All Entries | Difficult Passages

Difficult Passages

Historical responses to the Bible's hardest questions — what Christians have said, and why. Each entry presents the difficulty, then maps the major scholarly and pastoral responses with their strengths and weaknesses.

Gospels

The Resurrection Accounts

Matt 28; Mark 16; Luke 24; John 20–21

The four Gospels present significantly different details about Easter morning

4 responses

Old Testament

Texts of Terror

Josh 6–11; 1 Sam 15; Judg 19–21; Deut 20:16–18

Old Testament passages where God commands genocide or horrifying violence goes uncommented

5 responses

Gospels

The Gadarene / Gerasene Swine

Matt 8:28–34; Mark 5:1–20; Luke 8:26–39

Different names for the location and different numbers of demoniacs across the Gospels

3 responses

Old Testament

The Exodus: Timeline & Geography

Exodus 12–15; 1 Kings 6:1; Numbers 33

Archaeological evidence and biblical chronology point to different dates and routes

4 responses

Gospels

The Parable of the Talents

Matt 25:14–30; cf. Luke 19:11–27

Is the master a Christ-figure — or an exploitative landlord?

3 responses

Old Testament / Theology

God Hardening Hearts

Ex 4:21; 7:3; 9:12; Rom 9:17–18; Isa 6:10; John 12:40

God hardens Pharaoh's heart, then punishes him — making God the author of sin?

4 responses

Old Testament

The Two Creation Accounts

Gen 1:1–2:3 and Gen 2:4–25

Genesis opens with two creation narratives that differ in order, style, and divine names

4 responses

Old Testament

Adam's Rib — or Adam's Side?

Gen 2:21–23

The Hebrew word tsela means 'side' everywhere else — was Eve made from a rib or half of Adam?

3 responses

Old Testament

Noah's Flood: Historicity and the ANE Parallels

Gen 6–9; cf. Epic of Gilgamesh Tablet XI; Atrahasis Epic

Striking Mesopotamian parallels, no geological evidence for a global flood, and internal source tensions

4 responses

Old Testament

The Binding of Isaac (The Aqedah)

Gen 22:1–19

God commands Abraham to sacrifice Isaac — what kind of God demands child sacrifice?

4 responses

Old Testament

Sodom and Gomorrah

Gen 18–19; Ezek 16:49–50; Jude 7; Matt 10:14–15

Was the sin of Sodom homosexuality, inhospitality, or something more complex?

3 responses

Prophets

Hosea's Marriage to Gomer

Hosea 1–3

Did God really command a prophet to marry a prostitute? Is the story literal or allegorical?

4 responses

Old Testament

Jephthah's Daughter

Judg 11:29–40

Jephthah vows to sacrifice whatever meets him — and his only daughter comes out dancing

3 responses

Old Testament / Theology

The Imprecatory Psalms

Ps 137:9; Ps 109:6–15; Ps 69:22–28; Ps 58:6–8

Psalms that pray for enemies' destruction in graphic, horrifying terms

4 responses

Gospels

The Canaanite / Syrophoenician Woman

Matt 15:21–28; Mark 7:24–30

Jesus calls a Gentile woman a 'dog' — was he being racist, testing her, or something else?

3 responses

Epistles

Paul on Women in the Church

1 Cor 14:34–35; 1 Tim 2:11–15; cf. Gal 3:28; Rom 16:1–7

Paul says women should be silent — but commends women leaders throughout his letters

3 responses

Epistles

Paul on Slavery

Philemon; Eph 6:5–9; Col 3:22–4:1; 1 Cor 7:21–24; 1 Tim 6:1–2

Paul tells slaves to obey their masters — texts used for centuries to justify chattel slavery

3 responses

Gospels / Textual Criticism

The 'Long Ending' of Mark (16:9–20)

Mark 16:1–8 vs. 16:9–20

The oldest manuscripts end Mark at 16:8 — is the familiar ending original, lost, or added later?

3 responses

Gospels

The Differing Genealogies of Jesus

Matt 1:1–17; Luke 3:23–38

Matthew and Luke give Jesus different ancestors from David to Joseph — how can both be right?

3 responses

Acts / Theology

Ananias and Sapphira

Acts 5:1–11

God strikes two people dead for lying about a donation — is this justice?

