Gospel), it is evidence of the fact that a spiritual birth has taken place, even if the day and the time of this birth are facts known only by God Himself.

My advice to you is to forget what the preacher told you you and instead, simply do what the Bible says and examine yourself to see if you are in the faith. If you believe the gospel and have turned to Christ in repentance and faith, and if your heart looks to Him alone to save you, that would be sure evidence of true conversion. We are justified by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, and we know this based on the sure foundation of Scripture alone, all to the glory of God alone.