At some point, every student of the Bible has encountered some passages of Scripture that are challenging to understand. This difficulty should not surprise us. Any of us who are confronted with another culture and worldview know that, inevitably, there will be things we do not understand right away, because such things are foreign to us. The same holds true for the worldview of Scripture. If we understood everything in Scripture, there would be no need to gain new insights, and there would be less incentive to grow in spiritual knowledge. How we approach difficult passages not only reveals much about our attitude about Scripture; it also shows how serious we are in our search for answers. The amount of time and mental energy we invest in dealing with difficulties, trying to find solutions that are faithful to Scripture, reveals how important Scripture is to us and how important finding answers is to us. Difficult passages not only challenge us, they also provide a unique opportunity to dig deeper and to search the Scriptures more thoroughly so that we can understand the Bible writers and God’s message even more fully. We do not need to be afraid of encountering things in Scripture that we do not understand. In fact, we can be grateful even for challenging and difficult passages in the Bible, because they provide an opportunity to grow in our understanding. There are some important attitudes that will influence whether those difficulties will become a blessing or a curse for us.
Part II: Commentary
Possible Reasons for Difficulties and Apparent Contradictions
Many scholars who do not believe in the divine inspiration of Scripture assume that Scripture is contradictory and full of mistakes, because in their view, to be human means to be fallible and imperfect. While it is true that human beings are fallible and not always truthful, it is also a fact that even fallible human beings are fully capable of discerning and speaking the truth. If even fallible beings are capable of communicating truth faithfully, how much more should we expect God, for whom it is impossible to lie (Heb. 6:18), to be able to prevent the Bible writers from misleading us in what they write.
When people approach Scripture with methodological doubt, they will accept its truthfulness only when there is indubitable evidence and proof for its correctness. Rather than granting Scripture the benefit of the doubt when we do not have all the information available, many critical scholars only accept those passages as trustworthy and true where human reason has demonstrated their correctness or where external evidence has clearly revealed that Scripture is in harmony with archaeological or scientific findings. If these external criteria are the final norm for what is acceptable, and Scripture sometimes does not live up to them, such interpreters think they have found contradictions.
In dealing with biblical statements, we need to remember that the Bible writers frequently used non-technical, ordinary, everyday language to describe things. For example, they spoke of sunrise (Num. 2:3, Josh. 19:12) and sunset (Deut. 11:30, Dan. 6:14), i.e., they used the language of appearance rather than scientific language. Furthermore, one must not confuse a social convention with a scientific affirmation. The need for technical precision varies according to the situation in which a statement is made. Therefore, imprecision is not the same as untruthfulness.
Some discrepancies might be due to minor variations and errors caused by copyists and translators of the Bible. Most of those transmissional errors are unintentional changes, where copyists confused similar letters or, when copying a text, the copyist accidentally “skips ahead to another word or line with the same word or letter. This tendency is compounded when there are no spaces between words or punctuation marks, which certainly was the case for Greek texts and may have been true of Hebrew as well.”—Paul D. Wegner, A Student’s Guide to Textual Criticism of the Bible (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2006), p. 46. Sometimes a reversal in the order of two letters or words occur. For example, in John 1:42 the name “John” [Iōannou], as found in several manuscripts, is read “Jonah” [Iōna] in some other manuscripts (see Wegner, A Student’s Guide to Textual Criticism of the Bible, p. 48, for this and other examples). Such problems should not distress us. First of all, the biblical manuscripts are by far the most reliable and best-preserved manuscripts of the ancient world. No other literature is transmitted in so many manuscripts and is copied so meticulously in reference to the original composition as are the biblical manuscripts. Second, those minor changes can be corrected in light of the other evidence that is available. They do not affect any major doctrine or teaching of the Bible. While copyists and translators generally have been extremely careful in their work, they were not inspired as were the original biblical authors. Ellen G. White was aware that there “might have been some mistake in the copyist or in the translators.” But for her, all those “mistakes will not cause trouble to one soul, or cause any feet to stumble, that would not manufacture difficulties from the plainest revealed truth.”—Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, book 1, p. 16.
