Reworking the Bible to Fit Your Doctrine (Part 2)

In the previous blog, "Reworking the Bible to Fit Your Doctrine (Part 1)," we talked about the various religions that claim they believe in the Bible, but whose doctrines deviate greatly from what is taught by Evangelical Christians, Mainline Protestants and others who believe the Bible is inerrant and complete in and of itself.  We listed four of the ways these religions rework the Bible to fit their religious beliefs:

1.  They rewrite portions of, or the whole of the Bible to fit their teachings
2.  They add additional verses, chapters, books or whole works of what they call "scripture"
3.  They claim the Bible is either mistranslated, or the transmission process (copying the Bible by scribes             through the ages) is flawed.
4.  They claim portions of the Bible vindicating their doctrines have been lost from the Bible as it originally           stood.

It is the fourth statement we will zero in upon in this blog.  For it is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) or Mormon church that claims portions of the Bible are missing in an effort to undermine the Bible and make it work within their perverted teachings.  In fact, they say so much of the Bible is missing that they say they need modern day prophets and a "restored church" to recover these supposed lost portions of the word of God.  But are Many plain and precious truths" removed from the Bible as they say?  Let's examine the evidence.

What the Mormons believe about the missing "plain and precious truths" proceed from the Book of Mormon itself, in I Nephi 13:24-26 which reads, "Thou hast beheld that the book [The Bible] proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew; and when it proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew it contained the fulness of the gospel of the Lord, of whom the twelve apostles bear record; and they bear record according to the truth which is in the Lamb of God.  Wherefore, these things go forth from the Jews IN PURITY unto the Gentiles, according to the truth which is in God.  And AFTER they go forth by the hand of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, from the Jews unto the Gentiles, thou seest the formation of that great and abominable church, which is most abominable above all other churches; for behold, they have taken away from the gospel of the Lamb many parts which are plain and most precious; and also many covenants of the Lord have they taken away." (emphasis mine)

To begin with, these verses contradict both the inspired Old and New Testaments:

"The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever." -Isaiah 40:8
"Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. -Matthew 24:35

Both historical and manuscript evidence immediately show us that the quote in I Nephi is false. How?  It was the Apostles of the New Testament who wrote the New Testament (Luke and John Mark were not Apostles, but wrote under the direct tutelege of Apostles Paul and Peter respectively) before 100 A.D., after which all of the Apostles had died.  So if I Nephi 13 right then Mormonism admits the Bible was IN PURITY AFTER 100 A.D.  As the First Century Apostles were still in charge of Christianity, something happened (directed by God) that would cause Biblical purity to be safeguarded and perpetuated.  What was it?

Beginning in February and continuing through the summer of the year 70 A.D., Titus Flavius Vespasianus, future Roman emperor, destroyed Judea, Jerusalem and the Jewish Temple.  This began what become known as the "Diaspora Romani," the dispersal of Jews from Israel to locations throughout the Roman Empire.  This also began one of history's greatest persecutions of Christians.  As they escaped from the Holy Land they took great pains to preserve their Scriptures, conscientiously hiding some of them in caverns so they would not fall into the possession of the Romans (and other possible groups) and be destroyed.  They also brought scrupulously accurate copies of their Scriptures throughout remote areas of the Empire as they fled.

Fast-forward to 1946 A.D. when the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in Qumran (in what is currently called the West Bank) about one mile inland from the northwest shore of the Dead Sea, hence the name "Dead Sea Scrolls."  This finding of the Scrolls completely eradicates any chance the Old Testament could have been altered as the Book of Mormon alleges because all of the Scrolls are dated from 250 B.C. to 70 A.D. (the time of the distruction of Judea).  The Scrolls contain the entire Old Testament (less the book of Esther, which is not a book containing crucial doctrine and, in fact, doesn't even mention the name of God).  If anyone wanted to "monkey" with the Old Testament text, for any evil or other purpose, such manipulation could have effortlessly been distinguished by a simple comparason between the Scrolls and the Old Testament (Hebrew Tanakh) we have today.  In fact, the texts as compared are virtually identical.  The few extremely minor divergences alter no doctrines, commandments or truths.  Furthermore, any alterations would have had to be made in the Aramaic translation of the Old Testament (Aramaic Targum, 100 B.C.) and the Greek Septuagint, Second Century B.C.) also, well before the 100 A.D date suggested by I Nephi.  No such alterations have occurred -- period!

But what about the New Testament?  This document is the very one that defines Christianity for both faith and practice.  Has it been altered?  Are their "plain and precious truths" missing from it as well?  Absolutely not.  Let me explain:When Christians were fleeing the persecutions of the Romans, the meticulously produced copies of the Apostolic writings (possessions cherished far greater than any earthly holdings they might have) went with them -- throughout the known world, to Europe, Asia Minor, Egypt, Ethiopia, and other remote locations.  This diaspora took place prior to 100 A.D.  By 200 A.D. direct copies of these writings, the entire New Testament, had been made into Latin, Syriac and the Coptic language.  With this exodus of Christians and the distribution of their Apostolic writings prior to 100 A.D would have made malevolent manipulating, "monkeying" if you will, of the texts immediately observable.

Today's manuscript evidence for the New Testament is mind-blowing.  The sciences of archaeology and texual criticism have revealed over 5,800 complete or fragmented Greek manuscripts, more than 10,000 Latin manuscripts and at least 9,300 manuscripts in various other ancient languages including Syriac, Slavic, Gothic, Ethiopic, Coptic and Armenian -- and all in textual and doctrinal agreement!  No changes in commandment, axiom or precept.

Absolutely nothing is extant, nothing with any historical foundation, that would come even close to supporting the allegations by the LDS church that a single "plain and precious truth" has been taken out of God's Holy Word, the Bible.

What we have today is a Bible that is complete and inerrant.  Nothing lost or missing, nothing changed.  The perfect word of God.  The same word of God which so grossly contradicts the Book of Mormon and LDS teachings.

The Eighth Article of Faith of the Mormon church says, "We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly."

Don't worry.  IT IS!!!