Christians, who wrote the bible? And how do we know that stuff?

Question

hasn't been deleted or changed? I have heard that the king james version is the most accurate. Is this true, and how do we know???

Answer 1

The shortest answer:

Every attempt to discredit the bible has failed. Every time something is dug up, it reinforces the existence of what the bible has recorded for all time.

Look around, even nature is too marveous for man to understand. God is the creator!

Answer 2

The KJV is the oldest version in widespread use. It is not the most accurate. There are over 25000 ancient New Testament manuscripts in the original languages available for study today. There is about (about !) 1/2% variance in the documents. That is, less than 1% of the wording is different between all of them. The vast majority of that is variant spellings. There is not as much Old Testament material available. But, with the finding of the "Dead Sea Scrolls", the documentation went back about 400 years closed to the originals that what was previously available.
Bible scholars are confident that we have it as it was intended to be.
Now, don't confuse the different "versions" as different Bibles. They all say the same thing. The words are different, because different translation methods were used for many reasons. Some were translated into very easy English, and others were translated into more difficult language. The KJV is difficult for most people to read. The NLT is easy enough for a young child to read.

Answer 3

By comparing old manuscripts with one another, we can see if anything has been changed or not.

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Manuscript Evidence for the New Testament
There are more than 24,000 partial and complete manuscript copies of the New Testament.

These manuscript copies are very ancient and they are available for inspection now.

There are also some 86,000 quotations from the early church fathers and several thousand Lectionaries (church-service books containing Scripture quotations used in the early centuries of Christianity).

Bottom line: the New Testament has an overwhelming amount of evidence supporting its reliability.

The Variants in the New Testament Manuscripts Are Minimal
In the many thousands of manuscript copies we possess of the New Testament, scholars have discovered that there are some 150,000 "variants."

This may seem like a staggering figure to the uninformed mind.

But to those who study the issue, the numbers are not so damning as it may initially appear.

Indeed, a look at the hard evidence shows that the New Testament manuscripts are amazingly accurate and trustworthy.
To begin, we must emphasize that out of these 150,000 variants, 99 percent hold virtually no significance whatsoever.

Many of these variants simply involve a missing letter in a word; some involve reversing the order of two words (such as "Christ Jesus" instead of "Jesus Christ"); some may involve the absence of one or more insignificant words.

Really, when all the facts are put on the table, only about 50 of the variants have any real significance - and even then, no doctrine of the Christian faith or any moral commandment is effected by them.

For more than ninety-nine percent of the cases the original text can be reconstructed to a practical certainty.

Even in the few cases where some perplexity remains, this does not impinge on the meaning of Scripture to the point of clouding a tenet of the faith or a mandate of life.
Thus, in the Bible as we have it (and as it is conveyed to us through faithful translations) we do have for practical purposes the very Word of God, inasmuch as the manuscripts do convey to us the complete vital truth of the originals....

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The King James Version (KJV) — Translated in 1611 by 47 scholars using the Byzantine family of manuscripts, Textus Receptus. This remains as a good version of the Bible. It has been the most reliable translation for over three centuries, but its Elizabethan style Old English is difficult for modern readers, especially youth. This is still a good translation for those who can deal with the language.


The New American Standard Bible (NASB) — Translated in 1971 by 58 scholars of the Lockman Foundation, from Kittle’s Biblia Hebraica and Nestle’s Greek New Testament 23rd ed., which include the Alexandrian Family codices. Though academic in tone, it is said to be the most exact English translation available. A very good version.


The Living Bible (TLB) — A paraphrased rendition of the King James Version by Kenneth Taylor in 1971. This is not a genuine translation, but is a type of phrase-by-phrase commentary that was originally intended to help the author’s own children understand the scriptures. It is useful for inspiration and commentary, but for serious Bible study it should only be used in conjunction with a legitimate translation.


The New International Version (NIV) — Over 100 translators completed this work in 1978 which was composed from Kittle’s, Nestle’s and United Bible Society’s texts, which include the Alexandrian Family codices. This is considered an “open” style translation. It is a good, easy to read version.


The New King James Version (NKJV) — 130 translators, commissioned by Thomas Nelson Publishers, produced this version from the Byzantine family (Textus Receptus) in 1982. This is a revision of the King James version, updated to modern English with minor translation corrections and retention of traditional phraseology. This is a very good version.

Answer 4

GOD wrote the Bible through man. That's what I have been raised to believe, and that's what I think. Some things probably have been lost and mixed up in translation. Back then, I highly doubt they spoke the English we speak today. They probably spoke some form of Arabic or Hebrew. Hebrew, I think, is a liklier bet. Either way, the overall message is still the same: trust GOD; He loves us all. GOD bless you!

