NinaMMitchell said:
Ok, I know it's a big belief in Christianity that the Bible is completely without error. Now, I am a Christian, and I don't want anyone saying otherwise because of what I'm about to say, but I don't believe that.
...
Does anyone else agree with me, or can anyone explain how the Bible is without error despite the contradictions?
Hello NinaMMitchell,
You are right, the Bible is correct as long its translation is correct. As you may know, perhaps none of the books found in the Bible today came from an original manuscript. They are copy, of a copy, of a copy, etc.
A couple of points would help us understand this problem:
1. The way books were written in ancient times was by hand, which was done by scribes trained for that purpose. The material where they were written could be a skin of a goat or other animal, papyrus, wood tablets, wood tablets with wax, tablets of clay, velum, or metal plates, like golden plates, or copper plates.
It is remarkable that most of the content in the books found in the Bible today have been preserved so well, barred any mistranslation. That fact can only be attributed to a loving Father in Heaven, who wants us to know the way back to HIm, as they have been preserved through so many centuries and have been gone through so many copies and hands.
2. Nevertheless, as a scribe copied from another copy or original, he was bound to introduce human errors. There was no electricity so, much of the copies made were done in pour lighting condition. The copier would be tired, as that was a tedious work. Furthermore, translation were subject to the interpretation of the scribes and the leaders. In many cases they would choose, add or omit a word in order to best fit their own belief, our view. Can you how error could be introduced easily?
As you can see from the above, the Bible contains the word of God, but only as far as the translation is correct, i.e. when it is exactly in accordance to what He intended to be written when it was written originally. That is one of the reasons that when we read it, we need to ask Father in Heaven to witness to us of the truth of what we read, so we are not led astray.
Having said all the above, in some points I agree with the previous post. But I would add that when you learn a principle in the Bible and then you read something that seems to contradict it, it is because we don't know the whole of the principle we learned, or there is some information missing in the scripture itself that was somehow lost along the way, or it was simply the perspective of the original writer, or a word that was translated inadequately. The true truth seeker will wait in the Lord and seek His direct guidance for a clarification, rather than accept any interpretation. He/she will pray always with a sincere, honest heart, and real intent to understand it from the Lord Himself . When you read the scriptures in that fashion, the Lord will guide you to the truth.
There are many, many more things that God has revealed to His children that are not found in the Bible. The Bible is not the only revelation that God has given to His children.
For example, the apostle Paul, in 1 Cor. talk about baptism for those that died without hearing of the Gospel:
"Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?" 1 Cor. 15: 29
Paul recognizes that doctrine but, that doctrine is not shown anywhere else in the Bible.
However, if you go to 1 Pet. 3: 19, it says that Christ, after He died "...he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;" So, if you read the scriptures carefully and ask the Father to help you understand you'll see that it makes sense that people would baptize for those that died without having the Gospel, because the Gospel is preached to them, and if they accept it they need to be baptized. How else could they be baptized other by their descents that received the Gospel?
Have you ever thought about your ancestors that never heard of the Gospel?
Have a great day,
mamre
