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If God Is Not the Author of Confusion, What About the Tower of Babel?

Some argue that the Bible is contradictory concerning whether God is the author of confusion. The argument is that 1 Corinthians 14:33 says that God is not the author of confusion, but Genesis 11:8-9 says that God confused the languages of the earth at the Tower of Babel. However, there is a very simple explanation that eliminates this supposed contradiction.

Scriptures – If God Is Not the Author of Confusion, What About the Tower of Babel?

God Is Not the Author of Confusion

For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints,
1 Corinthians 14:33

God Confuses Languages at the Tower of Babel

8 So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. 9 Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused[a] the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.
Genesis 11:8-9

The Answer – If God Is Not the Author of Confusion, What About the Tower of Babel?

The Contexts Are Completely Different

The context of 1 Corinthians 14:33 is completely different from the context of Genesis 11:8-9. 1 Corinthians 14:33 is about ”’worship being done in an orderly manner”’, which has absolutely nothing to do with what is happening in Genesis 11:8-9.
The context of 1 Corinthians 14:33 is that the Corinthian church was using spiritual gifts in a way that was causing disorder in the church. We can perhaps paraphrase 1 Corinthians 14:33 to say, “For God is not a God who should be worshipped in a confused manner, but a God who should be worshipped in an orderly and peaceful manner.”

So, there is no contradiction between Genesis 11:8-9 and 1 Corinthians 14:33 because the two passages really have nothing to do with each other.

Foundational Principles Regarding Bible Difficulties

There are some foundational principles that apply to all alleged and apparent contradictions in the Bible. To read more, see Bible Difficulties: Foundational Principles.