Foundation of the True Text: The New Testament originals were written in Greek, primarily disseminated from Antioch, a hub of early Christianity (Acts 11:19-26, KJV: "And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch."). This lineage, later known as the Byzantine or Majority Text, represented faithful copies preserved by believers in Asia Minor and beyond. It emphasized the deity of Christ, salvation by faith, and resisted heretical alterations.
Alexandrian Corruption Begins: In Alexandria, Egypt—a center of gnostic philosophy and pagan influences—early scribes introduced changes to align Scriptures with heretical views, downplaying Christ's divinity and adding philosophical elements. This marked the start of the Alexandrian text type, characterized by omissions and alterations in key verses (e.g., weakening 1 Timothy 3:16, KJV: "God was manifest in the flesh").[1]
Catholic Dominance via Vulgate: The Vulgate became the official Catholic text, enforcing Alexandrian corruptions. The Church persecuted groups like Waldensians and Albigenses, who preserved Antiochian texts (e.g., Italic Bibles), as documented in martyrdom accounts.[4] Foxe's Book of Martyrs details how Catholics burned pure Bibles and believers to maintain control.
Ongoing Clashes: Antiochian manuscripts multiplied in the East (over 5,000 extant today), while Alexandrian ones remained scarce and hidden (only a handful like Vaticanus). Deceptions included forging "ancient" authority for the LXX and Vulgate to suppress Reformation precursors.
Textus Receptus Revives the Pure Line: Erasmus (1516) compiled the Textus Receptus from Byzantine/Antiochian manuscripts, leading to Protestant Bibles like the KJV (1611). This exposed Vulgate corruptions, sparking the Reformation.
Council of Trent's Desperate Deception: In response (1545-1563), Catholics canonized the Apocrypha and declared the Vulgate "authentic," ignoring Jerome's objections and historical rejections. This entrenched lies like purgatory support from fabricated texts.[3]
Westcott and Hort's Critical Text: In 1881, scholars revived Sinaiticus and Vaticanus, creating the Nestle-Aland/UBS texts used in modern versions (e.g., NIV, ESV). These align with Catholic editions, omitting verses like Acts 8:37 and weakening doctrines.[1] Critics link this to Jesuit influences and ecumenical deceptions.
Septuagint Exposed as Modern Myth: Books like David W. Daniels' Did Jesus Use the Septuagint? and Gail Riplinger's works compile evidence: No pre-AD LXX MSS, Letter of Aristeas as pseudepigraphy, Origen as true originator.[2][5] Dean Burgon's critiques highlight Alexandrian corruptions echoing LXX variances.
Persistent Use of Corrupted Sources: Catholic Bibles (e.g., NAB, Douay-Rheims) retain the Vulgate's Alexandrian base, Apocrypha, and LXX influences, supporting doctrines absent from pure texts. Modern ecumenism blends lines, but clashes continue in debates over manuscript reliability.
Evidence Against LXX Age: All claims rest on the debunked Letter of Aristeas; no archaeological proof pre-4th century exists, and Jewish traditions never elevated it. The hoax persists to validate Catholic additions, but analyses show it's a post-Origen construct.
Relevant sources: Chick Publications (David W. Daniels), Gail Riplinger, Dean Burgon Society, https://www.bible.ca/.
Some say millions of years, some say Thousands.
Let's take a look at what the observable evidence shows us...
Surely only 1 belief system has the truth?
Or are there multiple paths to God?
We all know the story of Noah and his family. Nearly every belief system has a flood story...
Bunnies and chocolate eggs... yes we all know that time of the year. Should we be concerned about it as believers?