Is it Anti-Christian to think there is only one interpretation of the Holy Bible??

Question

Each Christian sect claims that their interpretaion of the Holy Bible is the true one-- then why aren't there more Holy Bibles ? Jesus didn't speak different versions of the truth did he?? Even different Catholic sects have division of belief.

Answer 1

You've touched on a very good question. The Catholic Church has one standard interpretation of the bible and it's called the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The protestant denominations, conversely, each claim to have the "correct" teachings of Christ. With so many different denominations, how is anyone supposed to figure out who's got it right?

Jesus gave us one faith, one truth, and it wasn't up for individual interpretation or feeling. Those teachings were given to the Apostles, who led and spread the faith through the early Christian Church. That Church become known as the Universal Church, or in Latin, the Catholic Church. She has preserved, taught, and protected His teachings for the last 2,000 years.

If you'd like more info on what the Church teaches, check this out:

www.catholic.com
www.catholic.org
www.ewtn.com

Answer 2

Think about the Constitution for a moment...

There are different interpretations of the US Constitutions. Many court cases have been argued over how to balance the right of one amendment, with the powers of another clauses. What did the writers mean when they wrote "establishment of religion"? There is a whole branch of the government - the courts - set up to deal with the undertanding of the Constitution.

Yet it is just one document. There are not dozens of different Constitutions written by different groups. Different interpretations exist, but only one document.

Now imagine that the Consitutions ran 66 volumes in length, and had over 3.6 million words. It would be very easy to see how lawyers could pick the poor thing to pieces and argue over every word trying to prove their cases.

That is what happens with the Bible. It is a 66 volume, 3.6 million word document. And it has undergone the same kind of study and arguing as the law. Just as different groups have formed around different interpretations of the law, so different groups have formed around different interpretations or understanding of the scripture.

But if you have ever read the Constitution, you will see that it is simple and clear enough that the average person can understand the major points and rules of it. Same with the Bible. A average person reading it can understand the main themes, teachings, and doctrines of the book. The rest - leave to the lawyers.

I like the quote from Mark Twain "It's not the parts of the Bible I don't understand that bother me. Its the parts I do."

Answer 3

The earliest writings of the Old Testament were written around 1850 BCE. Theses were stories borrowed from the older writings of the Epic of Gilgamesh.
First Great Revision of Judaism about 1200 B.C.E. The myth of Exodus was included in the revision, transformed as it was from the older story of the expulsion of the Hyksos
Second and third revisions, 742 – 600 BCE the many gods of the Old Testament are harmonized into a singular being _ Yahweh
The Fourth Great Revision 586 B.C.E. to 538 B.C.E.
The Fifth Great Revision of Judaism 323 B.C.E. to 45 C.E. under Greek influence
The Last Great Revision of Judaism 30 C.E. to appx. 73 C.E
50 C.E. to 140 C.E. The Jesus Movement suddenly and quickly transformed itself from a social and political reform movement into a full-blown religion.
The Gospels: Mythmaking Begins in Ernest. Myths and miracles added to the bible 65 C.E. to appx. 120 C.E.
Emperor Constantine 313 C.E. to appx. 430 C.E. demanded that the bishops at the First Council of Nicea come up with a consistent, catholic doctrine that would be universal. This is where the word Catholicism comes from.
320 C.E. to 1330 C.E. Emperor Constantine ordered Eusebius to put together some scriptures for him to present to the new churches he was constructing at his new capital of Constantinople in time for his new festival of the resurrection, to be called "Easter”.
The Protestant Revision and the English Bibles 1330 to 1611. John Wycliffe organized the translation of the Bible into English.
The King James Bible version first appeared in 1611. Though the frontispiece written by the conference declares it to be a new translation, that's not really what it was. In fact, it was a revision of the Bishop's Bible of 1602, which itself was a revision of the Bishop's Bible of 1568, which was a revision of Coverdale's less than scholarly Great Bible, which was a rewrite of the Tyndale and Wycliffe works.

Answer 4

Religion, polictics, love, women, some of the things in life no one person or group will ever have all the answers to. The Bible is a referenece tool. It relates to situatons of religion and is used like today's lawyers used case studies and history text to solve an arguement. Jesus said, "The kingdom of heaven is inside you and all around you" each of us will read the Bible and have a different interpetation of it. Which in essense means we will all have a different version of Heaven. If you want to go to Disney World---you can fly---you can drive---you can go by train---you can even walk---thats what makes life so wonderful---God made it possible no matter how you do it, YOU ALWAYS---IF YOU HAVE FAITH--WILL BE RIGHT!
BE BLESSED!!

Answer 5

No it is not. One needs a formal grounding in biblical hermeneutics, including Greek and Hebrew, to properly interpret the bible. Many will just pick a few verses and form an entire theology around them, ignoring the overall biblical themes and synergies.

It is important to remember that the differences between the canonical Christian faiths are not different enough to put one's ultimate salvation in jeopardy. Rather they are distinctions between various beliefs of the sacraments and rituals. No canonical Christian denomination claims that members of another recognized Christian denomination are not a party to Christ's redemptive atonement. This is the key, we are all brothers and sisters in Christ's elect and while we may disagree on some of the finer points of theology, there is no disagreement on our salvation.

Answer 6

The answer to this one, is that the bible has been altered so many times over the years to suit whoever rules the lives of people at that time,so much has been removed from it and even more worrying is more has been added.

Answer 7

Jesus only spoke "one truth". I only know of one Church that has been consistent in it's teaching since the Church began on Pentecost Sunday. You can draw your conclusions as to the appropriateness of other interpretations.

Answer 8

Well, i believe that the bible has been modified by people over time, and that no one knows what's true and what's false in it anymore.

Answer 9

The bigger question is "Are people putting their own personal preferences, opinions, and ideas into not only what Yahweh's (God's) Holy Word teaches, but who Yahweh and His Son Yeshua (Jesus Christ) REALLY are?"

Answer 10

is it anti-Harry Potter to think that there is only one interpretation of the HP series?

shall we sit here and wring our hands all day, and worry about the interpretation of fictional, silly books??

PS: there ARE more holy bibles. walk into any whack-job christian book store, and you'll find over 100 versions of the Silly Book. think about THAT for a moment. what does THAT tell you about their cult, that there are over 100 versions of their cult book, each one claiming to be the true word or god.