ANSWERS: 31
  • I saw a bible in a museum....Can't remember which one but the bible was hand-written....It was really old....Like 1800's...It was written kinda like William Shakespeare.......
  • Truth is timeless.
  • I'm not sure how to answer that one. The King James version of the bible removed several of the books that still exist in the Catholic bible. I think that there are many things, through the course of multiple translations, may have unintentionally altered certain words. Peoples interpretations of the words have made it difficult to know exactly what the truth is...
  • This has always been a point of discussion. Different translations of original texts seem to show that it has changed. And,any time you have many, many translations of the best selling book of all time, some of them are not going to line up exactly. So, we can argue all day long about what this word meant, or the exact meaning of a phrase, (which may have meant something TOTALLY different in different time periods). For instance, if you had said "Johnny is bad" 50 years ago, it would have been assumed he was a troublemaker. But, nowadays, it means he is cool, or he is with it, so to speak. The only way to be sure is to go back and study the original texts and languages, or find someone who knows a lot about the languages and versions, and decide if you trust them or not. And, listen to your heart. The Bible, (or the Word of God), works best when you let your heart work with your brain. The Bible needs a lot of study time, and most scholars will tell you that they STILL don't know it all and may never know it all. My personal opinion, after approximately 30 years of study and discussion, is that the Bible doesn't change so much as we change the meaning of the words. I listen to people I trust, I pray and I study. And if I'm not sure, I find references, go online, and dig, dig, dig. The only way to be sure, is study for yourself. Give the Word time to work on your heart. And, don't just listen to your minister or teacher if you are not sure. Your minister is a guide, and a helper. Even he sometimes makes mistakes.
  • Hell yea, it's been translated hundreds of times from languages for which it was translated from a different language...it was written by many different men over many years! I'd definitely say it's been changed.
  • The originals in the original languages haven't changed and the reason it keeps being translated and retranslated is that our language keeps changing. For example, the words "purse" and "wallet" have exchanged meanings, and "corn" 400 years ago just meant "grain" because what we call corn was called maize. But the originals haven't changed, and we can determine what the originals meant. A four-column Bible with parallel translations is as accurate as you can get without studying the original languages. As someone who HAS studied, and taught, the original languages, I can say that if you look at two or three good translations, you know what the original meant. It has not changed.
  • yeah of course the bible, had changed, like tiny words that get mistranslated, and i may be agnostic, but the bible is not suppose to be taking literally, but the symbolic meaning each story holds. I may no believe in god per se, but i know the people going to church is good even if it is false
  • The Bible is not about truth. It's about faith. It guides you, it shouldn't necessarily shape your belief word for word. That said, the Book itself contradicts, has parts that don't don't make sense, and leave with a "wtf?" expression. So yeah, odds are it's changed quite a bit.
  • Satan and man have tampered with certain manuscripts and made corrupt versions over the centuries, but God said His words would never pass away, and the Bible also says that He holds His Word above His own name. So I say we should trust God and His Word. I believe we still have the Word of God today in the King James Version of the Holy Bible. That's the only version I believe and use. I trust God and have faith in Him. We should just trust Him and follow Christ and have faith in Him that He has preserved His Word. I hope that this is helpful. :) -In the Master's service. Thank you and God bless you!
  • It has changed alot as far as translations and grammer but what it states is still true because god said he will preserve his word through the ages. I'm not sure of the reference but feel free to look it up.
  • The primary problem is not with the translation. The biggest issue is the power play that went into the cannon in the first place. (Book selection, forgery, and literalist church agendas which destroyed everything written in previous generations that contradicted the chosen books and "company line"). Majority (winners - Selected state religion of Rome) become orthodox, minority (losers) become heresy.
  • The bible has changed over time. Translations are not perfect, and there is a lot of stuff that has been left out. Just because in the end it says that if anyone alters the bible, that person will loose their place in the kingdom or something like that, does not mean that it hasn't been drastically altered. I don't trust anything written by man, even if they claim they were inspired by supernatural beings. Look at all of these people who say they are inspired by their "God" to do things that are against humanity. There is plenty of evidence of mass murder and kidnapping of young virgin women in the bible, and people think that "God" told them it was okay. There is no way to prove that what is in the bible is true, in fact, most likely it is all false, and I think that can be proven with enough study and logic. If enough people have faith that they can jump off of a 7 story building and a fairy that no one has ever seen will catch their fall, are you going to go along with the crowd and have faith too?
