David Stewart, Jr.
"Search the scriptures;
for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of
me" (John 5:39)
Introduction
The Bible is a book of inspired scripture that details
God’s dealings with man and contains many of God’s words, covenants, and
laws. However, the Bible is often
misunderstood, whether by Bible believers who claim the Bible to be “inerrant”
and to contain all of God’s words, by unbelievers who reject the entire
biblical record over real or alleged discrepancies, and by nominal believers
who may acknowledge the truthfulness of the Bible but fail to consistently
apply its principles. By studying the
history of the Bible, we can better understand the role of this inspired book
and evaluate the claims made about it by different groups.
After the Apostles
The Bible in its present form
was not compiled for several centuries after the death of the apostles. The
earliest known papyrus, Rylands P52, is dated to approximately 140 AD but
contains only fragments of five verses of John.
The first complete manuscripts of the New Testament (Sinaiticus and
Vaticanus) date from the fourth century, and all early New Testament manuscripts
are in Greek rather than the language of the Jews of Palestine.
At the end of the second century AD, only the Gospels
of Matthew and Mark were completely accepted as canonical.[1]
The third century apologist, Origen, classified writings into three categories:
the uncontested (the four gospels and 13 Pauline epistles), the doubtful (2
Peter, Hebrews, James, Jude, and 2 and 3 John), and the rejected. Eusubius (330 AD) categorized writings as
accepted, disputed, or rejected.
Discrepancies existed in the writings accepted as genuine by various
church authorities, and the authenticity of the Revelation of John continued to
be disputed. The first agreement upon 27
books of the New Testament is seen at the Synod of Laodicea (363 AD) and the
Synod of Carthage (397 AD). In 367 AD,
Athanasius lists only the 27 writings as canonical in his Easter letter. Many prominent Christians disagreed. A
universal consensus regarding the “canonical books” of the Bible was never
achieved, and the biblical canons of the world’s oldest Christian religions –
the Roman Catholic, Coptic Orthodox, Ethiopic Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Syrian
Orthodox, and
Tampering with the New Testament text occurred during
a period of nearly three centuries between the death of the Apostles and the
first agreement on the scriptural canon.
Differences between the Byzantine, Alexandrian and Caesarean texts
demonstrate change to the text by copyists
(i.e. Acts 2:17 in the Western text).
In the third century, the Christian apologist Origen complains that
“nowadays, as is evident, there is a great diversity between the various
manuscripts, either through the negligence of certain copyists, or the perverse
audacity shown by some in correcting the text, or through the fault of those
who, playing the part of correctors, lengthen or shorten it as they please.”
[3],[4] Jerome told Pope Damasus of the
"numerous errors" which had arisen in the texts through attempted
harmonizing. In 1707, John Mill of
The order of the books in the New Testament was
arbitrary. The Revelation of John’s placement at the end of the New Testament
reflects not chronological order, but its status as a disputed work in the
Western church for many centuries. It is evident both from the passage itself
and from history that when John wrote his warning to those who would “add unto”
or “take away from” his book of prophecy (Revelation 22:18-19), he was
referring to the Book of Revelation itself, and was not precluding revelation
or scripture beyond the present-day Bible as some claim. In the New Testament,
the scriptures as a whole are always referred to in the New Testament as ta
biblia – “the books.” Yet in this
passage, John uses the word tou bibliou, a form of the diminutive noun used to
refer only to single books, meaning literally "of the booklet” The Gospel of John is believed to have been
written after the Revelation of John, and the Bible did not exist in its
present form until centuries after John recorded this account.
Alterations and deletions had arisen in the Old
Testament scriptural record even before the time of Christ. The Inspired Joseph Smith Translation of the
Bible records that Christ condemned the Pharisees for their modification of
holy scripture: “Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of
knowledge, the fulness of the scriptures; ye enter not in yourselves into the
kingdom; and those who were entering in, ye hindered” (JST Luke 11:53). We know that the Bible is incomplete because
many books cited as authoritative by Biblical prophets cannot be found in any
of today’s Bible versions (Exodus 24:7, Numbers 21:14, Joshua 10:13, 1 Kings
11:41, 1 Chronicles 29:29, 2 Chronicles 9:29, 2 Chronicles 33:19, 1 Corinthians
5:9, Jude 1:3, Colossians 4:16, Jude 1:14), and prophecies known to Biblical
writers are missing from our record (Matthew 2:23). The concept of the Bible as
a single, inerrant book containing all of God's words is artificial and non-scriptural,
and no such concept existed until many centuries after the death of the
original authors.
