► Is it really TRUE that some things have been CHANGED in the BIBLE by MAN over time?

Question

I have heard this many times... Is it true???? If so, what things?


(I'm curious)

Answer 1

Absolutely. The Bible was compiled around 300 to 400 AD by a group of men who were brought together by Emperor Constantine.

These men then collected all the holy books related to Christianity as it was practiced in that area and put together what has become known as the Bible. Since then many things have been added to and edited from these manuscripts.

In spite of what many may say, there are NO "original" documents of the Bible. There are absolutely none. The oldest documents we have are still only copies of copies of copies, and they are not in the "original languages." For example one person states the Bible was written "in Hebrew." It was not. Some of the manuscripts may have been written in Aramaic, which is not at all the same as Hebrew; some of them were written in Greek. However, in NO CASE WHATSOEVER do we have the original manuscripts of the Bible.

The most obvious answer to your question is for you to get a copy of the Catholic version of the Bible and the Protestant version of the Bible, and compare them. You will find that they are two different books, in two different translations, with two different messages. The Protestant Bible, the King James version in particular, is an edited version of the Latin Vulgate and the other Catholic scriptures used before the KJV was written.

Therefore it is obvious that the Bible has been changed and edited. It has also been radically misinterpreted.

People who tell you that you must "believe in" the Bible before you can understand it are the worst sorts of idiots, the blind leading the blind. It continually amazes me how many people call themselves Christians and yet know less than nothing about the history of Christianity.

Answer 2

It really depends on what you mean by "some things."
Daniel's prophecy says that in the time of the end knowledge [of spiritual matters] would increase because many would peer into these things. That has been true, & today there is more known about the ancient languages that the Bible was originally written in. Some answers here mentioned the King James Authorized Version. It is a good example of things that were changed to support some doctrine, but newer translations have changed it back, after comparisons with the master texts & older manuscripts. An example of that is God's Name, which was deliberately mistranslated nearly 7,000 times in the King James version as LORD, or sometimes GOD (in all capital letters) but which was translated Jehovah in four verses. Other translations have 'corrected' that mistake. Therefore, some people claim that the Bible has been "changed," when in reality, those TRANSLATIONS is what was actually changed, not the manuscripts of the ancient holy writings. Although its not well-known, it is well-established that, from the oldest copies to the newest, there is about 1,900 years difference between them. Also, there are about 6,000 manuscript copies of the Hebrew scriptures & about 5,000 manuscript copies of the Christian Greek scriptures. All these copies have been studied & compared by countless scholars & students of the Bible. It has been determined, with a high degree of accuracy, that the only changes found are very minor differences in spellings & grammar, but that the context & meaning has remained remarkably constant throughout the entire 1,600 years that it took to write the Bible. In comparing the Bible with any other ancient book, there is far more evidence for its remaining the same throughout a far longer time period, with many, many more copies to check it by than any other ancient book. Really then, if you have any faith in the God of the Bible, do not doubt his ability to preserve his Word. At least five different scriptures, by four different writers confirm this one thought; God will preserve his Word. The Dead Sea scrolls are proof that can, & does, do just that.
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Answer 3

Technically, yes. The bible wasn't actually "The Bible" for a long time...they were just stories. Everyone at that time could have written down their version of what they saw. But only certain books got into the bible. Why is this? Who got to choose what went in the bible? Constantine. And a bunch of other people, but he orchestrated the idea. He was a pagan ruler, but he needed to unite his country under one religion. So he chose Christianity. And he put the Christian holidays on the pagan holidays to make the pagans more willing to switch to Christianity, and he demonized all the pagan gods.

Also: the Catholic bible has more books than the Protestant bible! Who got to decide what goes into either bible? There's no set copy of the bible.

And yes, I DID know all this before The Da Vinci Code came out. That book is ridiculously stupid, and these are the only true thing in that book.

Oh, and don't forget, the bible was written by men in the first place. God did not come down from his high place and sit down at a desk with a quill and some ink and write out the bible.

Answer 4

Yes. In 325 a.d. the Constantine the Great held a council of 300 religious leaders to sort through the religious writings and decide which were truly scripture and which were false. Those that did not make the cut were burned and forbidden from the text, however there are several that can be found in other holy books such as the Quran. The bible had to be re-written into other languages and there was no printing press at the time so it was done by hand. They were mistakes and things were omitted. Of course every sect has their own bible as well.

