In a reader’s response to my article several weeks ago entitled “New Testament misconceptions and fallacies,” he makes the mistake that is typical of those who read the Bible literally. Without a substantial knowledge of Christian history and scholarship, one becomes trapped in a literal box filled with the many scriptural contradictions, mistranslations, misinterpretations, and, yes, even forgeries with no path to explain these away. And they are legion.
For example, in the story where Jesus is said to be walking on the water, could this be a mistranslation of the Aramaic preposition for by or some similar term? Some scholars think so. There are scores of questionable translations like this in the Bible. Another example is the virgin birth story. Matthew mistranslates the Hebrew word “almah,” meaning a young women, into the Greek term “parthenos” meaning “virgin.” A little background is in order. In the 3rd and 2nd centuries B.C., the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek, called the Septuagent, the language most of the gospel writers used and spoke. It doesn’t take a genius, as the renowned Biblical scholar Bart Ehrman indicates, to understand that there are hundreds, even thousands, of mistranslations in the Bible, most are minor, but many are major — so major that they turn many of the common Christian doctrinal beliefs upside down.
But it’s not just mistranslations. Many of the books of the New Testament are forgeries, which most Biblical scholars acknowledge. For example, very few, if any, scholars believe that Matthew, Mark, and Luke are the actual authors of these three gospels. Space does not permit discussion of the numerous reasons why. Also, scholars say, seven of Paul’s letters were not likely written by him. How could this happen? The practice of attaching an important church figure or apostle’s authorship to one’s writing to give it legitimacy was a common practice in Jesus’ day. There are many other similar forgeries in early church writings according to church historians.
But back to the reader’s rebuttal to my article, “New Testament misconceptions and fallacies.” My main point was that Jesus did not consider himself divine or “God.” This particular reader claims that Jesus does refer to himself as God in the Gospel of John. That seems to be true. But there is a big problem with this according to Biblical scholars. John is considered by most non-evangelical scholars to be inauthentic or fraudulent. In fact, some go as far as to say they doubt whether a single Jesus saying was actually spoken by him. Again, the reasons are numerous and merit an entire full length article on the subject — justice cannot be done in a simple paragraph or two.
Although there are many, I will close with just two arguments debunking the authenticity of John. As most scholars agree, during his lifetime, Jesus never called himself “God” or considered himself such. Then there is this. In Mark 10:18 Jesus says, “Why do you call me good? Only God is good.” So which is it? John or Mark? They can’t both be true. Most academics would side with Mark.
The lesson to be learned here is that the Bible, like any other literary masterpiece, does not have to be factually true to be a source of inspiration and beauty.
Derek says
Very well said. I think by looking at his arguments you can clearly see he doesn’t want there to be a GOD. But he along with everyone else knows there is one. But accepting this fact would hinder their lifestyle greatly. I wish people that believed in evolution or people that are so anti Bible would not attack the Bible with arguments that are not credible and make unreliable statements without actual evidence. This is just more propaganda to further push their religious belief in evolution.
Bal says
Christians are not interested in truth. They want to give your their truths. We must thank all the Scholars who are making truths available to the public.
George says
Is this why Trump bangs his daughter?
Jason Sethre says
George,
Keep it classy, and focus on contributing something meaningful to the conversation.
Thanks!
Jason Sethre
Publisher
Fillmore County Journal
Sara says
Thank you VERY much for addressing the misconceptions and mistranslations that history has brought to the text of the Bible. Not only are there misinterpretations, but the countless edits (King James most famously). In order to be knowledgeable about one’s own religion, you must admit the faults within said religion. Christian traditions mostly have dwelled on Pagan traditions during a time when Paganism was being overcome by Christans. For example, the reason why Christmas is celebrated during the winter time (which is not the actual birthday of Jesus) is because Pagans celebrated the winter solstice with evergreen. To demolish this tradition they replaced with their own and called it Christmas. History is a powerful tool when one can become knowledgeable in it. Thank you for your commentary.
Herb Panko says
Thanks, Sara, for joining in the fight against religious primitivism. We will never be completely civilized until we abandon our 3000 year old superstitions.
