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How did we get the 66 recognized writings in the Bible today, and what about the other writings that got left out? How are English Bible translations developed, what are the differences between them, and which translations are trustworthy?

CANON = collection of writings we recognize as the Old and New Testament

Canon is derived from the Greek kanon, originally referring to a reed used to test for straightness or length. By the 4th century, canon evolved to mean “standard”, “rule”, or “norm”, the common word to describe the collection of writings we recognize as the Old and New Testament.

The Old Testament canon was most often referred to as the Law, Prophets, & the Writings [Hebrew: TaNaKh = Torah (Hebrew for Teaching), Nevi’im (Prophets), & Ketuvim (Writings)]. Jesus quotes almost all of these writings as authoritative.

The Apocrypha (Deuterocanonical by Roman Catholics) dated to time between the Old Testament and New Testament. They contain some strange stories and good Jewish history, yet Jewish people didn’t consider these writings to be Scriptural. 

Jesus & His disciples quoted the Old Testament extensively, but they never quoted these writings as authoritative words from God. 

The New Testament hand-written 1st century manuscripts were being copied & distributed around the known world as separate writings.

We have no evidence that the 27 separate New Testament writings put together in book form by the end of the 1st century.

Without an approved canonical list, different churches valued certain Gospels and Epistles over others. 

Marcion listed 11 of our 27 NT writings as trustworthy (A.D. 140) - kind of. Marcion believed the God of the Old Testament & the God of the New Testament were not the same. He thought the God of the Jews was manipulative, angry, fickle, & cruel while the God of the New Testament was the God of love. Marcion rejected the Old Testament writings that he claimed had been corrupted by Jewish scribes. He recognized 11 of the New Testament writings including the Gospel of Luke & 10 of Paul’s writings (total of 11). 

Marcion excluded Matthew, Mark, & John because of their Jewish flavor & affirmations. He kept Luke (written to a Gentile audience), but he mutilated much of it. 

• Luke: Marcion didn’t believe Jesus was born as a human Jewish child so he removed all references to Jesus’ birth, genealogy, or Jewishness, which he attributed to manipulating editors (i.e. Jewish scribes). 
• Paul: Marcion cut out much of the Jewish flavor of Paul’s writings, believing Jews had corrupted some of what he wrote.

Without a clear canon of recognized writings, future heretical claims to go unchecked. Marcion’s list required a response. 

• The writings were officially collected because false teaching needed to be officially corrected. Roman persecution of Christians meant they had to know which teachings they were willing to die for.
• A gradual consensus began to develop among orthodox Christians, and by the end of the second century the core of the New Testament canon was established with the recognition of the four Gospels, Acts, and the thirteen letters of Paul (not including Hebrews that some think was written by Paul). 

Authors Apostles & Associates? It must have been an apostle (i.e. Matthew, John, Peter, & Paul) or someone closely connected with an apostle (e.g. Luke, John Mark, James, Jude). Eyewitness testimony is essential to authenticate the incredible claims made by Jesus and his followers in the New Testament.

Content Orthodox Teaching? The church was to trust the Gospel as taught by the apostles of Jesus, and oppose the teachers & teachings teaching something different.

Church Response Universal Acceptance? The writing had to be “accepted by a broad geographic segment of the church.” Considering the cultural diversities within the churches, their agreement of which books belonged in the New Testament canon demonstrates that the Holy Spirit led people from different cultures to recognize the same writings as Scripture.

Apostles or Associates? NOPE, not written until well after the apostles lived, in the mid-2nd century. 

Orthodox Teaching? NOPE. The Gospel of Thomas records the following conversation between Peter and Jesus: 

"Simon Peter said to them, `Make Mary leave us, for females don't deserve life.' Jesus said, `Look, I will guide her to make her male, so that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every female who makes herself male will enter the domain of Heaven.”

Universal Acceptance of the Church? NOPE.

Using this criteria, church leaders around the world were able to recognize the 27 NT writings we have today. These writings weren’t determined by the church, but discovered by the church.

Further Examples of the New Testament Canon being recognized over other writings.

• North Africa The Cheltenham Manuscript (A.D. 360) recognizes all New Testament writings with the exception of Hebrews, James, and Jude. 
• Alexandria, Egypt: The Festal Letter of Athanasius (A.D. 367), a prescribed canon to the Alexandrian church, is the first document that contains the complete twenty-seven writings of the New Testament alone. 
• Laodicea, Asia Minor: The Sixtieth Canon of the Council of Laodicea (A.D. 363) includes all 27 books except Revelation. 
• The Codex Sinaiticus (fourth century) contains the entire New Testament (including the Epistle of Barnabas and the Shepherd of Hermas) and part of the Old Testament. 
• A Church Council, the Synod of Hippo (A.D. 393), listed the 27 books of the New Testament, “it did not confer upon them any authority which they did not already possess, but simply recorded their previously established canonicity.” 
• The Third Council of Carthage (A.D. 397), attended by Augustine, recognized the full New Testament that we recognize today, with little deviation from that time forward. Of particular important is the fact that the New Testament canon was not determined by any one Church Council.  

