Lost scrolls?

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Permalink Reply by Carla on March 29, 2015 at 3:26am

I don't know anything about these scrolls, but what you're saying reminds me of the book 'Davinci Code'.  People have tried to say that Jesus and Mary Magdalene had a love affair, and Jesus didn't die but went off and got married to Mary.  ...Conspiracy Theorists. 

If Jesus didn't die then we have no reason for hope.  That's just what the enemy of our souls wants us to believe.

I have heard it said that the enemy will have a cheap imitation for everything that is good, real and true.

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Permalink Reply by Seek on March 29, 2015 at 6:31am

Carla, over the years, archeologists have found manuscripts written by others that tell about Christ a bit differently.

One of the most prominent you may have heard of are the Nag Hammadi (Gnostic) scrolls. These include works known as the gospel of Truth, the gospel of Philip, the apocryphon of John, the apocalypse of Adam, and the acts of Peter and the Twelve Apostles, and the gospel of Thomas.

Some believe these are forgeries and what heretics taught and practiced in the days of Christ.

Since what this book which claims to be from Mary goes against Christs own words recorded by eye witnesses, they would be suspect and cause to believe the others are as well. That caused me to consider the question whether God would leave humanity not knowing scripture. Would He have allowed the false teachings to be believed as scripture or real scripture to have been hidden so that no one would have the truth? As He sent His Son to die for us, it shows His love for us. And how could God leave us not knowing His Word? I don't think He would have so these scrolls would have to be suspect. When I first heard of them, I wondered if we didn't have the full message of Christ, but in considering these questions, I don't see it as possible.

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Permalink Reply by Leonard T on March 29, 2015 at 7:03am

A quick response due to time constraints. We can look at two points in history to discern the validity of what we call the Bible today being complete without books missing.

1) We have many writings that were produced by what is commonly called the early church fathers. In these writings we have all of the books found in the Bible referred to over and over. We see them recognizing them as God's Word carrying God's authority. Now it is true that we find them from time to time referring to other writings, but these are rare in comparison and are not given the same respect as what is viewed as God's Word.

2) When the council gathered to determine what was to be included in the cannon of as God's Word and what was to be excluded they did not come together and simply vote one in and one out. That was not their purpose. By this time (early 300s) the church was facing, as it does today and every generation, an attempt by some to introduce heresy. There were people trying to introduce other books into the life of the church and seeking to give the other books equal status to God's Word. While in a technical sense they did decide what was in and what was out, what they actually did was affirm the books that the church was, and had been , using all along. In other words they did not debate whether Matthew was in or out, but rather affirmed that the church had always and still recognized that Matthew is God's Word (they did debate one book heavily, possibly two as I am working from memory). The gathering was with over 300 members (don't remember the exact number) and you will hear today that they did not agree on the finished product. History tells us that there were only 2 (the number two) dissenters. Only 2 and they call that division .....

Could you imagine if the council had not been called and the Bible in essence sealed what we would have today? How many books would have been added over the years? If we think people are confused now, just imagine if every organization included their own books into the Bible claiming the same authority from God (not I said claiming, not that they would have it).

To your last comment ... modern day Bible. While it is true that we have new translations popping up every so often, we recognize that if they follow proper protocol for translation they are producing a new translation from the Bible we have been trusting all along. So, we really don't have a modern Bible, but the Bible with modern translations coming forth.

Lord Bless,

LT 

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Permalink Reply by Seek on March 29, 2015 at 7:56pm

What I meant by modern day Bible was to distinguish it from right after Christ walked the earth...as the Bible we now have and has existed for far longer than any document known. Existed and most widely circulated.

While there are some translations I don't like at all, such as Message and Amplified, I've seen those who strongly uphold KJV as THE Bible. They put other versions alongside it to show how it was altered. I never see these alterations. They read into them because the words differ but the meaning is the same.

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Permalink Reply by Leonard T on March 29, 2015 at 8:01pm

Understood and agreed.

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