Instigator / Pro
56
1523
rating
10
debates
50.0%
won
Topic
#1237

The Bible is internally inconsistent

Status
Finished

The debate is finished. The distribution of the voting points and the winner are presented below.

Winner & statistics
Better arguments
24
0
Better sources
16
0
Better legibility
8
0
Better conduct
8
0

After 8 votes and with 56 points ahead, the winner is...

PressF4Respect
Parameters
Publication date
Last updated date
Type
Standard
Number of rounds
5
Time for argument
Two days
Max argument characters
10,000
Voting period
Two weeks
Point system
Multiple criterions
Voting system
Open
Contender / Con
0
1478
rating
2
debates
0.0%
won
Description

Formatting:
R1: Acceptance (Also state which bible we will be using for the debate)
R2: Arguments (Make your initial arguments)
R3: Arguments + Rebuttals (Make additional arguments + Refute opponent's initial arguments)
R4: Rebuttals (Refute opponent's arguments)
R5: Conclusions (No additional points made here)

Rules:
Follow the formatting listed above.
Define all terminology clearly so that there is no confusion. Also do not hesitate to ask for clarification if necessary.
Use agreed-upon Bible for all arguments.
Additional sources must be cited.
Be civil.
Do not go off-topic.
Burden of Proof is shared.
Any violations of above rules will constitute an automatic forfeit of the round.

Definitions:
"Bible": For this debate, I will allow Con to decide which bible to use in the debate for the sake of fairness.
"internally inconsistent": For this debate, "internally inconsistent" will mean that a piece of literature (in this case, the Bible chosen by Con) makes one or more statements which contradict an earlier statement made by the same piece of literature.

Round 1
Pro
#1
Firstly, I would like to thank andrew153 (who in this debate will be referred to as “Con”) for accepting this debate, and I wish him the best of luck. I must say that I am looking forward to this debate, and to the arguments that Con will be presenting. 

Secondly, before this debate begins, I will be asking Con to state which Bible we will be using for this debate. I am doing this for the sake of fairness and so that we are referencing the same source. I will also remind Con that using external sources are allowed, provided they are cited (website links are ok). 

Thirdly, there are some changes to the rules and definitions that I must note:
  1. I will drop the Burden of Proof requirement for Con. (see comments #17 and #24 for more details)
  2. “Book/piece of literature”: For this argument, the Bible will be considered one book/piece of literature. (see comments #18, #26, and #28 for more details)
  3. If there are any additional changes to the formatting, rules, and/or definitions Con would like to make, do not hesitate to ask them in the comments.
  4.  Please save any initial arguments for Round 2. 

Once again, I wish Con the best of luck, and await Con’s opening statement.

Con
#2
Forfeited
Round 2
Pro
#3
Well, I find it unfortunate that my opponent has forfeited the first round. In hindsight, I realized that maybe two days per argument (which was the default setting) was not enough time for either side to create an argument for this topic (I will admit I have been too busy to prepare an argument as well). If worse comes to worst, I will create another debate on the same topic. In the meantime, I will allow my opponent one more round to give an opening statement and an initial argument. Due to time constraints on my schedule, I have been unable to create an argument. Therefore, I will post my initial argument next round. I sincerely apologize for this. 
Con
#4
Forfeited
Round 3
Pro
#5
Well, it looks like my opponent is not coming back. I will create an identical debate for anyone who is interested in debating this topic. I still have not finished my argument, as I have been, among other things, busy creating arguments for other debates [1][2]. I will post my full argument next round. 

Other debates I have been doing (not the complete list, just the ones which have the most extensive arguments):
  1. https://www.debate.org/debates/Virginity-should-be-kept/1/
  2. https://www.debate.org/debates/Debate.org-has-turned-into-a-toxic-wasteland/1/

Con
#6
Forfeited
Round 4
Pro
#7
Since my opponent has forfeited all rounds, I conclude that I have won this debate. However, for the sake of intellectual honesty, I will post my argument here. 

According to the definitions, "internally inconsistent" means that one quote from the bible contradicts one or more stated in the same bible. I will therefore be providing examples of such contradictions in my argument. Since no bible has been stated, I will use the NIV for this argument.

