How can Christians say that the Bible is the word of God and that everything in it is correct when....?

Question

We know that the Bible as we read it has been translated many times. Not everything that was in the original recordings are included in the modern-day Bible.

For example, up until the 4th century, reincarnation was accepted by many religions including Christianity. Then it was restructured by Emperor Constantine and many passages of the Bible were deleted. Still there remains a few passages that were missed that prove reincarnation:

John 9 tells of a man born blind and the disciples ask Jesus if it is because of his parents' sins or of his own....so obviously it was understood at the time that there was such a thing as reincarnation. Since the man was blind from birth he would have had to have lived before in order for his sin to cause him blindness in his current life.

Also Matthew 17 (see my previous question for details)....John the Baptist was Elijah in a previous lifetime

Answer 1

The reason that we can trust the Bible is because we still have over 2,300 manuscripts of the New Testament that date from the time before the 4th century. Some date to within a few years of the originals, such as a copy of John from which 809 of the 893 verses can still be read that dates with 20 years of its creation, or a copy of Paul's letter from which 72% of then can be reconstructed that dated with 20 years of his last letter.

These manuscripts are word for word identical over 99.7% of the time. The majority of the differences are either different spells of the same words, or the reversing of the words "Jesus Christ" and "Christ Jesus". Of the roughly 7000 lines of the New Testament, there are 40 over which there are questions on the wording. None of them affect a major doctrine.

If all the copies of the New Testament were to disappear, it would be possible to completely recreate it from quotes in other books, commentaries, inscriptions, liturgies, prayer books, etc. from the first 200 years of the Christian church.

All translations are made by going back to these same manuscripts. They are NOT made by retranslating earlier translation. So as the number of early manuscripts found increasing, alone with a increase in our understanding of the languages and cultures of the Bible due to other non-Bible manuscripts and discoveries, each translation actually becomes MORE accurate, not less.

But as to the real - did the Bible teach reincarnation. It was a common belief in the time of Jesus. That is why it is addressed in the Gospel of John. Written several decades after the other gospels. each story in John is chosen to deal with a heresy or false teaching attempting to enter the church. One of those false teachings was re-incarnation. So when the disciples come and ask Jesus if the man was being punished become of something he had done in another life (before his current birth), Jesus answered with a "no". We are not doomed to live over and over because of karma or past lives. This should end any debate about reincarnation.

As for the question about John being Elijah: If you go back and read, after Elijah went into heaven his disciple Elisha took over his ministry, and founded a school for training prophets. Elisha wore the camel skin garment which and belonged to Elijah as the sign of his office. Many of the students who graduated from the school did the same. Each student called to be called "an Elijah".

When John came, he walked in that same tradition, including the camel skin garment. When he was asked by the Pharisees in John 1 if he was Elijah himself, John answered no. When Jesus spoke about John. it said that John was "an Elijah", not "the Elijah". The "an" is there in the original language. John was NOT Elijah himself returned. John stated that specifically. Rather, according to Jesus, he was "an Elijah" in the tradition of prophets that started in the Old Testament book of 2 Kings.

Answer 2

A copyist would intelligently decide if a spelling or wording was the error of a previous copyist and correct that error. Sometimes the correction resulted in a phrasing of a truth which expressed that truth more clearly than the original phrasing. Sometimes a copyist/editor would be correcting a real copyist error. Sometimes the assumed error was not a copyist error, but an awkward phrasing that could be improved. Over centuries of such corrections, and, in later years, similar types of corrections were made by editors of printed versions, so that the truths of Scripture, by Providence and Grace, have become more clearly expressed in their various languages. The truths of Scripture do not evolve, they are unchanging. The expression of the truths of Scripture in human language is what evolves and changes, under God's Providence and Grace. In 325, Constantine called the Council of Nicea, which was the first general conference of the Christian church. Constantine had virtually nothing to do with the forming of the canon and it was not even discussed at Nicea. Instead, the council that formed decisions about the canon took place in 397 in Cathage. This was 60 years after Constantine’s death. It is important to note that 21 books were acknowledged by Christians long before Constantine. In AD 330, Constantine did finance the copying of 50 Christian Scriptures. However, this was not a new Bible, and he did not omit any of the already accepted books..... Jim

