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+ | ====== March - The Christian Walk ====== | ||
+ | ===== March 1 ===== | ||
+ | ==== Out of Egypt ==== | ||
+ | === Out of Egypt I have called My Son === | ||
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+ | A relationship with God is found outside of the present worldly system, outside of Egypt. The Sons and Daughters of God are called to be outside of Egypt in order to be in eternal fellowship with God our Father. | ||
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+ | The false and compromised [emergent - worldly] churches of today are content in not leaving Egypt behind, content and desirous to still be in Egypt and of Egypt [i.e. edited Egyptian NT bible texts (codex Alexandrinus, | ||
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+ | Yes, we as Christians are still in the world and yes, we as Christians are to have a positive Christian effect on the world as we Christians contribute positively to the world but in our Christian reality we are not of this world. | ||
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+ | ===== March 2 ===== | ||
+ | ==== Mephibosheth ==== | ||
+ | === Mephibosheth' | ||
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+ | Mephibosheth is granted by King David the right to sit at his table as a son. | ||
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+ | Mephibosheth was not only unable to walk he was also unable to receive of the goodness that King David had bestowed upon him. King David had granted that Mephibosheth be as a son among the Royal family yet Mephibosheth rejected King David' | ||
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+ | The unfaithful servant Ziba betrays Mephibosheth. | ||
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+ | All of Mephibosheth' | ||
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+ | </ | ||
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+ | Everything that Mephibosheth did at the time seemed to be admirable, humble, righteous, gracious and even religious yet nothing that Mephibosheth did was at any time appropriate or even helpful for any of the moments or any of the many opportunities that existed. In the end Mephibosheth, | ||
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+ | **Conclusion: | ||
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+ | ===== March 3 ===== | ||
+ | ==== Ittai and Barzillai ==== | ||
+ | === Ittai the Gittite and Barzillai the Gileadite === | ||
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+ | In contrast to Mephibosheth several Gentiles including Ittai and Barzillai did overstep their boundaries and surpassed their roles in life by aiding and assisting King David during a very perilous time for the King. | ||
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+ | Ittai joins King David in exile. | ||
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+ | **Note:** Ittai is a type of Christian in that he is himself an exile and a stranger. | ||
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+ | Barzillai and other Gentiles give supplies to King David. | ||
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+ | King David blesses Barzillai at their departure. | ||
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+ | ===== March 4 ===== | ||
+ | ==== Mephibosheth' | ||
+ | === Mephibosheth' | ||
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+ | **Unfamiliar with the Bible** | ||
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+ | Mephibosheth sat at the table of King David who was known as The Sweet Psalmist of Israel, King David going back to his days as a boy shepherd wrote almost the entirety of the Book of Psalms. Yet, Mephibosheth though he sat at King David’s table he didn’t seem to be familiar with any of King David’s written words. Mephibosheth was a stranger and an exile to the written Words of God, the Bible. | ||
+ | |||
+ | **A Lack of a Healthy Prayer Life** | ||
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+ | Mephibosheth didn’t have a healthy prayer life or possibly any prayer life. A good prayer life reveals that we are more than just worthless servants to God, we are in fact cherished Sons and Daughters of God. | ||
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+ | **The Missing Fellowship** | ||
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+ | It is recorded in the Bible that Mephibosheth ate regularly at the table of the King but it isn’t recorded that there was actually any fellowship between Mephibosheth and King David, in fact the two men seemed to be complete strangers, totally unknown to each other. | ||
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+ | **A lack of Servant Service** | ||
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+ | Mephibosheth had designated himself to be a servant yet he was a servant that seldom if ever served. | ||
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+ | **A lack of a Proclamation - Evangelism** | ||
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+ | Mephibosheth maintained such an impartial stance that in the end King David really didn’t know what Kingdom Mephibosheth stood for or was a part of whether it was Saul’s Kingdom or David’s Kingdom. | ||
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+ | **A lack of Discernment - Spiritual Warfare** | ||
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+ | Mephibosheth was being misrepresented and taken advantage of by his deceitful servant Ziba yet Mephibosheth was so lacking in discernment and spiritual warfare abilities that in the end he was completely taken advantage of by Ziba. | ||
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+ | ===== March 5 ===== | ||
+ | ==== The Sweet Psalmist of Israel ==== | ||
+ | === King David - The Sweet Psalmist of Israel === | ||
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+ | The first area of the Christian Walk that we are going look at is the area of Bible knowledge and study. | ||
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+ | Mephibosheth was in a unique position in that he lived and associated with some of the very people who wrote parts of the Bible. Mephibosheth didn’t have any of the textual criticism or authentication problems that some people have today. Yet, the ability to read the Psalms from the pen of King David or more likely to hear the Psalms spoken from the lips of King David didn’t inspire Mephibosheth to become Biblically informed. Today some people claim that Oh if we just had the original texts from the hands of Moses, Samuel, King David, King Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, etc. then how easy it would be to read the Bible but history has proven that isn’t the case and in actuality people are being saved without the Bible and people with the Bible are perishing. | ||
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+ | Mephibosheth lived in the presence and sat at the table with King David. Mephibosheth is also mentioned in the Bible and so are many of his family members, his father Jonathan and his Grandfather King Saul yet Mephibosheth was mostly unfamiliar with the national context of the Nation of Israel and the role that he and his family had in the Divine ordination of Israel. | ||
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+ | **Conclusion: | ||
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+ | ===== March 6 ===== | ||
+ | ==== Masoretic Text ==== | ||
+ | === Masoretic Text - Old Testament === | ||
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+ | The Masoretic Text (MT) is the authoritative Hebrew text of the Jewish Bible. While the Masoretic Text defines the books of the Jewish canon, it also defines the precise letter-text of these biblical books, with their vocalization and accentuation known as the Masorah. | ||
