No contradictions at all !

Submitted by Rajesh (India), Sep 18, 2006 at 09:55

There is absolutely no contradiction in the Bible. They only seem contradictions to those who do not have the grace of God that is required to interpret the Bible. The introduction to the Pentateuch in the pocket edition of the Jerusalem Bible states: "Yahweh, the God of Israel, did not pluck his people out of their surroundings, but educated them gradually, 'leading them with human ties, with leading-strings of love'(Hosea 11:3)... Firmly rooted in the nomadic culture of the ancient Near East, Israel was a primitive people, whose customs and morality may seem barbaric by some modern standards. Secure in the championship of Yahweh, they learnt gradually his nature and his purpose for the people he had chosen as his own."

In fact if you take the "eye for any eye" law, it is not very much different from the "turning your cheek" one in the New Testament.

In the days before "eye for any eye" was given, what do you think somebody would have done to you if you took out someone's one eye? Well, for starters, that someone or a someone of that someone would have taken out both your eyes, may be a few teeth, and bashed up your face, if you were lucky. Most probably, you would have ended up dead.

When people became experts in the "eye for any eye" law, then it was time for introduction to the turning your cheek" law in the New Testament. It's a question of relativity! From both eyes and may be a few teeth, to one eye. Then, from one eye to no eyes.!

You don't given children big books to read, when they do not even know ABCD... It's a process of gradual education. The same holds true for the Bible. God calls a people to be His own. With a series of covenants, gradually educates them about His ways and His nature and prepares them for His coming, when He Himself would be their teacher and they would learn the fullness of truth as revealed in the New Testament.

Rajesh.

"Lord, may we grow in our knowledge of you,

so that we may appreciate

the width of your favors,

the length of your promises,

the sublimity of your majesty

and the depths of your judgments." (St Francis of Assisi).

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".