Answer 5

As far as I know, no. I don't think that is true. There are still copies of the Bible in Hebrew, and all the languages that it was written in origionally. If someone tried to change some things, then they'd have to try to change it in every version of the bible there is. And there are a lot, in practically (or almost) every language, as far as I know. So, that'd be near impossible to pull off.

In in response to one of the replies, the council held by Constantine was actually held to determine if they all believed the scriptures and The Bible, and whether it'd be accepted. Everyone except 2 voted yes. There were other scriptures, but we actually have some now. They weren't all burnt and destroyed. Also, the reason they weren't included into the Bible was because some weren't written by people who were even around during Jesus' time, so they claimed a lot of things that weren't true. Also, a lot of it wasn't true. So, why add that to the Bible just because it talks about Jesus?

Answer 6

yes it is true.

Genesis through Job was never written down until the time of King David. It was an ORAL only history that was passed down from person to person over the generations. We all know how well that works .

After that part was written down, and the other parts started, it was written down with less time between the events and the writing.

When it was first compiled into what we call the bible, much was left out and much was altered so that there would be less contradictions... and so that it would flow better as a book.

Then King James did the same thing MUCH later on.

Answer 7

I have spent 30 years on a crossroads studying every type of religion and lifestyle I could seeking for answers. I questioned God I begged for answers. I thought the Bible was corrupted at best by the evil of man to gain control over men. I thought my mind was open willing to accept any proof I could find. I asked for a sign but I felt like I was wasting my breath. I had almost given up trying and I sat back and listened. I seen evil for the first time. I mean bad evil. I seen a bitter old man scream at a child your god is a lie life is evil there is no heaven when you die your body will rot. The evil spewed this child tears ran down her face. I thought how could anyone be so mean how could anyone crush someone so bad and just turn and walk away. He earned nothing he gained nothing but because he choose not to believe he felt it important to make others not believe. like a bolt of lightening I seen something that changed my life. all the answers that I seached for all my life suddenly came to me this heavy feeling in my heart was gone. I felt so sad for this little girl so went to comfort her. her little bible she held unto fell open the first thing I saw were the words jesus wept..
I didn't need any more. This proved to me that there is a power there is a god his word showed me that no matter what evil is out there the bible can not be altered in meaning. you see because the bible is not about so much the words but the inspiration it gives. The Bible was written in such a way that it has sprung a different meaning which people formed many religions from the same words because God knows not everyone is as smart as another. so even if the words were to be changed the meaning would still be there.
these people who say the real words have been destroyed are wrong they have not they are not out for public view because they are old and god protects them. if you follow your heart fill yourself with love and compassion then all you seek you will find.

Answer 8

I can't tell you what things because we no longer have those original books written by monks by hand. But some emperors and kings made additions or deleted things from the bible to fit their thinking. Some even made their own bibles (there are many bibles out there!)! And some things have been lost through translation. I don't think major stories were changed (even though that finding of the Book of Judas will change quite a few things).

But I personally think the bible as just stories to teach morals.

Answer 9

Ok, here's where I get shot at by other Christians... it is not outside the realm of possibility that some things in the text have been altered... but before you jump to conclusions and begin stoning me to death, hear me out...

Any time you translate from one language to another, there is something lost in translation. There are many words in other languages that don't translate very well into English, so we do our best to approximate.

For example, in the book of Genesis (Ch 2) we find references to God and the LORD God. It is difficult to translate every facet of the fulness of God in any language without confusion people. However El Shaddai and Adonai are very distinct aspects of the God.

As we come with newer and newer translations, some things have gotten omitted or added based on popular teachings or to appease certain denominations.

I recommend that everyone use the King James translation... but I recognize that some of the language gets pretty thick... (especially when doing the geneologies). For those who just can't stand the word "begat" I would recommend the New King James translation, which keeps the flow of the original, but changes the Old English pronouns and some of the verbs to make them easier to understand.

Whichever translation you use, the important thing to remember is that "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

Answer 10

Of course it's true. You can't have translation after translation without missing something. Not to mention, I seriously doubt that the original text was written in iambic pentameter like the King James version. And then there's the translation from King James English to new english. As for what things... There are a lot. For instance, it's theorized that the "Red Sea" was actually the "Reed Sea" that was simply mistranslated. Simple things like that.