Answer 5

the Biblical writers wrote the books of the Bible, however tradition is usually wrong on OT authorship. The NT authors, we know.

Answer 6

the new testament mostly says who was the author of each . I think moses wrote a lot of the old testament.

Answer 7

the bible is made out several texts by the early church so its clear that they left out many texts that they didn't like the gnostic text are an example

Answer 8

Anyone who says that the King James is the most reliable is obviously Protestant. Catholics have another point of view.

The Bible isn't a book that someone sat down and scratched out. The Bible is the work of several different people over several centuries. Millenia even.

The "Pentateuch" a Greek word for the first 5 books of the bible is thought to have been written by Moses. It is called Tanak in Hebrew.

Many of the "books" say who they were written by. Baruch. Judith. Tobit. Ezekiel (ok his scribe Baruch wrote his book). Sometimes the history of a book is known. Sometimes it isn't.

The original 5 books were written some 5000 years before the time of Christ. Much of his words in the New Testament, are quoted from the Old. Very much from the Psalms.

For thousands of years the Hebrew people were transient. Without a home. But they managed to document their journey, their faith and their experiences with God.

Scribes who copied any scrolls were put to death for even the most tiny deviation.

I believe it was around the time of Alexander the Great - some 300 years before Christ - that the Sepuagint was created. A Greek translation of the entire Old Testament.

This irked a lot of devout Jews who felt, as the Muslims do, that their Holy Word should only be written in its original language. Changing the language changes the meaning.

For instance - I am the Alpha and the Omega. Doesn't have half as much meaning as the Hebrew - I am the Al and the Tau. Al is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It means Leader. Tau is the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It means covenant. So Jesus was saying he is the Leader and the Covenant.

A lot of people like to say the Bible was "written" in 350 AD. This is FAR from true. The Bible is, as I said, made up of many "books" or scrolls. The earliest recorded list, or canon, of biblical texts is dated around 71 AD.

Many folks think the Bible is a Christian book. It's not. It's a Jewish book. Christians aren't even mentioned until Acts of the Apostles.

The Apostles were all Jewish. As was Jesus.

Back to the subject at hand. After the death of Jesus, the "followers of The Way" as his people were called, were greatly persecuted. They were all pretty much under ground. Aside of John, each one of the Apostles met with a gruesome death. And yet the church not only continued, but grew. By some miracle, the early church father managed to keep copies of biblical scrolls AND as spread out as they were, unable to talk to one another for fear of a torturous death - they were all, ehem, on the same page!

Amazing isn't it? Non-Christians and Anti-Catholics will tell you that all the church's holy days parallel heathen days of celebration due to our "taking over." In truth, it was due to persecution. Christians hid their celebrations by having them right along with pagan celebrations

So along comes Constantine. A cheeky Roman who begins to see that Christianity isn't going away. In 395 he calls all the known Bishops together for the Council of Nicea. Contrary to what Dan Brown would have you believe - they didn't discuss the divinity of Jesus, nor did they decide on the official canon of the (by then) Catholic Church. They did refute the Arian heresy.

It wasn't until 398 and the Council of Hippo that the canon of the bible was made official. Bishops came together from all over to compare what scrolls they were using. By and large they were the same.

Shortly before the Council of Hippo, St. Jerome began translating the scrolls, from Greek and Hebrew into Latin. After Hippo, we had our first complete Holy Bible. Written in Latin.

The Bible remained unchanged for almost 1100 years.

Then came Martin Luther. Martin Luther was a nervous little man who became a priest after getting stuck in an electrical storm. He begged God to spare his life and SWORE to join the church if God let him live. At the very tail end of the 1400's and on into the very early 1500's - Martin Luther launched the Protestant Reform.

You see, in the late 1300's to the early 1400's, the Black Death killed multituteds of people. The church was really hurting for priests, so Luther was shuttled right on through. With very poor formation. He didn't understand a lot of things. This was the birth of Protestant misunderstandings of Catholicism. But that's a WHOLE other ball of wax.

Luther, being German, decided the Germans should have a bible in their own language. So he set about to translating the bible. He also changed a lot and tossed out books containing things that gave evidence to Catholic dogma. Tobit, Baruch, Judith, Wisdom (a favorite of mine) 1 and 2 Maccabbees. He wanted to also pulled New Testament books but the people wouldn't have it.

Luther made a lot of changes to suit his whims. Such as - adding "alone" after faith. That we are saved by faith alone and not faith coupled with good works.

So now there are two bibles. The Latin Vulgate, and Martin Luther's anti-Catholic tweeked version.

