tab' Well, a belated Happy New Year to you, too! Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! So sorry to have missed your question! Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Close to 2/3 of the books of the Bible were written before the life of Jesus Christ/God and approximately 1/3 were written after the time of Jesus Christ/God. The three original languages of the Bible were Hebrew, Aramaic and ancient Greek. Hebrew is a Semetic language which was passed on by Abraham and his descendants. It was the language of the Holy Land until about the 3rd century B.C. when Aramaic became the language. Aramaic was the language used in Palestine during the life of Jesus Christ. The ancient Greek language is not classical Greek as we know it today, but a dialect spread throughout the world at the time of Alexander the Great. Most of the books of the Old Testament were written in Hebrew. The Book of Wisdom and 2 Maccabees were also written in Greek. Most of the books of the New Testament were written in ancient Greek. Tolbit, Judith, and the Gospel of St. Matthew were written in Aramaic as were portions of Daniel, Ezra, Jermiah and Esther. Not being a one-language world, many translations have taken place throughout history. The Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Old Testament, was begun about 250 B.C. and completed about 100 B.C. This translation was made for the Jews of Egypt so that they could read the sacred books in Greek, the only language that most of them understood. This translation was widely used in Palestine and distributed throughout the Greek-speaking people of the Mediterranean during the time of Jesus Christ and during the first century. The Apostles used this translation in their teaching. Many original manuscripts were written on perishable material and did not survive. Additionally, Roman emperors decreed the destruction of the manuscripts during the Christian persecutions. The oldest partial Hebrew transcript known was written in the 2nd Century. The oldest partial ancient Greek transcript known is from the 2nd Century A.D.. In the early days of the Christian Church, an early translation of books from Greek to Latin was needed because many people in the West could not understand Greek. These translations were done rapidly by many people of varying education. By the second century, there were a number of Latin translations, the most widely circulated being the Old Latin, or Itala. The various hurried Latin translations were considered inaccurate in some instances, however, gathered together, they made up the first Latin Bible. The Latin translation was corrected and revised in the 4th Century A.D.. Several thousand other ancient Greek manuscripts have been found from the 4th and 5th Century after Jesus Christ.
Turestory, Propaganda I tell you! That is what the bible is. Storys written in th 4th and 5th century after christ can' t be very accurate! Peoples memorys are clearer and less embelished closer to the incident at hand. The further you get from the incident the muddier the memory and the more wildly embelished it is. Espeacialy when it is passed down down by word of moth and translated over and over again. ------------------ My life could have been black and white, but I had to color it. [This message has been edited by 666 (edited January 11, 2000).]
666, By "propaganda" I am taking it that you mean "false" propaganda? Not so, my friend. Although the translations are not "original" writings, the Bible's written history extends well before the time of Christ and the translations themselves are well documented. This is how we can follow the history of the manuscripts from before the time of Christ. Like any other book, historical, spiritual, fictional or otherwise, many copies can be printed and it can be translated into many languages without changing the message. Believe me, unlike other books, God's divine message in this Sacred book was guarded, literally, by people's lives for centuries. Of course, the invention of the printing press helped to disseminate (or propagate... spread, if you will) God's divine mesasge, however, that was by natural means. It in no way changed the message. It simply made the Word of God easier to spread throughout the world. You might want to ask yourself this... if the writing and the keeping of the Bilbe was a multiple century conspiracy to get people to buy into a false message, then surely, enough time has elapsed to eliminate "perceived" inconsistencies and human objections to the printed Word. If you truly believe the theory of false propaganda to be correct, then surely, you must ask yourself why, do you suppose, wasn't the Bible changed to make it so that it would at least be "perceived" as more "acceptable" in the eyes of those who object? Surely, that would have been easy enough to do! It is not a matter of the Bible being false propaganda, a multiple century conspiracy or inconsistent with God's message, it is a matter of the Bible being unacceptable to some humans because the true divine message of salvation through Jesus Christ seems inconsistent with the temporal desires of most humans. [This message has been edited by truestory (edited January 12, 2000).]
