Is it really that shocking that a book like the Bible would have what appear to be contradictions?
Have you considered its length? It is made up of 66 books, ranging anywhere from 1 to 150 chapters each.
Have you considered its depth of content? Everything from the account of how the world came to be to how the world will end and everything in-between is covered in a variety of styles and genres, including history, prophesy, prose & poetry, genealogies, letters, etc.
Have you considered the period of time over which it was written? A span of around 1,500 years passed between the writing of the first book and the writing of the last book.
Have you considered the number of different authors? While not every author of each book is identified by name, enough are to reasonably conclude that around 40 different authors penned the Scriptures.
Is it really that shocking that a book like the Bible would have what appear to be contradictions?
Here’s what I think is even more shocking than the alleged number of contradictions: the scale of content that is in agreement (like, all of it!).
Try to find the same scale of agreement today among a sample of tweets, blog posts, academic course books, etc. which claim to cover the same event or subject matter and see what you get.
Through and through, the theme of the Bible is echoed loud and clear:
The Holy Scriptures… are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”
(2 Timothy 3:15 NIV)
Jesus himself acknowledged,
These are the very Scriptures that testify about me.”
(John 5:39 NIV)
Oh, and if you’re still wondering about those “contradictions,” you’re just as likely to come across as many plausible explanations for them in the same way you likely discovered the “contradictions” – a simple Google search. But if you’re interested in something that can provide you with even greater results than a Google search, I’d highly recommend a Scripture search.