3 responses

Old Testament

Jacob Wrestling God

Gen 32:22–32

Jacob wrestles 'a man' all night at the Jabbok — was it an angel, God, or something else?

3 responses

Old Testament

Jonah and the Great Fish

Jonah 1–4; cf. Matt 12:39–41

Was Jonah really swallowed by a fish? Is the book history, parable, or satire?

3 responses

Gospels

The Parable of the Unrighteous Steward

Luke 16:1–13

Jesus commends a manager who cheats his master — is this really an endorsement of dishonesty?

4 responses

Old Testament / Textual Criticism

Masoretic vs. Septuagint: The Two Jeremiahs

The entire book of Jeremiah; see esp. Jer 10:6–8, 10; Jer 33:14–26; Jer 39:4–13

The MT Jeremiah is an eighth longer than the LXX — which is the 'real' Jeremiah, and what does it mean for inspiration?

4 responses

Old Testament

The Sons of God and the Nephilim

Gen 6:1–4; cf. Num 13:33; Jude 6; 2 Pet 2:4

Who are the 'sons of God' in Genesis 6 — fallen angels, the godly line of Seth, or ancient kings?

3 responses

Gospels

Jesus Cursing the Fig Tree

Mark 11:12–14, 20–25; Matt 21:18–22

Jesus curses a fig tree for bearing no fruit 'out of season' — petulance, parable, or prophetic sign-act?

3 responses

Gospels

The Rich Young Ruler

Mark 10:17–31; Matt 19:16–30; Luke 18:18–30

'Sell all that you have and give to the poor' — universal command, individual diagnosis, or kingdom economics?

4 responses

Old Testament

Balaam's Talking Donkey

Num 22:21–35; cf. 2 Pet 2:15–16

A donkey rebukes her master and the prophet doesn't even flinch — historical miracle, satire, or prophetic vision?

4 responses

New Testament / Theology

Hell: Eternal Torment, Annihilation, or Restoration?

Matt 25:41, 46; Mark 9:43–48; Luke 16:19–31; 2 Thess 1:9; Rev 14:10–11; 20:10–15; 1 Cor 15:22, 28

Three serious Christian readings of hell — and a fourth that asks whether the doors are locked from the inside.

4 responses

Old Testament / Theology / Science

The Age of the Earth and the "Days" of Creation

Gen 1:1–2:3; Ex 20:11; 2 Pet 3:8; Ps 90:4

Young earth, old earth, evolutionary creationism, and literary readings — what are the 'days' of Genesis 1?

4 responses

Old Testament

The Witch of Endor

1 Sam 28:3–25

Did Samuel really return from the dead at a medium's summons, or was it a demonic imitation?

3 responses

Gospels / Theology

Jesus' Cry of Dereliction

Matt 27:46; Mark 15:34; cf. Ps 22

'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' — penal substitution, Psalm 22, or the heart of divine suffering?

4 responses

Old Testament

The Census: God or Satan?

2 Sam 24:1; 1 Chr 21:1

2 Samuel says God incited David; 1 Chronicles says Satan did. What happened — and what does the shift reveal?

3 responses

Old Testament

The Talking Serpent

Gen 3:1–15; cf. Rev 12:9; 20:2

Is the Eden serpent Satan, a literal snake, or a symbolic figure — and what is a 'fall' anyway?

3 responses

Old Testament

Lot's Wife and the Pillar of Salt

Gen 19:17, 26; cf. Luke 17:32

She looked back and became a pillar of salt. Literal miracle, geological aetiology, or moral parable?

3 responses

Gospels

Matthew's "Zombies" — The Saints Rising at the Crucifixion

Matt 27:51–53

Only Matthew reports tombs opening and saints walking into Jerusalem — historical event, apocalyptic symbol, or later gloss?

3 responses

Old Testament

Uzzah and the Ark

2 Sam 6:1–11; 1 Chr 13:9–14

Uzzah steadies the Ark to keep it from falling and is struck dead. How do we preach this without making God a monster?

3 responses

Old Testament

The Passover and the Death of the Firstborn

Ex 11; 12:29–32

The tenth plague kills every Egyptian firstborn. Judicial judgment, cosmic warfare, or a lament we should not sing past?

4 responses

38 entries · Growing collection