contradictions...

The Bible is full of contradictions.

That's right.

You heard me. Contradictions. All through it.

Before I began following Jesus, that's what I used to say when people asked me why I didn't believe the Bible. "It's full of contradictions." Had I ever read the Bible when I claimed this? No, it was just something I had heard and decided was true. So someone challenged me on this. "Show me where," she said. I still am trying to find one. And believe me, I looked hard. You see, the Bible is perfectly consistent from cover to cover. Down to the most minute detail.

So why do I say that the Bible is full of contradictions?

Popular belief says that Kings should be born in palaces. The Bible says that Saviors are born in stables. Luke 2

Popular belief says that "It's all about me!" The Bible says die to your old self... Romans 6

The world says, "Seek power, earn it, you deserve it". The Bible says, "Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted." Matthew 23:12

The world says, "You don't need any help. You can do it yourself." The Bible says, "for apart from Me you can do nothing." John 15:5

The world says, "If it feels good, do it." The Bible says, "There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death." Proverbs 16:25

The world says "freedom" is "doing what you want"... The Bible says freedom is serving one another. "You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love." Galatians 5:13

The list goes on.

It made me think-- How could a book that goes so against what popular belief is, and so consistent in its message written over hundreds and hundreds of years, in different regions of the world, by different authors in different stages, positions, cultures, etc, in life be inspired by popular belief?

And how did Jesus manage to fulfill all those Old Testament prophecies? Because He wasn't God? And why would He claim to be, if He wasn't? Was He lying? Or crazy? I mean most people do agree that Jesus is a great teacher. But He said He was God. What do you do with that?

Who do I say Jesus is? Well, I think Stephen Colbert said it right, "What's the son of a duck? It's a duck. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, and it can raise the dead like a duck.... It's a duck."