Christians: Even if I grant you that the Bible is God's word, how do you know that the Bible you have read...

Question

...is the correct translation of the original version?

The Bible has undergone transformation after transformation and passed through many human hands. I have no problems with people rationally placing their belief in a higher being and even accepting that Jesus died for your sins and is the path to heaven but clearly there has been some human intervention from God's mouth to your bookshelf. Please tell me how or why you are willing to place your faith not only in God but also in these humans.

BTW, I had to direct the question at one group here but the question could be revised and asked of any religious text.

Fireball: Just because something is accepted doesn't mean it's correct, no?

Mr. A: I don't doubt that there is a plethora of historically tested information in the Bible. What I question is the infallibility of the translators.

Mr. A: Furthermore, I'm not sure how a text can be proven "historically" to be "unaltered." The translation itself is what I'm questioning. Have you read the original Dead Sea Scrolls in the original language?

Answer 1

King James and Revised standard are the most accepted...we know King James was done from the greek...those are the onew ive read...im using New revised standard
ive also seen interlinear....thats right from greek...ex took it with him..

Answer 2

investigate the Bible as you would any ancient text - like a text found about any other person in history - you will find that there is more evidence for its authenticity then any other book from antiquity
we have in hand over 5000 copies of the New Testament that date back to the between 100AD-200AD and many more that go into the next century
plus they are not all in the same language, plus they are found in many different countries all over that region of the world
what this means is that we might not have the originals but we can recreate them by comparing all of these copies
look at one book of the NT - say there are 1000 copies of that book, 500 all have the same exact text - the other 500 have one or more variations but none of them are the same and none of them date more then 100 years after the originals were written - do you think that is a reliable source
experts would say that is far more reliable then any other

for comparison we have 6 copies of the Iliad that are over 400 years after the original was written but experts would call that a reliable source

Answer 3

The Dead Sea Scrolls are excellent proof to show the Bible has not changed over 1,000's of years.
The Bible and Archaeology, by Sir Frederic Kenyon:
“The interval between the dates of original composition and the earliest extant evidence becomes so small as to be in fact negligible, and the last foundation for any doubt that the Scriptures have come down to us substantially as they were written has now been removed.”
Is it not logical that God can create a book?
If He can create a book, can He not preserve it?

Answer 4

"The word of God" means the words are exactly as revealed (original language of the Messenger).

If I take a speech by the President of the United States, translate it into French and then publish it as the exact "President's Speech" I would be called a liar. The President never spoke in French and I could never say it was "his" speech. In fact it could only be called the closest translation of his speech but it can never be called "his words"; And even if I published his speech in English (as was the original) changed a few words and then put parenthesis around the entire speech and said this was his exact speech I would be imprisoned. If I changed even one single word it would no longer be the exact words of the President.

If Revelation is ever translated into a different language then it is no longer the "Word of God" , it would be the closest translation perhaps but NEVER the absolute WORD OF GOD.

If a single word in an entire book is changed the entire book is no longer the absolute "Word of God" .

Answer 5

The Bible has been proven historically to have been unaltered. Long story short, you can look at the scroll of Isaiah found at Qumran with the Dead Sea Scrolls. It is the version of Isaiah that we find today that was discovered in 1947 but it dates to before the time of Christ.

This is just one example. Need more? Email me.

Answer 6

1Th 5:21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

Jhn 14:26 But the Comforter, [which is] the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

This has worked for me for over 20 years. Where less-than-ideal translations of words have occurred and where the text is purposely obscure (prophecies for example), God's made it clear what he meant.

Answer 7

I agree. The people that write the bible were just humans?!?! It's like asking your cat to write you a cooking book!

Answer 8

very true
lots of stuff lost in translation
not to mention all the modifications over time

heck..maybe there WAS some truth to the book with talking snakes at some time...I sure dont see it now