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+ | The **MT is widely used as the basis for translations of the Old Testament in Protestant Bibles**, and in recent years (since 1943) also for some Catholic Bibles, although the Eastern Orthodox churches continue to use the Septuagint, as they hold it to be divinely inspired. In modern times the Dead Sea Scrolls have shown the MT to be nearly identical to some texts of the Tanakh [Jewish Bible - Christian Old Testament] dating from 200 BC but different from others. | ||
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+ | The MT was primarily copied, edited and distributed by a group of Jews known as the Masoretes between the 7th and 10th centuries AD. Though the consonants differ little from the text generally accepted in the early 2nd century (and also differ little from some Qumran texts that are even older), it has numerous differences of both greater and lesser significance when compared to (extant 4th century BC) manuscripts of the Septuagint, a Greek translation (made in the 3rd to 2nd centuries BC) of the Hebrew Scriptures that was in popular use in Egypt and Israel (and that is [allegedly] often quoted in the New Testament, especially by the Apostle Paul). | ||
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+ | The Hebrew word mesorah reffers to the transmission of a tradition. In a very broad sense it can refer to the entire chain of Jewish tradition (see Oral law), but in reference to the Masoretic Text the word mesorah has a very specific meaning: the diacritic markings of the text of the Hebrew Bible and concise marginal notes in manuscripts (and later printings) of the Hebrew Bible which note textual details, usually about the precise spelling of words. | ||
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+ | The oldest extant manuscripts of the Masoretic Text date from approximately the 9th century CE, and the Aleppo Codex (once the oldest complete copy of the Masoretic Text, but now missing its Torah section) dates from the 10th century. | ||
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+ | The Talmud (and also Karaite mss.) states that a standard copy of the Hebrew Bible was kept in the court of the Temple in Jerusalem for the benefit of copyists; there were paid correctors of Biblical books among the officers of the Temple (Talmud, tractate Ketubot 106a). This copy is mentioned in the Aristeas Letter (§ 30; comp. Blau, Studien zum Althebr. Buchwesen, p. 100); in the statements of Philo (preamble to his " | ||
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+ | ===== March 7 ===== | ||
+ | ==== Septuagint LXX Text ==== | ||
+ | === Septuagint LXX Text - Old Testament === | ||
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+ | The Septuagint, from the Latin word septuaginta (meaning seventy), is a translation of the Hebrew Bible and some related texts into Koine Greek. The title and its Roman numeral acronym " | ||
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+ | The traditional story is that Ptolemy II sponsored the translation for use by the many Alexandrian Jews who were not fluent in Hebrew but fluent in Koine Greek, which was the lingua franca of Alexandria, Egypt and the Eastern Mediterranean from the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC until the development of Byzantine Greek around 600 AD. | ||
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+ | The Septuagint should not be confused with the seven or more other Greek versions of the Old Testament, most of which did not survive except as fragments (some parts of these being known from Origen' | ||
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+ | When Jerome [347 AD – September 30, 420 AD] undertook the revision of the Old Latin translations of the Septuagint, he checked the Septuagint against the Hebrew texts that were then available. He broke with church tradition and translated most of the Old Testament of his [Latin] Vulgate from Hebrew rather than Greek. His choice was severely criticized by Augustine, his contemporary; | ||
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+ | The Eastern Orthodox Church still prefers to use the LXX as the basis for translating the Old Testament into other languages. | ||
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+ | ===== March 8 ===== | ||
+ | ==== Rosetta Stone ==== | ||
+ | === Rosetta Stone - Egypt - Ancient Archeology === | ||
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+ | Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, | ||
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+ | The Rosetta Stone is an ancient Egyptian granodiorite stele inscribed with a decree issued at Memphis [Egypt] in 196 BC on behalf of [Greek King] King Ptolemy V. The decree appears in three scripts: the upper text is Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, | ||
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+ | On Napoleon' | ||
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+ | After Napoleon' | ||
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+ | **Note:** it is important to note that the Aramaic language often touted as being important, influential and widely used in ancient Mesopotamia is not even included on the Rosetta Stone (196 BC) instead the ancient trade language of Demotic script is considered to be regionally more important and is used as the second language on the Rosetta Stone. | ||
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+ | ===== March 9 ===== | ||
+ | ==== Dead Sea Scrolls ==== | ||
+ | === Dead Sea Scrolls === | ||
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+ | The Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of 972 texts discovered between 1946 AD and 1956 AD at Khirbet Qumran in the West Bank [of ancient Israel]. They were found in caves about a mile inland from the northwest shore of the Dead Sea, from which they derive their name. The texts are of great historical, religious, and linguistic significance because they include the earliest known surviving manuscripts of works later included in the Hebrew [Old Testament] Bible canon, along with extra-biblical manuscripts which preserve evidence of the diversity of religious thought in late Second Temple Judaism. | ||
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+ | The Dead Sea Scrolls include entire books of the Old Testament including the famous Isaiah scroll and it has fragments from every book of the Old Testament except from the Book of Esther. | ||
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+ | Due to the poor condition of some of the Scrolls, not all of them have been identified. Those that have been identified can be divided into three general groups: (1) some 40% of them are copies of texts from the Hebrew Bible, (2) approximately another 30% of them are texts from the Second Temple Period [Herod' | ||
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+ | There has been much debate about the origin of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The dominant theory remains that the scrolls were the product of a sect of Jews living at nearby Qumran called the Essenes, but this theory has come to be challenged by several modern scholars. | ||
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+ | **Qumran–Essene Theory** | ||
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+ | The view among scholars, almost universally held until the 1990s, is the " | ||
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+ | A number of arguments are used to support this theory. | ||
