Critical Thought

Pastor Paul Knight from HOPE Church joins us and we discuss using the Bible as a source of truth for life. Does the translation of the Bible you read matter? Does Paul see a role for summary texts / the Bible as a story?

Main Reference(s):

1. Bible as the Source of Truth

1.1. Key Points:

• Before the printing press, the Bible was inaccessible to most people.

• The average scribe took 10 months to duplicate a bible

• The reformers paid a high price for their work.

• Wycliff (Bible translator) was anathematized 44 years after his death.

• 1455 Gutenberg publishes the Gutenberg bible. (Latin Vulgate / "common language")

• You start to see people translating and reading English Bible.

• That leads to the protestant reformation, and Catholic prosecution of that movement

• KJV 1611

  • 47 translators, 7 years
  • New Testament based on Textus Receptus/Byzantine text type (dated later, fewer corrections)
  • Word for word, focus on accuracy

• As we've continued to discover texts and study we've tried to do it better

  • Most modern translations based on Codex Sinaticus / Codex Vaticanus / Alexandrian text types
  • Older, more corrections

• NIV 1978

  • 100 scholars
  • 10 years (plus another 10 to plan the project)
  • Thought for thought, focus on readability

1.2. Discussion Questions:

• How has the absence of Bibles to most Christians has influenced Christianity?

• Does God word change or is it steady over time?

• Do we believe God could have inspired the text but not preserved it?

• Do you draw a distinction between casual reading and biblical doctrine?

• What do you think of the "read every translation / every text" model and how does that compare and contrast with texts like Deuterocannonical books?

1.3. References:

https://books.google.com/books?id=ZmaOrfp0vBoC&dq=textus+receptus+preservation+bible+passages&pg=PA47#v=onepage&q=textus%20receptus%20preservation%20bible%20passages&f=false

Council of Trent, Seventh Session, Canon 4:

"If anyone says that..,men obtain from God through faith alone the grace of justification let him be anathema."

• Declarations of Trent were re-confirmed in the Vatican Council II (Vatican II, Constitutions, Derees, Declarations, P. 77)

Translation: The Church of the time believed the correct Biblical interpretation was that people could not have a direct relationship with Jesus Christ, and instead must go through the Catholic Church.

Luke 2:33 (KJV):

"And Joseph and his mother marveled at those things which were spoken of him."

Luke 2:33 (NIV):

"The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him"

• This verse taken alond implies Jesus was born through sexual intercourse

2 Peter 1:19 (NIV):

"We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts."

Revelation 22:16 (NIV):

I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.

Revelation 22:16 (KJV):

I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.

Isaiah 14:12 (NIV):

How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!

Isaiah 14:12 (KJV):

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

• Creates confusion on who the "Morning Star" is

1 John 5:7 (KJV):

For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

1 John 5:7 (NIV):

For there are three that testify: the sprit, the water and the blood; and these three are in agreement.

• Decreases clarity on trinity

Colossians 1:14 (KJV):

In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins

Colossians 1:14 (NIV):

in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins

Ephesians 3:9 (KJV):

And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ

Ephesians 3:9 (NIV):

and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hiden in God, who created all things.

Matthew 23:14 (KJV):

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation

• Verse omitted (NIV):

** Revelation 22:14 (KJV):**

Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city

** Revelation 22:14 (NIV):**

Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.

Deuterocanonnical Books

• Was in some early Bibles

  • (1611 KVJ)
  • (Genevia Bible)

• Was NEVER to be accepted on the level of scripture.

• Was NEVER considered to be inspired.

• Roman Catholic church declares that it is.

Douay–Rheims Bible:

• Inserted language into translation to justify doctrine.

• Matthew Chapter 6:

• Wycliff, Tindall, Geneva

"Give us this day our daily bread"

"Give us this day our supersubtantial bread"

Myles Coverdale:

• Tyndall gave us the New Testament...

• Coverdale takes Tyndall's work adds translations from German and Latin, and makes the first English Bible.

• Not from the original language.

John Rogers:

• Takes all of Tyndal, has to use some of Coverdale

• Finally we have the Geneva Bible - does all the translation from the orriginal languages

• Coverdale Bible 1535

• Great Bible 1539

The Gun Powder Plot 1605

• Elizabeth the 1st died in 1603, Rome wanted a Catholic Monarch on the throne.

• Pope at the time sent a Jesuit Henry Garnet. Urged him to ensure no one ascend to the throne unless they declared themselves a faithful Roman Catholic.

• James the 1st declared himself a protestant, Rome decided he had to be removed

• Guy Fawks

The KVJ Bible:

KJV 1611 Preface to the reader:

(about previous translators...)

"We acknowledge them to have been raised up of God. For the building and furnishing of His Church. Therefore blessed be they and most honored be their name which helpeth forward to the saving of souls."

"The original thereof being from heaven, not from earth; the author being God, not man; the editor, the Holy Spirit, not the wit of the apostles or prophets..."

"Truly (good Christian Reader) we never thought from the beginning, that we should need to make a new translation, nor yet to make of a bad one a good one, but to make a good one better, or out of many good ones, one principal good one, that hath been our endeavor, that our mark."

The Translation Method:

• A total of 47 translators

• 7 years

• 7 men per team

• 6 teams

• 3 different cities

• Went through every word 14 times...

  • Each man on the team had to translate a portion of scripture for himself.
  • (7) - Team of 7 = 7 translations.
  • (8) - Met as a team, went over together - which one was the best, which was the worst.
  • (13) - Take what you have, and give it to each of the other 5 teams to look over as a whole.
  • (14) - 2 from each of the team, went over everything.

• Each of the Bishops were given a draft. Everyone in their charge was to go over it and to report that information back to the teams.

• Word for word wherever possible instead of thought for thought.

The NIV Bible

• 1968-1978 - 10 years of translation

• More than 5,000 complete or partial manuscripts

• 100 scholars from 6 countries and 20 denomonations

• Intended to be readable, focuses on "thought for thought"

Proceedure:

• Initial Translation Team

• Intermediate Editorial Committee

• General Editorial Committee

• Styalist and Critics

• Executive Committee

• Final Styalistic Review

• Executive Committee (Final Reading)

• Textus Receptus - Greek New Testament that KVJ
  Byzantine 12th and 15th century
  -both Erasmus and KJV translators also used Latin Vulgate and quotes from church fathers
  -pretty decent document

• Codex Sinaticus - Older but has extensive ~14,800 corrections.

• Codex Vaticanus - Oldest, mid 4th century, had deuterocanonnical books: (Alexandrian Text Type) Older, nearly complete
  -Book of Wisdom
  -Ecclesiasticus
  -Judith
  -Tobit
  -Baruch
  -Letter to Jeremiah

  • Relatively careless scribes

• Most modern new testaments based on Sinaticus and Vaticanus

Text Families:

• Alexandiran (Egypt/dry climate/older)

• Byzantine Majority Text (90% of our manuscripts, but most are older)