Deal With Difficulties Honestly and Carefully
God is pleased with honesty (1 Chron. 29:17). If we honestly seek the truth, we will find it. Honesty will win in the long run. Dealing with difficulties honestly means that we do not deny them or distort the evidence but deal with them in an unbiased way. It is far better to admit honestly that we do not have a satisfactory answer to a difficulty than to bend the evidence in order to make it more palatable to our liking. Shallow answers will not stand the test of scrutiny and will cast a shadow over our credibility. A pious lie is perhaps the most destructive lie of all, because it casts a dark shadow on the character of God and His Word and will call into question even our own integrity. If we ignore honesty in our search for answers, we will kill our conscience and endanger our spiritual life. Eventually we will be in danger of not valuing truth at all. Perhaps in the end, we might even be unable to distinguish truth from falsehood. But honesty brings a blessing in its wake—it builds trust with the very people whom we want to win for the truth of the Bible. Honesty is the foundation of all healthy personal relationships. Our honesty should be coupled with carefulness. Honesty can wait and will not rush to hasty conclusions that are based on limited information. Honesty will do everything needed to carefully evaluate the evidence that is available.
Can you think of examples of dishonest answers about the Bible and the negative (long-term) impact these have had on others? Can you think of situations where honest answers to biblical questions have had a positive (long-term) impact on those who heard them?
Deal With Difficulties Humbly
Humility is the opposite of pride. Pride prevents us from appreciating the insights and achievements of others. Pride does not need to learn, because pride thinks it knows everything already. Humility, on the other hand, acknowledges that truth is not something of one’s own making but is God-breathed (see 2 Tim. 3:16). Humble people have a teachable spirit and do not claim to have all the answers. They are capable of expanding their knowledge of God’s Word in a way that arrogant and proud people are incapable of doing. Because pride is so deeply seated in all of us and humility goes against the grain of our culture and society, a posture of humility is perhaps the most difficult attitude of Bible study to assume.
Do you know anyone who has a genuinely humble intellectual character? Who is it? What impresses you the most about his or her life and scholarship?
Reflect on the following statement by Ellen G. White on this subject: “Those who desire to doubt will have plenty of room. God does not propose to remove all occasion for unbelief. He gives evidence, which must be carefully investigated with a humble mind and a teachable spirit, and all should decide from the weight of evidence.”—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, p. 255.
Deal With Difficulties With Determination and Patience
Some difficulties defy easy and quick answers. They require determination and patience. For centuries, scholars had been puzzled over one of the most perplexing discrepancies in Scripture: the disparate numbers of the reigns of the Hebrew kings in the Old Testament. The Bible provides much information about these kings, but when the information is put together, it seems contradictory. It would have been easy for Adventist scholar Edwin Thiele to accept this unsolved discrepancy as a given. But because he believed in the truthfulness and reliability of Scripture, he was determined not to give up and for years (!) studied all the evidence. By carefully studying the biblical data and comparing it with extrabiblical sources, he finally was able to show that different methods were used to count the years in the reigns of the Hebrew kings. His solution is consistent with the scriptural record and the records of other nations of the ancient world. His book The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1983) has become a standard work that is widely recognized in scholarly circles, far beyond the borders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Part III: Life Application
Many so-called mistakes are not the result of God’s revelation but are the result of our misinterpretations. They arise not from any obscurity of the Bible but from the blindness and prejudice of the interpreter. Yet, there are some biblical difficulties that defy quick solutions. They are difficult to understand, even for the most honest and determined person. But just because I have not found a solution to a particular problem does not mean that there is no solution at all. It is quite likely that other careful students of Scripture have wrestled with the same difficulty long before I did, and probably there is an answer, even if I am not aware of it.
But we can also experience what Daniel experienced when he was confronted with passages of Scripture that he did not understand (see Dan. 8:27, 9:20–23). He prayed (see Dan. 9:1–19). When we are on our knees, we may gain a completely new perspective on some problems.
In what situations has prayer made a difference in your life when dealing with some difficult questions? Share your experience with others.
For further principles and specific examples on how to deal with difficult passages, see Gerhard Pfandl (ed.), Interpreting Scripture: Bible Questions and Answers, Biblical Research Institute Studies 2 (Silver Spring, MD: Biblical Research Institute, 2010).
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Key Texts: 2 Pet. 3:15, 16; 2 Tim. 2:15; 1 Tim. 4:16; 1 Chron. 29:17; Prov. 2:7; James 4:6; Gal. 6:9.
