How to respond to Muslin Q concerning multiple bible versions

[mkw]

I was in Catholic Chat room and a Muslin posed an interesting question.

“Why so many different Bible versions?” Not just the difference between the Catholic/Protestant bibles. I personally have 4 different versions of the Catholic Bible, and as a new convert, that question got me to thinking a bit about the reasons.

Anyone a lot smarter (being most of you… ) then me could help me formulate an answer to this?

 

[watcher]

There are many ‘Islams’…

Sunni.
Shia.
Sufi.
Ahmadiyya.
Wahabi.

And probably more.

And to paraphrase Kronecker…
‘God created Catholicism, all the rest is the work of man.’

 

[Friar_David_O.Carm]

I have dealt with this “question” from muslims in the past.

mkw:

I was in Catholic Chat room and a Muslin posed an interesting question.

This is not really a question, it is more of a diversion.

That is this “question” is usually the first step that they (muslims) use in their arguement that Jews and Christians change the Books that where given to us by the “prophets”.

“Why so many different Bible versions?” Not just the difference between the Catholic/Protestant bibles. I personally have 4 different versions of the Catholic Bible, and as a new convert, that question got me to thinking a bit about the reasons.

Now the first part is the differences between Catholic and Protestant Bibles. Actually the only difference is that the Protestants cut books out of their Old Testaments.

Now the second part is the “different versions” idea.

By this they mean the different translations. Such as the KJV, NIV, NASB, RSV…etc.

When we speak of the Bible in the original languages there is no different versions.

Such is the same with the Quran. When looking at it in its orginal language, arabic, there is only one version but when we look at it in English, there are multiple versions. Just do a search on Amazon and you will see multiple verions,

Just for example.

I have a copy of the Noble Qur’an. Its translations is different than the version found on an islamic website.

Here is an example.

Surah 2:2

[Noble] This is the Book (the Qur’an) whereof there is no doub, a quidance to those who are Al-Muttaqun [the pious and righteous persons who fear Allah much (abstain from all kinds of sins and evil deeds which He has forbidden) and love Allah much (perform all kinds of good deeds which He has ordained)].

[website] This is the Book; in it is guidance sure, without doubt, to those who fear Allah.

[another one found on the 'net but called Koran] This Book, there is no doubt in it, is a guide to those who guard (against evil).

So lets see. Took me less than five minutes to find two other versions of the Qur’an (or Quran or Koran) on the 'net that have a different translation of Surah 2:2 than the one in the Noble Qur’an copy I have on my book shelf.

How’s that?

 

[Friar_David_O.Carm]

watcher:

There are many ‘Islams’…

Sunni.
Shia.
Sufi.
Ahmadiyya.
Wahabi.

I have looked a bit into islam as I know some muslims and one of them is a convert from Catholicism.

Only the first two are recognized by each other as Islam.

Wahabiism is a fundamental from of Sunni Islam that started in Saudia Arabia. This is what Al-Queda is.

Sufi could be viewed as the mystic tradition of Islam but most muslims do not veiw Sufiism as Islam.

Ahmadiyya is also not viewed as being Islam.

 

[watcher]

Sufi could be viewed as the mystic tradition of Islam but most muslims do not veiw Sufiism as Islam.

I can’t remember where I heard this, but most of the Chechan muslims were Sufi until the Wahabis arrived.

Ahmadiyya is also not viewed as being Islam.

Well they view themselves as Islam and have suffered persecution in, eg, Pakistan. They have many followers worldwide and have explicitly rejected violence (I think they use the phrase ‘Jihad by the pen, not the sword’). They believe that Jesus was crucified, but that he was not dead at crucifiction, and somehow he managed to get to India (I guess this is why most Muslims disown them since this claim is contrary to the Koran).
They are the ‘good guys’ in a way.

 

[Friar_David_O.Carm]

watcher:

Well they view themselves as Islam and have suffered persecution in, eg, Pakistan. They have many followers worldwide and have explicitly rejected violence (I think they use the phrase ‘Jihad by the pen, not the sword’). They believe that Jesus was crucified, but that he was not dead at crucifiction, and somehow he managed to get to India (I guess this is why most Muslims disown them since this claim is contrary to the Koran).

All I know of them, the Ahmadiyya, is that they are not part of Islam. You point out their difference with the Qur’an, which is the Holy book of Islam. Also their founder claimed to be the Messiah, or something like that.

I know they claim to be part of Islam but then the Mormons claim to be part of Christianity and many groups claim to be Catholic.

We must look to the mainstream of any group to see what they say about fringe groups who claim to be part of them. Also I would have to say, when a groups beliefs differ from the mainstream beliefs so much we can really see that they do not belong to the mainstream group.

 

[DaveBj]

ByzCath:

When we speak of the Bible in the original languages there is no different versions.

Umm, actually there are thousands of New Testament manuscripts or manuscript fragments, with hundreds of thousands of variations in readings.

As concerns how these boil down, there are three major “versions” of the New Testament: the Nestle-Aland/United Bible Societies Text, the Majority Text, and the Scrivener Text (a development of the so-called Textus Receptus, on which the KJV was based). Some modern Protestant translations/editions (I’m thinking primarily of the NKJV) provide footnotes detailing how these three versions differ from one another.

I don’t know about versions of the Hebrew OT, or versions of the Septuagint OT.

DaveBj

 

[itsjustdave1988]

I was in Catholic Chat room and a Muslin posed an interesting question.

“Why so many different Bible versions?”

You ought to point out to the Muslim that Christianity is not a “religion of the book” so one ought not to be bothered by variant manuscripts. This polemic is geared moslty toward Sola Scripturists, which I have to agree, brings many inconsistent and unconvincing replies from the Protestants.

Catholicism, on the other hand, rejects Sola Scriptura and is a religion of the Church established by God, which alone is the “pillar and foundation of truth.” There are many manuscripts and Scriptural translations that are juridically suitable in teaching the Catholic faith, and one ought not to be concerned about variations so long as one has faith in the One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church, submitting to her as the authentic source of God’s teachings.

 

[DaveBj]

ByzCath:

Such is the same with the Quran. When looking at it in its orginal language, arabic, there is only one version but when we look at it in English, there are multiple versions. Just do a search on Amazon and you will see multiple verions,

I forgot to mention that the only version of the Qur’an that Muslims consider valid is the Arabic version. They see translations as “interpretations,” but to read the Qur’an “validly,” you have to read it in Arabic.

BTW, Happy New Year, everyone. Kull sana wa-antum bi-khair.

DaveBj