Can you disprove the Bible with a fancy graphic?

Fast Company’s Infographic of the Day yesterday discredited the Bible in a rather visually appealing but perhaps naively matter-of-fact way.

First, here’s the image, where the red arcs connect repeat accounts in the Old Testament (white bars below) and New Testament (gray bars).


And now, here’s how the story begins:

The Bible was wrong. For evidence look to, well, the Bible.

That’s really what it says. They go on to discuss the image, commissioned by skeptic Sam Harris for his nonbelief nonprofit, Project Reason, and list examples of biblical contradictions. (Click here for a detailed PDF.)

Their conclusion?

So to anyone who thinks the Bible’s the last word on anything, remember this: It isn’t even the last word on itself.

Now Fast Company isn’t exactly where readers go for religion coverage; they just want to highlight a cool-looking graphic. But, they did just dismiss any Biblical authority with a one-sided take on its content, without talking to scholars, believers or anyone who might be able to reconcile these mixed accounts or offer the other way of looking at things.

So for balance’s sake, here’s what Joe Parle, the academic dean of the College of Biblical Studies and a former HoustonBelief blogger, had to say.

“I think this is just a poor attempt on the part of an author who seems to ignore the context to find problems with the text. This is not unlike a politician who tries to find problems with his opponent’s record and inaccurately quotes his record in the interest of gaining an advantage,” Parle said. “Sadly, too many people will look at this chart and assume that the Bible has errors without actually reading the context of many of the verses that are quoted.”

To defend his point, Parle, who believes the Bible to be the true and literal word of God, went through an example:

Take the author’s quote “Even something as seemingly incontrovertible as how old Abram was when Ishmael was born has more than one answer (see Genesis 11:26; Genesis 11:32; Genesis 16:16; and Acts 7:2-4).”

When you actually see the verses, there really is no contradiction:

“Terah lived seventy years, and became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran” (Gen 11:26 NASB).

Genesis 11:32 (NASB) says, “The days of Terah were two hundred and five years; and Terah died in Haran.”

“Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to him” (Gen 16:16 NASB).

And he said, “Hear me, brethren and fathers! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, 3 and said to him, ‘LEAVE YOUR COUNTRY AND YOUR RELATIVES, AND COME INTO THE LAND THAT I WILL SHOW YOU.’ 4 “Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. From there, after his father died, God had him move to this country in which you are now living. (Act 7:2-4 NASB)

The only contradiction I find is in how the writer says that the Bible has more than one answer. Perhaps the author is confusing Terah for Abraham?

Either way, this is showing a strong intellectual dishonesty or perhaps a plain unwillingness to read the Bible itself instead of citing verses assuming no one will actually read them.

As far as the other contradictions cited–hundreds of them–Christians say such a simplistic argument against the Bible insults the deep history and theology of their text.

The Resurgence, a Christian site, came up with a lengthy defense (worth reading).

First, they clarify what is meant by scriptural inerrancy:

Christians do not believe that the Bible dropped out of heaven or was dictated to men who scribbled down furiously to catch every word from God. Christians believe that the Bible is both fully inspired by God and fully written by humans. Christians believe that scripture is inerrant in its original manuscripts, not the copies and translation.

Then, they talk about the style of the Bible and how its read:

The Bible is filled with historic narratives, poetry, songs, apocalyptic literature, promises, stories, commands, wisdom literature, and letters. Interpretation should be influenced by the genre, not some fundamentalist everything-must-be-literal approach that we see in the chart.

Now Sam Harris/Fast Company are not alone in their interpretation of scripture. They’re not the first to point out contradictions or look for evidence of the events it describes. But, like with all ancient texts– religious or not– it’s important to consider context and make sure you get your facts straight.

Kate Shellnutt