When the Bible gets it wrong





Jehovahs Witnesses believe that the whole Bible was written by man but inspired by God in the same way as they believe their organisation is run by man but directed by God.  

However, when they get things wrong they point to the fact that God is having to use imperfect humans and therefore mistakes are inevitable.  Yet they do not concede the same fallibility of the ancient Bible writers.  They accept it as Gods perfect word whether logical or not.

For example take 1Cor 13: 7 and 8;  

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never fails.

Apostle Paul was clearly getting carried away as he wrote this.  Many Bible scholars argue that he didn’t mean it literally so why did he write it?  There is a certain unambiguous simplicity to the sentence ‘love never fails’.

Of course love cannot bear all things, there are extreme situations that will destroy the love of a marriage mate, a parent and child and love between close friends.  Love is not blind enough to believe everything it hears, that type of ‘love’ is actually little more than needy desperation.  Love can hope all things but endure all things?  How much can love truly endure?  Did Gods love for his Angel son Satan endure after his authority was challenged?

I don’t challenge the wisdom that the bible contains, nor the historical accuracy of the events within it.  Even though I do not believe in God I still acknowledge that there are prophecies in the bible and ‘miracles’ that were witnessed by many people that are hard to explain without the introduction of a ‘spiritual power’.

However there are also contradictions and illogical statements in the bible, the above being one.

In previous blogs I have highlighted the irrevocable differences between the murderous, vengeful, jealous God who ordered the massacre of men, women and children with the loving, merciful God that Jesus describes.

Jesus illustration of the prodigal son who is welcomed back into his families arms and instantly forgiven for his sins is in stark contrast to the interpretation of disfellowshipping that Jehovahs Witnesses employ - often making individuals wait for months or even years, unable to have any contact with friends and family, before being welcomed back into the congregation.

God declares life as sacred and yet he supposedly expects his servants to die rather that receive a life-saving blood transfusion.  Which is more sacred, life or blood?

God supposedly created us as the highest form of life on the earth.  He gave us the ability to think, to learn and to pass on our knowledge, growing our understanding of both ourselves and life around us.  With those abilities comes the use of logic - reasoning conducted or assessed according to strict principles of validity - and it beholds us to use that logic when we read the Bible.


Just because the Bible makes a statement it does not automatically follow that it is correct.  Logic does not have emotion or faith - it just is.  If something the Bible says defies logic then it is the Bible, not logic that is wrong.

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