Catholic vs protestant bible catholics, protestants and orthodox christians share the same core bible, but disagree on apocrypha the apocrypha is a collection of written works of unknown authorship, doubtful authenticity, or considered unsuitable for the bible canon. Why did the protestants drop 7 books from the bible answers. Take one textual issue a day and youll get a bible college education. I will prove the facts, then, that it is not the private interpretation of the bible that has been appointed by god to be the teacher of man, but. The king james bible comes from the textus receptus or majority text, but the new king james version nkjv comes from the corrupt greek work of brooke westcott and fenton hort who used the corrupt alexandrian manuscripts to produce their 1881 work titled, the new testament in the original greek. The protestant evangelical view would be that while the bible is of course not an exhaustive revelation of truth, what it gives us is sufficient for salvation. What are 1769 kjv edition errors doing in book of mormon. The believers study bible states that luther, at least for a period of time, thought that the book of james contradicted what he believed was the apostle pauls teaching that justification came by faith alone article on the canonicity of the manuscript. Protestant christians do not regard the apocryphal books as uniquely inspired and. The earliest writings of the bible were likely composed in the 10th century b. As you note, it was included in the original 1611 king james bible. Further, the discovery of errors in the bible would seem to cast doubt upon the whole work of the bible.
The word ghost with reference to god, which is used in all english bibles predating the king james version, can be traced to the wycliffe translation 95. Why the king james bible of 1611 remains the most popular history. Apostle james tried to expose the distorted teachings of paul, that is why the book of james is not included in many bibles. In various printings of the king james version of the bible, some of the more famous examples have been given their own names. Are there any books in the orthodox bible which arent. Why did protestants remove the apocrypha from the king james. Did martin luther really want james taken out of the bible. Clearly this is not an accurate translation and the meaning is not at all the same. What is the difference between the king james bible and. The book of james has been removed from many bibles. He called the book of james a straw epistle, which meant it was worthy of burning, and he wanted to remove it from scripture. Translation errors in the king james bible appearing in the book of mormon. It was officially known as the authorized version av, but it was also known informally as the king james bible or king james version kjv. Although the wycliffe bible was translated from the latin vulgate, jerome used the latin term spirtu sancto for the holy spirit and spiritum for jesus spirit.
Why doesnt the catholic church recognize the king james. But before we do, lets consider why the book of james is in the bible in the first place. The catholic bible is actually the generic term for the christian bible. The bible knowledge commentary admits, in its preface to this biblical book, that it was well known that martin luther had problems. The council of trent, reacting to the protestant reformers, repeated the canon of florence in the decree on sacred books and on traditions to be received 1546 and decreed that these books were to be treated with equal devotion and reverence. I have the niv, the open, new king james and king james versions of the bible and all have the book of james in it. I have also attended several protestant churches for more than a year each and have thoroughly studied many church denominations and i am well acquainted with many of the larger ones. These letters were sent out as circular epistles to be passed around and read in several locations. Trials and temptations consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. I know we will get into this in class, but i am curiousi know the catholics recognize more books of the bible than protestants because protestants omitted several books. James s epistle is really an epistle of straw, compared to these others, for it has nothing of the nature of the gospel about it german new testament, preface, 1522 ed. There are several men named james mentioned in the new testament, but reliable tradition assigns this book to the one called james the just the halfbrother of jesus matthew. Francois wendel 8 calvin believed the bible contains errors. Ignatius of antioch, 1st clement, shepherd of hermas, the epistle of barnabas, and the didache.
Some errors in subsequent editions have become famous. But that germ of a start became the catholic bible, though there really was not a cath. Study guide for james 1 by david guzik blue letter bible. Nowhere am i told that the king james bible is the best or only holy bible. When james took the english throne he found a country in debt and deeply torn between puritans and traditional anglicans. The apocrypha books of the king james bible kindle. James, a servant of god and of the lord jesus christ, to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations. However, the apocrypha was considered less important, and bible publishers eventually dropped it from most protestant editions. Factual errors and internal contradictions in the bible. It includes the 5th century latin vulgate, which is primarily st. Biblical inerrancy was imagined by others, long after luther and calvin had died. I just opened my bible and right after hebrews is james. Which bible is older, the catholic bible or the king james.