Part I: Overview
At some point, every student of the Bible has encountered some passages of Scripture that are challenging to understand. This difficulty should not surprise us. Any of us who are confronted with another culture and worldview know that, inevitably, there will be things we do not understand right away, because such things are foreign to us. The same holds true for the worldview of Scripture. If we understood everything in Scripture, there would be no need to gain new insights, and there would be less incentive to grow in spiritual knowledge. How we approach difficult passages not only reveals much about our attitude about Scripture; it also shows how serious we are in our search for answers. The amount of time and mental energy we invest in dealing with difficulties, trying to find solutions that are faithful to Scripture, reveals how important Scripture is to us and how important finding answers is to us. Difficult passages not only challenge us, they also provide a unique opportunity to dig deeper and to search the Scriptures more thoroughly so that we can understand the Bible writers and God’s message even more fully. We do not need to be afraid of encountering things in Scripture that we do not understand. In fact, we can be grateful even for challenging and difficult passages in the Bible, because they provide an opportunity to grow in our understanding. There are some important attitudes that will influence whether those difficulties will become a blessing or a curse for us.
Part II: Commentary
Possible Reasons for Difficulties and Apparent Contradictions
Many scholars who do not believe in the divine inspiration of Scripture assume that Scripture is contradictory and full of mistakes, because in their view, to be human means to be fallible and imperfect. While it is true that human beings are fallible and not always truthful, it is also a fact that even fallible human beings are fully capable of discerning and speaking the truth. If even fallible beings are capable of communicating truth faithfully, how much more should we expect God, for whom it is impossible to lie (Heb. 6:18), to be able to prevent the Bible writers from misleading us in what they write.
When people approach Scripture with methodological doubt, they will accept its truthfulness only when there is indubitable evidence and proof for its correctness. Rather than granting Scripture the benefit of the doubt when we do not have all the information available, many critical scholars only accept those passages as trustworthy and true where human reason has demonstrated their correctness or where external evidence has clearly revealed that Scripture is in harmony with archaeological or scientific findings. If these external criteria are the final norm for what is acceptable, and Scripture sometimes does not live up to them, such interpreters think they have found contradictions.
In dealing with biblical statements, we need to remember that the Bible writers frequently used non-technical, ordinary, everyday language to describe things. For example, they spoke of sunrise (Num. 2:3, Josh. 19:12) and sunset (Deut. 11:30, Dan. 6:14), i.e., they used the language of appearance rather than scientific language. Furthermore, one must not confuse a social convention with a scientific affirmation. The need for technical precision varies according to the situation in which a statement is made. Therefore, imprecision is not the same as untruthfulness.
Some discrepancies might be due to minor variations and errors caused by copyists and translators of the Bible. Most of those transmissional errors are unintentional changes, where copyists confused similar letters or, when copying a text, the copyist accidentally “skips ahead to another word or line with the same word or letter. This tendency is compounded when there are no spaces between words or punctuation marks, which certainly was the case for Greek texts and may have been true of Hebrew as well.”—Paul D. Wegner, A Student’s Guide to Textual Criticism of the Bible (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2006), p. 46. Sometimes a reversal in the order of two letters or words occur. For example, in John 1:42 the name “John” [Iōannou], as found in several manuscripts, is read “Jonah” [Iōna] in some other manuscripts (see Wegner, A Student’s Guide to Textual Criticism of the Bible, p. 48, for this and other examples). Such problems should not distress us. First of all, the biblical manuscripts are by far the most reliable and best-preserved manuscripts of the ancient world. No other literature is transmitted in so many manuscripts and is copied so meticulously in reference to the original composition as are the biblical manuscripts. Second, those minor changes can be corrected in light of the other evidence that is available. They do not affect any major doctrine or teaching of the Bible. While copyists and translators generally have been extremely careful in their work, they were not inspired as were the original biblical authors. Ellen G. White was aware that there “might have been some mistake in the copyist or in the translators.” But for her, all those “mistakes will not cause trouble to one soul, or cause any feet to stumble, that would not manufacture difficulties from the plainest revealed truth.”—Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, book 1, p. 16.