  • I don't know, you will be able to tell from my answer that I'm not a Christian, but I really don't care one way or the other whether its been changed or not. From the Christian perspective I'm really only curious about three things: 1)Is there really only one god, and what is he/she like? How can I go about verifying that? 2)How does God talk to people today? 3)If what you say is true, what is God doing in the world today? Other than that, I really don't have that many questions and don't personally care whether it's been changed or what those people were thinking about God anyways, as I don't think they were always right. Perhaps their experience is useful, perhaps their observations are true, perhaps if there is a God I can learn from that book, but the minor details, which from my understanding are the majority of what has been changed, aren't really what I want to know about anyways, so in the end it doesn't matter.
    • Chromeman
      Hi, I would like to give you my perspective which is from the Bible, First point...Is there really only one god? From the Bible in Deuteronomy 6:4 it says "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD" KJV and 1 Timothy 2:5 says "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" KJV (Note that wherever LORD is used in the KJV it is a reference to the name of God, God is not a name it is a title. Jehovah is the accepted translation of the Hebrew Yahweh; another subject) as for what he is like? The Bible always refers to God in the Masculine form. It also says God is spirit, not flesh (Joh 4:24; 2Co 3:17), though he sometimes likens his attributes of sight, power, and so forth, to human faculties. Thus he speaks figuratively of his “arm” (Ex 6:6), his “eyes,” and his “ears” (Ps 34:15), and he points out that, since he is the Creator of human eyes and ears, he certainly can see and hear.?—Ps 94:9. Some of God’s primary attributes are love (1Jo 4:8), wisdom (Pr 2:6; Ro 11:33), justice (De 32:4; Lu 18:7, 8), and power (Job 37:23; Lu 1:35). He is a God of order and of peace. (1Co 14:33) He is completely holy, clean and pure (Isa 6:3; Hab 1:13; Re 4:8); happy (1Ti 1:11); and merciful (Ex 34:6; Lu 6:36). Many other qualities of his personality are described in the Scriptures. Next, How can I go about verifying that? The only way to is with the Bible. When It uses prophecy to tell about things to come, and then History confirms that it did happen. One example is in Isaiah 45:1 Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut KJV. this prophecy tells 200 years in advance the overthrow of the Babylonian empire. History confirms that it did happen. 2) How does God talk to people today? Through the Bible. 3) If what you say is true, what is God doing in the world today? You are not the first person to ask this. If I may suggest this link. I hope I was helpful. Thanks for your time. https://www.jw.org/finder?srcid=jwlshare&wtlocale=E&prefer=lang&docid=1102012770
  • The following are some good reasons why we can believe that the Bible has not been changed. “In the number of ancient MSS. [manuscripts] attesting a writing, and in the number of years that had elapsed between the original and the attesting MSS., the Bible enjoys a decided advantage over classical writings [those of Homer, Plato, and others]. . . . Altogether classical MSS. are but a handful compared with Biblical. No ancient book is so well attested as the Bible.”—The Bible From the Beginning (New York, 1929), P. Marion Simms, pp. 74, 76. A report published in 1971 shows that there are possibly 6,000 handwritten copies containing all or part of the Hebrew Scriptures; the oldest dates back to the third century B.C.E. Of the Christian Greek Scriptures, there are some 5,000 in Greek, the oldest dating back to the beginning of the second century C.E. There are also many copies of early translations into other languages. In the introduction to his seven volumes on The Chester Beatty Biblical Papyri, Sir Frederic Kenyon wrote: “The first and most important conclusion derived from the examination of them [the papyri] is the satisfactory one that they confirm the essential soundness of the existing texts. No striking or fundamental variation is shown either in the Old or the New Testament. There are no important omissions or additions of passages, and no variations which affect vital facts or doctrines. The variations of text affect minor matters, such as the order of words or the precise words used . . . But their essential importance is their confirmation, by evidence of an earlier date than was hitherto available, of the integrity of our existing texts.”—(London, 1933), p. 15
  • It's been through numerous revisionist 'councils,' most notably the Nicean Council which produced the King James version. Most modern translations are King James based. As far as truth is concerned, there is far too much truth in the texts to be distorted by a few blots of ink or omitted texts here and there. No worries, the basis of the books are still there.
