The Bible contains many contradictions.  Biblical contradiction should be embraced as we allow ourselves to gain from them different perspectives of man's perception of God and God's relationship and instruction to man.

The CANON of scripture.  There were many books written around the same time as those that eventually made it into the Bible.  Just because these books were left out of the canon does not mean that they are evil or satanic.  Constantine, Emporer of Rome, was eager to unify the people but knew that as long as there was religious contention within, the Roman Empire would never be strong enough to conquer the rest of the world.  He gathered the bishops from the surrounding areas at the Council of Nicea.  At this meeting, he charged them with the task of emerging with a unified "theology" represented by one book which was from that time forward to be considered a closed canon. The decision to "close" the canon, then, was that of the Roman Emporer, not God.  Which books to include and which to exclude were chosen, then, by a group of men who all had their individual agendas; and Constantine, had his as well, which was much more about political solidarity than spiritual sanctity, growth or enlightenment.

There is NO Authorized Version of the Bible.  King James of England authorized men to translate the Bible into the Old English dialect.  Try and remember that Jesus, Moses, Elijah, etc. were not English - but Eastern in both their thought and in their language. Some things, necessarily, were "lost in translation."

The Bible must be presented as GOOD NEWS.  God has always and will always act REDEMPTIVELY in creation. Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God created..." the Hebrew word for created here is "bara" meaning to "reshape or carve out."  The Bible begins with God reshaping or "redeeming" something that already existed.  As we come to the close of the Bible we see the same thing as Revelation 21 speaks of a "new heaven and a new earth."  The most significant event in the Bible, the birth of Jesus, is the entrance of the ultimate redemption of mankind. This is indeed good news, and we must never use it for any other purpose.