Recently, someone I love very much mentioned that one of the reasons he doesn’t believe the Bible is because there are so many versions–which one is right? Today, we’re going to look at that.
In our last blog, we postulated that the Bible, as “True truth,” should be able to stand up against all scrutiny, historically, prophetically, doctrinally, ethically, and morally. And we are going to look at that, but first, we took a look at the agreement of the versions with each other
So, we took it as a hypothesis, and tested it (see below).* What did we find?
hypothesis = "a supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation" (Bing)
Hypothesis confirmed! The versions and randomly-picked verses were substantially equivalent.
So then, we are ready to move on to the propositions themselves.
In Acts 17:24-27, we see a historical proposition that is unique to the Bible. It is basically making a truth claim that God, not only created the earth, but strategically planned that various cultures and civilizations would exist where and when they did (including their living conditions, economies and the natural resources that would be at their disposal). That’s quite a claim. Yet, if you believe that Jesus is God, if you accept His claims about Himself, then these other claims are not a leap from logic.
truth claim "a hypothesis not yet verified by experience." (Dictionary.com)
In 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, we have a prophecy, which is a kind of a truth claim about the future, and this one is predicting an event called the “catching away,” or rapture. This, too, is not far-fetched if Jesus is indeed the all-powerful Son of God He claimed to be.
rapture = "When Christ returns, all of the elect who have died will be raised and transformed into a glorious state, along with the living elect, and then be caught up to be with Christ." (Catholic.com)
In 2 Timothy 3:16, we have a proposition that the Bible is not only useful, but trustworthy. Why? Because it is far from a collection of writings by smart, holy men. It claims to have been given, that is inspired of or “breathed” (from the Greek word, theópneustos) by God Himself.
In Romans 13:8-9, we see what probably is viewed axiomatically by most people, at least in Western Civilization, “He that loveth his neighbour, hath fulfilled the law.” In fact, the Broadway musical Les Miserables, based on the novel by Frenchman Victor Hugo, includes in one of its songs, the famous line:
“To love another person, is to see the face of God”
Jean Valjean
Another Scripture verse is Ephesians 5:11, “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.”
This moral proposition might be considered by many, including C.S. Lewis, as part of the Tao.
Tao = "traditional morality, moral law, the knowledge of right and wrong, virtue or the Way. We will call it the Natural Law." (Religion-online.org)
*See Bible Hypothesis Test details below:
Bible Hypothesis Test
| English Versions | History | Prophecy | Doctrine | Ethics | Morals |
| Acts 17:24-27 | 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17** | 2 Timothy 3:16 | Romans 13:8-9 | Ephesians 5:11 | |
| Douay-Rheims (Catholic) Bible, 1609[1] **referred to as 1 Thess. 4:15-16 in this translation | “God, who made the world, and all things therein… hath made of one, all mankind, to dwell upon the whole face of the earth, determining appointed times, and the limits of their habitation. That they should seek God, if happily they may feel after him or find him, although he be not far from every one of us…” | “For the Lord himself shall come down from heaven with commandment, and with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God: and the dead who are in Christ, shall rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, shall be taken up together with them in the clouds to meet Christ, into the air, and so shall we be always with the Lord.” | “All scripture, inspired of God, is profitable to teach, to reprove, to correct, to instruct in justice…” | “He that loveth his neighbour, hath fulfilled the law. For Thou shalt not commit adultery: Thou shalt not kill: Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness: Thou shalt not covet: and if there be any other commandment, it is comprised in this word, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.“ | “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.” |
| King James Bible, 1611 | “God that made the world and all things therein… hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us…” | “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” | “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteous-ness…” | “He that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” | “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.” |
| The Amplified Bible, 1965[2] | “The God Who produced and formed the world and all the things in it…made from one [common origin, one source, one blood] all nations of men to settle on the face of the earth, having definitely determined [their] allotted periods of time and the fixed boundaries of their habitation (their settlements, lands, and abodes), So that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel after Him, although He is not far from each one of us…” | “The God Who produced and formed the world and all the things in it…made from one [common origin, one source, one blood] all nations of men to settle on the face of the earth, having definitely determined [their] allotted periods of time and the fixed boundaries of their habitation (their settlements, lands, and abodes), So that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel after Him, although He is not far from each one of us…” | “Every Scripture is God-breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, [and] for training in righteous-ness (in holy living, in conformity to God’s will in thought, purpose, and action)…” | “He who loves his neighbor [who practices loving others] has fulfilled the Law [relating to one’s fellowmen, meeting all its requirements]. The command-ments, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You shall not covet (have an evil desire), and any other commandment, are summed up in the single command, You shall love your neighbor as [you do] yourself.” | “Take no part in and have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds and enterprises of darkness, but instead [let your lives be so in contrast as to [expose and reprove and convict them…]” |
| New King James Version, 1982[3] | “God, who made the world and everything in it…has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lorde, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us…” | “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” | “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteous-ness…” | “He who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the command-ments ‘You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, You shall not covet,’ and if there is any other commandment, all are summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” | “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.” |
| New International Version, 1984[4] | “The God who made the world and everything in it… From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.” | “For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Aft that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” | “All Scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteous-ness…” | “He who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder.” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and whatever commandment there may be, are all summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself…” | “Have nothing to do ith the fruitless deed of darkness, but rather expose them.” |
| New Jerusalem (Catholic) Bible, 1985 | “The God who made the world and everything in it… From one single principle he not only created the whole human race so that they could occupy the entire earth, but he decreed the times and limits of their habitation. And he did this so that they might seek the deity and, by feeling their way towards him, succeed in finding him; and indeed he is not far from any of us…” | “At the signal given by the voice of the Archangel and the trumpet of God, the Lord himself will come down from heaven; those who have died in Christ will be the first to rise, and only after that shall we who remain alive be taken up in the clouds, together with them, to meet the Lord in the air. This is the way we shall be with the Lord for ever.” | “All scripture is inspired by God and useful for refuting error, for guiding people’s lives and teaching them to be upright.” | “To love the other person is to fulfil the law. All these: You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You shall not covet, and all the other commandments that there are, are summed up in this single phrase: You must love your neighbour as yourself.” | “Take no part in the futile works of darkness but, on the contrary, show them up for what they are.” |
| Holman Christian Standard Bible, 1999[5] | “The God who made the world and everything in it… From one man He has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live. He did this so that they might seek God, and perhaps they might reach out and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.” | “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are still alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.” | “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteous-ness…” | “The one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments: Do not commit adultery; Do not murder; Do not steal; Do not covet; And whatever other command-ment—all are summed up by this: Love your neighbor as yourself.” | “Don’t participate in the fruitless works of darkness, but instead expose them.” |
| English Standard Version, 2001[6] | “The God who made the world and everything in it… made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us…” | “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.” | “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteous-ness…” | “The one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the command-ments, ‘You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,‘ and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” | “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.” |
[2] Expanded Edition, 1987
[3] Thompson Chain –Reference NKJV Bible, 1997
[4] Hebrew-Greek Keyword Study Bible (NIV), 1996
[5] HCSB Study Bible 2010
[6] Study Bible, 2008