    • dalcocono
      You are so far off in this answer. Here is a link that will take you to an explanation of the first Nicaean councils. Centuries before the protestants and king James came along. https://religionfacts.com/council-of-nicea
  • Belief? ;-)
  • ‘Many people use the King James version of the Bible, and I personally have one in my library.’ ‘Did you know that the Bible was originally written in the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek languages? . . . Do you read those languages? . . . So we are grateful that the Bible has been translated into English.’ Genesis, the first book of the Bible, was completed in 1513 B.C.E. But, after Genesis was written, some 2,900 years passed before the complete Bible was translated into English? And over 200 more years elapsed before translation of the King James Version was completed (1611 C.E.).’ ‘Since the 17th century, English has undergone many changes. We have seen that in our own lifetime, haven’t we? . . . So I appreciate modern translations that carefully express the same original truths in the language that we speak today.’ VEW
  • denidowl, thanks for your reply. When a new Bible translation is published in English many people wonder why, because a great many English versions already exist. Some may even argue that the King James Version gives us the Bible in English; so why produce new translations? The principal reason is to give the public a translation of God’s Word that accurately expresses the fine shades of meaning contained in the Hebrew and Greek of Bible manuscripts and that at the same time is understandable to the average person living today. The King James Version itself was actually a new translation in its day, really a revision of previous English versions. It met the need for a clearer translation of God’s Word then, and now new versions again meet our need for an easily understood version. The English language has changed since 1611, when the King James Version was released. Many words that were used then are no longer used today or their meanings have changed. For example, do you understand the language of the King James Version in its rendering of Genesis 25:29? It says: “Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint.” In a new translation that uses the English we speak today this verse reads: “Once Jacob was boiling up some stew, when Esau came along from the field and he was tired.” Since the purpose in reading the Bible is to learn from it, is not that goal more easily attained when the language used in it is the English that is spoken in this twentieth century rather than that spoken in the seventeenth century? The translations of the Bible of which the King James Version was a revision were based upon a small number of Hebrew and Greek manuscripts. Many thousands of manuscripts have been found since then, some being as much as a thousand years older than those. The fact that these manuscript copies are older means they are closer in time to the original writings and are, therefore, more accurate, having fewer copyist errors. Therefore, modern translations are needed. VEW
  • To PrognosticAgnostic.. The Bible is right when it says about God: “His invisible qualities are clearly seen from the world’s creation onward, because they are perceived by the things made, even his eternal power and Godship, so that they are inexcusable.” (Romans 1:20) Even though we cannot see God, our belief in his existence is no mere superstition. Daily, we deal with many things we cannot see, such as wind, electricity, magnetism, and the force of gravity. We know that they exist because we can observe the effects they produce. Similarly, the intricate design and the superb order in the universe distinctly testify to the existence of a grand creator. Since God is invisible, how can we come to know him as a person and establish a personal relationship with him? God has made it possible for us to know him, primarily by two means. Through his creation God gives a clear indication of his wisdom, power, and love. In addition, he has inspired men to write a book, providing further information about himself. That book is the Bible Then Why So Much Suffering? The Bible and creation both testify that an intelligent Maker purposed for mankind to live on earth in peace and happiness. (Genesis 1:28-31; Acts 14:16, 17) As their Life-Giver, God had the right to govern his creatures. Still, he gave them freedom of choice, to accept or reject his authority. (Revelation 4:11; Genesis 2:16, 17) Humans, however, chose to govern themselves. “God made mankind upright, but they themselves have sought out many plans.” (Ecclesiastes 7:29; Deuteronomy 32:5) God could have crushed their rebellion immediately. However, an issue had been raised that must be settled. Hence, God allowed humans enough time to try out their “many plans.” With what result? Starvation, crime, corruption, injustice and wars—this is man’s sad history. How true the Bible statements: ♦ “Man has dominated man to his injury.” (Ecclesiastes 8:9) ♦ “It does not belong.to man who is walking even to direct his step.” (Jeremiah 10:23) The conclusion is plain: Human suffering is of man’s own making. It does not come from God. Rather, it stems from man’s rejecting God as ruler. Hence, God has allowed suffering temporarily to settle this issue once and for all. VEW
  • Consider Coca-cola. Yes it's changed in various slight ways since it's creation, but all the IMPORTANT things about it have stayed the same: it rots your teeth, it tastes yummy, it fizzes, it makes you burp. Likewise for the bible: yes there have been numerous changes and tweaks / re-translations (thanks to a corrected translation done in 1997, we now know that Goliath was 6 feet 6 inches tall. Not 9 feet 9 inches, as we thought for centuries!) but all the CORE important things have reamained constant. In none of these 'mistakes/ changes' will you find anything that says 'Jesus is not the saivior' or 'You can worship idols if you want' or 'those who accept jesus dont go to heaven.'