Deal With Difficulties Honestly and Carefully
God is pleased with honesty (1 Chron. 29:17). If we honestly seek the truth, we will find it. Honesty will win in the long run. Dealing with difficulties honestly means that we do not deny them or distort the evidence but deal with them in an unbiased way. It is far better to admit honestly that we do not have a satisfactory answer to a difficulty than to bend the evidence in order to make it more palatable to our liking. Shallow answers will not stand the test of scrutiny and will cast a shadow over our credibility. A pious lie is perhaps the most destructive lie of all, because it casts a dark shadow on the character of God and His Word and will call into question even our own integrity. If we ignore honesty in our search for answers, we will kill our conscience and endanger our spiritual life. Eventually we will be in danger of not valuing truth at all. Perhaps in the end, we might even be unable to distinguish truth from falsehood. But honesty brings a blessing in its wake—it builds trust with the very people whom we want to win for the truth of the Bible. Honesty is the foundation of all healthy personal relationships. Our honesty should be coupled with carefulness. Honesty can wait and will not rush to hasty conclusions that are based on limited information. Honesty will do everything needed to carefully evaluate the evidence that is available.
Can you think of examples of dishonest answers about the Bible and the negative (long-term) impact these have had on others? Can you think of situations where honest answers to biblical questions have had a positive (long-term) impact on those who heard them?
Deal With Difficulties Humbly
Humility is the opposite of pride. Pride prevents us from appreciating the insights and achievements of others. Pride does not need to learn, because pride thinks it knows everything already. Humility, on the other hand, acknowledges that truth is not something of one’s own making but is God-breathed (see 2 Tim. 3:16). Humble people have a teachable spirit and do not claim to have all the answers. They are capable of expanding their knowledge of God’s Word in a way that arrogant and proud people are incapable of doing. Because pride is so deeply seated in all of us and humility goes against the grain of our culture and society, a posture of humility is perhaps the most difficult attitude of Bible study to assume.
Do you know anyone who has a genuinely humble intellectual character? Who is it? What impresses you the most about his or her life and scholarship?
Reflect on the following statement by Ellen G. White on this subject: “Those who desire to doubt will have plenty of room. God does not propose to remove all occasion for unbelief. He gives evidence, which must be carefully investigated with a humble mind and a teachable spirit, and all should decide from the weight of evidence.”—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, p. 255.
Deal With Difficulties With Determination and Patience
Some difficulties defy easy and quick answers. They require determination and patience. For centuries, scholars had been puzzled over one of the most perplexing discrepancies in Scripture: the disparate numbers of the reigns of the Hebrew kings in the Old Testament. The Bible provides much information about these kings, but when the information is put together, it seems contradictory. It would have been easy for Adventist scholar Edwin Thiele to accept this unsolved discrepancy as a given. But because he believed in the truthfulness and reliability of Scripture, he was determined not to give up and for years (!) studied all the evidence. By carefully studying the biblical data and comparing it with extrabiblical sources, he finally was able to show that different methods were used to count the years in the reigns of the Hebrew kings. His solution is consistent with the scriptural record and the records of other nations of the ancient world. His book The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1983) has become a standard work that is widely recognized in scholarly circles, far beyond the borders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Part III: Life Application
Many so-called mistakes are not the result of God’s revelation but are the result of our misinterpretations. They arise not from any obscurity of the Bible but from the blindness and prejudice of the interpreter. Yet, there are some biblical difficulties that defy quick solutions. They are difficult to understand, even for the most honest and determined person. But just because I have not found a solution to a particular problem does not mean that there is no solution at all. It is quite likely that other careful students of Scripture have wrestled with the same difficulty long before I did, and probably there is an answer, even if I am not aware of it.
But we can also experience what Daniel experienced when he was confronted with passages of Scripture that he did not understand (see Dan. 8:27, 9:20–23). He prayed (see Dan. 9:1–19). When we are on our knees, we may gain a completely new perspective on some problems.
In what situations has prayer made a difference in your life when dealing with some difficult questions? Share your experience with others.
For further principles and specific examples on how to deal with difficult passages, see Gerhard Pfandl (ed.), Interpreting Scripture: Bible Questions and Answers, Biblical Research Institute Studies 2 (Silver Spring, MD: Biblical Research Institute, 2010).