Skeptics say the Bible contains contradictions. If true, this would suggest it is not inspired by God, since God is all-knowing. However, close examination reveals that the Bible doesn’t contain actual contradictions.

A writer is guilty of contradiction when he or she affirms two facts both of which can’t possibly be true at the same time and in the same manner. It is not so easy to establish that a writer is guilty of this. For example, it would seemingly be a contradiction to say, “The apple is red and the apple is not red.” But what if the author was referring to two different apples and didn’t bother spelling out that fact? Or, perhaps he was referring to the skin first and then the pulp. Or, maybe he described the apple over a span of time, from when it was ripe and red to when it was rotted and brown. You see that we must have a lot of
information before we can conclude that an actual contradiction is present, and writers often don’t supply more than bare details. We should presume innocence until guilt is proven. Those who claim the Bible contains contradictions must prove the statements in question could not be resolved by additional information.

Want more? Check out the Apologetics Study Bible for Students on page 193 or visit ApologeticsBible.com.