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In short, there are no contradictions, errors, or mistakes in the Bible, but there are Bible difficulties. Basically, Bible Difficulties are difficulties that arise because the Bible was written in Hebrew, some Aramaic, and Greek over 1,600 years by some forty+ authors, in dozens of different historical settings that require much Bible background knowledge. The above is not enough to satisfy a doubting or an unbeliever; you need a basic understanding of what they are, how to explain them, how to approach them, procedures for dealing with them, and how you should view them, as well as some examples. – Edward D. Andrews
By R. A. Torrey; Updated By Edward D. Andrews
Honestly
Reuben Archer Torrey (1856 – 1928) was an American evangelist, Christian Apologist, pastor, educator, and author.
Whenever you find a difficulty in the Bible, frankly, acknowledge it. Do not try to obscure it. Do not try to dodge it. Look it square in the face. Admit it openly and honestly to whoever mentions it. If you cannot give a good, square, honest explanation, do not attempt any at all. In their zeal for the infallibility of the Bible, those who have attempted explanations of difficulties that do not commend themselves to the honest, fair-minded man have done untold harm. People have concluded that if these are the best explanations, there are really no explanations. And the Bible, instead of being helped, has been injured by the unintelligent zeal of foolish friends. Suppose you are not really convinced that the Bible is the Word of God. In that case, you can far better afford to wait for a real solution to a difficulty than you can afford to attempt a solution that is evasive and unsatisfactory.
Humbly
Recognize the limitations of your own mind and knowledge, and do not for a moment imagine that there is no solution, just because you have found none. There is, in all probability, a straightforward answer, even when you can find no solution at all.
Determinedly
Make up your mind that you will find the solution if you can by buying out a respectable amount of study time and complex thinking. The difficulties of the Bible are our heavenly Father’s challenge to us to set our brains to work. Do not give up searching for a solution because you cannot find it in five minutes or ten minutes. Ponder over it and work over it for days if necessary. The work will be more beneficial than the solution does. There is a solution somewhere, and you will find it if you only search for it long enough and hard enough.
Fearlessly
Do not be frightened when you find a difficulty, no matter how unanswerable or how insurmountable it appears at first sight. Thousands of men have encountered just such difficulties, and still, the old Book has withstood the test of time, being the bestseller that will never be touched, in the untold billions of copies. The Bible that has stood eighteen centuries of rigid examination and incessant and awful assault is not likely to go down before your discoveries or before the discharges of any modern critical guns. To one who is at all familiar with the history of critical attacks on the Bible, the confidence of those contemporary critics who think they are going to annihilate the Bible, at last, is simply amusing.
Patiently
Do not be discouraged because you do not solve every problem in a day. If some difficulty persistently defies your very best efforts at a solution, lay it aside for a while. Later it will likely be resolved, and you will wonder how you were ever perplexed by it.
Scripturally
Nothing explains Scripture like Scripture. If you find a difficulty in one part of the Bible, look for another Scripture to throw light upon it and dissolve it. People repeatedly came to me with some problem in the Bible that had greatly staggered them and asked for a solution. I have given a reasonable, rational answer by simply asking them to read some other chapter and verse, and the simple reading of that scripture has thrown such light upon the passage in question that all the mists have disappeared. The truth has shone as clear as day.
Prayerfully
It is simply incredible how difficulties dissolve when one looks at them on his knees. Not only does God open our eyes in answer to prayer to behold beautiful things out of His Word, but He also opens our eyes to look straight through a difficulty that seemed impenetrable before we prayed. Remember, this is no miracle, planting the answer to the Bible difficulty in your mind. It is you buying out the time to research in the Bible and Bible study tools while the Holy Spirit guides (not inspires) you along, and at some point, the light will come on for you. One great reason why many modern Bible scholars have learned to be destructive critics is that they have forgotten how to pray. Please see,
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