Well, Hawk, you must be reading it in a way that FORCES it not to be contradictory. That is spin that detracts from the message contained in the Scriptures. I am not trying to say the Scriptures are false. Far from it. I am saying that they are misread by people who want them to say a certain thing that they don't really say. If you start with the premise that every word is true as written, then you must look for ways to make them fit together. If you look for the message the words contain with the realization that some of the words may contradict each other, then you do not have to force the words to say things they do not mean.
The difference between our respective readings of those passages is that mine was a careful reading, making use of all available clues, while yours was a cursory reading, ignoring obvious clues as to correct meaning. You know the difference between plural and singular, for example, yet choose to ignore that distinction in your interpretation of the second passage so as to permit an interpretation that is contradictory with a previous one. I provided several other examples in earlier posts.
