If you're a Christian, do you really believe in the Holy Bible?

Question

the bible has been passed down from generation to generation...been edited here and there... a lot of tyrant and power hungry popes have been in hold of that power for quite a lot of time. They may have re-written it or edited some parts of it. Tell me in your most wisest answer what you think about it?

Answer 1

I believe the Bible, as we have it, is completely true, and gives us what we need to live for God.

There are many who have stated for a fact that the Bible has been tampered with by kings or popes, or whomever. The problem with such a premise is that they are merely parrotting what someone else has said about it, without actually having read the Bible through, or doing any historical background into the texts.

Allow me to begin a short defense of the authority and accuracy of the Scriptures.

First, I'll give a brief history and show you about the accuracy of the Old Testament manuscripts. When the translators of the King James Bible wrote the Old Testament, the oldest available manuscript for them to use was known as the Masoretic Text. This had been written in the 9th century A.D. It was this text that the translators based their work on the Old Testament. In 1947, a shepherd boy discovered some pottery in caves in the area called Qumran, near the Dead Sea. In these jars, he discovered scrolls, which archaeologists and Bible scholars have researched ever since. Every book of the Old Testament (except Esther) was discovered. Most of these scrolls are dated to 150 B.C. After comparing these Dead Sea Scrolls to the Masoretic Text, the scholars discovered an amazing degree of unanimity between the two, although they were written a thousand years apart. Further, the Septuagint (the Greek language translation of the Hebrew Bible) was also compared. With all of these references, there is plenty of evidence that no biblical doctrine has been tampered with.

Naturally, the next object of ridicule is the New Testament. However, there is no larger ancient body of manuscript evidence in the history of mankind, than the papyri and parchment manuscripts of the New Testament. With over five thousand actual Greek manuscripts, and numerous other manuscripts in four other languages, there are about twenty-four thousand available manuscript texts for the New Testament.

Even if we didn't have these documents, we could almost have a complete New Testament from extra-biblical sources, such as ancient lectionaries, church fathers' records/sermons/writings, etc.

No other body of ancient work comes close. No one really disputes Julius Caesar's The Gallic Wars (10 manuscripts remain, with the earliest one dating to 1,000 years after the original autograph). No one really disputes Pliny the Younger's Natural History (7 manuscripts; 750 years elapsed). Or Thucydides' History (8 manuscripts; 1,300 years elapsed). No one disputes Herodotus' History (8 manuscripts; 1,350 years elapsed). No one really disputes Plato (7 manuscripts; 1,300 years elapsed). No one really disputes Tacitus' Annals (20 manuscripts; 1,000 years elapsed.) Homer's Iliad, the most renowned book of ancient Greece, is the second best-preserved literary work of all antiquity, with 643 copies of manuscript support discovered to date. In those copies, there are 764 disputed lines of text, as compared to 40 lines in all the New Testament manuscripts.

But we have ancient manuscripts of the New Testament that are written within a generation of Christ's resurrection, (For example, a papyrus fragment of John's Gospel dated at the turn of the century.) and people have the audacity to say it's been tampered with!

Answer 2

I think the King James version is Divinely inspired. So many people died translating the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin into English that even historians concede that it is an accurate account. However, the newer versions cause me some concern. I heed the warning that we are not to take away from or add to the words John was to lay down in Revelations. The prophesies are quite seriously taken to make assurance that the Bible is the Word of God. When we start interpreting into versions written for a purpose other than the edification of the Christian, I worry. I read the New International Version now only because many Hebrew speaking people have pointed to translations in the NIV that they say more accurately depict the intent of the words. I did, however, start by reading the King James because I felt certain it was the last Holy Spirit, ordained work of God's Word. In the end, I think you have to read and read and read the Bible. Study it. Pray for discernment. Study and search out Hebrew text and teachings. Put them all together and learn everything you can. And still you will believe on faith. The Bible, as we know it is the Word of God. There is no doubt in my mind.

Answer 3

There are manuscripts dating back as far as about 200 B.C. that can be compared with our English translations, and they have shown to be remarkably accurate. Translators use the oldest documents available, so there is little chance for error. People have been trying to disprove the accuracy of the Biblical texts for ages but nobody ever wants to check out the evidence FOR the Bible. Read up on the Dead Sea Scrolls and do a Google search for Biblical textual criticism and you'll understand how it is that the Bible can be trusted because the manuscript integrity has not been changed.

Answer 4

Actually, the popes and the Catholic church are instrumental in keeping the Bible as it were. It's the 'reformers' like Luther and others who wanted to edit the Bible (for example before the protestant revolt, the Bible included the deutero-canonical books, now you'd be hard press to find those books included; leaving it an incomplete bible). You can just look at how others wanted to translate the Bible and how translating errors came about and even publishing answers.

Most importantly, if you understand that it was the Catholic church (at that time, the only church) with the authority given by Christ, that gave us the Bible then you'd see that we Christians believe in these inspired writings because the Holy Spirit through the church said so. I hope that helps.

Answer 5

The study of the texts of the Bible is not a history of power and influence and editing, but rather of a fight to preserve the integrity of the very words themselves. It is true that access to knowledge of the Bible has been influenced by politics and prejudice, but the integrity of the translations had been hard fought for.

That's the "most wisest answer" I could come up with.

Answer 6

1. As you have mentioned, If many popes have edited the Holy Bible, why don't they stick to it?
If I have edited the bible to favor me I would have sticked to what I have edited.
2. Still the Holy Bible is accurate when it is compared to the red sea scrolls available.
Languages might have changed in latest versions for example in KJV versions many words are used in its older forms like instead of spoke it is spake, Does = doeth, seems = seemeth, you = thou/thee, your = thine. This never means the meaning is edited. The claim of edit is actually forward by Quran, to make people believe Quran as the last inspired words of god. This is against to Bible for the Bible ends with not to add or delete any thing to it.

FALSE LIEING TO MAKE TRUTH AS FALSE

I still believe in the Holy Bible.

Answer 7

If you have taken time to research. The Dead sea scrolls and the ancient Torah writing are the same. Some phrases and words have changed due to translations, from Aramaic, Hebrew, Greek, Latin and to English. The content remains the same.

There is too long of a continuous line for comparison.

Answer 8

I believe that God is more powerful than man and his word and his will and his way will shine through no matter what man tries to do to it.

ALthough, I am a serious believer in looking up original words and texts to learn meanings of words then as compared to now and it has helped me a lot by doing this.

Answer 9

Even outside of religion it is one of the oldest books in the world, it is part of all of our history in one way or another. As with any book you have to have the brain to understand whats what, I'll admit it is very confusing. It does tell us to love each other and try to live in peace.

Answer 10

gelo,
You might be surprised that the Jews, Christians, and Muslims all believe in those same scriptures. Interesting, huh? Just look down the page and you will see a couple of Muslims that think that Torah is scripture.