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Bible Study for the Skeptic.

I did a search on the Bible at this site and didn't find much.

I was surprised that there isn't a Bible Study thread here.....that I could find.

So if there is one, please point me in the right direction and I'll post there.

Anywho.....

Recently, teh Catholic Church released the latest translation of the Bible to the general public. In it, many words are modernized. The one verse that really stuck out to me was Isaiah 7:14

14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you[c] a sign: The virgin[d] will conceive and give birth to a son, and[e] will call him Immanuel.

The word "virgin" in all translations comes from the Hebrew word "Ha'almah" which most know is a mistranslation on the part of whomever wrote Matthew.

In Hebrew, Ha'almah has always meant "young woman" not virgin. Now, in this new version of the Bible, there is a footnote next to the word "virgin". The footnote reads "OR YOUNG WOMAN."

Will this hurt one of the major tenants of Christianity?

Also, it is noted that Mark has a footnote at the end of verse 8 that vv 9-20 are not found in earlier manuscripts. (in short, the Great Commmission is an addition to the Bible)

It has also been concluded that the "he who has no sin cast the first stone" is also a later addition.

What could the ramifications of these verses be?

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Permalink Reply by Mike Haynes on March 16, 2011 at 1:40pm

This kind of updating is a step in the right direction, though I think this is probably why many of the Protestant fundamentalists like to cling to the King James Version.

I've recently decided to start reading through the Bible again. The last time I tried was several years ago when I was still a believer. I got through the first three books of the Old Testament before I realized I was probably doomed to Hell no matter what I did. So I started reading the New Testament but soon realized I was pretty much sunk there too. I think that was probably the beginning of the end for me, as far as religion was concerned, because that's when I started searching for real answers.

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Permalink Reply by Jim on March 16, 2011 at 3:46pm

An interesting experiment I did a few years ago was to read the good book with a red, blue, and black pen.

Comments in the margins pertaining to feel good verses in blue.

Blood and gore in red

ridiculous verses in black.

Guess which pen ran out of ink fastest?

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Permalink Reply by mistercliff on May 12, 2011 at 9:00am

Have you seen the Skeptics Annotated Bible/Koran/Book of Mormon online? It brilliantly points out similar things and issues such as contradictions, homophobia, racism, etc. They also present lists. Although, it's certainly a lot more fun discovering them yourself!

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Permalink Reply by Regina Goodwin on October 16, 2011 at 3:43pm

Have you read the Rainbow bible? Script in a bunch of colors.

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Permalink Reply by mistercliff on May 12, 2011 at 9:02am

I was thumbing through the Apocrapha for the first time yesterday and noticed a few interesting things about these books. There's a second half of the book of Esther, which is kinda weird. I haven't read it yet but am wondering why it got chopped off. Also some of Daniel, including a battle with a dragon, which frankly I would have left in since it's more interesting!