The king james bible is a great english translation, but is it the best. Most nonprotestant christians have bible canons with more books than the protestants the coptic orthodox canon has 68 books, the greek orthodox canon 78, but no canon is as extensive as the ethiopian. By nature, it includes the socalled old and new testaments. The reason for this error is that the transcriber of the book of kells read qui fuit mathathiae as. Why did martin luther take 7 books out of the bible. However, when confronted with the presence of 1769 kjv errors and 17th century italics in the book of mormon, many of the same apologists will revert to the loose translation by claiming that maybe joseph smith indeed used a 1769 kjv bible to borrow verses over into the book of mormon. Ray died early 1980s, who is selfdescribed as business manager, missionary, bible teacher, published a little volume, god wrote only one bible. The work was done by 47 bible scholars of the church of england and completed in 1611. First, is to reject the validity of whole books of sacred scripture. James vii truly deserves credit for acting as the producer. It is common knowledge that only one word can change the meaning of an entire sentence. Why isnt the book of maccabees included in the bible.
Martin luther was opposed to allowing the book of james into the canon. Some protestant bibles, such as the original king james version, include 14 additional books known as the apocrypha, though these are not considered canonical. It is an anglican bible commissioned by the presbyterian king of england, james i who was also james vi of scotland. The king james version of the bible, completed in 1611, sought to be a precise translation coupled with a majestic literary style.
May 30, 2016 so, i have been reading the book of maccabees and for the life of me, i cannot understand why it isnt included in our bible. The douayrheims, and the more modern douay version of 1950 contain the extra verses, but the newer st. Martin luthers introduction to the new testament in luthers bible and john calvins commentaries on matthew 27. The books of the bible 1997the original 1611 king james version contained the deutero canonical books it was not until the 1629 revision that they came in two dispute protestants generally refer to these seven books as apocrypha meaning hidden in the ancient greek catholics refer to these books as deuterocanonical or second canon.
Rare book and manuscript libraryuniversity of pennsylvania. The protestant view is that james is not writing about how to become a christian, but rather how to act like one. The scripture gives gods truth in an error free manner no other book can claim this. However, the book of daniel, although included within the canon, is to a large extent written in aramaic. Luthers canon is the biblical canon attributed to martin luther, which has influenced protestants since the 16thcentury protestant reformation. Which books are missing from the protestant bible answers. The last part of this book is devoted to the crucial hampton court conference and setting up the committee to assemble what would become the king james bible. The protestant bible and catholic bible are not the same book. I was baptized in the protestant faith so i am going through the 3 month version of rcia. Why does the orthodox bible have more books than the. While this article is necessary to point out the kjv errors, it should be noted that the errors, omissions and additions made by the rsv, niv, and other.
The books in question the catholic bible has seven books and parts of two others in the old testament that are not found in protestant bibles 1. The errors found in various church denominations various. Catholics refer to these books as the deutercanonical 2 books while protestants refer to them as apocryphal3 books. There are demonstrable historical errors in the apocrypha. I am thoroughly struck by how profound the life of christ was in the light of the book of 1 and 2 maccabees. The original 1611 king james venison had over 30,000 mistakes most of which have been. The first edition of the king james version of the bible included the apocryphal ie, deuterocanonical books. The bug bible has also been claimed to have been written in middle english, in which the word bugge meant a spectre that haunts or a ghost. Before the 1880s every english protestant bible printed had 80 books, not 66. Volumes have been written on its distinctive and rhythmic style, and it is still regarded as a triumph of modern english literature. I am in the process of joining the catholic church.
The protestants reject these books as holy scripture for the following reasons. Bible translation in historyand one of the most printed books ever. Edwards spends nearly an hour trying to defend the idea that the sixtysixbook protestant canon is the correct one, and his presentation is riddled with egregious factual errors. It was criticized for its archaic language, for its apparent conservative bias, and for its numerous printing errors. The hebrew bible includes the same books as the protestant old testament but combines a number of books e. Luther removed this statement from later editions and even had good. Feb 07, 2008 i am a vineyard church pastor which some would consider protestant but sort of on the charismatic side of it.
The age of tobit when he died is a contradiction for example, tobit was supposedly alive when jeroboam staged his revolt in 931 b. Critics wonder why many of the quotes from isaiah in the book of. The curious case of the protestant bible catholic answers. Even some of the translators themselves preferred to use other translations, especially the geneva bible, in their ministry. The king james version of the bible is, in all likelihood, the most successful of all the english translations. Why is the book of james not found on the protestant bible. There was a council that decided on which books should be canon, several of which were rejected by the protestants later on.
