How can there be inconsistencies in the Bible?
The Bible contains inconsistencies, because its books were written at different times for different communities of faith. In the New Testament, for instance, Jesus is reported in Mt. 5:17-20 to say that the (Jewish) law will apply until heaven and earth pass away. But Paul says in Romans 10:4 that “Christ is the end of the law.” In the gospel of Mark the narrator says Jesus set aside the dietary laws of “scripture”. (Mk. 7:19) The passages from Romans and the gospel of Mark are consistent with each other, but each differs from the gospel of Matthew. We can understand this contradiction by realizing that Paul’s letter, the gospel of Mark, and the gospel of Matthew were written for different Christian communities to address different problems. Paul letters and the gospel of Mark support the growth of the church among Gentile Christians, whereas the gospel of Matthew was written for a largely Jewish Christian congregation that believed the law of Moses was not rejected by Jesus but should
