History of the Bible: Did A Man On Horseback Divide The Bible Into Bible Verses?
The history of the Bible includes division of the Bible into Bible verses. Did you ever wonder how the verses got there? Would you believe that one man on horseback decided to divide the Bible into verses on a trip between Paris and Lyon? Read more…
Christian Education Questions For Bad Bible Bullies: Could They Pass The Test?
Christian education for most Christians is a hit or miss process. This means that most Christians don’t know much about the Bible, or even the most basic tenets of their own religious belief. They know even less about other religions.
These are the conclusions of a recent Pew survey.
The survey released Tuesday by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life aimed to test a broad range of religious knowledge, including understanding of the Bible, core teachings of different faiths and major figures in religious history. The U.S. is one of the most religious countries in the developed world, especially compared to largely secular Western Europe, but faith leaders and educators have long lamented that Americans still know relatively little about religion. Read more…
Why Bible Verses Are The Greatest Enemy Of Bible Education
Bible verses are the greatest enemy of Bible education. But why? This claim flies in the face of the dominant method of religious education for Sunday schools and churches.
The reason goes back to the adage I learned in my first preaching course in theological seminary.
A text without a context is a pretext.
A Bible Verse Is Artificial
A Bible verse is an artificial thing. Nothing in the Bible originated as a Bible verse. (In another post, I’ll tell the story of how the Bible got its verses.) Read more…
Categories: Bible Education, Freedom Story, What Is The Bible? Tags: 1 timothy 2:12, authority, bible authority, bible education, bible interpretation, bible verses, blessed are the poor, Ephesians 5:22, Jesus wept, memorizing bible verses, religious education, wives submit to your husbands, word of god
Which Bible Is “The Word Of God?”
Christians often refer to the Bible as “The Word Of God,” which is abbreviated even further as “the Word.” This practice easily turns multiplicity into singularity. A collection of books becomes one book, with a unitary voice. But this tendency to treat the Bible as the singular “Word of God” opens up a series of questions.
Let’s start with the first one. Which Bible is the real “The Word Of God?”
In reality, there are multiple “Bibles.” Consider the fact that there is a Hebrew Bible, which is organized into three sections: “The Torah,” “The Prophets,” and “The Writings.” This Bible is called by the acronym, “The Tanak,” based on the Hebrew words for “torah,” “prophets,” and “writings.”
Books Of The Hebrew Bible (“Tanak”)
The Torah | The Prophets | The Writings Psalms Proverbs Job Song of Songs Ruth Lamentations Ecclesiastes Esther Daniel Ezra Nehemiah I Chronicles II Chronicles |
Consider also that there is a Roman Catholic Bible, which includes a whole section of materials originally written in Greek in the centuries between the last book of the “Old Testament” and the earliest “New Testament” writings. Scholars refer to this material as “deuterocanonical,” which means a “secondary” canon. These books are part of the Roman Catholic canon, and are therefore part of the authoritative Roman Catholic Bible. (They are written in italics in the list.) They are also part of the Bible in Orthodox churches.
Books Of Roman Catholic And Orthodox Bibles
| Old Testament Pentateuch The Historical Books The Wisdom Books | New Testament Matthew Mark Luke John Acts of the Apostles Romans I Corinthians II Corinthians Galatians Ephesians Philippians Colossians I Thessalonians II Thessalonians I Timothy II Timothy Titus Philemon Hebrews James I Peter II Peter I John II John III John Jude Revelation |
Consider also that Protestant tradition does not consider the deuterocanonical books as part of the Old Testament. The Protestant Old Testament has the same books as the Hebrew Bible, although the order is different, and the category names are also different. Protestants refer to the “Pentateuch,” “the historical books,” “the wisdom books,” and “the major and minor prophets.” Even though the deuterocanonical books are not considered authoritative scripture for Protestants, some Bible publishers will also include these deuterocanonical books in some editions.
It is also revealing to pay attention to the categories used to describe these books. In later posts, I’ll return to how much these designations shape interpretation.)
Books Of Protestant Bibles
| Old Testament Pentateuch Historical Books The Wisdom Books Prophetic Books Major Prophets Minor Prophets | New Testament Matthew Mark Luke John Acts of the Apostles Romans I Corinthians II Corinthians Galatians Ephesians Philippians Colossians I Thessalonians II Thessalonians I Timothy II Timothy Titus Philemon Hebrews James I Peter II Peter I John II John III John Jude Revelation |
So already, we have three different books called “The Bible” and this doesn’t even begin to consider that none of the original books of these Bibles was originally written in English. When we consider that “the Bible” has been translated into just about every language on Earth, the singular book called “the Bible” has become a mountain of distinct Bibles.
So, which of these three Bibles, in which version, in which language is the real “Word of God?”