The Forbidden Scriptures
Even after the canon of "orthodox" scripture
had been decreed, access to scripture continued to be heavily restricted. The Council of Trent declared that
"translations of the New Testament made by authors of the first class of
this list shall be permitted to no one, since great danger and little
usefulness usually results to readers from their perusal...Since it is clear from
experience that if the Sacred Books are permitted everywhere and without
discrimination in the vernacular, there will by reason of the boldness of men
arise therefrom more harm than good..."[9]
Even though "the Inquisition's archive was almost entirely burned on Pope
Paul IV's death in 1559," Inquisition-era archives show that
the Bible was once on the infamous Index of Forbidden Books that Catholics were
forbidden to read or possess.[10] Reuters reports that "translations of
the holy book ended up on the bonfires along with other ‘heretical’ works
because the Church, whose official language was Latin, was suspicious of
allowing the faithful access to sacred texts without ecclesiastical
guidance." One might wonder how it
was possible for man to "live by every word that proceedeth out of the
mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4) when the average person had only second-hand
access to scripture filtered through the local priest, often presented in a
language unintelligible to the hearer.
One priest with whom Tyndale spoke about translating the Bible stated:
"We had better be without God's laws than the pope's."[11] Tyndale was hanged and then burned at the
stake in 1535 for translating the Bible into English. Access to scriptures continued to be
restricted by the Catholic church and was won finally only by the blood of
countless martyrs who rebelled against its edicts.
Bible Errors and Contradictions
In light of the facts that (1) the church was almost
the exclusive "guardian" of scriptural records until the sixteenth
century, (2) the earliest surviving manuscripts are dated centuries after the
original authors, and (3) wide variations exist among surviving manuscripts,
and (4) the question of which scriptural writings are canonical took centuries
to define and is still disputed among Christianity’s oldest denominations, it
would seem odd to accept unquestioningly the claim of an inerrant, unaltered
Bible.
After passing through so many hands, some with
questionable motives, and with many differences among manuscripts, the Bible
has come down to us in some discrepancies.
Hundreds of Bible contradictions and errors, both real and perceived,
have been cited by varying sources.
Virtually any regular reader of the Bible will inevitably be faced with
some inconsistency. To name a very few,
did David destroy 700 chariots (2 Samuel 10:18) or 7000 chariots (1 Chronicles
19:18)? Did Jesus baptize others (John
3:22), or did he not (John 4:2)? Does
God tempt man (Genesis 22:1) or not (James 1:13)? Did Judas die by hanging himself (Matthew
27:5-7) or by falling headlong (Acts 1:18), and was the potter's field
purchased by Judas or the priests with the betrayal money? Which genealogy of Jesus is correct, Matthew
1:1-17 or Luke 3:23-38? If "no man
hath seen God at any time" (John 1:18), then why do the scriptures record
that Jacob (Genesis 32:30), Moses (Deuteronomy 34:10) and the seventy Elders of
Israel (Exodus 24:9-11), Isaiah (Isaiah 6:5), Stephen (Acts 7:56), and many
others saw Him?
In spite of non-Biblical teachings that the Bible is
complete and inerrant, only 22% of Episcopalians, 26% of Catholics, 34% of
Lutherans, 38% of Methodists, and 40% of Presbyterians in the
Which Bible?
Gary Amirault, a Protestant minister, states: "If
you say, 'I believe in the Bible,' then you are faced with the question of
'which Bible?'...Nearly all Christian Bibles rely on the Jewish Masoretic
Hebrew text for translating the Old Testament into current languages. How was
it possible for the translators to produce an 'inerrant' Bible, when the
'guardians of the so called 'inerrant' Hebrew text', did not know the meaning
of many words and passages? Unfortunately, the problem does not lie with the
Jews lack of understanding of their own language, but with a false doctrine
perpetuated by fundamentalists for many years.
