Different Translations, Same Message

It is very clear that the bible is not a reliable source for any kind of historical documentation of events or happenings. Or is it? Timothy Beal says very well in his book The Rise and Fall of the Bible that, “…when it comes to the origins of the bible… the further you go back in history, the less uniformity there is.” The bible grew into what it is today by deduction, translation, and many rewritings of texts; this much is for sure. But is this really so surprising, or so easy to denounce? There have been many times throughout the course of history where a new interpretation of a text mixed with a cultural need for change or explanation has created new beliefs, new denominations, and even new religions. America and all of its unique classes of Christianity is a prime example of this ideal.

The points that Beal says about what texts would have looked like and been made of in Jesus’ time are interesting, but it does not really affect the way we view the scripture itself today. However, the way the text itself was expressed by each speaker is an interesting concept to think about. Perhaps the parts of the ‘story’ that were expressed as important by the speaker changed the way that people themselves told each story. Perhaps that was one factor that helped dumb-down the tales into their basic structures; the basic plot points if you will. Later, when they were written down, it was found that scribes and other people rewriting the texts would add details and elaborate the stories and histories to make them more interesting, or perhaps towards one party’s political favor. But who is to say that the main points of the texts, the ones that are consistent throughout the main translations, are not historically accurate?

Going through the texts of 1 Samuel, the Gospel of Matthew, the Gospel of Luke, and the Proto-gospel of James, it is obvious the similarities and differences between the texts. Many of the details, especially if the Proto-gospel of James, differ widely of one another. But in the end, their main message gets across to the reader. The Virgin Mary gave birth to the baby Jesus who was the son of God. There was a barren couple who prayed to God for a child of which they received and gave to the church to be a servant of God. The translations may be different, and may even be of different accounts (Matthew and Luke), but in the end the reader is fully informed of the grace and mercy of God, and the unique birth of the baby Jesus.