When I was 20 years
old, I was converted to Christianity. Then I was childlike and believed
the Bible to be pure and without error, because that is what preachers
said.
After about 38 years of being a Christian, I now realize I was lied to,
either intentionally or through ignorance by those preachers.Through my
own study I have learned that the Bible has numerous errors and
contradictions.
I have read several books on that subject of "difficult
passages" and the authors all agree there are "difficult
passages", but they all try very hard to try to give a satisfactory
explanation for them. Some of them I believe, are satisfactory, however,
many I do not think are.
If the Bible, having difficult passages, can not stand scrutiny, then
why not admit it has errors?
This disturbs me very much to have found this out. No one I have talked
to on this subject will admit anything. Some will not even discuss it.
They make me out to be something wicked while they bask in
ignorance.Some of the answers that are given are: 1. Some sons
co-reigned with their father. 2. Different writers recorded the way it
appeared to them. 3. Copiers made a mistake. And so forth.
If there is but one single genuine contradiction or error, then the book
is not pure. If there are some contradictions or errors which can be
found by comparing one author with another, then perhaps there are
errors which cannot be seen because only one author wrote it. This
causes ligament doubts.
And then, there are so many "difficult passages." Scores and
scores. And authors of the books about them, try desperately to shore up
the Bible.
This all revolutionizes my understanding of doctrine about the Bible.
Now, I don't blame God. He can have the Bible have flaws if he chooses,
but what about those learned "men of God", who, if they were
aware of the errors, said nothing about them even saying they were not
there? And if they did not know about them, why not? They are supposed
to be professionals in their field. And mind you, if they knew about
those places and said otherwise, they lied. Men of God wouldn't lie to
their flock, would they? Oh, how I wish I were ignorant again! This
knowledge is grievous. And the worse thing about it is, there is no one
to discuss it with me.
My brother has discussed it but not with an open mind. He has his mind
set that there are no errors or contradictions. He just don't have the
answer to the "difficult passages." My grown son and youngest
daughter will not even discuss it. My wife gets angry if I bring up the
subject. Must I carry this terrible burden alone?
I feel like a man would feel, if for years, he had believed that his
wife was pure and faithful, then to find out, by proofs, that all the
while, she had been unfaithful. He would feel crushed, betrayed. He had
even bragged on her as to how pure she was. This is the biggest crisis
of my sixty one years.
Bill Henness
2000
I was brought up in Sunday School. I remember at a very early age, what
I liked best was singing, "I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in
my heart," and playing in the sand pile. I remember hearing,
"hell-fire and damnation" sermons, and praying and weeping at
the alter in a little Free Methodist Church, along with tearful
testimonies. As a child I always just knew there was a God and Jesus,
etc.. The Bible was true and right and the gospel was true.
When I was twenty years old, I publicly trusted Jesus as my savior. I
believed he was the Son of God, God the Son, etc.. In the coming years I
read the Bible through, slowly, thoughtfully. I put different sins out
of my life and attended at least three services a week with my wife and
three children. I took other people to church with us. I studied the
Bible diligently, such as reading it in the locker room in the factory
where I worked, after I hurriedly ate my lunch. I studied and read it
almost daily. I prayed almost daily in our bathroom, many times crying
tears over my sinfulness.
I got away from church for some seven years through discouragement's,
but then repented and renewed my efforts again. I asked the Pastor if
there was anything I could do to help him. He about fell over. I started
typing the church bulletin, then I was asked to teach a Sunday School
class of old men. In the coming years I taught adult Sunday School
classes, taught children, and filled our pulpit when the Pastor was
gone.
I then let churches know I was available to fill their pulpits and was
kept pretty busy. I was a "permanent guest speaker" at a
country church, then I pastored a fundamental Baptist church for over
two years. All told, I've taught Sunday School and preached for 27
years. Not to mention nursing homes, etc..
I was elected deacon for over 25 years consecutively. I'm saying all
this to say, I believed the Bible sincerely, like a little child. I
never questioned it at all. When I would read it or study it in
preparing a sermon, it never entered my mind to compare verses in other
places to see if it was right. To do that never entered my mind.
One day I read a footnote in a New Scofield Bible that said there was a
contradiction of a number. It gave several different places where
numbers were given differently. I never even suspected it was so. I am
sure the reasion most preachers and teachers go so long without knowing
the negitive things in their Bibles is because they are so busy studing
and prepareing the positive things, they don't have time to study the
negative things.
After this I began to only "notice" differences. Then I
started to write them down, so I wouldn't forget them. When I was about
56 years old I started looking for errors, and recording them as I found
them. Then I ordered books and papers written by others who knew of more
errors than I did.
Now, at age 67, I am an apostate. I have written well over a thousand
papers about errors, contradictions, conflicting statements, character
flaws of Jesus, Paul, Peter, and false prophecies.
I'm sure the reason most people are ignorant of what is really in their
Bible is like mine was; it never occurred to me to doubt what the
Bible said. I read it without questioning it, however, if one
begins to question it, one will be amazed at how much they will find.
The preponderance of the evidence is overwhelmingly negative.
I'm so sorry I've wasted so much of my life teaching and preaching
falsehoods. I did it in ignorance. It has taken me a lifetime to
find the truth, but, I would rather die, with the knowledge of the truth
than die in ignorance.I am now going on 70 years old, and I still
occasionally find more problems with the Bible.
Ex-Minister.org November
30, 2012 All rights reserved
