Can I trust the Bible? -- Part 2

Day 70

OT Reading: Deuteronomy 14-16

NT Reading: Mark 13:14-37

Can I really trust the Bible? It's a question that I'm betting you already have an opinion about...most people do. And yesterday I began a multi-post series dealing with what I perceive to be the most common hesitations regarding the trustworthiness of the Bible.

Of course if I do not answer a major question that you've had posed to you, feel free to comment here, on Facebook, or shoot me an email and I'll either answer it directly, or include it in this series. How many posts will this entail? I haven't quite figured that out yet. We'll see how quickly I (or you) get tired of it :-).

The Bible has been translated and re-translated. How can I trust that what I'm reading is accurate?

This is an excellent question...whether being asked from pure motives or not. If in fact this book was written between 2,000 and 3,500 years ago, how do I have any assurance that what I'm reading in my particular English version is actually what God wants me to know? While there are a number of avenues I could take to dealing with this question, I think tonight I'll very briefly touch on the transmission of the text through the years, and the modern day translation of our nice leather-bound English versions.

Exactly how the Biblical texts were passed on from one generation to the next changed over the course of several centuries and millennia. Between cultural changes, technological changes in paper (parchment vs. papyri vs. scrolls) inks and more...significant change happened between generations that impacted how the Bible was copied.

To be fair, a complete depiction of the past several millennia, from the earliest oral traditions to now, would easily fill multiple books. But the one thing I want you to understand, the one feature consistent from one generation to the next, regardless of the location, time or technology was the commitment to accurately pass on the Word of God.

Allow me to offer an example. As I understand it, typical transcription happened with one individual at the front of the room, reading a text, while the trained, professional scribes each penned their own copy. Here was the kicker. These scribes had developed intricate processes to ensure that no mistakes had been made in their copies. For instance, Scribes knew not only how many words should be on a page, but how many letters there were and where those letters should fall. So at certain times, the scribes would stop and count, lining up their pages, counting numbers and letters to ensure that they were right on track.

Then, if a page were discovered to have a mistake, that page would immediately be burned. Scribes were not ok with manuscript they knew to be 99% accurate, textual purity was considered a non-negotiable as they were dealing with nothing less than the very word of God. This is the type of scene we see played out across a myriad of cultures, times and locations as each held in high importance the transmission of the message of Jesus.

But what about all that translation? I mean...how much was lost in all that?

Another great question. And one that would especially be valid if the Bible had been translated through five or six different languages before appearing in the seats at our church. The advantage we have today, however is that archeology has produced for us a number of reliable copies from the original languages, Hebrew and Greek. So for those uber-scholars in the room, they can pick up a Greek or Hebrew copy and read it for themselves.

But what about the rest of us...the ones who cannot read Hebrew or Greek? Well first off let me assure you, I'm there with you. I did take two years of Greek, and while I know a little more than most, my Greek knowledge has basically disappeared into the same parts of my brain that had to memorize the inner-workings of the earthworm. So I don't have a significant head-start here. But there are a couple general ideas I'd like to point out about all this:

1. A majority of the translations we have on the shelves today are well done. These are translations done by people who have Ph.D's in classical languages. Not just one or two, but dozens and dozens of them all working together to achieve an accurate, reliable translation for you and me. Early on I did a post about the translations of the Bible, and I talked a little about why differences exist between say an NLT and an NIV. So if you're curious, feel free to take a peek there. Just know that each word choice has been made with thought, discussion and prayer.

2. If you know anything about foreign languages, you understand that rarely does a translation go perfectly from one language to the next. It's just the nature of language. Most of the time you can get awfully close. Many times there will be no significant change in meaning. However we just need to realize there will be times when we have a difficult translation. This is another reason for variations between English translations. Even though the end result often does not have a great impact on how we would understand and apply the text.

In short, since the Bible first started to be penned people have understood the magnitude of the words that they were copying. These were not just words in a letter from a family member, these were instructions, tales, encouragement and admonishment from the very Creator. And from the beginning individuals have taken weighty measures to ensure accurate, reliable transmission of this text to the next generation so that we too would be able to read these very words of God.

If you'd like to know more, feel free to ask questions or I can offer suggestions on articles/books detailing more information about how the Bible has been treated/translated over the years.

Tomorrow's topic: How exactly did we get the Bible?