The bible is supposed to be an historical document.  It is supposed to have the same content as when it was written - but it doesn't.   It has been changed over the years - mostly in the early days when copies were made by hand.  So if you believe it literally, you are have to ask yourself - "Which version should I believe?"   This is not just the opinion of an atheist or even a group of atheists - this is the conclusion to be reached from studies by scholars of an ancient copy of the bible, the Codex Sinaiticus, that was found 156 years ago and is now available on-line.

As announced in October 2008, and publicized in July 2009, the Codex Sinaiticus has been digitized and has been made available online for scholars to see the original.  It is probably the oldest known Bible and is written in Greek on parchment leaves.  It was discovered in 1844 and distributed between Egypt, Russia, Germany and Britain. It is now (July, 2009) online at www.codexsinaiticus.org.  The site also has more of the document's history and the project to study it.

But, as mentioned above, it is not the same as the current bible.

According to an article published on the BBC web site here:  the differences are:

• The Codex contains two extra books in the New Testament. One is the little-known Shepherd of Hermas, written in Rome in the 2nd Century - the other, the Epistle of Barnabas. This goes out of its way to claim that it was the Jews, not the Romans, who killed Jesus, and is full of anti-Semitic kindling ready to be lit. "His blood be upon us," Barnabas has the Jews cry.
• The Codex - and other early manuscripts - omit some mentions of ascension of Jesus into heaven, and key references to the Resurrection,
• Other differences concern how Jesus behaved. In one passage of the Codex, Jesus is said to be "angry" as he healed a leper, whereas the modern text records him as healing with "compassion".
• Also missing is the story of the woman taken in adultery and about to be stoned - until Jesus rebuked the Pharisees inviting anyone without sin to cast the first stone.
• Nor are there words of forgiveness from the cross. Jesus does not say "Father forgive them for they know not what they do".

(See also the video at the end of this article).

This ties in with comments elsewhere in this site about the bible being essentially man-made and edited to fit what bishops wanted known.

For those who believe the Bible is the inerrant, unaltered word of God, there will be some very uncomfortable questions to answer. It shows there have been thousands of alterations to today's bible. As distinguished New Testament scholar Professor Bart Ehrman says:  "When people ask me if the Bible is the word of God I answer 'which Bible?'"

And it is very Anti-Semitic which would make it very politically incorrect.

Above first published on this site on July 6, 2009

August 5, 2009

The bible has remarkable similarities to earlier myths – things like virgin births, god on earth etc. David Strauss (b 1808 – d 1874) uncovered these facts and published them but was fired from his University post. Recent scholars now accept his work and the Codex Sinaiticus confirms much of what he said.

The video below covers a good part of the story on the Codex but more is expected on this subject.

The following video is a short summary of some of the differences found - Added Aug 14, 2010.

Note - you might want to turn your sound down or off for this one! Use pause control to read detail.

This article originally appeared on the Cobourg Atheist in July 2009.

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