Bill O'Reilly: The Bible contradicts itself

WorldNetDaily ^ | Feb 28, 2013 | Joe Kovacs

[wesagain]

Fox News anchor Bill O’Reilly, who is writing an upcoming book titled “Killing Jesus,” proclaimed on his program Wednesday night that “a lot of the Bible is allegorical,” and the New Testament Gospels contradict themselves.

O’Reilly made the remarks during an interview with “Touched by an Angel” star Roma Downey and her husband Mark Burnett, executive producers of “The Bible” TV miniseries which begins this Sunday night on the History Channel.

Downey, who portrays Jesus’ mother Mary in the series, opened the interview by declaring her solid faith in Holy Scripture.

“Bringing the Bible to the screen came with a huge responsibility and one we took very seriously,” Downey said. “We had a great team of scholars and theologians helping us, making sure that we told these stories accurately and truthfully. I’ve been a believer my whole life, and that was very, very important to us. Something else that we wanted to do was to make it really, really cool. You know, we have teenagers at home and [it's] hard to get them to read anything, and one of the goals here was to get this generation interested and excited about Scripture, and I think we’ve been able to achieve that.”...........

[cuban leaf]

I think your example is better, and not just because it is personal.

[napscoordinator]

I can’t believe that people seriously stop going to church because of Priests who turn out bad. My entire family still go every week. It is such a weird thing to me that a person would stop doing something they believe because of others. Good Lord. How many houses burn down every year but that doesn’t stop me from buying a home. How many teachers are found bad, that doesn’t stop people from sending their kids to school. How many people end up with food poisoning that doesn’t stop people from eating. Such a strange world we live in.

[railroader]

I’d like to know why O’Reilly and Dugard skipped “Killing [James] Garfield” and “Killing McKinley.” -:)

(Guess these weren’t as dramatic since Garfield lived 80 days, McKinley eight, after being struck.)

[Dutchboy88]

You have described a very useful component of a good hermeneutic. Thank you.

To expand on this concept, the Bible also utilizes something similar to the following:

Boy sees girl at school
Boy thinks girl is wonderful
Boy meets girl in store
Girl laughs at boy’s attempts to chat
Boy angrily leaves store
Boy hates girl

Now, does the boy like the girl? Well, the answer is…it depends. It depends upon where in the story you are. In the second line? Then “yes”. In the last line? Then “no”. If the Bible is like this tiny historic novel, it too requires that one be cognizant of where one is along the story line. For example, did Paul kill Christians? Yes, up to Acts 9, then “no” after that.

Many people read the Bible as if it were a spiritual encyclopedia (flat & topical). It is not. It is structured more like a historical novel: It is true in all respects, but hung on a “story line”.

This most radically affects the meaning when it comes to the four Gospels. At what point are we in the story? Are Gentiles included in the remarks Jesus is making? Has the New Covenant been instituted yet? Is He teaching “Christianity” or “Judaism” (Grace or Law)?

If a reader can keep the flow of the story in mind, these questions are easily answered.

Forgive me if you object to being pinged in here to contribute to the discussion. Let me know and I’ll remove your name from my homemade list of FRiends.

[Bigg Red]

Yipes! Well, they took me in, I guess, just based on their remarks about it. I don’t follow show biz news.

[MeOnTheBeach]

"Generally what the secular world calls contradictory turns..."

No. There are textual contradictions. The three accounts of Saul on the road to Damascus in the book of Acts for example.

So if you were trying to recreate this event in a movie or play, which version would you use?

The other contradictions are more doctrinal:

Exodus 33:20
20 And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.

Exodus 33:11
11 And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.

Numbers 14:14
14 And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land: for they have heard that thou Lord art among this people, that thou Lord art seen face to face, and that thy cloud standeth over them, and that thou goest before them, by day time in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night.

Others:

Exodus 22:18
18 ¶Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.

Deuteronomy 5:17
17 Thou shalt not kill.

Mark 10:19
19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.

Each one of those passages above are true. They just need context and other explanation put with them, but at face value, the text contradicts itself.

It is what it is.

[circlecity]

You need to go to the original Hebrew and Greek and these “contradictions” resolve themselves. For example, Deut 5:17 (as well as the same quote from Ex 20:13) says thou shall not “murder”. (kill apart from the sanction of God). This is not inconsistent with the death penalty God rightfully imposes on many breaches of his law. Just as modern day death penalties do not conflct with the sixth commandment - as Paul tacitly acknowledged in Romans 13.

[GBA]

My cable box is tuned to the History Channels more often than not these days.

[Army Air Corps]

Well, there is still James A. Garfield...

[cuban leaf]

Good points all.

I’ll add another analogy that I use. Some think it is brilliant and others think it is idiotic, but here goes:

A book is like a glass photographic plate. If you shatter it, each piece contains a part of the image/story.

The bible is like a glass plate containing a hologram. If you shatter it, each piece contains the entire image/story - from a specific perspective.

[ontap]

It ends with “Killing O’Reilly”!!!

[wesagain]

I'm interested in this aspect......"Bill O’Reilly,.......claimed on his program Wednesday night that “a lot of the Bible is allegorical....."

"Allegorical" was an invention of the Jewish Christians after they left for Pella and following the destructon of Jerusalem as a way of dealing with OT truths.

[Salvation]

**a lot of the Bible is allegorical**

Doesn’t BOR realize that Jesus spoke in allergories and parables on purpose. The scribes and Pharisees weren’t supposed to understand them!

Christ even had to explain some to his disciples and apostles!

The Bible is inspired by the Holy Spirit. BOR isn’t at this point — my opinion.

[MeOnTheBeach]

"This is not inconsistent with the death penalty God rightfully imposes on many breaches of his law."

As I said in my post, those passages require context and other explanations, but regardless they are still true. :-)

[aimhigh]

One of my favorite books is THE LIFE OF CHRIST IN STEREO. The author merged the four gospels to read as one book, using all the text. No contradictions exist.

[circlecity]

"As I said in my post, those passages require context and other explanations, but regardless they are still true. :-)"

Yes, true but not contradictory. Bad translation and exegesis does not a contradiction make.

[azishot]

****BUMP****

[Dutchboy88]

Interesting. I’ll chew on that for a bit.

Are you saying that, for example, the entire Gospel of Christ is visible in, say, I Chronicles? or I Chron. 26? or I Chron. 26:18? or I Chron. 26:18 “At the Parbar...”?

Curious.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

***How many sequels of Killing of...can he write before he runs out of dead people?****

How about this “Killing Presidents near Robert Lincoln”.

It appears Robert was close by when two other Presidents were shot so he believed himself to be a jinx, so refused to get near one.

[Zionist Conspirator]

Fox News anchor Bill O’Reilly . . . proclaimed on his program Wednesday night that “a lot of the Bible is allegorical,”

Of course this is what he believes. He's Catholic.

I wonder if he considers John 6 to be "allegorical?"