Matthew 18:8-9

8 Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.
9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.

Many other translations do not use the word offend as the King James Bible does. Instead, most use the words cause you to sin, including the New King James Bible.

Reading all of Matthew 18, we find that this is Jesus speaking. Before he suggests hacking off your limbs, he suggests that those who cause children to sin would be better off drowned. He then suggests that your mutilate yourself and remove offending limbs as a means by which one can avoid sinning and causing sin.

I haven’t seen too many Christians walking around who chopped off their own limbs as Jesus suggested. Are you willing to cut off your limbs or gouge out your eyes to avoid sinning? If so, what if the sin you wished to prevent was adultery? Would you lop off your junk for Jesus?

John 12:47

47 And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.

John 9:39

39 And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.

To get the full picture of both tales, you must read a bit more into it. In the Gospel According to John, we find that Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees. Some of them do not believe in him, while some believe him but will not say so because they fear getting kicked out of the synagogue. He makes the statement that he did not come to judge the world while God is the one doing the judging.

Jesus says in one verse prior that if we’ve seen him, we’ve seen the one who sent him, implying that they are one and the same. In this instance, either he is God and he’s lying, or is he isn’t God and he could be telling the truth in this instance.

Upon reading John 9:35-41 we find that Jesus is speaking of spiritual blindness while referring to those who do not know the truth, and those who know the truth but deny it. He specifically states that he came into this world for judgment. He doesn’t specifically use the words judge the world, but the word judge is still used in such an open-ended fashion that it can be understood as the judgment of all.

Some may argue that these passages are referring to two completely different kinds of judgement. However, evaluation of the original Greek reveals the words used for judgment are both from the root krina or krima, which referred to judgments or accusations associated with criminal activity.

The hilarity of this contradiction is further compounded by the fact that they are from the same book and author. Apparently, either John the Apostle couldn’t get his story straight or Jesus couldn’t get his own story straight. The conclusion you’re left with is that either a major author of the New Testament was fallible or Jesus was fallible. Either way, this brings the King James Bible and, ultimately, Christianity as a whole into question.

Luke 14:26

26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

This one is taken slightly out of context. Upon reading the rest of the words of Jesus in Luke 14:26-35, we find that he suggests we must give up everything to follow him. This is still quite the shock to the average Christian.

Jesus suggests that we must give up our families, our friends, all our possessions, and even ourselves, take up a cross, and follow after him. Either interpretation is rather strange to our current sensibilities. There are not many who would give up everything to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. I certainly couldn’t imagine a member of the decorated clergy doing such a thing.

Perhaps all of Christianity has strayed from its true message. Perhaps we should all become paupers and make ourselves sacrifices to this world. Perhaps the interpretation isn’t out of context and Jesus really did want us to hate our families. If that’s the case, then it certainly contradicts the common theme of Jesus as the Prince of Peace.

Genesis 17:9-14

9 And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.
10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.
11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.
12 And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.
13 He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
14 And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.

Acts 15:24

24 Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:

Obviously, the first passage shows the word of Yahweh as spoken to Abraham. However, it is also clearly suggested that there was no such mandate, according to Luke the Evangelist. Perhaps Luke was simply unaware of this, but one would think that an author of the New Testament would be knowledgeable of the Old Testament.

Galatians 5:1-4

1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.
3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.
4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

Here, Paul the Apostle speaks out against circumcision. In fact, he suggests that if you get circumcised, you are obligated to obey all of the laws of Moses and that Christ will be of no value to you.

If you read the entire chapter, you find that Paul suggests that one can reach salvation through faith and good deeds alone. This is contradictory to the words of Yeshua himself, who said that he did not come to abolish any of the old law.

Furthermore, he suggests that we have all fallen from grace and that the law is essentially of no consequence. Once again, this is not only against other Christian teachings, this is against any semblance of morality. How can any morality exist when everything is permissible? There are simply too many contradictions here to hunt them all down!

Matthew 5:17-20

17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

In the Gospel According to Saint Matthew, Jesus says that he did not come to abolish the Old Law. This means that all of the laws proposed by the Old Testament should indeed be followed by those who follow him. There is no indication anywhere in the King James Bible that suggests that Yeshua freed anyone from any part of the Law, with the notable exception that he was supposed to be the last sacrifice.

In effect, beyond the necessity to sacrifice animals to God in atonement for sins, all of the laws of the Old Testament must be obeyed. This is an important point, as many Christians will say that they are not bound by the Old Law because of Jesus. It seems that those that use such logic have not properly read the King James Bible.