Translation: Biblical writings transferred from their original languages into other languages so the audience can understand it. 

Septuagint: Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) which was completed by 200 B.C. (well before the time of Jesus).

• This translation was quoted by Greek writers including Jesus’ first disciples, Paul, & the writer of Hebrews. 
• Key Insight: NT writers believed this Greek translation carried the same authority as the Hebrew writings it was translated from. 

Most of the 4 gospels are actually Translations of what Jesus said. Jesus spoke in the common language of Jewish people in His day - Aramaic, but the gospel writers translated what Jesus said...in Greek. Here are a few examples that demonstrate this to be so:

Mark notes the words of Jesus in Aramaic, then translates to his audience reading in Greek. YOUR translation takes the Greek and brings it to our language - English. Mark does the same thing later as Jesus is on the cross.

The writings we have are already a TRANSLATION of what Jesus said - Aramaic to Greek. We then translate from Greek to English.

From the Greek manuscripts came more translations, like Latin, Coptic, Syriac (and many more) - so that more people could understand the Scriptures in their own language.

2 Warnings:

1. Verses weren’t intended to be taken separately. Lifting text from its surrounding text usually blurs the context.
2. Beware mathematical calculations based on chapter & verse numbers since the current system didn’t exist until 1500 years after the NT was written!

The Latin Vulgate (Official language of the Roman Empire) was used for over 1000 years in the British isles.

John Wycliffe translated the Bible from the Latin Vulgate (instead of original languages) to English. For this he was persecuted and considered a heretic. This translation dominated the English-speaking world for 200 yrs.

Because he desired to make the message meaningful to people of his day, William Tyndale was imprisoned & executed in Oct 1536 - tied to a stake, strangled, and body burnt.

The KJV is a great translation it certainly isn’t perfect.

• Translators used the Greek text (1516) of a Catholic scholar named Erasmus. He used portions of only 8 late manuscripts (11-14 century) of the NT. Since that time, many earlier & more reliable manuscripts have been uncovered and are used for translating. 
• 1611 KJV version included the Apocrypha & had several mistakes, including: “Then cometh Judas” in Mat. 26:36. Today it is rendered in the KJV as, “Then cometh Jesus.” 
• 1613 printing omitted the word “not” from the 7th commandment, & read “Thou SHALT commit adultery.” This King James edition became known as the “Wicked Bible.”  

Since 1611 there have been many revisions of the KJV: 1613, 1629, 1638, 1729, 1762.  But the 1769 is the edition that is still in use today. Why not stick with the 1611? Because language changes over 158 years!

Differences in Translations? (Dan Wallace: bit.ly/WallaceTranslations)

Corrupt (attempts to change meaning): New World Translation, KJV from Mormons (multiple notes from Joseph Smith), The Passion Translation

 Are the NIV and other Modern Translations CORRUPT? Read Jackie's take: bit.ly/KJVvsModern

The KJV translators borrowed this term - Lucifer - from the Latin Vulgate. Lucifer is Latin for "morning star” or “day star”. They didn’t translate it to English! * Note: This is the ONLY place in the KJV Bible that uses ‘Lucifer’.

• The question is not how the NIV compares to the KJV, but how the KJV & NIV compare to the oldest Hebrew, Aramaic, & Greek manuscripts.

Which one is ‘a translation in the common language’ (KJV Preface)? Which makes the ancient message meaningful for today?

What’s the best translation? 

Choose from a ‘word-for word’ or ‘thought-for-thought’. The best translation is the one you READ & HEED. 

If your translation CONFUSES you instead making things CLEARER for you, ask a mature Christian to help you find a Bible.

discussionquestions

Take some time to discuss these questions with your family, friends, or group.

1. What challenged or encouraged you most from today’s teaching? Look back in your notes to help explain your answer.
2. What does CANON refer to and why were some writings included while others were not? Spend some time talking about the significance of the 3 criteria for canonical writings. In other words, why does that really matter?
3. Read Galatians 1:6-9. What is Paul concerned/frustrated about and why does this matter so much to him? What should it matter to us? What are some examples of how a person might distort or be turned to ‘a different gospel’ (v.6)?  
4. How did learning about how the New Testament canon was recognized help you or lead to more questions?
5. How significant was it to recognize that Jesus’ disciples translated what He said and did into another language? Why do you think that is and what should it say about God’s view of translations from the original language? Remember the quote from Miriam Adeney? “God speaks ____________ ___________” (fill in the spaces) - what do you think about that?
6. Remember our FEET2FAITH steps? Read it. Write it. Share it. Live it. What have you been reading? Share your insights or questions. How have you LIVED OUT what you read this past week?
7. Share prayer needs and pray for one another.