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+ | There are striking similarities between the description of an initiation ceremony of new members in the Community Rule and descriptions of the Essene initiation ceremony mentioned in the works of Flavius Josephus – a Jewish–Roman historian of the Second Temple Period. | ||
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+ | Josephus mentions the Essenes as sharing property among the members of the community, as does the Community Rule. | ||
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+ | During the excavation of Khirbet Qumran, two inkwells and plastered elements thought to be tables were found, offering evidence that some form of writing was done there. More inkwells were discovered nearby. | ||
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+ | De Vaux called this area the " | ||
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+ | Several Jewish ritual baths (Hebrew: miqvah) were discovered at Qumran, which offers evidence of an observant Jewish presence at the site. | ||
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+ | Pliny the Elder (a geographer writing after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD) describes a group of Essenes living in a desert community on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea near the ruined town of 'Ein Gedi. | ||
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+ | The Qumran–Essene theory has been the dominant theory since its initial proposal by Roland de Vaux and J.T. Milik. Recently, however, several other scholars have proposed alternative origins of the scrolls. | ||
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+ | ===== March 10 ===== | ||
+ | ==== Christian New Testament Bible ==== | ||
+ | === The Christian New Testament Bible Scriptures === | ||
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+ | The Christian New Testament Bible as we have it today comes essentially from two text manuscript families. | ||
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+ | **The Textus Receptus (TR) Text Family - KJV** | ||
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+ | The Textus Receptus is from the Byzantine Empire previously called Galatia. | ||
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+ | **The Egyptian Text Family - Modern Versions** | ||
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+ | Codex Alexandrinus – translated into the Latin Vulgate by Jerome\\ | ||
+ | Alexandria, Egypt | ||
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+ | Codex Sinaiticus – a close match to the Codex Vaticanus\\ | ||
+ | St. Catherine' | ||
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+ | **Note:** even though the Christian Church since the Middle Ages has had the two primary Manuscript families both manuscript families up until the Douay–Rheims Bible translation of 1899 AD, in both the Greek and English version manuscripts were nearly identical matching in about 98.9% of the entire texts. Since 1899 AD with the numerous revisions particularly in the English editions the newer translations only match the previous Greek and English editions somewhere in the neighborhood of 80% to 60% depending on whether considering just the words or also adding the verses as a whole that are effected by the revisions. | ||
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+ | ===== March 11 ===== | ||
+ | ==== The Textus Receptus ==== | ||
+ | === The Textus Receptus (TR) Byzantine Text Family === | ||
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+ | The Textus Receptus is the text that has been used for 2,000 years by Christians. This is also the text that agrees with more than 95% of the Bible Manuscripts in Koine (common) Greek. | ||
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+ | In his essay Texual Criticism, Dr. Thomas Cassidy writes: "The Traditional text of the New Testament has existed from the time of Christ right down to the present. It has had many different names down through the years, such as Byzantine Text, Eastern Text, Received Text, Textus Receptus, Majority Text, and others. Although no complete Bible manuscripts have survived which would allow us to date the Traditional text to the first century, there is a strong witness to the early existence and use of the Traditional text by the early church in its lectionaries." | ||
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+ | In his excellent book, Truth Triumphant: The Church in the Wilderness, Benjamin Wilkinson writes, "The Protestant denominations are built upon that manuscript of the Greek New Testament sometimes called Textus Receptus, or the Received Text. It is that Greek New Testament from which the writings of the Apostles in Greek have been translated into English, German, Dutch and other languages. During the dark ages the Received Text was practically unknown outside the Greek Church. It was restored to Christendom by the labours of that great scholar Erasmus. It is altogether too little known that the real editor of the Received Text was Lucian. None of Lucian' | ||
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+ | Textus Receptus (Latin: " | ||
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+ | ===== March 12 ===== | ||
+ | ==== The Egyptian Texts ==== | ||
+ | === The Egyptian Text Family === | ||
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+ | **Codex Alexandrinus** | ||
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+ | The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library) is a 5th-century manuscript of the Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Septuagint and the New Testament. It is one of the four Great __uncial codices__ [using only capital letters - i.e. modern forgeries]. Along with the Codex Sinaiticus and the Vaticanus, it is [claimed by modern scholars to be] one of the earliest and most complete manuscripts of the Bible. Wettstein designated it in 1751 AD by [the] letter A, and it was the first manuscript to receive thus a large letter as its designation. | ||
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+ | It derives its name from Alexandria [Egypt] where it resided for a number of years before it was brought by the Eastern Orthodox Patriarch Cyril Lucaris from Alexandria to Constantinople. Then it was given to Charles I of England in the 17th century. Until the later purchase of the Codex Sinaiticus, it was the best manuscript of the Greek Bible deposited in Britain. Today, it rests along with Codex Sinaiticus in one of the showcases in the Ritblat Gallery of the British Library. A full photographic reproduction of the New Testament volume (Royal MS 1 D. viii) is available on the British Library' | ||
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+ | As the text came from several different traditions, different parts of the codex are not of equal textual value. The text has been edited several times since the 18th century. | ||
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+ | **Codex Sinaiticus** | ||
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+ | Codex Sinaiticus (London, Brit. Library) or "Sinai Bible" is one of the four great uncial codices, an ancient, handwritten copy of the Greek Bible. The codex is a celebrated historical treasure. | ||
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+ | The codex is an Alexandrian text-type manuscript written in the 4th century in uncial letters on parchment. Current scholarship considers the Codex Sinaiticus to be one of the best Greek texts of the New Testament, along with that of the Codex Vaticanus. Until the discovery by Tischendorf [Lobegott Friedrich Constantin (von) Tischendorf (January 18, 1815 – December 7, 1874)] of the Sinaiticus text, the Codex Vaticanus was unrivaled. | ||
