As far as researching the Christian Old Testament, I decided to go as
close to the source as possible without becoming fluent in Hebrew. I
purchased an Interlinear Hebrew/English version of the Old Testament
where each word is translated exactly from hebrew to English. In the
margin of each page is the same text in the form of the New
International version of the Christian bible.
I found it interesting to compare what was from the original Hebrew
text and how it was formed for the layman reader and differed in
interpretation in some instances. There are words in the original,
such as the term "Nephilim" that did not appear in the text of the
King James version I grew up with.
Also, one may consider other translations. For instance, the word
"ladder" used in the story of Jacob's dream, actually means "ramp".
This is a small difference but a ladder and a ramp are two very
different things.
In addition, you should review the work of the Nicene Council. In 325
AD, an ecumenical council convened - the first gathering of all the
church leaders from Africa, Syria, Mesopotamia, Persia, Pontus,
Galatia, Pamphylia, Cilicia, Phrygia, Thrace, Macedonia, Achaia and
Spain where debate ensued on the matter of the trinity - was God three
or one? Read the text at
http://ragz-international.com/first_nicene_council.htm and
http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/weekly/aa082499.htm to gain a
deeper understanding of the council's decisions.
From http://www.apostolicbooks.org/details.asp?ProductID=16
"Very few people know where the Trinity doctrine came from. Most do
not know that the Catholic Church published some of the early Bibles,
and that our English Bible was very much translated from Greek and
Latin Catholic Bibles. Many of the early Catholic translators of those
Bibles inserted Trinity Godhead Titles and other Triune slants in
order to circumvent the ancient Judaistic Monotheism found in
Deuteronomy 6:4. "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.."
It's like the word "rapture" that many Christians utter. Nowhere in
the Christian bible does this word appear. See
http://askelm.com/remember/a760201.htm for more information on the
history of the word and doctrine.
Correct or incorrect, the Christian bible presents various scriptures
alleged to be "divinely inspired." However, there are numerous
scriptures that were once considered "holy" that did not make it into
the Christian bible. You may decide you would like to review other
scriptures for, while the Christian bible is reported to be "divinely
inspired," the editing of the book was done mostly by the Catholic
church and, later, Protestant reverends. As with any debate for or
against anything, persons will choose those references that support
their own personal views.
I recommend you read all the scriptures that are not present in the
Christian bible, especially the Gnostic. In most large bookstores you
will find "The Missing Books of the Bible" or "The Lost Books of the
Bible." Also, the Catholic Apocrypha was left out of the Protestant
bible line-up so, if you have not read that, I suggest you obtain a
copy for study.
The study of theology is incredibly interesting and I hope you become
an avid scholar. Also, if you should decide to compare the works of
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in the Christian New Testament, you will
find discrepancies among their reporting.
For some people, the duality between a vengeful God in the OT and a
kind and loving God in the NT causes questions that most priests and
preachers do not enjoy discussing. The line that will always be
returned by them at some point when asking for clarity of the
Christian bible is "You have to have faith." And, truly, we all have
faith in what we believe to be the "truth."
If you are truly interested in an answer to your question, you will
need to begin your own study of Christian theological history and
alternative scripture. I wish you enlightenment in your quest for
your own truth. :) |
