3/29/20 Sunday AM Adult Class "Is the Bible Reliable?" Many challenges to the reliability of the Bible: 1. Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown) 2. The God Delusion (Richard Dawkins) 3. The Moses Mystery (Gary Greenberg) In light of these challenges, how did we get our Bible? • Errors in translation? Telephone Game? How God gave us the scriptures (2 Pet 1:19-21) (2 Pet 2:15-16) 1. Early Christian caught with scripture were executed in their possession were executed • Corrupt Church determined which books were "in and which were out" Determined by a council? For whatever set of reasons, there is a widespread belief out there (internet, popular books) that the New Testament canon was decided at the Council of Nicea in 325 AD—under the conspiratorial influence of Constantine. The fact that this claim was made in Dan Brown’s best- seller The Da Vinci Code shows how widespread it really is. Brown did not make up this belief; he simply used it in his book.
The problem with this belief, however, is that it is patently false. The Council of Nicea had nothing to do with the formation of the New Testament canon (nor did Constantine). Nicea was concerned with how Christians should articulate their beliefs about the divinity of Jesus. Thus it was the birthplace of the Nicean creed.
The shape of our New Testament canon was not determined by a vote or by a council, but by a broad and ancient consensus. Here we can agree with Bart Ehrman, “The canon of the New Testament was ratified by widespread consensus rather than by official proclamation.”
Muratorian fragment (named after its discoverer Ludovico Antonio Muratori) contains our earliest list of the books in the New Testament and dates back to c.180. What is noteworthy for our purposes here is that the Muratorian fragment affirms 22 of the 27 books of the New Testament. These include the four Gospels, Acts, all 13 epistles of Paul, Jude, 1 John, 2 John (and possibly 3rd John), and Revelation. This means that at a remarkably early point (end of the second century), the central core of the New Testament canon was already established and in place. This historical reality is a good reminder that the canon is not just a man-made construct. It was not the result of a power play brokered by rich cultural elites in some smoke filled room. It was the result of many years of God’s people reading, using, and responding to these books.
In the end, we can certainly acknowledge that humans played a role in the canonical process. But, not the role that is so commonly attributed to them. Humans did not determine the canon, they responded to it. In this sense, we can say that the canon really chose itself.
• Jerome translated the bible from Greek (NT) and Hebrew (OT) to Latin--Latin "Vulgate" meaning vulgar or "common" -- completed around 405 AD. • Rome sacked around 410 AD • With the fall of Rome, the World has no central authority--the world becomes more tribal. Latin declines as the universal language and gives way to the germanic and franco languages. Formal education disappears. "Dark Ages" ~400-800. They were termed the dark ages because very little was written. • Around 1200, Pope Innocent III banned unauthorized versions of the Bible. So for almost 1000 years, no could read the Bible except in Latin. The result is that only the educated religious elite could read the Bible. • During the 1000 years where only the religious elite could read the Bible, the Roman Catholic Church eventually becomes the central authority for the Western World. Religion and government--politics are one and the same. • With political power, comes corruption. Political/religious hierarchy. Selling of all sorts of stuff. "Love of money..." (cathedrals/crusades/luxurious lifestyle?) □ religious relics □ religious offices □ Forgiveness (reducing time in Purgatory--both living and deceased) The most notable Middle English Bible translation, Wycliffe's Bible (1383), based on the Vulgate, was banned by the Oxford Synod in 1408. John Wycliffe (1320-1384) also advocated translation of the Bible into the vernacular (common language). In 1382 he completed a translation directly from the Vulgate into Middle English. Wycliffe taught that scriptures were the only reliable guide to the truth about God and that all Christians should rely on the Bible rather than on the teachings of popes and clerics. He said that there was no scriptural justification for the pope. Had a stroke while preaching in 1382 and died shortly after. Declared a heretic, excommunicated. The Pope was so infuriated by his teachings and his translation of the Bible into English, that 44 years after Wycliffe had died, he ordered the bones to be dug-up, ground up, and scattered in the river! John Hus (1369-1415) people should be permitted to read the Bible in their own language, preached in the common language, rejected indulgences, and people should oppose the tyranny of the Roman church that threatened anyone possessing a non-Latin