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+ | The Codex Sinaiticus came to the attention of scholars in the 19th century at the Greek Orthodox Monastery of Mount Sinai, with further material discovered in the 20th and 21st centuries. Although parts of the Codex are scattered across four libraries around the world, most of the manuscript today resides within the British Library. Since its discovery, study of the Codex Sinaiticus has proven to be extremely useful to scholars for critical studies of biblical text. | ||
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+ | Originally, the Codex contained the whole of both Testaments. Approximately half of the Greek Old Testament (or Septuagint) survived, along with a complete New Testament, plus the Epistle of Barnabas, and portions of The Shepherd of Hermas. | ||
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+ | ===== March 13 ===== | ||
+ | ==== Shepherd of Hermas ==== | ||
+ | === The Hoax Letter - The Shepherd of Hermas (Satan) === | ||
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+ | Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria [Egypt], addressed this problem on Jan. 7, 367 AD, when he wrote his annual Easter letter to his churches. It was a landmark letter because it contained the same list of 27 books of the New Testament that are found in our Bibles today. So far as we know, Athanasius was the first Christian leader to compile a list of New Testament books exactly as we know them today. -- [Origen (Origen Adamantius 182-254 AD) actually collected and codified the 27 book NT we have today and he preceded Athanasius by over a century.] | ||
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+ | Here are portions of Athanasius’ letter, in which he lists the books of the Old and New Testaments that he considered authoritative. ... | ||
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+ | **Pope Gelasius I condemned the book The Shepherd of Hermas around 500 A.D.** | ||
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+ | When one examines the statements made by some of the earliest [fringe] Church fathers it is clear that many were of the opinion that The Shepherd was an authoritative work. For example, both Irenaeus (bishop of Lyons in 177 A.D.) and Clement of Alexandria (born 150 A.D.) cite The Shepherd as Scripture. Likewise, Cyprian, born to pagan parents early in the third century but converted to Christianity about 246 A.D., and eventually rose to the position of bishop of Carthage, cites The Shepherd as divine Scripture. Hippolytus of Rome (170-235 A.D.), whom Bruce calls considers as the greatest scholar of his age in the west, quotes The Shepherd in his writings and also The Didache and The Letter of Barnabas. Bruce also observes that Origen (185-254 A.D.) felt that The Shepherd of Hermas, along with The Didache and The Letter of Barnabas, should be considered as Scripture. Nevertheless, | ||
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+ | Even though The Shepherd [supposedly] enjoyed widespread acceptance as an inspired writing by many in the early Church there were some who not only viewed the book as being 'less favourable' | ||
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+ | By the fourth century it appears that The Shepherd, along with many other books that had been disputed, was gradually beginning to be separated from the books that would form the New Testament canon. Church historian, Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea from 314 to his death in 339, lists three categories by which to distinguish the various writings in existence in the early Church. These are as follows: Those that are universally acknowledged and without dispute; those that are disputed; and the spurious. For Eusebius, The Shepherd falls without any hesitation into the third category as a work that should be included among other spurious works as The Acts of Paul, The Apocalypse of Peter, The Epistle of Barnabus, and The Teachings of the Apostles. Nevertheless, | ||
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+ | Even though Eusebius placed The Shepherd among the spurious writings it is evident that during his day the book was still enjoying widespread popularity and was still considered by some as having equal, or at the least near equal authority with other New Testament writings. This is illustrated in the Codex Sinaiticus, dated at around the middle of the fourth century, and contains The Shepherd of Hermas and The Epistle of Barnabas at the end of a complete New Testament. Kenyon observes how both books enjoyed almost equal authority with the New Testament for a long period of time (clearly apparent from their inclusion in the Codex Sinaiticus) but were nevertheless eventually excluded from the canon. | ||
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+ | In the year 367 AD, in his Easter Letter, Athanasius writes of the books that the church have accepted as having divine canonical status out of a concern to distinguish them from the many apocryphal and non-canonical books that were in circulation. With this concern in mind Athanasius specifically lists the 27 books of the New Testament as alone being authoritative writings which he solemnly warns that no man should add to or take away from. In his letter Athanasius also addresses other popular books that he recognises as writings that the early leaders in the Church encouraged new converts to read for instruction but which should be identified as not belonging to the canon. The Shepherd is mentioned as belonging to this category of books along with other non-canonical writings. Even though in his Easter Letter Athanasius clearly designated The Shepherd as outside the inspired canon he freely quotes from it throughout his writings and letters and even calls it a " | ||
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+ | It would seem that Athanasius' | ||
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+ | Reasons for the Eventual Exclusion of The Shepherd from the New Testament Canon. Kelly observes that while the broad outline of the New Testament canon was settled by the end of the second century, different localities continued to maintain their different traditions, and some places, such as Alexandria in Origen' | ||
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+ | In agreement with the conclusions of Kelly, exclusion from the accepted and inspired books of the New Testament on the grounds that a writing could not be presented as an apostolic work is also seen as recorded in the Muratorian Fragment. Dated at about the end of the second century, the Muratorian Fragment specifically mentions The Shepherd as being a book that was excluded because "it was written very recently, in our times by Hermas while his brother Pius was sitting in the chair [i.e. was bishop] of the city of Rome." Smith observes that by the criteria of The Shepherd being outside the time period of the apostles a very popular an exceptional work was excluded from the canon. Even though the book failed the test of apostolic authorship, it was still not totally discarded at this time for the Fragment further describes that the book was " | ||
+ | |||
+ | In summery and conclusion it can be said that The Shepherd of Hermas is a book that gives interesting insight into the life of early Christianity in the second century. Although the contents of The Shepherd is certainly not without its theological difficulties this present writer believes, in fairness to the book, that this could be partly due to the fact that Hermas, along with other early Christians were still grappling with many of the finer points of their belief structure, some of which (such as the doctrine of Christ) the Church was still in the process of working out in the fourth century. As to the popularity of The Shepherd there can be no doubt that it was widely accepted among the early Christian congregations, | ||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
