Biblical Difficulties
By Thor's Hammer ~
"I struggle with believing the Bible is the inerrant and infallible word of God because if you find just one contradiction or historical inaccuracy you have to throw that whole idea out.”
“What passages are you struggling with?”
“Noah and the Flood. If you really think about it, it doesn’t make sense. How did all the animals get to the ark and how did they all fit?”
“These are good questions. I have some books that might help you.”
I was meeting with my pastor about some doubts I was having after reading some non-Christian literature. He goes to his office and comes down with two books. I promise to take a look at them.
It is hard to explain how I was feeling when I picked up the first book, “The Big Book of Bible Difficulties
” by Norman L. Geisler and Thomas Howe. At that point in my life, I had been a Christian for 15 years and wanted it to be true. However, I also wanted to know the truth and I was encountering arguments against Christianity that I could not get around.
The first thing that struck me about the book is that it is big like the title suggests exceeding 600 pages and covering hundreds of Biblical “difficulties.” Immediately, my doubts double. “If just one of these “difficulties” turns out to be real..” Pushing my growing doubts aside, I read the introduction and I start to feel a little better. The author’s writing style comes across as scholarly reminding me of my college textbooks. Perhaps these authors will be able to help me.
However, my heart drops when I read the Noah and the Flood section. The book explained that there would have been plenty of room on the ark for all the animals and dinosaurs. I didn’t realize this before, but the scriptures are clear that dinosaurs and humans were both created on Day 6 of Creation week so there was a period of time when they coexisted. I sit there stunned, mouth agape. “Seriously?” The image of a 600 year old man huddled on a boat with a bunch of dinosaurs was too much for me.
I concluded that the Bible was not inerrant. However, later on, my mood shifted into sadness as I imagined that I was letting God down. “I created you, and sent my son to die for you. I did these things for you and I am asking you to do something for me. I’m asking you to believe.”
Feeling guilty and convicted, I poured my heart out before the Lord in prayer. “I simply can’t believe this.” I kept repeating. “No matter how hard I try Lord, I just can’t believe this. Lord you know my heart, you know I’m trying…” I this point, I was on the verge of tears. I wanted desperately to believe, but I just couldn’t. I felt like I was letting down a good friend.
I continued to be a Christian reasoning that the Bible was still inspired by God. However, like a crack in a windshield, I couldn’t stop my doubts from spreading. My whole mindset slowly began to switch and I started to look at Christianity with more of a critical eye. Once this happened, the flaws became more and more noticeable. How did I not see these before? This led to more concessions and an even more critical outlook. A year after meeting with that pastor, I walked away from Christianity completely.
As an unbeliever, I sometimes try to point out of the absurdities in Christianity to my believing friends. Sometimes I get frustrated when I point out a contradiction that is clear as day to me, but they don’t seem to see it. I have to remind myself that many of them will do everything in their power to believe. As a loyal friend to God, they will stick with him no matter what.
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| Noah, passed out drunk after docking the Ark |
“What passages are you struggling with?”
“Noah and the Flood. If you really think about it, it doesn’t make sense. How did all the animals get to the ark and how did they all fit?”
“These are good questions. I have some books that might help you.”
I was meeting with my pastor about some doubts I was having after reading some non-Christian literature. He goes to his office and comes down with two books. I promise to take a look at them.
It is hard to explain how I was feeling when I picked up the first book, “The Big Book of Bible Difficulties
” by Norman L. Geisler and Thomas Howe. At that point in my life, I had been a Christian for 15 years and wanted it to be true. However, I also wanted to know the truth and I was encountering arguments against Christianity that I could not get around.The first thing that struck me about the book is that it is big like the title suggests exceeding 600 pages and covering hundreds of Biblical “difficulties.” Immediately, my doubts double. “If just one of these “difficulties” turns out to be real..” Pushing my growing doubts aside, I read the introduction and I start to feel a little better. The author’s writing style comes across as scholarly reminding me of my college textbooks. Perhaps these authors will be able to help me.
However, my heart drops when I read the Noah and the Flood section. The book explained that there would have been plenty of room on the ark for all the animals and dinosaurs. I didn’t realize this before, but the scriptures are clear that dinosaurs and humans were both created on Day 6 of Creation week so there was a period of time when they coexisted. I sit there stunned, mouth agape. “Seriously?” The image of a 600 year old man huddled on a boat with a bunch of dinosaurs was too much for me.
I concluded that the Bible was not inerrant. However, later on, my mood shifted into sadness as I imagined that I was letting God down. “I created you, and sent my son to die for you. I did these things for you and I am asking you to do something for me. I’m asking you to believe.”
Feeling guilty and convicted, I poured my heart out before the Lord in prayer. “I simply can’t believe this.” I kept repeating. “No matter how hard I try Lord, I just can’t believe this. Lord you know my heart, you know I’m trying…” I this point, I was on the verge of tears. I wanted desperately to believe, but I just couldn’t. I felt like I was letting down a good friend.
I continued to be a Christian reasoning that the Bible was still inspired by God. However, like a crack in a windshield, I couldn’t stop my doubts from spreading. My whole mindset slowly began to switch and I started to look at Christianity with more of a critical eye. Once this happened, the flaws became more and more noticeable. How did I not see these before? This led to more concessions and an even more critical outlook. A year after meeting with that pastor, I walked away from Christianity completely.
As an unbeliever, I sometimes try to point out of the absurdities in Christianity to my believing friends. Sometimes I get frustrated when I point out a contradiction that is clear as day to me, but they don’t seem to see it. I have to remind myself that many of them will do everything in their power to believe. As a loyal friend to God, they will stick with him no matter what.