Herrnhut says
In the first generation of the twelve tribes, Joseph was sold off by his 10 brothers to Egypt. He suffered much as a slave and in prison to rise up to become the savior (as Jesus) of Egypt (gentile world) thru hard time. He married an Egyptian woman (gentile church) and was called savior in his Egyptian title.
In the mean time (just one chapter of Genesis) Judah went off to marry a Canaanite (the world) woman named Shuah (wealth). They had three sons. Two of them died (slewed by God). In the end time even their family will be saved by heavenly Joseph when they recognize him the long lost brother was dead now lives while Jacob (Israel) suffer ALL his life. This IS the picture of the history of the nation of twelve tribes and the church still happening. All the other gods from 4000 years ago are in the museums.
Herb Panko says
Mr. Visser: You are playing the same tiresome and frustrating game all conservative/evangelical Christians play when they are challenged. If you can not answer the question posed to you with any credibility, you just ignore the challenge. That’s exactly what you did. Go back and read my challenge. Also, I asked you to read “Misquoting Jesus” by Bart D. Ehrman. Of course, you didn’t and won’t. Your childish response was you don’t trust anybody from Princeton. Say what? Here’s a theologian, Biblical scholar, and professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina who reads both ancient OldTestament Hebrew and 1st century New Testament Greek fluently and you have the unmitigated gall to just dismiss him? I try to be civil to my opponents but you make it very, very difficult. If you don’t “trust” Ehrman, I’ll throw a few others at you: Paul Tillich (his definition of “God”—-the ground of all being), Hans King, Bishop John Shelby Spong, Dietrich Bonheffer and many more. I think this discussion is pointless since you apparently have nothing of substance to add.
Amy says
Dear Mr. Panko –
I wanted to introduce myself to you and speak with you about your writing on “Consequences of reading the Bible as literal history”.
I come to you with respect and love as Jesus desires of me. I am not one to typically pick up and write after reading something like this. I will usually pray however, the Holy Spirit prompted me to write so I am doing so.
As a believer in Jesus Christ, I would like to address some un-truths in your article. Not by my own words but with scripture which I think first must be discussed if you believe or do not believe in God and/or that the Bible is the Word of God.
Genesis 1:1 – “In the Beginning God created the heavens and the earth”
Genesis 2:7 – “The Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of lie, and the man became a living being”
Do you believe this Mr. Panko? If you believe in God and know He created us and the earth, then you would have to believe that the Bible is true.
The Old Testament makes it clear that the promise of Jesus’ coming and resurrection has always been known to the people of God. Long before Isaiah’s time, Job had said: “I know that my redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And . . . in my flesh shall I see God” (Job 19:25-26)
This also points out that Jesus was God in human form as His son. Jesus claimed to be God in John 10:30 when He said, “I and the Father are one.” He repeated this claim on the night of His betrayal when He told Philip, “If you’ve seen me you have seen the Father” (John 14:9). John said that Jesus is God in the first verse of his Gospel, calling Jesus “the Word”. In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1).
To verify that he was talking about Jesus, he said, “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
Paul agreed with John. In Colossians 1:15-16 he wrote;
The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.
The writer to the Hebrews essentially said the same thing in Hebrews 1:2-3, calling Jesus the one through whom God made the universe, the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being.
God Himself agreed with this in Hebrews 1:8. Speaking of His Son He said. “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.”
Finally, In Revelation 1:8, God said, “I am the Alpha and the Omega” and in Rev. 22:13, Jesus said, “I am the Alpha and the Omega.” The only way this could be true of both is if they are one and the same.
Redeeming us literally required all the fullness of God to dwell in the One He called His Son, a perfect sinless man who died in our place so we could live with Him in peace (Colossians 1:19-20). It’s something only He could do. And it wasn’t just a temporary thing. Today, there’s a resurrected man named Jesus seated on the throne of God at the right hand of the Mighty One (Matt. 26:64, Ephes. 2:20). Still one with Him, but still the image of the invisible God, the exact representation of His being.
If you believe in God and believe in the Bible, then the below would be true.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
It doesn’t say some scripture or the parts that you just want to view for “inspiration and beauty”…good feelings, etc… or is just a good read.
If it is God-breathed then the authors who wrote the Bible were inspired by God and wrote not of themselves.