In both the physical as well as the spiritual realms, where there is life there will be motion. The books of the bible are divinely revealed books all other books are not. King james i of england commissioned a new translation in 1604. The catholic church confirmed the books the canon of the bible in the councils of hippo 393 and 3rd council of carthage 397 when, according to the protestant reformers, she was still the true church click here for the actual council text and scroll down to see the list of books in the canon at that time, which is the same canon used by.
Sep 15, 2018 the book of james has been removed from many bibles. A protestant bible is a christian bible whose translation or revision was produced by protestants. The bible is believed by christians to be the word of god, as recorded by men. Throughout history, printers errors and peculiar translations have appeared in bibles. The reason i am writing this is to shed light on various errors i have seen in different christian church structures.
The bible, says my protestant friends, the bible, the whole of the bible, and nothing but the bible. Why the maccabees arent in the bible my jewish learning. Difference between catholic bible and king james bible. Theres a bit of apples and oranges in the question. The canon of scripture is the list of 73 books that belong to the bible. It also included five books that are not in our bible. The translation had a marked influence on english literary style and was generally accepted as the standard english bible from the mid17th to the early 20th century. The protestant reformer martin luther denied it was the work of an apostle and termed it an epistle of straw. King james version kjv, also called authorized version or king james bible, english translation of the bible published in 1611 under the auspices of king james i of england.
Such bibles comprise 39 books of the old testament according to the jewish hebrew bible canon, known especially to nonprotestants as the protocanonical books and 27 books of the new testament for a total of 66 books. Modern versions that as erroneously labelled kjv follow the general protestant canon, but early versions all the way back to the original version authorised by king james in 1611 follow the specifically anglican protestant biblical canon. Wilkinsons book lay unused and unknown and how good it would have been had his errors died with him. Contrary to popular belief, the deuterocanon did not suddenly disappear from protestant bibles right after the reformation. Catholic bibles contain old testament books not found in protestant bibles and as such. And as such, is absolutely free of errors or contradictions. There are demonstrable historical errors in the apocrypha the apocrypha also contains demonstrable historical errors. The catholic church based its bible off the expanded greek translation and early on shifted which books were included. One of the main controversies is justification by works, and the argument that james presents irreconcilable contradictions with pauls writings on the subject of justification. The muratorian, in 190 ad or later, provides us with the earliest accepted list of new testament canonical books, and it disputes seven of the ones in our bible today.
That being said, it is a false statement that luther rejected the book of james. In some of his letters he said that james was a book of straw because he felt the gospel was not as clearly proclaimed as in the pauline corpus for example, but his comments reflected the early church comments about the book of james which struggled for canonicity. The 7 books removed from protestant bibles are known by catholics as the deuterocanonical books as opposed to the protocanonical books that are not in. His comments on the book of james certainty reflected his ignorance in the early years of his theology god was still leading him into light. The deuterocanonical books from the greek meaning belonging to the second canon are books and passages considered by the catholic church, the eastern orthodox church, the oriental orthodox churches and the assyrian church of the east to be canonical books of the old testament but which are considered noncanonical by protestant denominations. This list, or canon, was affirmed at the councils of jamnia in a. The authors of the books of the bible wrote under the inspiration of the holy spirit. He also opposed the books of hebrews, jude, and revelation. John calvin and others suggested that the author was the james, son of alphaeus, who is referred to as james the less. Why are there 66 books in the king james bible, 72 in the. Joseph new american bible of 1970, the jerusalem bible of 1968, and the new jerusalem bible of 1985 have gone back to following the hebrew texts of psalm 14, and have now correctly omitted these extra verses. Full text of ward thomas errata errors of the protestant bible king james see other formats.
To his credit, those comments only appeared in the first edition of luthers bible and were removed from subsequent editions. Which 7 books are not in the protestant bible but in the. Why i do not think the king james bible is the best translation. It differs from the 1546 roman catholic canon of the council of trent in that it rejects the deuterocanonical books and. We dont expect to find exhaustive information about science, history, etc although we believe that what it does give us is true. Gods word cannot contain error and these books obviously had such an. The syrian nestorian church has only 22 books in the new testament while the ethiopian church has 8 extra.
