Embracing the Tension: Navigating Contradictions in the Bible

Every serious reader of the Bible eventually bumps into passages that seem to square off against each other. These tensions aren’t mere annoyances—they’re doorways into the text’s layered history, the diverse communities that shaped it, and the evolving questions about faith, authority, and meaning.

What Counts as a “Contradiction”?

A contradiction arises when two statements about the same event or concept can’t both be true simultaneously. In secular terms, it’s like calling something a “round square”. Within the Bible, such clashes might be narrative (who visited Jesus’s tomb first?), numerical (how old was King Ahaziah when he ascended the throne?), or theological (are all humans sinners, or can Christians be sinless?). Distinguishing outright contradictions from mere differences in emphasis helps us parse the deeper questions at play.

Mapping the Major Clashes

1. Narrative Contradictions

• The Empty Tomb Witnesses
  Matthew tells us the women “hurried away . . . and ran to tell his disciples” (28:8), while Luke notes they “told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others” (24:9). John, by contrast, focuses on Peter and the beloved disciple’s race to the tomb. These shifting spotlights raise questions: Who saw what, and why does each Gospel highlight different witnesses?

2. Numerical and Chronological Hitches

• King Ahaziah’s Age
  2 Kings 8:26 says Ahaziah was 22 when he became king; 2 Chronicles 22:2 insists he was 42. Did a scribe miscopy a digit, or are these records preserving separate oral traditions? Either way, readers must reckon with a forty-year gap in historical memory.
• Solomon’s Bronze Basin
  One passage reports a basin ten cubits in diameter and thirty in circumference—math that only works on a doughnut-shaped object! Most scholars chalk it up to scribal error or shifting units over centuries.

3. Theological Tensions

• Sinless Saints vs. Universal Sinners
  Ecclesiastes 7:20 and Romans 3:23 declare “all have sinned,” yet 1 John 3:6 claims “no one who is born of God sins.” Job and Noah are called “blameless” (Gen 6:9; Job 1:1), yet traditional Christian doctrine leans on universal human fallenness. Are some readers—true believers—set apart from the human condition, or does everyone remain under the shadow of sin?
• Creation from Nothing vs. Preexistent Matter
  Hebrews 11:3 has often been taken to teach creatio ex nihilo (“out of nothing”), but Genesis 1:1–10 and Isaiah 45:18 imply God shaped preexisting chaos. This philosophical divide has fueled centuries of debate over God’s power, the nature of matter, and the limits of divine action.

Why These Contradictions Matter

1. Windows into Composition
   The Bible wasn’t penned in one sitting by a single author. It’s an anthology of diverse voices—J, E, P, D and later redactors—each wrestling with history, memory, and theology. Contradictions signal where traditions bump and merge, inviting us to trace their origins rather than paper over them.
2. Invitations to Humility
   Encountering contradictions can feel destabilizing, especially if you came seeking unambiguous answers. Yet these very tensions encourage a posture of humility: they remind us that our interpretations are provisional, shaped by culture, language, and time.
3. Fuel for Moral and Philosophical Inquiry
   When sacred texts disagree with themselves, they force deeper questions: What makes a text authoritative? How do we balance faith and reason? Which stories serve communal identity, and which do we question for historical accuracy?

Approaches to the Tension

• Harmonization
  Some readers stitch conflicting verses together—arguing, for instance, that Matthew’s and Luke’s Easter accounts actually harmonize when you account for geography and timing. This method preserves a unified narrative but can feel forced.
• Critical-Historical Method
  Scholars use tools like source criticism and redaction criticism to identify which traditions underlie each passage. By dating layers of text and comparing ancient manuscripts, we see how authors shaped stories to address their own communities’ needs.
• Theological-Polyphonic Reading
  Instead of resolving every tension, this approach embraces the Bible’s song of many voices. Contradictions become polyphony: multiple characters interacting on a single stage, each contributing to a richer, more dynamic melody.

I want to Hear from you! Leave me a comment and let me know how you reconcile the contradictions & does it interrupt i you’r everyday life?

Up Next:

• A deep dive into how translation choices shape these tensions
• Non-canonical texts (Dead Sea Scrolls, Gnostic gospels) and their variant accounts
• Case studies on women’s voices erased or amplified across traditions