Dr. Kalinda Rose Stevenson
Originally posted in Impolite Topics
Categories: Bible Authority, Freedom Story, What Is The Bible? Tags: authority, Bible, catholic bible, deuterocanonical, hebrew bible, protestant bible, tanak, word of god
Can Christian Belief In Biblical Inerrancy Prove That The Bible Is True?
Fundamentalist Christian belief claims that the Bible is the inerrant, infallible Word of God.
On the basis of this belief, Fundamentalists and Evangelical Christians claim that they are the only true interpreters of the Bible which means that only those who believe that the Bible is inerrant and infallible can be trusted with Bible authority over Bible interpretation.
Have you ever heard this statement?
The Bible says it. I believe it. That settles it.
This favorite motto of Fundamentalist and Evangelical Christians makes it clear. The Bible is true because it is the infallible, inerrant Word of God. And only those who believe the Bible is true can know the truth of the Bible.
What Does This Claim Mean For You?
The question then becomes, What kind of power does such a claim hold over you?
Are you being bullied by someone with a Bible who claims to know what you “should” or “should not” do, because “the Bible says it” and the bully believes it?
The real truth is that you can believe what you want about almost anything. But believing doesn’t make anything true.
The significant question that is left out of the dogmatic motto about belief in the Bible concerns proof. How can you or anyone else prove that a belief is true?
What Is The Difference between Belief And Proof?
The Bible Authority Question that will set you free from the dogmatic claims of bullies concerns the relationship between belief and proof.
Can anyone prove that the Bible is true by believing it is true?
By definition, belief is confidence that something is true without sufficient evidence to prove that it is true.
In contrast, proof requires sufficient evidence to establish a thing as true.
In other words, you can believe whatever you choose, but without sufficient evidence, you can’t prove that it is true.
That doesn’t mean that what you believe is untrue. It simply means you don’t have sufficient evidence to prove that it is true.
The Circular Logic Of Biblical Inerrancy
But what about statements about the truth of the Bible based on what “the Bible says.” Isn’t that proof that it is true?
Logicians have several names for this type of claim. They call it “begging the question,” tautology, or circular argument.
The fallacy of a circular argument is to assume in the premise what we are trying to prove in the conclusion.
Do You Have To Prove That An Orange Is An Orange?
A simple tautology is: An orange is an orange.
A tautological argument about an orange would be: An orange is an orange because it is an orange.
This argument hasn’t gone anywhere, except in a circle.
Is The Bible True Because You Believe It Is Inerrant?
How about this statement?
Everything the Bible says is true because the Bible is infallible and inerrant.
This statement doesn’t prove any more than a claim that an orange is an orange because it is an orange.
The “argument” goes in a circle, because it assumes the premise it claims to prove.
You cannot prove that anything “the Bible says is true” by claiming in advance that everything “the Bible says” is true.
It would be the same as suspect in a robbery trial claiming: I didn’t steal the wallet because I’m not a thief.
This kind of self-referential claim is not sufficient in a court of law. There has to be other evidence to prove whether or not a suspect is a thief.
And this kind of self-referential claim is not sufficient to prove that the Bible is true or false.
Bible Authority Over Bible Interpretation
How about the statement that Bible authority over Bible interpretation derives from the authority of the Bible?
This claim about Bible authority is as much a tautological statement as the statement that an orange is an orange.
Belief Not Proof
Here’s the really important point.
Anyone who attempts to bully you about what you “should” or “should not” do, based on claims about what “the Bible says,” is operating from belief rather than proof.
And this is especially true about such illogical statements as:
The Bible says it. I believe it. That settles it.
This claim actually settles nothing.
Freedom from Bad Bible Bullies begins with the awareness that Fundamentalist and Evangelical Christian belief in an inerrant, infallible Bible is not proof that their claims about the Bible are true.
If you have “Bible Authority Questions” you would like me to consider in future newsletters, please leave a comment.
For Your Freedom,
Kalinda Rose Stevenson, Ph.D.
What Is The Bible?
Is The Bible A Book?
Is the Bible a book? This is not a trick question. The Bible looks like a book. It has pages the way any other book has pages. It is bound between two covers. It is even called a book. And yet, the idea that the Bible is a book leads to all sorts of misunderstanding about what the Bible really is. Read more…
Categories: Freedom Story, What Is The Bible? Tags: Bible, bible interpretation, biblia, biblos, books of the bible, modern book, what is a book, what is the bible
Who Has Authority Over Your Personal Freedom?
Who has authority over you? This is the basic question lying beneath “Freedom From Bad Bible Bullies.”
Why focus on the question of authority?
Religion Ties You Back
Religion is fundamentally about authority. The word religion means “tied back.”
Every religion makes particular authority claims over people who are part of the religion. Different religions make different authority claims. The claims range from very strong claims of authority to minimal claims.
The key point is that every religion makes its own authority claims over those who profess to be part of the religion. If you are willing to be part of a religion, you willingly surrender some of your personal freedom to the authority of that religion. Read more…
