Bibles, How they Differ and Have Changed over the Course of Time Research Paper

Bibles, How they Differ and Have Changed over the Course of Time - Research Paper Example The New Testament's writings were not considered complete until sometime from the first to the third century AD (Scott 1998) many people have the idea that the bible has been manipulated as time goes by. Others have gone to the extend arguing that it has been corrupted via copying which has altered some few messages in it. The composition of the bible is also raising some questions. The Christian are of the idea that the bible was written by people who were led by the spirit of God. They believe that God is the author of the bible, since, through his divine power, he communicated to individuals who wrote it. The Atheist, on the other hand claims that the disciples of Jesus are the ones who composed the bible. These myths have existed through many years, and it seems that there is no point when the truth will be known unless until when the Day of Judgment will be revealed. In reality, what has happened and will still continue happening is the translation of the bible into different la nguages and versions. History of the bible reveals that, the bible has been  converted from the first language which was Latin to English and then to other languages. It also reveals that the original manuscripts, which were written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, have been copied over the centuries, making some few changes (Dowey 2006). Despite the few alterations, history has it that the bible has been intact as it was written at first and that it is the Word of God. The reliability of some of the accounts of the gospels has been severely attacked by scientists and historians. It is due to this turmoil that this paper tries to examine the bible, how it has changed over time and how the different versions differ. Versions of the Bible Presently, there are many versions of the bible which differ significantly. Examples of the versions that are dominant in the bookshops includes; King James version (KJV), New International version(NIV) , New American Standards(NAS), Good News and Ne w World Translation. These versions and many others which will be mentioned later in this paper claim to have the same message, but research has shown that they have some differences. The errors of omissions and insertions are evident when a variety of these versions is compared. They differ among themselves and also history has it that they do not reflect the original version of the bible. To prove this we shall sample a number of versions of the bible that exist in the modern day and examine how they have changed over time and the difference between them. King James Version The King James Version also known as the Authorized Version in the United States originated from England and was named after King James who initiated the project of translating the bible. It is said to be the widely used version of the bible. Despite the retaliations from clerics, the king made it mandatory that each church in England should use the newly translated bible and to keep a copy on the display all t he time. This may be the reason behind the name ‘Authorized Version’.