Conflicting statements in the bible

[Statler Waldorf]

I thought rational people demanded physical evidence? Perhaps A_Nony_Mouse is wrong in his assertion that physical evidence is needed in everything everywhere?

“Checkmate.”

I know you made a lot of points here but I have to jump on this one.

Feel free.

What you are basically saying is that if I can provide an alternate explaination the makes it seem as if there is no contradiction, then there is no contradiction even if the scenarios I offer are complete bullshit.

If an actual logical contradiction exists there is no logically consistent hypothetical scenario that can be given to reconcile it.

Lets look at it from a theist point of view: If two science labs take pieces of exactly the same rock to date them and one lab says "This rock is 1 million years old" and the other says "This rock is 1 billion years old", there is a contradiction (which you, as a theist, would be quick to point out).

No, that’s not an example of a logical contradiction.

I come up to you and say, "No, there is no contradiction here. You see, aliens came down and they used a special mixture of chemical that is lightyears beyond our current technology to make one of the pieces of rock actually seem much older than it really is."

Yes, you’re just proving my point that your example is not an example of a logical contradiction. A logical contradiction would be, “this rock is a million years old and is not a million years old in the same sense and at the same point in time.” The example you gave was just two different groups arriving at conflicting conclusions about the age of the rock based on inductive reasoning.

In this scenario, I sincerely doubt you would say, "Oh, I see." and walk away, satisfied that there really was no conflict.

Well now you are using the word conflict which is not the same as contradiction, nobody here is saying that there are no verses that upon initial reading seem to conflict, however what we are arguing is there are rather simple explanations based on historical, contextual, and theological considerations that can explain the conflicts (nobody here has invoked aliens to explain any of the difficulties in the Bible).

See, you cant get around conflicts by making shit up. I can offer a scenario for any conflict you can come up with. That doesn't mean those conflicts don't still exist.

Atheists are not claiming there are conflicts in the Bible, they are claiming there are contradictions, and you cannot provide a scenario that can logically explain away a logical contradiction.