Five times in the article you stated your information was from “some scholars” or “most scholars” but did not give names of where you were pulling your opinions from. The name you did give however was Bart Ehrman.
Bart Ehrman….He has studied the Bible yes…biblical scholar, historian, etc…but by his own words in his blog states the below:
“But I had come very much to doubt that any such God existed. And it was the problem of suffering that had created these doubts and that eventually led me to doubt it so much that I simply no longer believed it.”
So, his case against the bible and God/Jesus did not start from doubting the bible’s content…..it started with not believing in God due to suffering and in turn He is attempting to place doubt in everyone else’s mind in his path.
God did not create us to be, as you said, “one that becomes trapped in a literal box”…..He created us with free will to either believe in Him or not….to believe in His word or not.
In closing Mr. Panko….God wants all of our hearts to believe in Him so we can be with Him in heaven someday. He sent Jesus to die on our behalf for our sins because He loves us. His Word gives us the wonderful ability to get to know our God who would do such a thing for us and to become more like Him. My prayer is for you and whoever reads this to get to know who Jesus is and accept Him into your hearts.
God Bless
Herb Panko says
Amy, nearly every pimitive civilization has a creation and great flood story with some variatons. So which one is true? All religions, incuding Christianity, are based on faith—not fact. All religions have their own sacred books, just like the Bible. So you are saying they are all wrong and yours is the only right religion? Proof please? Most Muslims and many other religions would call you an atheist just as you would call them the same. So who is right? And don’t waste yours and my time citing Bible verses. All religions can do that. Tne truth is, Amy, neither you nor I or anyone else has any idea who God is or what he values. To say you do is an insult to the divine deity. Again, to quote supposed God’s words from the Bible just won’t work. The Bible was written by humans, not God. One last note. Please read Bart Ehrman’s “Misquoting Jesus” and get back to. I challenge you to name one provable non-fact in this book. You will be quizzed.
Kim says
Mr. Panko, have you heard of a new documentary called The God Who Speaks? Based on your article, I think you’d really like it.
Herb Panko says
Kim,
Have you seen the documentary, “The God who wasn’t there”? I suggest you watch it. It is based on solid scholarship.
Joel Viss says
Mr. Panko’s comentary in the “consequences of reading the Bible as literal history” like the rest of his commentaries was interesting, and I mean that in the literal sense. My reading of what he has to say solidifies my faith in Jesus Christ as part of the God head. He uses the words scholar and academic frequently in all of his writings, as if he wants the reader to doubt their commen sense and faith. Speaking of faith, that is a word Mr. Panko rarely uses, yet it is used so frequently in the New Testament. Grace through faith is the back bone of the Christian Faith and so it does not surprise me that he never uses the word faith. It would certainly go against the belief of a scholar or expert. Yet even those people believe in something. Think about what takes more faith, to believe that God created the world and all life on it using similar design, or to believe that all of life’s variation happened spontaneously from original chemicals? I don’t think the fact that I have literally studied science and the Bible my whole life is going to cause him to think of me as an expert or a scholar on either topic. That is because most people are going to believe what they want to believe. Mr Panko’s reference point is different than that of a Christian’s. A Christian begins with: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”. If you start with a different beginning it will be more difficult to end up in the same place with what you “believe”, ( or have faith in), is true.
It is always tragic when someone takes a sentence out of the Bible and interprets it based on itself. Take a look at the three examples that are used in his commentary. “Jesus walking on the water may mean along the water”. The Bible actually explains that Peter asked Jesus to call for him to get out of the boat and walk to him if it was really him, and shortly after he did he began sinking, feared for his life, reached out to Jesus and was saved. Oops. The second “example” of biblical mistranslation is that he says Mathew mistranslated a word that was supposed to mean young woman, into the word virgin. Who says he did? The fact that some renowned bible scholar says he did certainly does not explain what Mathew was thinking when he wrote. How would he know? The other example Mr. Panko uses is the Mark 10:18, “why do you call me good, only God is good. I think that he misses the point that Jesus is trying to make, you have seen me, you have seen the father. Mr. Panko, you need to look at the Bible from the very beginning, including the Old Testament to understand why Christian people believe the way they do. Acuarate prediction is the moxy of science as well as a faith builder. I am curious about your motivation. I don’t get it. What is your purpose in life? Why would you be adamate about influencing someone else’s believed purpose in life. Why do you put so much stock in “experts and academics” when you seem to me to be an intelligent and passionate man, capable of thinking for yourself?