Bible with execution. Hus was burned at the stake in 1415, with Wycliffe’s manuscript Bibles used as kindling for the fire. The last words of John Hus were that, “in 100 years, God will raise up a man whose calls for reform cannot be suppressed.” (almost exactly 100 years later Martin Luther nailed his 95 Thesis to the door of the church at Wittenberg). Foxe’s Book of Martyrs records that in that same year, 1517, seven people were burned at the stake by the Roman Catholic Church for the crime of teaching their children to say the Lord’s Prayer in English rather than Latin. William Tyndale (1494-1536) He was a gifted linguist and became fluent over the years in French, Greek, Hebrew, German, Italian, Latin, and Spanish, in addition to English. During a meeting with church leaders, Tyndale had an argument with a "learned but blasphemous clergyman", who allegedly asserted: " It is better to be without God's laws than the Pope's.", to which Tyndale responded: "I defy the Pope, and all his laws; and if God spares my life [for long enough] I will cause the boy that drives the plow to know more of the Scriptures than you!" Tyndale requested approval to translate the Bible into English but was rejected by the Church. Secretly left England and went to Germany to translate the Bible into English. First printing in 1526. The translation was condemned by the church and had copies burned in public. Tyndale was condemned as a heretic. He was tried on a charge of heresy in 1536 and was condemned to be burned to death. Tyndale "was strangled to death while tied at the stake, and then his dead body was burned". His final words, spoken "at the stake with a fervent zeal, and a loud voice", were reported as "Lord! Open the King of England's eyes." This prayer would be answered just three years later in 1539, when King Henry VIII finally allowed, and even funded, the printing of an English Bible known as the “Great Bible”. (Description of what his trial and death would have been like...) Martin Luther (1483-1546) Historical perspective; Columbus sailed to America when Martin was 9 years old. 95 Thesis in 1517. Teaching: God's word is authoritative over the Church. Salvation through faith alone. All Christians are "priests". Translated the Latin Bible into the common German language. Excommunicated and put on trial. Following was his response to the command to recant: Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the pope or in councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. May God help me. Amen. For more, I highly recommend the PBS documentary: "Battle for the Bible" Quick Bible Timeline: • Wycliffe Bible (1382) • Tyndale translation (1526) first on the printing press • The Great Bible (1539) • Geneva Bible (1560) translation developed by those escaping "Bloody Mary". First "Study Bible" with verses. Became the Bible of choice for English speaking protestants. It was the Bible carried by the Pilgrims and Puritans. • King James Bible (1611) -- most printed book in history with over 1 Billion copies world wide. One little-known fact, is that for the past 250 years, all "King James Version" Bibles published anywhere by any publisher are actually Blaney’s 1769 Revised Oxford Edition of the 1611 King James Bible. • English Revised Standard (1885) -- first major english revision to the KJV. • American Standard Bible (1901) -- response to Englands ERS • NASB (1971) -- general agreement as the most accurate word for word translation from the original Greek and Hebrew ever produced. • NIV (1973) -- designed to be easier to read than the NASV. • NKJ (1982) • ESB (2002) -- designed to bridge the gap between the accuracy of the NASB and the easy to read NIV. Today, the Bible is the most translated book in the world. The United Bible Societies announced that by 2019, the complete Bible was available in 698 languages. Conclusion: Not just a great book or historical record. It is the precious word of God. Preserved for us, through the blood of literally thousands that have gone on before us. We are truly "surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses". In Pauls letter to the church in Colossae, Paul is encouraging the christians there not to "sit on the fence"--following Christ but still stuck in the sins of their old life. Col 3:1-4 As Christians, our life is in Christ, so focus on Christ rather than earthly stuff! 5-10 Stop doing the things you did before Christ. 11 We are all the same in Christ 12-14 Because we are all the same, be kind, forgive, love. 15-16 Be peaceful, be thankful, teach God's word to each other 17 Whatever we say or do, do it for Jesus giving thanks to God
References: https://www.greatsite.com/timeline-english-bible-history/ https://bible.org/seriespage/iii-how-we-got-bible https://www.michaeljkruger.com/the-complete-series-ten-basic-facts-about-the-nt-canon- that-every-christian-should-memorize/ "The Book That Made Your World" by Vishal Mangalwadi (great book--I highly recommend!)