The Bible contains errors; you seriously shouldn’t trust it

It’s true; this is not rage bait. The Bible is riddled with errors—a lot of errors, well over 100,000 errors, to be exact. So the question is fair: should we put the Bible down and walk away?

………..Not so fast.

Copyist errors and textual variants

At first glance, the numbers sound alarming. Scholars estimate between 200,000 and 400,000 “errors” in biblical manuscripts. Yet those same scholars also say the Bible is 92%–99.5% accurate. That sounds like a contradiction in itself—until you understand what those “errors” actually are. But what are copyist errors/textual variants? Copyist errors/textual variants are minor variations in wording or spelling, these are minor differences that occur when texts are copied by hand, like elongated letters whilst writing or mistakenly writing number 14 when they meant to put 15. They are any difference between two or more copies, including:

·   Spelling differences (e.g., “John” vs “Jhon”)

·   Word order changes (“Jesus Christ” vs “Christ Jesus”)

·   Small omissions or duplications

With over 5,800 Greek manuscripts and 20,000+ total copies in various languages, even tiny differences get counted. That’s why the number looks so high. But here’s the key point: These variations do not change the core message of the Bible.

A Simple Way to Understand It

Imagine three people describing the same event

Person 1: ‘’Jaymes went hop to acquire some shoes''

Person 2: ‘’To the bazaar James went for new shoes''

Person 3: ‘’James went to the store to purchase some new shoes’’

Scholar’s interpretation: James went shopping for some shoes Different wording. One has spelling mistakes. Another sounds unusual. But the meaning is clear: James went to buy shoes.

That’s how textual variants work. When you compare multiple accounts, the intended message becomes even clearer—not less. And even though one of the lines doesn’t state whether the shoes were new or not, and another line uses the word “bazaar,” alluding to some potential regions, based on the word, if the purpose of the message was to highlight someone called James buying shoes regardless of the geographical location or condition of them, then the text confidently does this

The same applies to the message of the Bible, as the overall message of the texts is to highlight a broken world, mankind being disconnected from God—a connection that needs to be restored—thus telling the story of Jesus’ birth, death, resurrection, and salvation. Once you compile all of the texts from different sources together, this main overarching message is clearly visible. Scholars and experts also say that most modern-day editions of the Bible are almost exactly what the original authors wrote.

Scholars and experts like:

·   Dr Dan Wallace: a textual critic who affirms both the high number of variants and the high accuracy

·   Bruce Metzger: a key scholar in the field who worked on the Greek New Testament used for modern translations

·   Dr Bart Ehrman: often cited for the “400,000 errors” number (he is a critic of inerrancy but not of textual accuracy itself)

In reality, scholars say that because of the large number of manuscripts and different languages that the original texts were written in, the Bible actually needs these small copyist errors and textual variants. Without them, we would be questioning the Bible’s credibility, as you cannot have so many manuscripts in multiple different languages and not have minor variation errors within the text—it would just be impossible.

What About Contradictions?

Some people believe that because some of the biblical verses contradict themselves, this throws the whole book into doubt. One such example that is cited is found in the book of Matthew, which recounts Judas’ death. According to Matthew 27:5, Judas hangs himself and discards his money: “So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.” But then, when you roll forward to Acts 1:18, you find out that he (Judas) apparently falls and his body bursts open on a field that he bought with the money he received: (Acts 1:18: With the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out.)

There are multiple verses like this in the Bible that appear to be contradictory, but depending on whom you ask, the figure of contradictions like this varies. Some critics of the Bible record that there are 100–400 contradictions, whilst more detailed critical compilations (like the Skeptic’s Annotated Bible) list 400–500 contradictions. Yet if you ask biblical scholars, they say there are no contradictions, or very few at most, and verses like this are misunderstood.

Is this account a Contradiction? Not necessarily. Scholars argue these are different perspectives of the same event:

·   Matthew focuses on how Judas died (the act).

·   Acts describes what happened afterward (the result).

They say that a lot of what seems like contradictions are either different perspectives, summarised accounts vs. detailed ones, or simply contextual misunderstandings. For example, using the Judas account above, scholars say that Judas’ death found in Matthew we see the perspective of Judas hanging himself, aiming to focus on the act (hanging), Judas’ remorse and suicide, along with fulfilment of prophecy. But then later in Acts, what we see is not another contradictory account of how Judas died, but rather the result of his death—someone’s account (Luke) seeing his hung, decomposed body that had rotted, thus his intestines were hanging out, and it eventually fell to the ground.

But again, you’re probably asking the same question I did: in Matthew it states he threw the money down in the temple, but in Acts it says he bought a field—contradictory, right?

Well, according to scholars, this falls under the lack of understanding category, as further down in Matthew it states that the chief priests used the money to buy the potter’s field. It is believed by scholars that the high priests most likely bought the land, and the land was accredited to Judas as it was his money. Being the religious leaders of the time, it would have been wrong for them to do anything else with the money. So the account of “Judas bought a field,” written in Acts by Luke, would have been a fair one. Scholars highlight that most supposed contradictions can be explained once you understand the customs and cultural norms of the day, and the circumstances in which the accounts are written.

So Where Do Scholars Stand?

Many leading scholars agree on two key points:

1. The Bible contains a high number of textual variants

2. The Bible remains highly accurate in its message

In fact, the large number of manuscripts strengthens reliability. If every copy were identical, it would raise suspicion. Variation is exactly what you would expect from genuine, widespread transmission.

The Bigger Question

Even if we assume, for argument’s sake, that some contradictions exist—what do they actually change? Do they alter the central message? The Bible consistently tells one unified story:

·   A broken world

·   Humanity separated from God

·   Redemption through Jesus Christ

·   Salvation and restoration

That message remains intact across thousands of manuscripts, languages, and centuries.

An Overlooked Detail: Cross-Referencing

·      

The Bible has over 60,000 cross-references—but what does that actually look like?

The picture below represents what the cross-references would look like mapped out. The white clusters at the bottom are actually individual bars; the taller the bars, the more verses they connect to. The different coloured arcs above the bars represent a link to verses by prophecy, symbol, or theme. Cool tones = nearby verses, and warm = distant ones. What we are looking at here is the fingerprint of God.

·   40 authors

·   Over 1,500 years

·   Across different cultures and contexts

Yet it tells one coherent story.

That level of unity is difficult to dismiss. over 60,000 cross-connections woven across centuries. No coincidence, no brilliance. Different writers telling the same stories over a multitude of years

A Simple Analogy

Imagine a court case with multiple eyewitnesses. Their accounts differ slightly—but thousands of other pieces of evidence all point to the same conclusion.

Would a judge throw out the entire case over minor inconsistencies?

Or would they weigh the overwhelming evidence as a whole?

Final Thought

Even if you take the highest estimate of 500 contradictions, that is a tiny fraction compared to the vast number of consistent, interconnected passages. So the real question isn’t just: “Are there errors?” It’s: “Does the overall message still stand?”

And by every serious scholarly measure—it does.

So before it’s too late, what comes to mind are the words in Isaiah 55:“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.”

As always, ask questions, find yourself a good Bible-based church, seek God and His kingdom—for tomorrow is never promised, and today has already gone.

Think about it: if I’m wrong and the bible is baloney, we have nothing to lose—but if I’m right, then we have everything at stake.