Why ARE there so many different versions of the Bible????

I've been studying religion a bit lately.  Mostly because the Vatican and the Catholic faith play a part in the book I recently finished and will continue to play a part as I write more books in the series, but also because I am fascinated by the beliefs of various cultures, my own included.

In addition to reading the Bible for the umpteenth time (and, yes, I DO own a Bible.  It was a gift from my Aunt Mary many years ago, and I will treasure it for the rest of my life), I've taken to watching shows where varying theories about the writing and translating of the Bible are debated.  From all of that, I had a question:

If the Bible is the word of God, why are there so many different versions of it?

If you think this is some sort of sick joke by the fat guy, open another browser tab, go to Amazon, and search for Bibles.

Go ahead.  I'll wait for a minute...........

See what I mean?  There's literally dozens of different versions of the Bible out there.  And while they all tell the same basic story, if you break them down, you'll notice differences between all of them.

In other words, they don't tell the story the same way.

Worse still, some versions leave out events that other versions have kept in.

So, I'll ask again....

If the Bible is the word of God, why are there so many different versions of it?

The only answer that I can come up with, and I know some of you will disagree with it, is that the Bible ISN'T the word of God.  Instead, it's the word of man trying to interpret what God intended for us to know.

For me, it's not really much of a stretch to believe that.  The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls showed us that there were passages in the earliest versions of the Bible that haven't been used in centuries.  If that's the case, then why do we, as the faithful, hold tightly to the belief that the Bible is truly the word of God?  How could an editor just cut out the sacred words of the creator?

The fact of the matter, to me, is that they couldn't, which only proves my point.

I mean, look at it like this:  there wasn't a human being present at the creation.  We know this.  So, how do we have such a descriptive account of what happened?  There's no film we can go back and look at for it.  No newspaper accounts.  No hieroglyphics on a pyramid.  Nothing.

The creation is something believers take on faith.  And, by the way, I'm not arguing with having faith.  In and of itself, I believe faith to be a very good and very positive thing.

I take issue with those who would choose to beat me over the head with their Bible and tell me that it is the ultimate word, and if I don't believe wholeheartedly in it, I'm going directly to Hell.

Why am I such a killjoy when it comes to this most holy of texts?  Because if you look at some of the history concerning it, Catholic officials made me that way.

How so?

Well, let's look at the very beginnings of the Catholic church.  We know of the existence of verses that are believed to be the "banned" verses of the Bible, which would be verses that either were written at the same time and weren't utilized, or were purged from the text at the very creation of the church.  Either way, one has to wonder why those verses weren't allowed to see the light of day while those that did made the cut.  In my opinion, it's the first instance of the church editing the word to suit their own needs.

"Right", you're thinking.  "The church just picks and chooses what it wants us to know."

Okay, here's something else.

The final book of the New Testament, in the oldest Codex version known, only had eight verses.  If you look at it now, it has way more than that.  How's that possible?  To answer that, you have to first understand that Catholics were the first group to write their scripture into books, known as codexes, to read.  For the longest time, that's how you knew the difference between Christian and Jewish texts:  Christian texts were in a Codex, Jewish texts were on scrolls.  Anyway, the Codex in question ends after the women go to the tomb of Christ and realize he's not there.  It specifically ends after stating they returned to town and said nothing, for they were scared.

That's it.  Nothing more.

So, how did more verses get written?  According to religious scholars, at some point, someone who was doing a translation of the text apparently didn't like the ending, and wrote several more verses to "finish" the New Testament.

Hey, I can't make this stuff up.  I've researched that Codex myself, and what I've reported seems kosher.

You want another example?

As we know, the earliest versions of the Bible were written in a combination of Hebrew and Aramaic, and were translated into Greek.  The problem is that when translating from Hebrew and Aramaic to Greek, some words got altered in the translation.  A prime example of that is the Virgin birth.  In the original Aramaic, it merely states that Mary was of child bearing age.  Somehow, that got translated to her being a Virgin, and therefore a Virgin birth.  Controversial, I know, but knowing how often texts get messed up when translating, it's not hard to believe.  When you take into account that a virgin birth feeds directly into the mythos that the Catholic church of the time wanted, there's no need to go back and make changes, and by this point in time, it's such an accepted part of the faith, it's considered heretical to even THINK about changing it.  And, I don't think I would anyway.  It's a much more interesting story the way it is.

One more thing, while I'm setting up my own burn pile for Hell.....

The Catholic church once burned individuals as heretics for translating the Bible into English.

I'm serious.

Why would they do that?

Think about it.....After Greek, the texts were then translated into the Latin that so many Catholics have come to love and loathe.  Latin was, for a very long time, the language of the educated, and in most cases that meant the clergy.  So, if you have the religious texts in a language that only the clergy can read, there can be no questioning of what they're saying.  Translate it into the language of the masses, however, and you now leave the church in a position to be questioned concerning its interpretation of the text.

Oh...and who can we thank for having the Bible translated into English?

Henry VIII.  He did it when he broke away from the Catholic church to form the Church of England.  We can also thank the Protestants, because they believed from the very beginning that the Bible MUST be made available to ALL, not just a select few.

So, what does that mean for you?

Honestly, if you're a true believer, it shouldn't mean a thing.  At it's core, Christianity is the belief that God is the creator who created us in His image, and gave us his only Son to die for our sins.  For me, it really translates into this:

Spend your time being the best possible person you can.  Treat others the way you want to be treated, and don't worry about your shortcomings.  Learn from them.  Better yourself.  Pay it forward. 

To me, that's what it's all about.  The rest are words.  Good words, I'll grant you, but words none the less.

And faith, for me, is about what's in your heart, not what's on the written page.  That's why I've made it a hobby study different religions and try to understand what others believe.  And, you know what I've found?  This might shock you.......

Pretty much every human being on the planet with faith believes in basically the same thing:

There is a creator who made us and guides our lives, albeit in a subtle way.  We are tasked with being the best we can possibly be, and those who do so will have their lives enriched in wonderful ways, while those who do not will be unhappy and live unfulfilled lives.

Not a bad way to live your life, if you ask me.

The Fat Guy