The Bible says it´s divine?????

by Mark napier

The Bible says it is DIVINE??????

Okay, when ever I ask Christians about why I should believe the bible, they almost always quote the following verse:

2 Timothy 3:16 (King James Version)

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.

Lets look at it in Greek for all those who get off on it:

2 Timothy 3:16 (Strongs)

pas:G3956 graphe:G1124…theopneustos:G2315. theopnuestos:G2315…ophelimos:G5624. didaskalia:G1319. elegchos:G1650. epanorthosis:G1882. paideia:G3809. dikaiosune:G1343

3956. pas, pas; includ. all the forms of declension; appar. a prim. word; all, any, every, the whole:--all (manner of, means) alway (-s), any (one), X daily, + ever, every (one, way), as many as, + no (-thing), X throughly, whatsoever, whole, whosoever.

1124. graphe, graf-ay'; from G1125; a document, i.e. holy Writ (or its contents or a statement in it):--scripture.

2315. theopneustos, theh-op'-nyoo-stos; from G2316 and a presumed der. of G4154; divinely breathed in:--given by inspiration of God.

5624. ophelimos, o-fel'-ee-mos; from a form of G3786; helpful or serviceable, i.e. advantageous:--profit (-able).

1319. didaskalia, did-as-kal-ee'-ah; from G1320; instruction (the function or the information):--doctrine, learning, teaching.

1650. elegchos, el'-eng-khos; from G1651; proof, conviction:--evidence, reproof.

1882. epanorthosis, ep-an-or'-tho-sis; from a comp. of G1909 and G461; a straightening up again, i.e. (fig.) rectification (reformation):--correction.

3809. paideia, pahee-di'-ah; from G3811; tutorage; i.e. education or training; by impl. disciplinary correction:--chastening, chastisement, instruction, nurture.

1343. dikaiosune, dik-ah-yos-oo'-nay; from G1342; equity (of character or act); spec. (Chr.) justification:--righteousness.

You could also correctly translate this verse so:

2 Timothy 3:16 (mine)

All scripture WHICH IS INSPIRED BY GOD, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.

Places the verse in an entirely different perspective. Hmmm not ALL scripture, JUST that which is inspired by god……or could it really mean all scripture when put in this context? Hmmm.

Hmmm this verse is so often used to invoke authority in the bible, and the authenticity of it. Well one thing that the vast majority of christians do not realize is this:

(if) Paul wrote this in regards to scripture, he could not have meant the bible as we know it. IT DID NOT EXIST!!! (look below for a time table of the written scriptures.) Maybe he could apply it to the Old Testament, but was the OT constructed like it is today??? hmmmm. And keep this in mind also, the gospels was not penned until AFTER all of Pauls letters. Double hmmmm. The canon we have to day did not exist until centuries later. Now, would you use this verse to continue to validate the bible as “divine”? Is that honest? Or are you furthering the lie for your conscience? Justification of this belief system because it makes you feel better? Or that you would feel silly, or look bad by investing so much energy and time wasting it all believing this myth?

Things to think about in any case. Now, I know people reading this will do one of a few things:

Agree with me, and say “Clever observation Mark.”
Disagree completely and attack me in a certain way. ”What gives you the right to interpret scripture and translate the greek so?”
Since you are a human being and fallible, how dare you think that you can judge god and the bible? As a natural man, you can not understand scripture in the way god intends it to be read and understood.
You need Jesus!!! You will burn in hell otherwise, and I would not want that to happen. (I get this a lot, and I mean a lot)

Should I address these issues? I would be wrong if I did not, but then again, I am wrong period from the stance of the believer. Should I even try? Will it bring one iota of change?

Will it open a closed mind, set to believe a thing they know deep down inside to be false? Would you need apologetics if your stance was right to begin with??? HMMMMMMM…

(just a quick list of the books of the bible and the time periods believed to be completed, this is not 100% spot on, as I am doing this from the top of my head….Please forgive this evil squirrel…)

500 BC: Completion of All Original Hebrew Manuscripts which make Up The 39 Books of the Old Testament.

200 BC: Completion of the Septuagint Greek Manuscripts which contain The 39 Old Testament Books AND 14 Apocrypha Books.

1st Century AD: Completion of All Original Greek Manuscripts which make Up The 27 Books of the New Testament. To include Paul’s letters, keep in mind that they were written before the gospels and other works.

390 AD: Jerome's Latin Vulgate Manuscripts Produced which contain All 80 Books (39 Old Test. + 14 Apocrypha + 27 New Test).

500 AD: Scriptures have been Translated into Over 500 Languages.

600 AD: LATIN was the Only Language Allowed for Scripture.

995 AD: Anglo-Saxon (Early Roots of English Language) Translations of The New Testament Produced.

1384 AD: Wycliffe is the First Person to Produce a (Hand-Written) manuscript Copy of the Complete Bible; All 80 Books.

1455 AD: Gutenberg Invents the Printing Press; Books May Now be mass-Produced Instead of Individually Hand-Written. The First Book Ever Printed is Gutenberg's Bible in Latin.

1516 AD: Erasmus Produces a Greek/Latin Parallel New Testament.

1522 AD: Martin Luther's German New Testament.

1525 AD: William Tyndale's New Testament; The First New Testament to be Printed in the English Language.

1535 AD: Myles Coverdale's Bible; The First Complete Bible to be printed in the English Language (80 Books: O.T. & N.T. & Apocrypha).

1537 AD: Matthews Bible; The Second Complete Bible to be Printed in English. Done by John "Thomas Matthew" Rogers (80 Books).

1539 AD: The "Great Bible" Printed; The First English Language Bible to be Authorized for Public Use (80 Books).

1560 AD: The Geneva Bible Printed; The First English Language Bible to Add Numbered Verses to Each Chapter (80 Books).

1568 AD: The Bishops Bible Printed; The Bible of which the King James was a Revision (80 Books).

1609 AD: The Douay Old Testament is added to the Rheimes New Testament (of 1582) Making the First Complete English Catholic Bible; Translated from the Latin Vulgate (80 Books).

1611 AD: The King James Bible Printed; Originally with All 80 Books. The Apocrypha was Officially Removed in 1885 Leaving Only 66 Books.

1782 AD: Robert Aitken's Bible; The First English Language Bible (a King James Version without Apocrypha) to be Printed in America.

1791 AD: Isaac Collins and Isaiah Thomas Respectively Produce the First Family Bible and First Illustrated Bible Printed in America. Both were King James Versions, with All 80 Books.

1808 AD: Jane Aitken's Bible (Daughter of Robert Aitken); The First Bible to be Printed by a Woman.

1833 AD: Noah Webster's Bible; After Producing his Famous Dictionary, Webster Printed his Own Revision of the King James Bible.

1841 AD: English Hexapla New Testament; an Early Textual Comparison showing the Greek and 6 Famous English Translations in Parallel Columns.

1846 AD: The Illuminated Bible; The Most Lavishly Illustrated Bible printed in America. A King James Version, with All 80 Books.

1885 AD: The "Revised Version" Bible; The First Major English Revision of the King James Bible.

1901 AD: The "American Standard Version"; The First Major American Revision of the King James Bible.

1971 AD: The "New American Standard Bible" (NASB) is Published as a "Modern and Accurate Word for Word English Translation" of the Bible.

1973 AD: The "New International Version" (NIV) is Published as a "Modern and Accurate Phrase for Phrase English Translation" of the Bible.

1982 AD: The "New King James Version" (NKJV) is Published as a "Modern English Version Maintaining the Original Style of the King James."

(what purpose does this serve? Actually none, I just thought I would post it heh heh)