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+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ===== March 14 ===== | ||
+ | ==== Origen ==== | ||
+ | === Origen Adamantius - Collected and Compiled the various Christian Epistles resulting in the Established Christian New Testament === | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | Origen, or Origen Adamantius (Born: 182 AD, Alexandria, Egypt - Died: 254 AD, Tyre, Lebanon), was a scholar and early Christian theologian who was born and spent the first half of his career in Alexandria, Egypt. | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Early Years** | ||
+ | |||
+ | Origen was born in Alexandria to Christian parents. He was educated by his father, Leonides of Alexandria, who gave him a standard Hellenistic education, but also had him study the Christian Scriptures. The name of his mother is unknown. | ||
+ | |||
+ | In 202 AD, Origen' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Origen allegedly studied under Clement of Alexandria and was influenced by his thought. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Eusebius, our chief witness to Origen' | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Conflict with Demetrius and removal to Caesarea, Israel** | ||
+ | |||
+ | Demetrius, the bishop of Alexandria, at first supported Origen but later opposed him, disputing his ordination in another diocese (Caesarea Maritima in Palestine). This ecclesiastical turmoil eventually caused Origen to relocate to Caesarea, a move which he characterized as divine deliverance from Egypt akin to that the ancient Hebrews received. About 230, Origen entered on the fateful journey which was to compel him to give up his work at Alexandria and embittered the next years of his life. Sent to Greece on some ecclesiastical mission, he paid a visit to Caesarea, where he was heartily welcomed and was ordained a priest, that no further cause for criticism might be given Demetrius, who had strongly disapproved his preaching before ordination while at Caesarea. But Demetrius, taking this well-meant act as an infringement of his rights, was furious, for not only was Origen under his jurisdiction as bishop of Alexandria, but, if Eastern sources may be believed, Demetrius had been the first to introduce episcopal ordination in Egypt. The metropolitan accordingly convened a synod of bishops and presbyters which banished Origen from Alexandria, while a second synod declared his ordination invalid. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Origen accordingly fled from Alexandria in 231–2 AD, and made his permanent home in Caesarea in Palestine, where his friend Theoctistus was bishop. A series of attacks on him seems to have emanated from Alexandria, whether for his self-castration (a capital crime in Roman law) or for alleged heterodoxy is unknown; but at all events these fulminations were heeded only at Rome, while Palestine, Phoenicia, Arabia, and Achaia paid no attention to them. At Alexandria, Heraclas became head of Origen' | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Later Years** | ||
+ | |||
+ | After the death of Maximinus, Origen resumed his life in Caesarea of Palestine. Little is known of the last twenty years of Origen' | ||
+ | |||
+ | After his return from Athens, he succeeded in converting Beryllus, bishop of Bostra, from his adoptionistic (i.e., belief that Jesus was born human and only became divine after his baptism) views to the orthodox faith; yet in these very years (about 240) probably occurred the attacks on Origen' | ||
+ | |||
+ | After his conversion of Beryllus, however, his aid was frequently invoked against heresies. Thus, when the doctrine was promulgated in Arabia that the soul died and decayed with the body, being restored to life only at the resurrection (see soul sleep), appeal was made to Origen, who journeyed to Arabia, and successfully battled this doctrine. | ||
+ | |||
+ | There was second outbreak of the Antonine Plague, which at its height in 251 AD to 266 AD took the lives of 5,000 a day in Rome. This time it was called the Plague of Cyprian. Emperor Decius, believing the plague to be a product of magic, caused by the failure of Christians to recognize him as Divine, began Christian persecutions. This time Origen did not escape the Decian persecution. Eusebius recounted how Origen suffered " | ||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Note:** the extensive writings and documents that comprised Origen’s vast and unique library were donated to a local Church at the passing of Origen. Later Ambrose (337-397 AD) the Bishop of Milan, Italy apparently received a large portion of what remained of Origen’s personal library. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ===== March 15 ===== | ||
+ | ==== Eusebius ==== | ||
+ | === Eusebius of Caesarea, Israel === | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | Eusebius (about 260 – 339/340 AD) was a Roman historian, exegete and Christian polemicist. He became the Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine about the year 314 AD. Together with Pamphilus, he was a scholar of the Biblical canon [following in the footsteps of Origen in locating, collecting and categorizing various NT Church epistles] and is regarded as an extremely well learned Christian of his time. He wrote Demonstrations of the Gospel, Preparations for the Gospel, and On Discrepancies between the Gospels, studies of the Biblical text. As " | ||
+ | |||
+ | **The First Church History - After the Book of Acts** | ||
+ | |||
+ | In his Church History or Ecclesiastical History, Eusebius wrote the first surviving history of the Christian Church as a chronologically-ordered account, based on earlier sources complete from the period of the Apostles to his own epoch. The time scheme correlated the history with the reigns of the Roman Emperors, and the scope was broad. Included were the bishops and other teachers of the Church, Christian relations with the Jews and those deemed heretical, and the Christian martyrs through 324 A.D. Although its accuracy and biases have been questioned, it remains an important source on the early church due to Eusebius' | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Biblical Textual Criticism** | ||
+ | |||
+ | [Origen,] Pamphilus and Eusebius occupied themselves with the textual criticism of the Septuagint text of the Old Testament and especially [collected epistles] of the New Testament. An edition of the Septuagint seems to have been already prepared by Origen, which, according to Jerome, was revised and circulated by Eusebius and Pamphilus. For an easier survey of the material of the four Evangelists, | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Death** | ||
+ | |||
+ | Much like his birth, the exact date of Eusebius’ death is unknown. However, there is primary text evidence from a council held in Antioch that by the year 341 AD, his successor Acacius had already filled the seat as Bishop. Socrates and Sozomen write about Eusebius’ death, and place it just before Constantine’s son (Constantine II or Constantine the Younger) died, which was in early 340 AD. They also say that it was after the second banishment of Athanasius, which began in mid 339 AD. This means that his death occurred sometime between the second half of 339 AD and early 340 AD. | ||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ===== March 16 ===== | ||
+ | ==== Marcion ==== | ||
