THE FOUR WORLD CHRISTIAN BIBLES

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

 

INTRODUCTION.

FALSE BELIEF.

THE PROTESTANT BIBLE.

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC BIBLE.

THE EASTERN ORTHODOX BIBLE.

THE ETHIOPIAN BIBLE.

CONCLUSION.

 

 

INTRODUCTION

 

 

The Protestant Bible includes 66 Books.

The Roman Catholic Bible has 73 books.

The Eastern Orthodox Bible has 76 to 79 books.

The Ethiopian Bible has 81 books.

 

The word “Bible” comes from the Greek word “Biblia,” meaning “Books,” plural.  The process to determine which “Books” would make up the Bible is termed, “Canonization,” which comes from the Greek word “Kanon,” meaning, “A Measuring Rod or Rule.” The process of deciding changed over the centuries; to the point that it even got political.

 

The process seemed to start in Ethiopia, then Rome, then Constantinople, then Western (Protestant) Europe.

 

 

FALSE BELIEF

 

 

Many people believe or assume that the “Council of Nicaea,” in 325 A.D., decided which Books would consist in the Bible.  This false belief is one of the most repeated myths in history; made popular from “The Da Vinci Code.” However, the “Council of Nicaea” was actually formed in order to settle a debate about the nature of Jesus Christ and had nothing to do with which Books would stay or leave from the Biblical Canon.

 

 

THE PROTESTANT BIBLE

 

 

Most people in the English-speaking world associate only 66 Books of the Bible as authoritative.  It is in actuality the newest of the four major world Bibles.

 

In actuality, it was shaped by one man, Martin Luther, in 1517 A.D.  In October of that year, this German monk nailed the “Ninety-Five Theses” to the door of a Roman Catholic church in Wittenberg, Germany.  What this brought up was who decides what is true.  The Roman Catholic church, or the Bible?  This was answered by Luther and has come down to us today, known as the Latin word, “Sola Scriptura,” meaning “Scripture Alone.” True Protestants have revised that to mean everything else that may come along, such as nature, visions, prophecies, would be confirmed using the Bible and the Bible alone.

 

Luthur used the Hebrew Scriptures to determine which Books would be included in the Old Testament.  He included all 39 with no problem.  Then he analyzed the Deuterocanonical books and did not include them into the Old Testament.  In his version of the Bible, they were placed in between the Old and New Testaments.  His footnote read that they were edifying to read, but not to be used to establish doctrine.  Later Protestant reformations removed them entirely, due to what the word “Protestant” and the Protestant movement really stood for, i.e., protesting against the Roman Catholic church and its dogmas.

 

Although Luther had issues with certain Books of the New Testament, such as the Book of James, and skeptical of the Books of Hebrews, Jude, and Revelation.  However, he translated them also, leaving them in his German Bible translation, placing them in the last part of his version of the Bible.  The result was 27 Books of the New Testament.  This became, and still is, the standard of the Protestant Bible, equaling a total of 66 Books.

 

What made this accomplishment might have been lost in history.  But in 1440 A.D., Johannes Gutenberg invented the “Printing Press” and published Luther’s Bible, which spread faster than the Protestant Church could react.  Within two weeks this version went to all of Germany.  Within two months it was all across Europe.  With the Bible in hand, the “Reformation” became one of the most viral events in history.

 

Although the “King James Bible,” published in 1611, originally included the Apocryphal books, in 1826, “The British and Foreign Bible Society” stopped funding editions that included these now considered non-inspired books.  These 27 Books of the Protestant Bible is now considered to be the Canonical standard for all Protestant denominations.

 

 

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC BIBLE

 

 

The Roman Catholic Bible contains all the books that Martin Luthers Bible enclosed, which included the seven Deuterocanon books.  “Deutero Canon” is a word meaning, “Second Canon” in Greek.  It is known in the Protestant world as the “Apocrypha” books, which means, “Hidden Things.” Roman Catholics include these seven books, making their version to have 73 total books.  These seven additional books are Tobit, Judith, 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees, Wisdom, Sirach (also called Ecclesiastes), and Baruch.

 

Roman Catholics also include in their bibles extra sections not found in Protestant Bibles, which are additions to the Books of Esther and Daniel.  Daniel includes two additional chapters, “Susanna” and “Bell and The Dragon.” But how did this become the Roamn Catholic bible?

 

In 382 A.D., the then Pope Damasus commissioned a Biblical scholar by the name of Jerome to produce a single authoritative Latin translation of the Bible.  Once commissioned, Jerome, in order to better perform this task, went to live in Bethlehem, Israel, for thirty years.  When completed, his translation became known as the “Latin Vulgate,” and survives to this very day.  The Latin word “Vulgate” means “Common.” Jerome’s concept was that his bible would be for the common people of his day.

 

At the “Council of Trent,” on December 13, 1545, convened from 1545 to 1563, in the Italian city of Trent, it was called together in large part as a response to Martin Luther’s challenges.  It confirmed with full authority that these 73 books would be the “Canon of Scripture” for the Roman Catholic church.  It also issued a decree that if anyone disagreed with this decision, in the language of the council, be considered “Anathema,” meaning formally cut off from the church.

 

 

THE EASTERN ORTHODOX BIBLE

 

 

Most people in the English-speaking West have no idea what the “Orthodox Bible” looks like.  It traces its roots to include Greece, Syria, Egypt, and what is now Turkey.

 

For 1,000 years the “Christian” church was centered in Rome, Italy.  But in 1054 A.D., the Eastern Orthodox church, centered in Constantinople, Turkey, decided to split from Rome.  But they did not do a very good job of it.

 

The Eastern Orthodox bible is based upon the “Septuagint,” which is the same Greek translation of the New Testament that influenced the Roman Catholic bible.  Their version also includes, 3 Maccabees, Psalm 151, and the Prayer of Manasseh.  Some of the Orthodox churches also include, Fourth Maccabees and First Esdras.  This varies slightly between the Greek, Russian, Serbian, Romanian, and other Orthodox traditions.

 

The closest thing to be found in history for an authoritative decision as to which books would be included in the Eastern Orthodox bible, was the decision made by the “Quinisext Council,” in 692 A.D.  It is also known as the “Council in Trullo.” This council affirmed the use of the “Septuagint Based Canon.” However, even today, there is no single binding list universally agreed upon by every Orthodox church.

 

 

THE ETHIOPIAN BIBLE

 

 

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo church has one of the oldest continuous Christians traditions in the world.  Christianity arrived in Ethiopia in around the fourth century (330 A.D.).  When a Syrian scholar named Frumentiusconverted the Ethiopian king Ezana.  He then became the first bishop of the Ethiopian church.

 

The Ethiopian church preserved Biblical tests known as “Ge’ez,” an ancient semitic language that is no longer spoken as a native tongue.  It is still used in Ethiopian churches today just as Latin is used in the Roman Catholic church’s now.

 

The Ethiopian bible contains 81 books.  Some of them are virtually unknown outside of Ethiopia.  They include the Book of Enoch (known), the Book of Jubilees, Shepherd of Hermas, and 1-3 Meqabyan.  Being isolated from Rome and Constantinople, it was able to develop its own version of which books were Canonical.

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

 

All four major “Christian” religions at least share and believe in the Canonization of the 27 Books of the Western Protestant Bibles.  The major differences are in the Apocryphal books and Books of the Old Testament.

 

The main argument is weather or not one should use the “Septuagint,” meaning 70, because it was translated by 70 scholars.  Or should one use the Hebrew Jewish Scriptures.

 

This is just a quick outline.  Hope you learned and enjoyed it.

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