A Few Contradictions

There are 2 stories of creation in Genesis There is the Priestly Account (Genesis Verse 1, Chapter I, through verse 3 of Chapter 2 and there is the Jehovistic account (Genesis verse 4 of chapter 2 through all of chapter 3.) The Jehovistic Account was written in the eighth century BC while the Priestly account was written in the fifth century BC.

These first 3 chapters of Genesis unfortunately contradict each other. The Jehovistic account tells us that the earth was a dry plain without vegetation because “… the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon earth, and there was not a man to till the ground…..” The Priestly account tells us that on the second day “… God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 7: And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. 8: And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day ….”

So what was earth like at the end of the second day? Was it a dry, waterless plain with no vegetation or an earth covered with water? You have to remember that we are talking about the inspired, unerring Word of God. He wouldn’t lie to us and yet both stories can’t be accurate. The only possibility is that it all happened a very long time ago and God’s memory may not be everything it used to be. Minor point, right? He just got a little confused.

That would be fine if Orthodox Christians didn’t insist that both stories were the inspired word of a perfect God who wasn’t prone to senility or even a momentary senior moment (which in God’s case should probably be referred to as a Senior Moment”)

From the priestly and Jehovistic accounts above we know that the birds and beasts were created before man (Priestly) and that man was created before the birds and beasts (Jehovistic). We know that the birds and fowl that fly in the air were made from the waters (Priestly) and that they were made out of the ground (Jehovistic). We are told that man was created in the image of God (Priestly) and that he was made from the dust of the ground and it wasn’t until he ate of the forbidden fruit that he became “like God” and knew good from evll” (Jehovistic). We know that God made man lord of the whole earth (Priestly) and we know he was placed in the Garden of Eden not as Lord but as caretaker to dress it and keep it (Jehovistic). We know that man and woman were created together (Priestly) and we know that man was created first followed by the birds and the beasts and then finally the woman is made from Adam’s rib.

It’s good that after six days of hectic construction, God gave himself a day off. His contradictory memories of the first 6 days would seem to indicate he was getting pretty frazzled.

All of this in the first 3 chapters of Genesis. Unfortunately for Christian apologists, the internal inconsistencies found in Genesis are characteristic of the errors and contradictions that appear throughout both the Old and New Testaments.

It’s beyond the scope of this commentary to take each line of the bible and show the numberless contradictions in God’s Holy Word however, to give just a few examples:

God gives man every living thing to eat in Genesis

Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. (Genesis 9:3)

and then appears to change his mind in Deuteronomy.

Nevertheless these ye shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the cloven hoof; as the camel, and the hare, and the coney: for they chew the cud, but divide not the hoof; therefore they are unclean unto you (Deuteronomy 14:7)

Of course, these conflicting instructions could lead to the waste of a lot of “unclean” meat and ever-mindful of the starving children in China, God tells his people what to do with all this surplus meat.

Ye shall not eat of any thing that dieth of itself: thou shalt give it unto the stranger that is in thy gates, that he may eat it; or thou mayest sell it unto an alien: for thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God. (Deuteronomy 14:21)

Clearly, God’s business practices and ethical standards fall well below those of even a used car salesman.

The creator of the universe is known as a God of Love. He encourages man to follow his example and to love each other.

Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself (Leviticus 19:18)

Notice however that His benevolence and His definition of “neighbor” is limited to include only the “children of thy people”. Other people’s children were fair game.

Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass. (1 Samuel 15:3)

So much for loving your neighbor. Even if we assume that all the men, women, children and suckling babies of Amalek were evil and deserved death, that doesn’t explain what this Loving God had against the oxen, sheep and camels. And, if he really wanted His people to destroy every ass, where would all the world’s future Christians have come from?

God is supposed to be perfect and unchanging.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning (James 1:17)

For an “unchanging” deity, He his record of flip-flopping would make it difficult for Him to ever be elected to public office.

And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not. (Jonah 3:10)

What would prompt a perfect, all-seeing, all-knowing God to “change his mind”.

And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: 8: They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 9: And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: 10: Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation. 11: And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand? 12: Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people. 13: Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever. 14: And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people. (Exodus 32:7-14)

There He goes repenting again. Wouldn’t it be reasonable to expect that if He were really all-knowing He would get it right the first time?

It’s interesting to note that even God himself acknowledges that He has a problem..

I am weary with repenting (Jeremiah 15.6)

It’s good to know He’s growing “weary of repenting”. The rest of us are getting a little sick of it too.

Isn’t it obvious that man was not created in the image of God? God was created in the exact image of man. He is the Divine Embodiment of all of man’s insecurities, fears, barbarisms, cruelties stupidities, selfish inclinations and immaturities.

Next week, let’s talk about God’s advertising agency. If the Creator of the Universe is a bit of a creep, you should take a look at his followers.

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