+ | === Marcion of Sinope === | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | Marcion of Sinope (85 – 160 AD) was a [heretical] bishop in early Christianity. His theology completely rejected the existence of the deity described in the Jewish Scriptures and in distinction affirmed the Father of Christ to be the true God. He was denounced by the Church Fathers and he chose to separate himself from the Imperial Church. He is often considered to have held [A STRONG OPPIONION - and not] a pivotal role in the development of the New Testament canon. | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Marcionism - similar to Gnosticism** | ||
+ | |||
+ | Marcionism, similar to Gnosticism, depicted the Hebrew God of the Old Testament as a tyrant or demiurge (see also God as the Devil). Marcion was labeled as gnostic by Eusebius. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Marcion' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Marcionism was denounced by its opponents as heresy, and written against, notably by Tertullian, in a five-book treatise Adversus Marcionem, written about 208 A.D. Marcion' | ||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Note:** Marcion' | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ===== March 17 ===== | ||
+ | ==== Ambrose ==== | ||
+ | === Ambrose - Archbishop of Milan - Father of Modern Christianity === | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | Aurelius Ambrosius, better known in English as Saint Ambrose (340 AD – 4 April 397 AD), was an Archbishop of Milan, Italy who became one of the most influential ecclesiastical figures of the 4th century. He was consular prefect of Liguria and Emilia, headquartered in Milan, before being made Bishop of Milan by popular acclamation in 374 AD. Ambrose was a [Trinitarian in doctrine and] staunch opponent of Arianism. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Ambrose was one of the four original doctors of the [Roman Catholic] Church, and is the patron saint of Milan. He is notable for [baptizing St. Augustine and] his influence on St. Augustine. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Ambrose ranks with Augustine, Jerome, and Gregory the Great [Pope Gregory I], as one of the **Latin Doctors** of the [Roman Catholic] Church. Theologians compare him with Hilary [Pope from 461-468 AD], who they claim fell short of Ambrose' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Ambrose' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Soon after acquiring the undisputed possession of the Roman empire, Theodosius [Roman Emperor Theodosius I] died at Milan in 395 AD, and two years later (April 4, 397 AD) Ambrose also died. He was succeeded as Bishop of Milan by ["old but good"] Simplician (320-401 AD). Ambrose' | ||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Note:** during the lifetime of Ambrose, Augustine and Jerome the greater Christian Church transitioned from Greek as the common language to Latin as the common written and spoken language. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ===== March 18 ===== | ||
+ | ==== Jerome ==== | ||
+ | === Jerome - Translated the Greek Codex Alexandrinus into the Latin Vulgate === | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | Jerome (347 – September 30, 420 AD) was a Latin Christian priest, confessor, theologian and historian, who also became a Doctor of the Church. He was the son of Eusebius, of the city of Stridon, on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia. He is best known for his translation of the Bible into Latin, the Vulgate, and his commentaries on the Gospel of the Hebrews. His list of writings is extensive. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Jerome is the second most voluminous writer (after St. Augustine) in ancient Latin Christianity. In the Roman Catholic Church, he is recognized as the patron saint of translators, | ||
+ | |||
+ | He acquired a knowledge of Hebrew by studying with a Jew who converted to Christianity, | ||
+ | |||
+ | Jerome was a scholar at a time when that statement implied a fluency in Greek. He knew some Hebrew when he started his translation project, but moved to Jerusalem to strengthen his grip on Jewish scripture commentary. A wealthy Roman aristocrat, Paula, funded his stay in a monastery in Bethlehem and he completed his translation there. | ||
+ | |||
+ | He began in 382 AD by correcting the existing Latin language version of the New Testament, commonly referred to as the Vetus Latina. By 390 AD he turned to translating the Hebrew Bible from the original Hebrew, having previously translated portions from the Septuagint which came from Alexandria. | ||
+ | |||
+ | He believed that the Council of Jamnia, or mainstream rabbinical Judaism, had rejected the Septuagint as valid Jewish scriptural texts because of what were ascertained as mistranslations along with its Hellenistic heretical elements. He completed this work by 405 AD. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Prior to Jerome' | ||
+ | |||
+ | For the next 15 years, until he died, Jerome produced a number of commentaries on Scripture, often explaining his translation choices in using the original Hebrew rather than suspect translations. His patristic commentaries align closely with Jewish tradition, and he indulges in allegorical and mystical subtleties after the manner of Philo and the Alexandrian school. | ||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Note:** the Septuagint is a somewhat problematic translation [i.e. missing sections] especially when compared to the Hebrew Masoretic Text. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ===== March 19 ===== | ||
+ | ==== The Alexandrian school ==== | ||
+ | === The Alexandrian Schools of Pagan, Secular, Occult, Gnosticism and Philosophy === | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | The Alexandrian school is a collective designation for certain tendencies in literature, philosophy, medicine, and the sciences that developed in the [Greek] Hellenistic cultural center of Alexandria, Egypt during the Hellenistic and Roman periods. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Alexandria was a remarkable center of learning due to the blending of Greek and Oriental influences, its favorable situation and commercial resources, and the enlightened energy of some of the Macedonian Dynasty of the Ptolemies ruling over Egypt, in the final centuries BC. Much scholarly work was collected in the great Library of Alexandria during this time. A lot of epic poetry, as well as works on geography, history, mathematics, | ||
+ | |||
+ | The name of Alexandrian school is also used to describe the religious and philosophical developments in Alexandria after the 1st century. The mix of Jewish theology and Greek philosophy led to a syncretic mix and much mystical speculation. The Neoplatonists devoted themselves to examining the nature of the soul, and sought communion with God. The two great schools of biblical interpretation in the early Christian church incorporated Neoplatonism and philosophical beliefs from Plato' | ||
+ | |||
+ | **History** | ||
+ | |||
+ | Alexandria, Egypt founded [as a Greek city in Egypt] by [the Greek] Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) about the time when Greece, in losing her national independence [to Rome], lost also her intellectual supremacy, and was well adapted for becoming the new centre of the world' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Its situation brought it into commercial relations with all the nations lying around the Mediterranean, | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Note:** Ptolemy II sponsored the translation of the Greek Septuagint (about 275 BC). -- Ptolemy V. commissioned [in Memphis, Egypt] the carving of what became known as the Rosetta Stone (196 BC). -- Cleopatra the daughter of Ptolemy XII was the last Ptolemy to rule in Egypt. Cleopatra died with the Roman Mark Antony at her palace in Alexandria, Egypt in 30 BC. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The Museum, or academy of science, was in many respects not unlike a modern university. The work begun by Ptolemy Soter was carried on by his descendants, | ||