Answer 3

That 4th century jazz is as old as the hills. It's either "the 4th century " or it's "Constantine did this or that".
The Bible is exactly the way it was back then. They found a manuscript of Isaiah in the Dead Sea Scrolls written 250 B.C. it is exactly like the one we have today.
Malachi said that before the Messiah would come and restore Israel,Elijah would return.All Jesus is saying is John came in the spirit and the power of Elijah.If they would have accepted him,John would have stood in for Elijah.Remember,the spirits of Moses and Elijah met with Jesus at the Mt. of Transfiguration.He knew where Elijah was.As for the disciples,they were fisherman ,not Bible scholars .They were learning as they went.They also thought Jesus was a ghost when he walked on water.
Paul says (and it was written about 55 A.D) "It is appointed once for man to live and then the judgement".
I believe that totally.Not all the NewAge junk.

Answer 4

No thats where you are wrong. God never has believed in reincarnation. He says that once you die your spirit goes to him to be judged. As of John 9 the scripture says nothing about reincarnation. It is simply saying that either his parents have sinned against God so he was born that way or he is going to sin and he was born that way. God made the bible the way HE entended it to be. One of the biggest lies that satan can pull on the human race is that things are missing from the bible so we should not listen to it's words. But if you really believed in God then you would know without a doubt that everything in that book is true. So check your facts again.

Answer 5

I can't answer for all Christians, but I know within my particular tradition (Eastern Orthodox) the Bible is not considered infallible in matters of history and science, that is not the reason why it was written; it is only considered infallible in matters of spirituality and theology. We also know that the Bible needs interpreting, and that, today, there are tens of thousands of different interpretations. The Orthodox Church believes that the Bible can only be correctly interpreted in the context of Holy Tradition, which is, to put it simply, the work of the Holy Spirit throughout the history of the Church. This includes the writtings of the Church Fathers, the procedings of the Ecumenical Councils, the Divine Liturgy (our worship service), and the Holy Icons. Also, as a side note, non-Christians, non-tradition Christians (most Protestants), and anti-Christians, have alot of misinformation about Constantine the Great, who he was, and what he did.

Answer 6

The Bible is the infallible word of God as Inspired by the Holy Ghost.
There was a time when God had withdrawn the inspiration of his spirit from Mankind, and yet believers continued to write, but their writings were not inspired by the Holy Ghost, that is the difference between the Bible and other books about God.
The Bible says that it is possible for people to know that God exist, simply by looking at the Universe, it was not an accident, it was created by God Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth.

Answer 7

Existing copies of the biblical books indicate that they were copied accurately I have read the Bible numerous times and I have studied it extensively; it contains one theme, that of Gods Kingdom as the only hope for mankind - this despite many years between writing the individual books of the Bible Yes it says homosexuals WERE to be killed but the Old Law Covenant was fulfilled when Christ died. Jesus gave us 2 commandments, to love God and our neighbour - this pretty much sums up the 10 commandments. The original commandments tell us not to commit adultery because sex was only to be between marriage mates. Marriage was only allowed between male and female therefore homosexual acts are acts of fornication which are condemned in scripture. Judgement of sinners will come from God therefore a death sentence was no longer required from the Jewish nation. 1 Corinthians 6:What! Do YOU not know that unrighteous persons will not inherit God’s kingdom? Do not be misled. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men kept for unnatural purposes, nor men who lie with men, Yes, you are right we are all created equal, of course we are but our actions are being judged, not by men but by God and he has indicated fornicators of every kind are unGodly as well as telling us about the headship arrangement. How can this be sexist when man also has Christ as his head? This is the structure and if followed creates harmony and peace in both the household and the congregation. I am afraid you are judging the Bible by today's standards which are in a constant state of flux. In contrast God doesn't change and His standards are for our own benefit. As you have said, it is just your opinion. The facts do not support your interpretation The Bible has been protected by God. Many have tried to destroy it or keep it from the populations; the fact that it has remained as it was originally written indicates it divine authorship Perhaps a study of the authenticity of scripture would address some of your concerns?

Answer 8

Reincarnation will negate the idea of hell. So it makes perfect sense.