Mistakes Critics Make In Misjudging The Bible (Part 9)

Note: These are summarized compilations from the book, “When Critics Ask”, authored by Norman Geisler and Thomas Howe.

Forgetting that Later Revelation Supersedes Previous Revelations

Sometimes critics of Scripture forget the principle of progressive revelation. God does not reveal everything at once, nor does He always lay down the same conditions for every period of time. Therefore, some of His later revelations will supersede His former statements. Bible critics sometimes confuse a change of revelation with a mistake. The mistake, however, is that of the critic.

For example, the fact that a parent allows a very small child to eat with his fingers, only to tell them later to use a spoon, is not a contradiction. Nor is the parent contradicting himself to insist later that the child should use a fork, not a spoon, to eat his vegetables.  This is progressive revelation, with each command suited to fit the particular circumstance in which a person is found.