BIBLE CONTRADICTIONS: NEW TESTAMENT PASSAGES

I believe that at last I have run through the “50,000 Bible Contradictions” listed on the Islamic site GhanaNet, although I think they are short by about 49,800 contradictions or so. Here is the last group of miscellaneous NT scriptures.

The Christian yoke is easy. (Matthew 11:28-30)

The Christian yoke is not easy. (John 16:33; II Timothy 3:12; Hebrews 12:6,8)

The above contradiction gives the false opinion that the word “yoke” is present in all passages, but it only appears in Matthew 11. The other three passages are consistent in teaching that believers may experience difficulties in this life but God will help them to bear up under the load and the final reward will be well worth the effort to live a godly life. So the key to this “problem” is to accurately interpret the Matthew passage.

Right off the bat, one can discern the same general idea here that is in the other passages. Note that it begins with an admission that we all have heavy burdens to begin with. Jesus promises not that he will totally take away that burden, but that if we take up his yoke (which still implies that we will be carrying a burden), it will be lighter than the one we had before. Perhaps that means that we will be double-yoked with him as a team of oxen sharing the load.

As an added nuance, “yoke” in the intertestamental Book of Sirach stands for wise teachings. That may well be the meaning in Matthew 11 since verse 29 couples to command to “take on my yoke” with “learn from me.” If that is true, then there is absolutely no comparison with the critic's second group of scriptures, which all deal with the believer's life.

Temptation is to be desired. (James 1:2)

Temptation is not to be desired. (Matthew 6:13)

The confusing aspect here is due to the fact that the Greek word for temptation (peirasmos) has a wide variety of meanings depending on the context. Thus, Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words explains its usage in James 1:2 as referring to “trials with a beneficial purpose and effect...divinely permitted or sent.” By contrast, its appearance in Matthew 6:13 refers to “trials of a varied character...where believers are commanded to pray not to be led into such by forces beyond their own control [i.e., the evil one].”

 

All scripture is inspired. (II Timothy 3:16)

Some scripture is not inspired. (I Corinthians 7:6; 7:12; II Corinthians 11:17)

Of course, the major distinction between these two groups of scripture is that II Timothy 3:16 clearly refers to the accepted Old Testament writings while the other two passages relate to the words of Paul. But this is too easy a solution to the difficulty since II Peter 3:16 pointedly includes Paul's letters among the scriptures. The best explanation is that all of Paul's words are inspired by God, and that even includes the three Corinthian passages in which Paul states that those particular comments are not inspired. One can deduce from Paul's honesty in these cases that his other teachings not having that warning can be taken as inspired.

Finally as a general reminder, it is totally ridiculous to expect that the words of anyone who happens to appear in the Bible must be taken as “gospel truth.” As ever, context is king.