Is the Bible the Word of God?

Question

How can the Bible be the Word of God when it's been changed and translated so many times. The bible wasn't even written during the life of Jesus, so how can you even believe its accurate?

Answer 1

i don't. the only part of the bible i believe MAY be accurate is the account of jewish history, but even then, i have to consider:
- it's a biased account
- it's been translated (and probably edited) at least a few times, and as a translator, i know what a big potential for distortion there is in that.
as for the rest of it, i believe it to be a mixture of what a few wise men thought up to answer all the big existential questions, some fables thrown in not to be taken literally, but simply to illustrate a point, and often contradictory tales passed down by word of mouth for decades before they were written down by nameless people (no, it was not actually written by the apostles, it is more or less universally accepted now that they were written after all the apostles were dead) and translated to death over the centuries....

for conservative guy... (sorry to hijack the question but it is an important point)
to give you a clue of what a big difference translation can make. find a recipe in a language you are not familiar with (i might suggest german), then grab a dictionary for that language and attempt to translate the recipe. it should be easy, right? basic directions, no complex sentence structures, no big existential topics? i wish you luck.
you see, it takes a native speaker to even begin to understand basic sentence structure, if it deviates at all from the usual pattern (german deviates a bit from the english pattern), and there is a wealth of implications that you aren't even aware of. i believe it is in greenland (or was it finland?) that they have over 200 words for snow, depending on the characteristics of the snow. one thing you learn really quickly as a translator is that there is no such thing as two words that mean exactly the same thing. there are implications, conotations that change the meaning of words. you may translate any one of those 200 words for snow, but think of the wealth of detail that is lost... even as you tackle the recipe, you soon realize there is more to it than this word means that....
and speaking of which, for most words, you look it up and have several different defenitions... then what?

as a final thought... language evolves, just like people. no matter how long someone may have studied aramaic, the language as it was spoken in christ's time is dead. it no longer exists, no one can be fluent in it. at best we can make good guesses and infer a lot of things.

Answer 2

The Bible is written by Prophets. I'm thinking the first five books in the Old Testament are written by Moses. Starts with the creation. Take a look in the Bible. Many different sections, called books by many different men maybe even some women. There is nothing about the words of Jesus in the Old Testament. Jesus enters the picture In the New Testament. All the words written in red are word from Jesus. I think everyone should at least look in the Bible and see how it is put together. I have a curiosity about every thing and a burning desire to learn about every thing. I don't mean just the Bible. I like History of other country's, people, archeology and art. I like to read the classics, historical romance, best sellers, and I have also read the Quran. I'm a Christian but I have an interest in all religion because I feel whether we realize it or not we are all worshiping the same God or if it sounds better, The same Supreme Power.

Answer 3

It is the Word of God. I know that it's been translated so many times but does that mean that the meaning has changed? And of course the book wasn't written during the time of Jesus. How can the book of Genesis (about the creation of the Earth) be written during Jesus' life? The Bible is made up of many books written by 40 writers who were inspired by God. The 40 writers didn't write the books all at the same time but the events recored by different the writers were the same and still are. And that is one of the wonders of the Bible. Maybe you should read the Bible to clear your doubt.

Answer 4

Yes it is. Many chosen people wrote it but they were inspired by God. They have many translation because the real bible was written in their language. For the convenience of all people it was translated carefully into almost all of the languages in the world about 2,100. We can say that it's accurate because they translate it word by word. Yes, your right it was not made in Jesus' time but aren't you amaze that every book has intervals. And from the old to new it was a hundred of years and yet bible is the most accurate and relevant book there is. It's like the authors spoke with each other to say parts of what they have written in different times. Even the researchers were amazed. So, don't doubt, just believe because God is in control.

Answer 5

This issue exists with any holy book.

We have the original Greek/Hebrew/Aramaic to compare our translation with the original ("Emphatic Diaglot" is sometimes used to describe an edition with both the original language and, say, English.)

No, none of the Bible was written during the life of Jesus, just as no news is reported until after it happens. After Jesus ascended to heaven (according to Christian beliefs), various people close to the church wrote their account of Jesus and key points of his life (Gospels), but other writings (Letters) only discussed the philosophy, practices, and beliefs of the church.

The gospels were all written by those who would have been eye witnesses, so they are no more accurate than the claim that Moses wrote the first five books of the Old Testament, or that Muhammed authored the Koran.

When compiling the Bible, early Christians took many writings and analyzed them exhaustively. There were a central group that agreed with each other without direct contradiction, and others that had a significant difference from the normal writing.

And finally, the Bible is the Word of God because we (Christians, and Jews for the Old Testament) believe it to be so. If you don't, that's fine. But please don't kill anybody over it. That should have been over with in the Middle Ages.

Answer 6

Bible is the Word of God. If someone has told you it has been changed they are either just ignorant or have wrong intentions. It has been translated into thousands of languages, true. This is for people to understand what it says. This is where the big difference is. You don't have to depend on people who brainwash you with their ulterior motives. You can read for yourself and find out. The Bible wasn't written in Jesus' time. It covers a period of over 1000 years. Unlike one person cooking up things with perverted mind, the Bible has been written down by about forty different people who lived in three different continents, belonged to different generations, most of whom didn't even know each other. But there's an amazing unity in the message of the books of the Bible.
Bible claims it is the Word of God.
Bible has withstood the onslaught of time, enemies and critics for all these many centuries.
Bible has influenced more lives for the better, than any other book, philosophy, person or government.
Bible has hundreds of prophecies that were fulfilled accurately during the course of time. Several of its prophecies are being fulfilled today.

Don't just swallow what someone else tells, read it for yourself and find out.

Answer 7

The "Bible" word actually means a collection of sacred text. It is not ONE book, but many put into one. There have been many books taken out of and added into the Bible(s) we have today since the beginning of time. It all depends on who's hands it's been in and who believes what, etc. Just like other sacred text that isn't included in the "bible" most won't believe SIMPLY because it's not been included in the "bible". That does not make it untrue. Any bible can be true, as far as it is translated correctly and is a WITNESS of God and Jesus and the truth.

Answer 8

You're right...it wasn't written during the life of Jesus.

Isaiah wrote about, prophesied about the coming Messiah, Jesus, by a virgin birth, some 700 odd years before Jesus came and the New Testament was written in the latter half of the First Century after the crucifixion.

Your point?

Answer 9

The Bible is the Christians book of the word of God. Translating it from different language may change some of the total meaning but being that there are so many different people in the world, that are Christians it has to suffice.

The Book is a combination of different books written by different apostles after Christ was crucified. (New Testament). There for it is the Christian Word of God as far as it is translated correctly.

Answer 10

>YES THE BIBLE IS THE WORD OF GOD! but i understnad how you feel i myself as a christian are upset how people want to change the bible for thier own personal gain the bible says not to add of take away from it so God be with those people
>and yes the bible has to be trasnlated in the bible it says to get the Gospel ( the word of God) to as many people as possible and if those people cant understand english what are you gunna do?! except to translate of course !
> Personally i can only believe that the bible is accurate because of my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and how life changing the word is so i hope you find that out yourself :D