Argument:
A. Details of Creation.
  1. The separation of light and darkness
"And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years..."             - Genesis 1:14
Here, it states that God separated light and darkness in the firmament of heaven. 

"God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness." - Genesis 1:4
However, here, it says that God already did this before the firmament.

   2. The Creation of beings
          a. Creation of man vs Creation of other beings

"Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good" - Genesis 1:11-12

"And God said, 'Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.' So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, 'Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.'" - Genesis 1:20-22

"Then God said, 'Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.'
So God created mankind in his own image..." - Genesis 1:26
According to this series of quotes, the flora and fauna of the world were created before man.

"This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up,for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." - Genesis 2:4-7
However, according to these quotes, man was created before plants. In Genesis 1:11-12, plants were created before any fauna or man.

"Then God said, 'Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.' And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good." - Genesis 1:11-12
Here, it says that vegetation is plentiful, and that food is everywhere.

"Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up,for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground..."  - Genesis 2:5

"To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’
“Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”" - Genesis 3:17-19
Here, it says that there is no food whatsoever, and that one must work to eat.

          b. Creation of Man vs Creation of Woman

"So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." - Genesis 1:27
Here, man and woman were created at the same time. 

"But for Adam, no suitable helper was found. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said,
“This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.”" - Genesis 2:20-23
Here, woman was created from man.

B. God's characteristics
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." - Galatians 5:22-23

"Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you." - 2 Corinthians 13:11

"May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all." - 2 Corinthians 13:14

"Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."  - 1 John 4:8

"And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them." - 1 John 4:16
Here, God is a loving, joyful, peaceful, forgiving, kind, and faithful deity.

"But the Lord said to him, “Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.”..." - Genesis 4:15

"The Lord saw this and rejected them because he was angered by his sons and daughters. “I will hide my face from them,” he said, “and see what their end will be; for they are a perverse generation, children who are unfaithful. They made me jealous by what is no god and angered me with their worthless idols. I will make them envious by those who are not a people; I will make them angry by a nation that has no understanding. For a fire will be kindled by my wrath, one that burns down to the realm of the dead below. It will devour the earth and its harvests and set afire the foundations of the mountains. “I will heap calamities on them and spend my arrows against them. I will send wasting famine against them, consuming pestilence and deadly plague; I will send against them the fangs of wild beasts, the venom of vipers that glide in the dust. In the street the sword will make them childless; in their homes terror will reign. The young men and young women will perish, the infants and those with gray hair. I said I would scatter them and erase their name from human memory, but I dreaded the taunt of the enemy, lest the adversary misunderstand and say, ‘Our hand has triumphed; the Lord has not done all this.’”" - Deuteronomy 32:19-27

"For the Lord has a day of vengeance, a year of retribution, to uphold Zion’s cause." - Isaiah 34:8
Here, God is vengeful.

"The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his name." - Exodus 15:3

"The Lord will march out like a champion, like a warrior he will stir up his zeal; with a shout he will raise the battle cry and will triumph over his enemies." - Isaiah 42:13

"for our “God is a consuming fire.”" - Hebrews 12:29
Here, God is a warrior and a "consuming fire".

"You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me..." - Exodus 20:5, Deuteronomy 5:9

"Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God." - Exodus 34:14

"For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God." - Deuteronomy 4:24

"for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land." - Deuteronomy 6:15

"The Lord will never be willing to forgive them; his wrath and zeal will burn against them. All the curses written in this book will fall on them, and the Lord will blot out their names from under heaven." - Deuteronomy 29:20
Here, God is a jealous deity.

"Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man, but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man." - Numbers 31:17-18

"However, in the cities of the nations the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. Completely destroy them—the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—as the Lord your God has commanded you." - Deuteronomy 20:16-17 
Here, God literally advocates for the killing of others.
Con
#8
Forfeited
Round 5
Pro
#9
Well, since my opponent forfeited all rounds, I will create another one on the exact same topic when I have the time. As for this one, well, I'll leave it up for voters to decide ;)
Con
#10
Forfeited