|| Is the Bible corrupted? When and where was it corrupt | Theology bites
|| Is the Bible corrupted? When and where was it corrupted? ||
by Ibn Anwar
There is little doubt in the informed Christian's mind that the Bible has indeed undergone many phases of corruption throughout 2000 years of Christian history. To deny that the Bible has been corrupted is no longer a tenable position and those that assert such a preposterous claim as "the Bible has not been corrupted" are regarded as delusional at best. The very fact that Bibles today are marred by rather revealing and helpful footnotes that explicitly mention and identify the places in which corruption, changes, deletions, alterations, editing etc. have occurred should assure Bible readers that the book that they hold in their hand is not the unperturbed and pristine "Word of God" that was revealed from heaven. The New Testament scholar W. R. Telford cautions students of the Bible regarding the veracity of the information that they encounter in their readings of the Bible:
“Our main sources have to be treated with caution, however. There are discrepancies between Paul and the Acts of the Apostles. The Acts and the Gospels present not history but theologically interpreted history or tradition...some data may have been modified, altered, embellished or invented by the church in the oral period when its traditions were being circulated...” [1]
The next time a Christian missionary or apologist challenges you to identify the exact date of the Bible's corruption, simply retort by challenging him to open his Bible and turn to Mark 16. Ask him to read out the footnote for verses nine onwards. If that does not satisfy his challenge, then ask him to turn to 1 John 5:7 and make him read out the footnote in his Bible that he has in his hand for that particular verse (it should be somewhere along the lines of the attached image below). If that still does not satisfy him, then challenge him to read Mark 1:2 and its footnote. By this time, it should be clear to him that his question as to when the Bible was corrupted is completely moot and irrelevant. The Bible that he carries in his hand resoundingly informs him that the Bible has indeed been corrupted many times in many places.
See the attachment below as an example
Notes:
1 Telford, W. R. (2014). The New Testament: A Beginner's Guide. London: Oneworld Publications. p. 42
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