I will not debate this with Mr. Panko further because we have a different beginning point in what we believe is true (our faith). Well, I would publicly debate him if he would bring with him to the debate everyone he could find that was at the lowest, most miserable point in their life. They had lost everything they ever loved because of substance abuse natural disaster or really any terrible life event that had left them completely devastated and within seconds of suicide, or even a failed suicide attempt. Suddenly they began to believe there was no God and they began to live a full happy new life and tried to help other people find the same joy and contentment. For each of the people he brings with to the debate that have that background, I will bring several that were in such dire straits, because of one of the mentioned maladies, that they were on the brink of suicide, or were by grace a survivor of a suicide attempt. Suddenly, they began to believe that God loved them, and had a purpose for their life. That was enough to spend the rest of their life happily trying to fulfill that purpose, or going day to day visiting with God about, and seeking that purpose. Even as I write this I wonder a couple of things about Mr. Panko’s multiple letters: What is your point? What is your purpose? Currently Mr. Panko, I am not trying to convince you that I am right, and you are wrong. I am trying to boost someone’s faith who may have been damaged by your less than reliable statements.
Herb Panko says
Mr, Viss: Your commentary is based largely on a Bronze/Stone Age tribal people who were mostly illiterate. There is no way to tell whether any stories or details in a “sacred” book 2000 years ago are fact or fiction. You keep using the term “faith” as though that makes it true–not so. All religions are based on “faith.” Islam, for example, claims the Koran is sacred and is based on truth or fact. So what evidence do you have that the Bible is all “factual” and the Koran is nothing but “fiction”? I encourage you to read the book by Bart D. Ehrman entitled “Misquoting Jesus.” It is based on factual history of early Christianity—not faith or opinion. I challenge you to discredit any of the details in this book. I will be waiting for your proof. You will be subject to an exam. A little about Ehrman. He is neither conservative nor liberal and is a graduate of Princeton University and is well respected by objective Biblical scholars.
Joel Viss says
I am also neither conservative or liberal. I do use the term faith a lot, but as I mentioned: Everyone has faith, even you. Because our DNA has the same nitrogen bases as a microbe does not mean that we came from them. It takes faith to believe that it does. Those are just theories. You could argue that Christians believe a theory in the same way, but there is a bit more proof. There is a lot more evidence in antiquity than you either know about, or choose to believe. You really need to start at the beginning as Amy brought up. Then there is the miracle of changed lives. It is possible that we simply have big enough differences in life experiences that you haven’t witnessed it. I really do not put as much “faith” in someone from Princeton, as what you do. My point is that if it were known beyond a doubt that scientific theories about the beginnings of the earth were true, we would not even be having this conversation. There would be no faith necessary. There are too many inconsistencies in them, for them not to require faith to believe in. So you too have faith, just like me. I believe that the Bible is of God’s origin, you are banking on experts and scholars. A biblical scholar could not seriously come up with any conclusion other than what Amy has pointed out in her reply. An historian may be able to make things fit. Do not make a mistake though. Where history crosses with what is written in the Bible, it is fact. I am actually sad to see you feel the way you do, because a man of your desire to disclose the truth to everyone would be so useful to God. This is not Alice in Wonderland, and faith is not ” believing in impossible things” First off, we need to agree that we both have faith. Then argue away. By the way, there is a lot of fact in the Koran. Not all of it though. To give you credit, the Old Testament was written a long time ago. It turns out that people 2000 years ago actually studied it a lot, so the Old Testament is much older than 2000 years old. However, predictions made in the Old Testament came true in New Testament times. I wish for you much Joy. He loves you too of course. You will see.
Derek says
Very well said. I think by looking at his arguments you can clearly see he doesn’t want there to be a GOD. But he along with everyone else knows there is one. But accepting this fact would hinder their lifestyle greatly. I wish people that believed in evolution or people that are so anti Bible would not attack the Bible with arguments that are not credible and make unreliable statements without actual evidence. This is just more propaganda to further push their religious belief in evolution.