Bonjour... Truestory.... I beg to difer on your last message. It is not us that is trying to make the bible fit to our needs, it is the bible that was from the start transalated by humans, with humans idea and points of view. Many parts of the original points/stories were lost in the numerous transalations, and this.... is very easy to see. The bible is a story, a visual given out for the masses... so that maybe some of us may abide by the story book and beleive. I am not putting down your beleif, all I am saying is that I do not think that one should only relly on the written words of the bible ...... Bottica
You spend alot of time researching every word of the Bible.. Christ said if you would come to him as a little child he would reveal himself to you. It is our hearts he wants to touch, until you have touched that love there is no description and definitely no doubt that Christ is the Messiah, the one who was given the power over satan and his legions of demonic forces. Dare to ask Christ yourself for the truth, he will come to you and give you the answer.. He is the only way to the Father.. He will be your closest friend, and will reveal his heart to you if you let Him.. The forces that keep you away from him, dont want you to know his love and his power, they have a purpose for you too.. Dont give up..... In The Name Of Jesus Christ
Bonjour, mon ami, Bottica! "What" was it that humans were translating from the start? What "were" the original points? "Who/what" is it that wants us to abide by the story book?
Bottica-- Forgive me please, as I have no intention of speaking on your behalf. But I thought now a pleasant time to insert myself into this exchange-- * * * * * Truestory-- Since you're the expert, we might ask you your answers. Furthermore, I might assert (again, forgive me if I'm wrong here, Bottica) that these very questions you've posed are the actual point. Neither you nor I, nor Bottica, Flash, Oxygen, Ilgwamh, Searcher, Lori, or any of us actually know the answers to those questions: "individuals" throughout history, acting in various forms of convention, have accidentally erased our link to those answers. But to give an inkling of a starting point: various stories in the Bible are "borrowed" from other cultures. This, of course, is tough to believe if you are of the opinion that the world started in 4004 BCE with Adam and Eve. But, as I've noted, the story of Noah and the Flood existed for at least a couple of millennia before the Hebrews came on the scene. Consider the idea of the "Big Bang". You don't have to believe in it in order to work with the example. Okay ... the Big Bang bangs. BOOM. Big noise. Loud echo. So loud, in fact, that we can still here it today with specialized equipment. Why do we need specialized equipment? Because human beings' inherent specialized equipment is designed to NOT perceive it. CBE is so inherent it's like water. If we heard it, we never would. But it's cycle and amplitude are imprinted on our being, so that our simple physical existence plays out a delicate balancing act--one that can be described mathematically. But if that echo-signal is built into our selves, our actions will reflect its presence. It manifests itself in human activity and communication. It is part of us. Again, I point to Arthur Dent, Deep Thought, and the Mice. (The mice wanted to dissect Arthur because they believed the "original question" that the computer-Earth was designed to determine would be imprinted in his very existence.) We see humanity drawing its tales from certain sources. These seem to be common to most humans. Among less removed and sterile religions, water is associated with Mother because it is the stuff of life. Freud did nothing with his theories except put what we already knew inherently into words to be used in the exchange of ideas--the "variations on a theme". I think the original points probably have something to do with those things that have been present in organic life since its origin on this planet. I think their essence is buried in our stories, and in our actions, and in the physical remnants we leave behind. In that light, a number of people have tapped that source. Jesus most likely did, by this regard. Mohammed most likely did. In more recent memory, though, I think of Kahil Gibran, Aleister Crowley and--strangely--Ray Bradbury (there's more to those words than Martians and creepy fungi). It's probably also true that access to that source is limited, and occurs in fits. One person "attains"--as Crowley described it--and several others will rush the breach, so to speak. But that's all speculation. And I think the vagaries of such questions are their inherent treasures. ciao for now --Tiassa ------------------ Take a side you say, it's black and gray. And all the hunters take the hunted merrily out to play. We are one, you say, but who are you? You're all too busy reaping in the things you never sown. And this beast must go on and on and on .... Nobody gives a damn. (Floater; "Beast")
tiassa, Thank you for your interesting theories. Please keep in mind that one of the great minds you mentioned was that of God, the omniscient one, Jesus Christ. So Bottica, What say ye, friend?
Tiassa - We seem to have similar tastes - what do you think of Robert Heinlien's work? Have you ever read "Stranger in a Strange Land"? The unabridged version is very, very good.
Bonjour, First I would like to thank Tiassa, your "two bit" is vey much what I beleive ... As for Truestory,.... the way I look at it, somebody at different points in the history of this planet came here to teach. Give him, or her, the name that you wish. The transalation where done from written events that happen in those days. I do not put down the bible, or any "holy" books, I am just saying that I really think that we should take some of it with a grain of salt, and understand when and where they were written.... Bottica
Hello again, Bottica! Unlike grains of salt, Jesus Christ (the Word of God), God's message and God's offer of salvation through Jesus Christ are unique! [This message has been edited by truestory (edited January 21, 2000).]
