Handling Bible Difficulties

Here are some posts that explain some of the more difficult passages of the Bible.

  • Achan’s Plunder – and Blunder -

    Here's a disturbing story from the Book of Joshua story of a Israelite soldier named Achan who made a terrible mistake. What I say may not make the story any less disturbing, but we will hear a great spiritual lesson related to it from St. John of the Cross.

  • On Jephthah’s Rash Oath -

    On Jephthah, a tragic hero of the Book of Judges.

  • On Death in the Psalms -

    It cannot be said that a belief in an afterlife and immortality of the soul are expressed in the Book of Psalms. What are we to make of this?

  • On the Curses of the Psalms -

    We may be horrified when we first read the curses in the Book of Psalms. But do they have a spiritual sense that could help us?

  • On the Death of King David’s Baby -

    Why did God strike down the baby of King David and Bathsheba?

  • Unto the Third and the Fourth Generation -

    At least four passages of the Old Testament talk about God punishing the descendants of evil men down to the third and fourth generations.  How could a loving God do this?

  • “If any one comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother…” -

    Does Jesus require us to hate our own families?  How could this be?

  • On Violence in the Old Testament -

    The violence of the Old Testament is often cited in attacks on the Bible and the Faith.  Here are four helpful perspectives on the violence […]

  • Rahab, Spies, and Lies -

    The Old Testament heroine Rahab (pronounced “Raw-KHAWB” in Hebrew) is mentioned in glowing terms several times in the New Testament. In the Letter to the […]

  • Science and the Old Testament -

    Is the Bible a science book?  How should we react when we read things in the Bible that seem to contradict well established scientific facts?  […]