Is the bible believeable?

Question

I ask this because we know that everyone uses multiple translations of the bible. we know that some of these add things and some take away things. we also know that it is in our nature to speak in broad picturesque terms. e.g. "i would just DIE for a piece of that cake!" probably doesn't make sense to many foreign languages if translated directly across. they might think someone is religiously attatched to the cake if they found that written 2,000 years later. well, pick an idiom and then think of it literally. there are thousands. how can we be sure that we have translated all the idioms in the bible correctly?

1 John 5:7-8 NIV
7For there are three that testify: 8the[a] Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.

1 John 5:7-8 KJV
For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one. And there are three that witness on earth, the Spirit, the Water and the Blood and these three agree in one.

my example verses do NOT say the same thing. the first could not be proof of the trinity in the bible, the 2nd could. the first mentions nothing about the father, nor the word. also the KJV version was not found in early greek manuscripts, it was added much later. it's known as the Johannine Comma. so if all scripture is god breathed, how can this just be inserted later? and it goes to my point, look how mysterious the statements are. how do we know what this is trying to say?

Archaeology is NOT using the bible, not nearly as much as christians would like to claim, at least.

T.W. Davis, “Shifting Sands: The Rise and Fall of Biblical Archaeology”, Oxford 2004
I. Finkelstein, “The Bible Unearthed”, Free Press 2001
A.D. Marcus, “The View from Nebo”, Little, Brown & Co 2000
M. Sturgis, “It Ain’t Necessarily So”, Headline 2001
T.L. Thompson, “The Mythic Past”, Basic Books 1999
T.L. Thompson, “The Historicity of the Patriarchal Narratives”, Trinity 2002

it is just a group of stories that contain some fact.

http://geocities.com/paulntobin/bibleanalysis.html#archae

Answer 1

The bible is full of errors.

Firstly, it was passed down through oral tradition. If you've ever played the "telephone game", you know how it gets changed.

Secondly, the scribes who wrote out what got to them were barely literate. Most Christians of the ancient world were uneducated and part of the lower class.

Thirdly, the scribes who copied these manuscripts were illiterate and were copying the bible letter by letter. They wrote in "scriptum continuum", or without punctuation, capitals, or spaces. They would often make "eye jumps" which was a big problem since they would then change the word.

Next were the scribes who could read. It was up to them to interprete the "scriptum continuum". An atheist and a theist could argue about what "godisnowhere" means, and some people would be thankful and others would freak out if they "sawabundanceonthetable". They would also abbreviate words like "pneuma" or spirit. The next person who came along might thing they meant a drink. Thus, someone was drunk of a drink instead of the spirit. They also made changes so the bible would jive more with itself. Also, some stories were added, like the one about Jesus and the Adulterer.

Next came the translaters. Reading the bible in English is, according to my source, like watching a show in black and white and reading it in Greek is in color- you get the picture, but not the details. They translated the best they could. However, King James made an intentional mistranslation. "Thou Shalt Not Suffer a Witch To Live." This was a mistranslation of the Hebrew "m'khashepah" (I actually looked it up, this time) or "poisoner/ person who does curses to harm others.

But whatever tickles your pickle, go with it. :-)

Answer 2

The main theme and spirit of the scriptures are harmonious. There are bits and pieces here and there that may seem to contradict each other but they don't. Some authors emphasize certain parts of a story or concept while others overlook those same parts. It's like 40 people who witnessed something and then they all told what they saw, heard or experienced. They're all gonna have different perspectives but the main story will still remain the same.

Apart from the help of God, no one can understand the Bible by themselves. (But He'll help you if you ask Him to!)

Answer 3

Different translations but the message remains the same.

It's like Star Wars Episodes 4 through 6. In the later years new versions of the movie were made but the story remained the same.

Answer 4

Most nuances such as you cite have been taken into consideration in biblical translations. The problems with the Bible really revolve around cultural incompatibilities between the ancient East and modern West, and the political origins of the accepted (and incomplete) canon.

Answer 5

Everything you can read in the Bible was once added.... by a person who knew how to write by writing it on empty paper. I am sorry, but it is all up to you what you want to believe or not. Nobody can make up her mind for you. Why do you care if it was translated correctly? If something makes sense to you take it, if not leave it. It was 2000 years ago that Jesus had his party, we can never be sure what he truly said and what not. You are the only instance to judge it.

Answer 6

Modern acheaology has proven many of the events told in scripture actualy happened!also we have other historians to look to for evidence such as Josephus an early Roman writer!

Answer 7

Archeology is proving that the Holy Bible is historically accurate.

Answer 8

I used to think so, but not any more. however that example does not prove your point. It is worded a little differently, but the meaning is the same.

Answer 9

Thanks to God someone with sense... read the Quran and ask knowledgeable people, it might be usefull, because the bible has been changed...
It is good to get persue knowledge it might open your mind to what your looking for in life...
just an advice

Answer 10

Nope. Its a deluded joke thats been used for centuries to justify the church doing nasty things to people.