Along comes Henry VIII. Once awarded recognition as Defender of the Faith for refuting Martin Luther - Henry discovers his mistress is pregant. Since his wife isn't giving him kids any time soon, he petitions Rome for a divorce.

The Pope is not pleased. He denies Henry's petition so Henry splits from Rome. Declares himself sovereign of both church (church of England) and state. Kills all the priests who won't sign up with him. Pillages church lands. Murders several wives. Declares his first born child a bastard since he wasn't married to her mother at the time of her birth. And yet, she ends up becoming queen after his death.

Meet Elizabeth I. Elizabeth is very fondly remembered. But you might want to read Edmund Campion by Evelyn Waugh for an idea of what Catholics went through under her reign.

Elizabeth, like her father, was something of a wack job who died insane and alone without an heir.

Whoops. Back up a bit. In the late 1500's - I think 1580 or so - the Douay Rheims was translated. The first English translation of the bible. Word for word from the Latin Vulgate.

We now have 3 bibles. The Douay Rheims is VERY popular!

Ok. So... Along comes James I. While James is a Protestant, his mother is a Catholic. So he's of a mind to soften the laws against Catholicism. It's now 1603.

There are some who believe that the Gunpowder Plot was engineered by those close to King James in an attempt to keep the laws against Catholicism deadly firm. Truth or no, Guy Fawkes and some other Catholics who'd had it with persecution supposedly made an attempt to blow up Parliament. James panics and even MORE harsh laws against Catholics are put into action.

In the early 1600's King James commissioned his own bible, to go with his own church. It was completed around 1611. At that time it was called the English Standard Bible. Also, at that time it was exactly like the Douay Rheims. with only a few minor edits. Of course, those were slights against Catholicism. Such as changing the world "babble" to "repeat."

When you pray, do not babble like the pagans do.

The English Standard bible said when you pray do not repeat like the pagans do.

It wasn't until some 300 years later that those above mentioned 6 books were pulled from the English Standard Bible in another Anti-Catholic move. You see, Church of England is very Catholic. Just not Catholic under the Holy See. Not after King Henry VIII. English Protestants wanted to be free of Catholic dogma. Even Catholic dogma not under the Holy See. So they pulled books supporting it. And the King James Bible was born.

What's that 5 or 6 different versions now? Also - know that anything with "standard" in the title is just an edition of the English Standard Version. The ASB, the RSV, the NRSV. Yadda Yadda.

So... by this time, the church was shattered. New denominations were springing up left and right. Without proper formation people thought this or that line in the bible was THE key to heaven.

Puritans. Quakers. Methodists. etc... 1500 years of One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church then BOOM. Everyone's got their own idea of who God is.

ah well.

Fast forward.

In 1943, Pope Pius XII commissioned an English bible from the original text. The Douay Rheims was on it's way out.

Between 1947 and 1956 ancient scrolls were found in caves around Qumran. Some of the oldest known biblical texts EVER found. Such as the oldest existing complete Isaiah scroll.

Using the Biblio De Jerusalem, a French translation, as a guide, some Dominican monks and other scolars including the late great J.R. Tolkien took the oldest known biblical scrolls and came up with the Jerusalem Bible. Which is the official bible of the Catholic Church. Big news to American Catholics that the Pope isn't out there reading the New American Bible. That's the official bible of the AMERICAN Catholic Church.

The Jerusalem Bible is a work of art. Literary beauty. Do not confuse it with the New Jerusalem Bible which is trash. Some liberal feminist cuckoos stripped down a Jerusalem Bible and made it sexually generic - completely changing the meaning of much of the bible texts.

So you can see, this is my RE-HE- HEALLY long way of telling you, ANY biblical translation must be examined for its merit. There is no "THE Bible." there are hundreds of translations. Some good. Some trash. Who translated it? How was it translated? How many times has it been revised? Why was it revised? Who revised it?

The Jerusalem Bible is very advanced. So while it's probably the most accurate bible ever written in English, it's difficult for some people to understand. Your average Joe reads at the 6th grade level. Hence the popularity of the NIV and NAB. Which are both "Dick and Jane" bibles.

OH! I'd better not forget the Peshitta. The Syriac Catholic Church existed in isolation for centuries. Their bible, called Peshitta, has never been "interpreted" as many of our bibles have. Like the Douay Rheims, also not interpreted, some of the passages are hard to grasp. But this is a bible that comes wholey from Aramaic. It is Syriac Aramaic, so it is not exactly the language of Jesus. But very similar. It's beautiful. Check out peshitta.org to read some. Just don't run out and buy George Lamsa's version. He just piggy backed off a King James bible and did not actually translate the Peshitta into English. His version is trash.

So next time someone says to you "the bible says so" ask them which version.