Some rules for examining biblical "errors"

In his book The Living Word of God , Ben Witherington wraps up the issue of errors in the New Testament. He has six points that are important to keep in mind when we hear complaints from critics who claim they have found errors in these documents.

First, it's not considered an error when an author intends to give a general report or the gist of something rather than a precise report. His generalizing is not falsifying the story.

Second, it's not considered an error if an author of ancient literature arranged, edited, or paraphrased what someone said. For example Matthew uses the term "kingdom of heaven" rather than the phrase "kingdom of God" used by Mark in the same passage. We should not impose a modern standard of precision which these ancient authors were not required to follow according to the writing customs of their day.

Third, it's not considered an error to present events out of chronological order. For example, John 2 puts the cleansing of the temple there for theological, not chronological reasons.

Fourth, it's not considered an error of the original author if a translator makes a mistake when rendering the original into another language.

Fifth, it's not considered an error when a New Testament author discusses the Old Testament text and appears to misrepresent it. In fact, they are often just paraphrasing the text rather than being concerned about a precise translation.

Sixth, we need to understand what an error would look like. It would violate the principle of noncontradiction, which says that A and not-A cannot both be true at the same time in the same way. For example, it would be an error if one of the gospels said Jesus was born in Nazareth, and another said he was born in Bethlehem. They might both be wrong, but they can't both be right.

When we hear critics talk about errors in the Bible, we should remember something that Ben Witherington said: "I have yet to find a single example of a clear violation of the principal of noncontradiction anywhere in the New Testament."