+ | |||
+ | This intellectual movement extended over a long period of years and can be split into two periods. The first period extends from about 306 to 30 BC, the time from the foundation of the Ptolemaic dynasty to the conquest by the Romans; the second extends from 30 BC to the destruction of the Alexandria Library somethime before or upon the capture of Alexandria by 'Amr ibn al-'As in 641 AD. The clear differences between these two periods explains the variety and vagueness of meaning attaching to the term " | ||
+ | |||
+ | In the first period the intellectual activity was of a literary and scientific nature. It was an attempt to continue and develop, under new conditions, the old Hellenic culture. This effort was particularly noticeable under the early Ptolemies. As we approach the 1st century BC, the Alexandrian school began to break up and to lose its individuality. This was due partly to the state of government under the later Ptolemies, partly to the formation of new scholarly circles in Rhodes, Syria and elsewhere. This gradual dissolution was much increased when Alexandria fell under Roman sway. | ||
+ | |||
+ | As the influence of the school was extended over the whole Graeco-Roman world, scholars began to concentrate at Rome rather than at Alexandria. In Alexandria, however, there were new forces in operation which. produced a second great outburst of intellectual life. The new movement, which was influenced by Judaism and Christianity, | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Note:** a possible explanation of what happened to the Bible during the Early Christian Church era is that after the passing of the original Apostles the writings were collected, notably by Origen, and brought to Alexandria, Egypt where there was already a considerable interest and history of translating and editing the Jewish Old Testament. Upon the arrival of the NT epistles in Alexandria a few edits were made notably 1st John 5:7 was removed, the removal and replacement of NT Hebrew with Aramaic i.e. Mark 15:33 and the removal of NT " | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ===== March 20 ===== | ||
+ | ==== 1st John 5:7 ==== | ||
+ | === 1st John 5:7 - Possibly the Most Disputed Verse in the Bible === | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | Among the most controversial verses of the Bible is what some consider an explicit reference that supports the doctrine of the Trinity, 1 John 5:7–8. Although verse 7 does [supposedly] not appear in any version of the Greek text prior to the ninth century [but this does not take into account the Greek Manuscripts prior to any Alexandrian edits], **it (1 John 5:7) appears in most of the Latin manuscripts**, | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Tertullian** | ||
+ | |||
+ | Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, | ||
+ | |||
+ | Though conservative, | ||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | Tertullian quoted the often disputed verse 1 John 5:7 [from texts predating the Alexandrian edits] in about 200 A.D. in his Apology, Against Praxeas. | ||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ===== March 21 ===== | ||
+ | ==== Carthage ==== | ||
+ | === Carthage, North Africa === | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | **Cyprian** | ||
+ | |||
+ | Cyprian (200 AD – September 14, 258 AD) was Bishop of Carthage and an important Early Christian writer, many of whose Latin works are extant [remain currently in existence]. He was born around the beginning of the 3rd century in North Africa, perhaps at Carthage, where he received a classical education. After converting to Christianity, | ||
+ | |||
+ | Not long after his baptism he was ordained deacon, and soon afterward presbyter; and sometime between July 248 and April 249 he was chosen bishop of Carthage, a popular choice among the poor who remembered his patronage as demonstrating good equestrian style, while a portion of the presbytery opposed it, for all Cyprian' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Soon, however, the entire community was put to an unwanted test. Christians in North Africa had not suffered persecution for many years; the church was assured and lax. Early in 250 the " | ||
+ | |||
+ | It is quite evident in the writings of the church fathers from various dioceses that the Christian community was divided on this occasion, among those who stood firm in civil disobedience, | ||
+ | |||
+ | Cyprian' | ||
+ | |||
+ | *His most important work is his "De unitate ecclesiae." | ||
+ | |||
+ | The Plague of Cyprian is named after him due to his description of it. | ||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | I will now move on to his arguments concerning whether or not Cyprian quoted “a version” of 1 John 5:7. ... | ||
+ | |||
+ | Since Cyprian wrote the disputed passage [1 John 5:7] in Latin I feel it necessary to list Cyprian’s words in Latin. Cyprian wrote, “Dicit dominus, Ego et pater unum sumus (John x. 30), et iterum de Patre, et Filio, et Spiritu Sancto scriptum est, Et tres unum sunt.” (The Lord says, "I and the Father are One," and again, of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost it is written: "And the three are One." | ||
+ | |||
+ | The matter becomes even more devastating when we take into account another of Cyprian’s many statements. When considering issues such as this one before us it is necessary to lay on the table as much of the evidence as one can. Often many of the facts are purposely kept silent due to their damaging testimony. Cyprian writes in another place, //“et sanctificatus est, et templum Dei factus ets, quaero cujus Dei? Si Creatoris, non potuit, qui in eum non credidit; si Christi, nec hujus fieri potuit templum, qui negat Deum Christum; si Spiritus Sancti, cum tres unum sunt, quomodo Spiritus Sanctus placatus esse ei potest, qui aut Patris aut Fillii inimicus est?”// If he [a person confessing to be a Christian but denying the Tri-Unity of God] was sanctified, he also was made the temple of God. I ask, of what God? If of the Creator; he could not be, because he has not believed in Him. If of Christ; he could not become His temple, since he denies that Christ is God. If of the Holy Spirit; **SINCE THE THREE ARE ONE**, how can the Holy Spirit be at peace with him who is the enemy either of the Son or of the Father? Here again we see Cyprian stating that “the three are One” (i.e. the Father, Son and Holy Spirit). This I feel is important because it gives us another reference in Cyprian’s writings testifying to the fact that he was not merely putting a “theological spin” on 1 John 5:7/8. **The fact is 1 John 5:7 was found in Cyprian’s [Bible] copies.** | ||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | Admittedly, the second quote is not near as ‘strong’ as the first but when the evidence it presented, without all the conjecture, only one seeking to hide something can ignore the fact that Cyprian knew full well the wording of 1 John 5:7 as found in our Authorized [KJV] Version. This is so evident that even Frederick Scrivener, who adamantly opposed the Comma, was compelled to say, “If these two passages be taken together (the first is manifestly much the stronger), it is surely safer and more candid to admit that Cyprian read ver. 7 in his copies, than to resort to the explanation of Facundus, that the holy Bishop was merely putting on ver. 8 a spiritual meaning (Plain Introduction, | ||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ===== March 22 ===== | ||