King james version, english translation of the bible, published in 1611 under king james i of. Fifth, the kjv includes one very definite error in translation, which even. In 1604, englands king james i authorized a new translation of the. The reason to exclude the deutrocanonical books is that they were e. If this is the case, you should cut that book out of the bible. Problems with the king james version catholic apologetics. Most, free from all error, libertyville, ill franciscan marytown press, 1985, 911 one consequence of this inability to ascertain the canon has been that the protestant bible is an incomplete. The intertestamental books written hundreds of years before christ called the apocrypha were part of virtually every printing of the tyndalematthews bible, the great bible, the bishops bible, the protestant geneva bible, and the king james bible until their removal in the 1880s.
In his translation of the bible from greek into german, luther removed 4 n. Don stewart bible search and study tools blue letter bible. Erasmus had a corrupt, incomplete text of revelation to work from, and hence this book has many errors in the kjv. Even calvins geneva bible, published in 1560, contained the deuterocanon. What are the differences between the catholic bible and the king james bible. Tobit judith the book of wisdom sirach also called ecclesiaticus. The books started really disappearing en masse in the early 19th century. Which translation errors have you found, or are aware of, in the king james bible.
James the brother of jesus tried to correct pauls erro. Even more problematic is the fact that scholars believe that the first book of maccabees was indeed written originally in hebrew, therefore meeting the language criterion for inclusionand yet it is absent from the biblical canon. Since the time of the reformation, the book of james has been controversial. At one point in his career, martin luther famously stated, st. Protestant bibles included the apocrypha until the mid 1800s, and the king james version was originally published with the apocrypha. The issue as to which books belong in holy scripture is more than a historical issue. His words are best understood through the analogy of motion. We do god a great disservice when we make the gospel more difficult to. But it is important to realize that this would not prove that christianity is untrue. Nov 01, 2011 the proponents of protestantism made false translations of the bible and misled people into their errors by apparently proving from the bible their own translations the correctness of their doctrines. The scripture is the final authority to solve all doctrinal and behavioral issues. The king james translators did a marvelous job with the materials they had. He didnt think it expressed the nature of the gospel, it appeared to contradict pauls statements about justification by faith, and it didnt directly mention christ.
Or 2 the revisionists the reformed the king james version in 1623 were highly and incompetent a clearly prove their ignorance of scriptures by removing seven sacred books of the bible. It should be noted, however, that the editors of the king james version were instructed by king james i of england to make sure that the translation was in harmony with the theology of the church of england. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. Book of mormontranslation errors from the kjv fairmormon. Protestant bibles comprise 39 books of the old testament according to the jewish hebrew bible canon, known especially to nonprotestants as the protocanonical books and the 27 books of the new testament for a total of 66 books. Finally, if james, the lords brother, did write the letter, why is the letter so poorly attested until the period of origen. Full text of ward thomas errata errors of the protestant. The king james version is a particular translation or set of translations of the protestant 66 book canon, subs. Absolutely thorough explanation of so called errors in the king james bible. Martin luther, the celebrated catalyst of the protestant reformation, famously took issue with the book of james. In addition, they are placed with the apocrypha when the full king james version is printed. Martin luther and the book of james shameless popery. The catholic bible has seven books and parts of two others in the old testament that are not found in protestant bibles 1.
The kjv has been relentlessly attacked for 2 simple reasonsfor money and so scholars can become their own final authority and sit in judgement of gods words. However, many protestant versions of the bible today will state, king james version with apocrypha. There are no differences between the catholic and protestant new testament, although luther wanted to remove the epistle of james. The books of the apocrypha are also known as the deuterocanonical books. In this book, stauffer claims that the bug bible was printed by john daye, 1551, with a prologue by tyndall. Parts of this book are like a mirror, new bible versions scholars cant stand to look at it. It must have been an embarrassment to him since he had added the word alone to romans 3. The protestant canon has 66 books 39 in the old testament and 27 in the new testament, while the catholic canon has not 72 but 73 books 46 in the old testament and 27 in the new testament. The protestant old testament includes exactly the same information, but organized. This book is tremendously educational yet very fascinating to read. The book of james a detailed commentary basic training bible ministries page 2 introduction to james background of the book the epistle of james is one of the general epistles, including 1 and 2 peter, 1, 2 and 3 john, and jude. Are there any books in the orthodox bible which arent used. Removed from the bible by the protestant church in the 1800s paperback june 2, 2017.
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