The Doctrine of Biblical Inerrancy... They say the 66 books of the
present King James Bible are inerrant, but they don't tell you it lacks 14
entire books which were in the original King James of 1611. They don't tell you
the King James Bible has been changed many times in the last 350 years and
there have been thousands of corrections!"[13] In a different article, Amirault writes:
"One of the greatest disservices ever rendered me as a Christian has been
being given books, articles, audio tapes, etc. stating that the Bible is
'inerrant.' I have read and heard many messages assuring me that 'the Bible' is
inerrant. Some of these sources qualify that to mean that the original
autographs [texts written or supervised by the author] are inerrant, but considering
the fact that we do not have any of the original autographs, the point of them
being inerrant is rather moot. After all, how do they know they were inerrant
since no one in any recent generations has ever seen them..."[14]
The fact that so many translations of the Bible exist
(over eighty in English alone) suggest that none of them are particularly
satisfactory. It seems almost
unbelievable that critics attack Joseph Smith's inspired translation of the
Bible -- which corrects many glaring errors and contradictions in the King
James Version (i.e. 1 Samuel 16:14-16, 2 Chronicles 18:22, Jeremiah 26:13, James 1:2, etc.) -- while
maintaining that the Bible is "inerrant" and that the dozens of
widely differing Bible translations have no substantial difference.
So Far as it is Translated Correctly
Latter-day Saints believe that the Bible is the word
of God, to the extent that it is translated correctly. This puts Latter-day
Saints in a much stronger position than churches that claim absolute biblical
inerrancy while many of their own members reject historically, logically, and
scripturally untenable claims to inerrancy.
The Book of Mormon testifies to the truth of the Bible (1 Nephi 13:40),
not in the sense of “absolute inerrancy” of today’s versions, but that the
original records were true. Latter-day
Saints study the Bible and love its teachings.
Modern revelation to the prophet Joseph Smith has confirmed the
authenticity of scripture disputed by modern scholars, including the Revelation
of John, the epistles of St. Peter, and others.
Latter day Saints believe that the Song of Solomon, a graphic love song
in the Old Testament, is not inspired scripture. The Lord told the Prophet Joseph Smith that
the Apocrypha “is mostly translated correctly,” but contains “many
interpolations by the hands of men,” and those “enlightened by the Holy Spirit
shall obtain benefit therefrom, and whoso receiveth not by the Spirit, cannot
be benefited” (Doctrine and Covenants 91:1-6).
The description of the Bible's history given in the
Book of Mormon is fully consistent with the historical evidence that has come
forth. In the Book of Mormon, the
prophet Nephi is shown a vision of the history of the Bible by an angel of the
Lord:
“The book that thou beholdest
is a record of the Jews, which contains the covenants of the Lord, which he
hath made unto the house of Israel; and it also containeth many of the
prophecies of the holy prophets…they contain the covenants of the Lord, which
he hath made unto the house of Israel; wherefore, they are of great worth unto
the Gentiles. And the angel of the Lord said unto me: Thou hast beheld that the
book proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew; and when it proceeded forth from
the mouth of a Jew it contained the fulness of the gospel of the Lord, of whom
the twelve apostles bear record; and they bear record according to the truth
which is in the Lamb of God. Therefore,
these things go forth from the Jews in purity unto the Gentiles, according to
the truth which is in God… Wherefore, thou seest that after the book hath gone
forth through the hands of the great and abominable church, that there are many
plain and precious things taken away from the book, which is the book of the
Lamb of God.” (1 Nephi 13:23-25, 27).
The angel notes: “and also many covenants of the Lord have they taken
away…And after these plain and precious things were taken away it goeth forth
unto all the nations of the Gentiles…and after it goeth forth unto all the
nations of the Gentiles…because of the many plain and precious things which
have been taken out of the book, which were plain unto the understanding of the
children of men, according to the plainness which is in the Lamb of God --
because of these things which are taken away out of the gospel of the Lamb, an
exceedingly great many do stumble, yea, insomuch that Satan hath great power
over them” (1 Nephi 13:26,28-29). The angel continues: “at the time they
proceeded out of the mouth of the Jew, or, at the time the book proceeded out
of the mouth of the Jew, the things which were written were plain and pure, and
most precious and easy to the understanding of all men" (1 Nephi 14:23).
