The M+G+R Foundation

Biblical Literalism or Symbolism?

Part II

About the Greek Originals of the New Testament


PURPOSE

The purpose of this document, a follow up of an earlier one (1), is to further disarm the enemies of the Divine Word who may even manifests themselves as friends of the Word. As with the AntiChrist and the False Christ - the enemies of the Word are easy to spot and disarm when they present themselves as such; the problem arises when they present themselves as Scholars, Authors, Researchers, Archeologists and, worse of all, Shepherds.

The best way to defend anything and/or anyone from slander is to lay the truth "on the table" - the naked truth, for no one can fight the truth and win. That is precisely what we plan to do in this Phase II regarding the origins of the New Testament.


INTRODUCTION

We have had the opportunity as of late to review several allegedly educational documentaries prepared by BBC, Discovery Channel, History Channel, etc. Two that made a mark - negative, that is - were: (a) The Family of Jesus and (b) Witnesses of the Resurrection.

In those educational documentaries poetic license soared to unknown heights. Considering how little the Faithful know the New Testament, after being "educated" by those documentaries they would be left worse than before. Before they knew little about the Word of God; after viewing those documentaries, whatever little they knew about the New Testament would now be hopelessly confused.

By rewinding Time all the way back to the origins of the New Testament we shall put on the table how the New Testament got from "There", in the First Century, to "Here" in the Twenty-first Century.

One may hear that the best New Testament is, for example, the Douay-Rheims version (2) which was translated from the Latin Vulgate by St. Jerome and diligently compared with the original Greek Text; or the version published by Mons. Juan Straubinger (3) also directly translated from the original Greek Text.

In reality, those two versions are the best renditions of the Word of God that we have ever encountered in five languages but, under no circumstances, they are the Last Word.

The only Last Word is the true Word of God, spoken softly to the hearts of those (4)who truly believe that he/she will do "...greater works than these..." because "...I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My Name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My Name, I will do it." [John 14:12-14]

The only possible problem with those two excellent renditions of the New Testament is their source: The original Greek text.

But before you continue reading.... we assure you, that, in spite of the initial appearances, when you go through this entire document your confidence in the Holy Scriptures, will have been increased many fold because you will be in the Light and not enwrapped in the darkness of ignorance. In this case, as always is, ignorance is not bliss; actually, ignorance in this area and, at this particular time in the history of humanity, spells great suffering.

Assuming that we have lost fifty percent of the readers by now - since the shaky foundation (5) of their Faith caused them to panic and flee - we shall proceed and discuss those "original Greek texts" with the readers left.


DETAILS

Logically, if everyone is going to praise the reliability of said original Greek texts we wanted to review those texts too; thus we acquired them. In the introduction of the New Testament in the "original Greek texts" we read (highlighting and underscoring by The M+G+R Foundation):

The text of the Greek New Testament has come down to us in various manuscripts, since printing was not invented until the fifteenth century and Erasmus did not publish his Greek New Testament until 1516.

Some of these manuscripts are more important than others (
age not necessarily being indicative of importance). The study of the various manuscript copies, and the assessment of their individual value in attempting to reconstruct the original as nearly as possible, constitutes the science of textual criticism.

For those who wish to study this seriously there are many books available;
it is sufficient to say here that, after Erasmus, a great number of scholars have, over a long period, applied themselves the task of constructing a reliable text out of a mass of various readings that have arisen from copying and making copies from copies of the old manuscripts.

There you have it! Some of those Greek "originals" may be as reliable as the intelligence the US based its occupation of Iraq on... yet, we cannot spend enough time reading and rereading the Holy Word of God as presented in the Holy Scriptures - it is refreshing; it is renewing, is the Truth!

But why? It would seem that with the above transcribed introduction to our New Testament in Greek, the New Testament has been reduced to the category of "a collection of stories told in accordance to the whim of those who were paying the copyists to justify whatever they wanted to justify with 'Holy' texts."

Yes; that is true if you believe in man and not in God and if you believe that evil is stronger than God. But when you know, not believe but know, that God is truly above all, that He IS Omnipotent, that He can take a lump of coal and turn it into a magnificent diamond, and that you are one of His precious children, aha! we now have the key to His Word - regardless of the twists and turns it made before reaching your hands.


CONCLUSION

Now, as you review the Part I (1) of this Biblical Literalism Sequence, all will become clearer and clearer and your Faith and trust in His Word will increase further. The "key" to draw the Truth from the man handled texts Is the Holy Spirit of God. No man, nor spirit can ever manipulate God.

We have also published a brief known history (6) of each of the four Gospels. With that as an overall background, these already published two documents on Biblical Literalism (Part I and Part II) and the information from the appropriate links appearing in them, you will be ready to hear and understand His voice as He whispers in your heart the keys that open the gates of the immense treasures stored in the Holy Word of God, known to Christians as the Bible.



NOTES           
(1) Biblical Literalism - Part I
(2) First published by the English College at Rheims, A.D. 1582
(3) El Nuevo Testamento - Mons. Dr. Juan Straubinger - Doctor Honoris Causa por la Universidad de Müenster (Alemania) - 1969
(4) In plain English: "Those who live in communion with God."
(5) The Rock upon which the Faith must be fundament upon is God.
(6) A history of the four Gospels - Written: by whom, when, where and under what circumstances



All Documents of This Series

Biblical Literalism - Part I

Biblical Literalism - Part II

Creation vs Evolution - Part I

Creation vs Evolution - Part II

The Book of Enoch

The Selection of the Elect

The Time Line of the Creation Story



Related Documents

Biblical Literalism or Symbolism? It is Both - It Just Depends on the Circumstances - Part I

A history of the four Gospels - Written: by whom, when, where and under what circumstances


The Demise of the Faith - How It Has Manifested Itself - Its Consequences - Religious and Political

The Demise of the Faith - Its Greatest Contributors - The Administration of the Christian Churches

Creation Vs Evolution or Evolution Vs Creation - It Is Neither... It Really Is "Man vs Man"... Just Like satan Likes It!

The Snare of One Universal Religion

The Confirmed and Proven Details of Such Universal Religion

God Spoke Frequently to Us Through the Dates of World Wars I and II. See For Yourself

Do you have "Eyes to See"? If you do not, we suggest that you do a thing or two about it



En Español:  Interpretación Bíblica literal o simbólica - Parte II

Published on January 1, 2006 • Reviewed and Confirmed on July 14, 2009


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