  • The original Torah has never changed even one letter.
  • *** 1 *** Has the bible changed over time? ANSWER: Yes, of course. Indeed: it's fairly...inaccurate to imagine that the Bible is a single thing. But the first book actually called "the Bible" has certainly undergone changes of various sorts when compared to modern Bible translations. *** 2 *** And if so, how can be be sure that what it states is true? ANSWER: Well: first and foremost (assuming we're talking about the whole Bible): you can't. You never could, not even with the first book actually called "the Bible". There are individual statements in the Bible that can be confirmed objectively, but - like most ancient texts, probably literally all equally-ancient texts - the whole cannot be so confirmed. We don't have proof (or disproof) concerning most of the statements made in such ancient documents, and so we cannot prove or disprove said statements (whether or not related OR UNRELATED changes have been made to the documents over time).
  • Insignificantly, the Bible has been revised for our understanding. Both before and after the 1611 edition of the King James Version - its first printing has changed, but the stories, teachings and prophecies remain the same.
  • https://www.history.com/topics/religion/bible Yes, there are many different versions of the Bible. Books have been added and subtracted, eg the book of Macabees. There is also an Eastern Orthodox Bible (Russian) and an Ethiopian Bible. There is also a protestant bible. Check out the differences between the Geneva Bible and King James It will blow your mind. Most people have no idea what the Bible really is. For example the King James was a Protestant bible made by the Church of England after it separated from the Pope. Now figure that out. lol
  • the NASB, the King James Version (KJV), the English Standard Version (ESV), and the New English Translation (NET) are all examples of Word-for-Word translations. You also have meaning for meaning translations. Thought for thought versions and paraphrase translations, such as Phillips
  • The Bible never changes.
  • It seems it is changing quite a bit with a "new translation" some group is doing on the revised standard version. They are going to make it more feminist friendly and make approx 20,000 changes to the words used. Here is a link to the story; https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/mind-and-soul/op-ed-a-new-edition-of-the-bible-with-20000-revisions-should-spark-20000-thoughtful-conversations/ar-AAS7nH8
    • www.bible-reviews.com
      Great link, thanks. I didn't know that the NRSV crew were finally doing an update. The NRSV itself is an extremely scholarly translation that suffers from only a few translation choice problems (and I don't know any Bible version that does NOT suffer from such problems). The NRSV problems are * too much inclusive language (when this is an INTERPRETATIVE decision, it OUGHT to be left in the hands of the reader, not the translator) * too word-for-word literal to be best for accuracy (that is: relies too heavily on formal equivalence) This is a holdover from the King James Version, which the NRSV attempts to supersede * though an ecumenical translation team helps to avoid religious bias, the downside is that it tends to result in "compromise" wording INSTEAD of "most accurate and precise" wording. A Biblical teaching that runs contrary to the religious teachings of a particular subset of the translation team is more likely to be altered than in the case of a translation team that is dedicated to accuracy and precision no matter how well religious teaching agrees with that translation..
  • Not even one word has changed in the original bible.
  • Not one word in the original bible has changed.
  • The original has never changed even one word.
  • The Bibles we have today are translated from different manuscripts. Some of those manuscripts used are very poor and corrupted. The NIV is from one of those corrupted manuscripts. There are no original manuscripts available today, what we have are copies of copies of copies. Though those we have today are close they are not perfect. The Dead Sea Scrolls are very close to what we have today when compared to the KJV of the Bible. Back in the 1980s and 90s there was a book, The New Age Bible Versions by Gail Riplinger. Her book was fofooed because she didn't have 20 letters after name of her various degrees. The book is a very interesting read. It takes a lot of study and reading to come to conclusions of books of the Bible. I am constantly learning.

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