Because of the many “plain and precious” truths that
were taken out of the Bible, even when the text of a Bible passage is agreed
upon, understanding it correctly can still be difficult. As a young boy, Joseph Smith noted that the
different Christian denominations “understood the same passages of scripture so
differently as to destroy all confidence in settling the question by an appeal
to the Bible.”[15] A correct understanding of Biblical teachings
can be gained only through study, prayer, and the aid of the Holy Spirit. The Lord has also given us the Book of
Mormon, a record of the teachings of inspired prophets and the Savior himself,
which was preserved through the centuries and brought forth through the power
of God in the modern era. The Book of
Mormon helps to establish the truth of the Bible, restores many “plain and
precious truths,” and teaches the pure doctrine of Christ on basic topics that
have long been disputed among different Christian faiths.
Meaning and Purpose of the Bible
Most scholars agree that the Greek word diatheke (διαθηκη), translated as testament in
the title of the New Testament (καινη διαθηκη) and Old Testament, is better translated as
covenant. The Old and New Testaments are
not simply collections of inspiring stories and teachings, but rather represent
a two-way agreement between God and His people.
This meaning of the original is better conveyed in some Eastern
translations, such as Russian (новый завет = "New Covenant"), Hungarian (újsövetség = "New
Covenant"), Czech (nový zákon = "New Law"), Ukrainian (новий завіт ="New Covenant"),
and others. The immense value of the
Bible is found in its teaching of principles and covenants that help us to
understand our duty to God and the conditions of salvation.
Today we have a wonderful opportunity to study the
Bible that was historically forbidden to many.
There is little value in dogmatic debate over whether King David
destroyed 700 or 7000 chariots or how Judas died, but the application of
Biblical teachings in our lives is much more important. We can learn important
principles from each story and teaching in the Bible. Some serve as examples, while others serve as
warnings.
Understanding the history and limitations of the
modern Bible and the confusion of the Christian world over basic doctrines of
the Savior can help us to appreciate the need for ongoing revelation of
Christ’s word to modern prophets and apostles today. Christ leads The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, the only true and living church upon the face of the earth
(Doctrine and Covenants 1:30), through divine revelation today just as He
directed His church in ancient times.
[1] Bauer,
Walter. Rechtglaubigkeit and Ketzerei im
altesten Christentum. J. C. B. Mohr,
Tubingen, 1934. p. 187ff.
[2] Ruger, Hans Peter. “The Extent
of the Old Testament Canon”, in The Apocrypha in Ecumenical Perspective.
The place of the late writings of the Old Testament among the biblical writings
and their significance in the eastern and western church traditions, ed.,
Siegfried Meurer, translated by Paul Ellingworth. United Bible Societies Monograph Series No. 6
(United Bible Societies, Reading, UK; New York 1991): 151-160.
[3] Origen, in
Matthew 15.14
[4] Metzger,
B.M. The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption
and Restoration, second edition.
[5] “Biblical
Literature.” Encyclopaedia
Britannica.
[6] Vaganay, Leon, An Introduction to New Testament Textual
Criticism,
second edition revised and updated by Christian-Bernard Amphoux, translated
into English by Jenny Heimerdinger; English edition amplified and updated by
Amphoux and Heimerdinger (Cambridge University Press). The original was
published in
[7] Schindler, Marc A. "The Johannine Comma: Bad Translation, Bad Theology." Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. Vol. 29 no. 3, Fall 1996: 157-164.
[8] Wallace, Daniel B. “Why so many versions?” http://www.bible.org/docs/soapbox/versions.htm . 11 April 2003.
[9] "Ten rules concerning prohibited books drawn up by the fathers chosen by the Council of Trent and approved by Pope Pius."
[10] Webber, Jude. "Vatican Archives reveal Bible was once banned book." Reuters News. 22 January 1988.
[11] Stokes, G. The Lives of the British Reformers from
Wickliff to Foxe.
[12] Barna, George. “Religious Beliefs Vary Widely By Denomination.” Barna Research Group. 25 June 2001. http://www.barna.org/cgi-bin/PagePressRelease.asp?PressReleaseID=92&Reference=B
[13] Amirault, Gary. "Bible translations that do not teach Eternal Torment" http://www.tentmaker.org/books/GatesOfHell.html . 13 April 2003.
[14] Amirault, Gary. "The Myth of the Inerrant Bible" http://www.tentmaker.org/lists/BibleStudyTips.html . 13 April 2003.
[15] Smith, Joseph.
Testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,