Can you trust the bible?
Can You Trust The Bible?
It is not surprising that this is a common question. According to Google in March 2021 there were exactly 129,864,880 books in the world. One book quickly stands out with no comparison is the bible. Described as a collection of religious texts, it is impossible to place this book in just one genre.
This book is everywhere, chances are it is in your home right now. It has also been printed in almost every language, and it's old, really old. The bible is in fact the oldest book in the world. The oldest biblical text found is approximately 2700 years old. Most believe the first book Genesis was written approximately 3400 years ago and the last book Revelation was completed around 90AD or approximately 1900 years ago.
Its powerful writings have spawned over 30,000 religious organizations or denominations worldwide. The bible is a holy grouping of hebrew writings that consist of a total of 66 books within the one binding. Those books are categorized into two parts. The first part is known as the Old Testament or First Covenant. It is also known in Judaism as the Torah. Although Islam is considered an Abrahamic faith, the Quran is not identical to the Old Testament as the Torah remains. The second part is known as the New Testament or Renewed Covenant. 40 authors are believed to have been inspired by God when writing the bible.
Can you trust the translation accuracy?
Most of the controversy surrounding the bible is usually rooted in the opinions of those who oppose the very existence of a higher benevolent being. Still others question the translation conversion integrity. That is a valid concern considering the interpretation of its content could be expected to vary from that of the original author's intent. The bible can be found in over 3,312 languages with approximately 50 different versions in English alone. Was it all translated accurately?
Consider the archaeological evidence. In 1946 in the Qumran Caves in the Judaean Desert of the west bank, ancient Hebrew Manuscripts were found. These manuscripts consisted of 800+ documents made of animal skin, papyrus and even forged copper. The material composition of these manuscripts were important because it allowed fairly accurate radiocarbon dating to determine they were over 2000 years old. These manuscripts are known as the Dead Sea Scrolls.
The Dead Sea Scrolls can be viewed today in Jerusalem and were written in mostly Hebrew but some in Aramaic and Greek. These are the three original languages the bible was written in. All the books of the Torah except for Nehemiah and Esther were found. As you can imagine anyone questioning the integrity of modern day bible translations would be interested in a comparison. The Dead Sea Scrolls have provided an impressive amount of evidence for the overall integrity of the modern bible and its various translations. The Dead Sea Scrolls also help when considering the following topic of missing books.
Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek all do not perfectly translate into english. This is generally the reason behind why there are so many translation versions. Translators are forced to decide whether they are seeking to convey the exact words or the central idea of the text. This process has generated two types of translations known as “word for word” or Thought for Thought. Some blend both. You may want to consider the planned use of the bible when deciding what will work best for you.
Are books missing from the bible?
This all time best seller has generated opposition to its powerful message since its pages were first read. Early christians suffered fatal persecution for simply possessing a copy. So it isn’t difficult to consider that some wishing to suppress various messages contrary to their position of power or control, may not only manipulate translation but remove content from the bible entirely. Is there any evidence of this?
Depending on your patience and willingness to research the answer you will find the answer varies depending on the source. Research will generally lead to the 14 or 15 Apocrypha books or the 7 books removed by Martin Luther.
Let's discuss the Apocrypha first. This word is derived from ancient Greek and means those that were hidden. Some have interpreted the meaning to be too sacred or secret to be in everyone's hands. Eventually in time it has become known as false, bad or heretical. In this context it refers to religious texts that were in some versions of the catholic bible.
I will be going into much greater depth on this subject when I publish my book, Book of Books sometime in 2021. In the meantime with regards to the accusation that upto 15 books or more have been removed from our modern day translations, the answer is, possibly.
The dead sea scrolls did contain portions of three books considered Apocryphal. Ben Sira (or Ecclesiasticus), Tobi, and the Epistle of Jeremiah. It is also suggested that the Book of Enoch was found which is not confirmed. All this is evidence of is that these three books were likely around at a much later date than previously assumed. Why these 15 books may have been removed is another consideration which leads to Martin Luther. The 16th century father of Protestantism, is known for his removal of 7 books from the catholic bible at the time. He left the catholic church in 1517 because he denounced the catholic practice of selling pardons for sins.
He is known for removing 7 books from the Catholic bible. All of those books were part of the 15 referred to as the Apocrypha. These are referred to as deuterocanonical books by Catholics and Orthodox or otherwise known as Apocrypha by Jews and Protestants for obvious reasons. The reason why he removed them is not confirmed but assumed generally that they did not fit what was assumed as the overall accepted inspired writings of the bible (aka canon).
Conclusion
Those that have actually read the pages of the bible and still walk away doubting the content as divinely inspired are small in number for a reason. Personally I believe it's impossible, which is why I usually ask any opposition, “ Did you really, really read it, really?” With regard to the bible as we know it today, our modern translations such as the King James Version or the American Standard etc. are trustworthy in terms of the message's integrity and authenticity.
So yes, you can trust that little to nothing was lost from the original text through the process of translation. Certain versions have been found to differ from the collective and those are usually associated directly to their associated individual sect or denomination. With regard to the missing books, you are free to develop your own conclusion. Personally being a believer that the writings of the bible are of divine origin, I cannot conclude that anything meant to be provided to the children of God would ever be allowed to be removed. If in the future these claimed missing books are proven as authentic I do not believe they could ever be of any overall importance. I am planning to personally read them all and I will provide updates.
The collective message of the bible has survived antiquity, and much scrutiny. I believe the entire message of the bible is sound. Not one piece of evidence has been produced proving the bible incorrect, ever. You must read the books yourself to make a sound determination and If you are seriously considering a version or translation to call your own, you may wish to consider praying to God for guidance and also make sure that you thoroughly research each version before committing.
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A Non denominational ministry keeping it strictly scriptual. The word of God has shown the way to salvation! No emotional, traditional, or religious bias shall keep us from following the light of YAH.
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