+ | ==== Wycliffe Bible ==== | ||
+ | === The John Wycliffe English Bible from about 1382 AD to 1395 AD === | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | John Wycliffe (1320 AD – December 1384 AD) called "The Morning Star of the Reformation" | ||
+ | |||
+ | Wycliffe was also an early advocate for translation of the Bible into the common language. He completed his translation directly from the Vulgate into vernacular English in the year 1382, now known as Wycliffe' | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Translated into English from Jerome' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Wycliffe' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Long thought to be the work of Wycliffe himself, the Wycliffite translations are now generally believed to be the work of several hands. Nicholas of Hereford is known to have translated a part of the text; John Purvey and perhaps John Trevisa are names that have been mentioned as possible authors. The translators worked from the Vulgate, the Latin Bible that was the standard Biblical text of Western Christianity, | ||
+ | |||
+ | Wycliffe became deeply disillusioned both with Scholastic theology of his day and also with the state of the church, at least as represented by the clergy. In the final phase of his life in the years before his death in 1384 he increasingly argued for Scriptures as the authoritative centre of Christianity, | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | Although unauthorized, | ||
+ | |||
+ | Although Wycliffe' | ||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Note:** the only available Bible at that time was Jerome' | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Also Note:** at that time the differences between the Bibles, the old Vetus Latina, Jerome' | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ===== March 23 ===== | ||
+ | ==== The Fall of Constantinople ==== | ||
+ | === The Fall of Roman Constantinople to Turkish Muslims in 1453 AD === | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | The Fall of Constantinople (Turkish: Conquest of Istanbul) was the capture of Constantinople (Istanbul), the capital of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, which occurred after a siege by the invading [Muslims of the] Ottoman Empire, under the command of 21-year-old Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, against the defending army commanded by Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos. The siege lasted from Friday, 6 April 1453 AD until Tuesday, 29 May 1453 AD according to the Julian calendar, when the city fell and was finally conquered by the [Turkish] Ottomans. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The capture of Constantinople (and two other Byzantine splinter territories soon thereafter) marked the end of the Roman Empire, an imperial state which had lasted for nearly 1,500 years. The Ottoman conquest of Constantinople also dealt a massive blow to Christendom, | ||
+ | |||
+ | The conquest of the city of Constantinople and the end of the Byzantine Empire marks, for some historians, the end of the Middle Ages. | ||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Note:** the Fall of Constantinople was less an “end of the Roman Empire” and more a downsizing and modernizing of the emergent Holy Roman Empire. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ===== March 24 ===== | ||
+ | ==== Johannes Gutenberg ==== | ||
+ | === Johannes Gutenberg invented the Mechanical Movable Type Printing Press in 1445 AD === | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg (1395 – February 3, 1468 AD) was a German blacksmith, goldsmith, printer, and publisher who introduced printing to Europe. His invention of mechanical movable type printing started the Printing Revolution and is widely regarded as the most important event of the modern period. It played a key role in the development of the Renaissance, | ||
+ | |||
+ | Gutenberg was the first European to use movable type printing, in around 1439. Among his many contributions to printing are: the invention of a process for mass-producing movable type; the use of oil-based ink; and the use of a wooden printing press similar to the agricultural screw presses of the period. His truly epochal invention was the combination of these elements into a practical system which allowed the mass production of printed books and was economically viable for printers and readers alike. Gutenberg' | ||
+ | |||
+ | In Renaissance Europe, the arrival of mechanical movable type printing introduced the era of mass communication which permanently altered the structure of society. The relatively unrestricted circulation of information — including revolutionary ideas — transcended borders, captured the masses in the Reformation and threatened the power of political and religious authorities; | ||
+ | |||
+ | The use of movable type was a marked improvement on the handwritten manuscript, which was the existing method of book production in Europe, and upon woodblock printing, and revolutionized European book-making. Gutenberg' | ||
+ | |||
+ | **The Gutenberg Bible 1454 AD** | ||
+ | |||
+ | His major work, the Gutenberg Bible [the first Bible printed by machine], has been acclaimed for its high aesthetic and technical quality. -- Written in Latin, the Gutenberg Bible is an edition of the Vulgate. | ||
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+ | ===== March 25 ===== | ||
+ | ==== Desiderius Erasmus ==== | ||
+ | === Desiderius Erasmus in 1516 AD, published the Greek (Textus Receptus) New Testament === | ||
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+ | Desiderius Erasmus in 1516, published his (Textus Receptus) Greek New Testament - Note: the (Textus Receptus) was a coalition of various existing Greek Texts aligned to the newly received more ancient Greek texts from the recently fallen region of Constantinople hence the name " | ||
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+ | **Desiderius Erasmus** | ||
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+ | Over the years, Erasmus became intimately acquainted with biblical manuscripts available throughout Europe, particularly of the New Test-ament. Because the Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, it is evident as Erasmus began to search the Scriptures, they had a profound effect upon his life. By the time of his death, the theology of Erasmus had shifted closer to that of the Ana-baptists than that of Rome. This will shortly be documented. | ||
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+ | As noted above, in 1516, Erasmus published from Basel, Switzer-land, | ||
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+ | Desiderius Erasmus (27 October 1466 AD – 12 July 1536 AD), known as Erasmus of Rotterdam, or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Renaissance humanist (i.e. professionalism), | ||
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+ | Erasmus was a classical scholar who wrote in a pure Latin style. He was a proponent of religious toleration, and enjoyed the sobriquet " | ||
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+ | Erasmus lived against the backdrop of the growing European religious Reformation; | ||
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+ | Erasmus died suddenly in Basel in 1536 while preparing to return to Brabant, and was buried in the Basel Minster, the former cathedral of the city. A bronze statue of him was erected in his city of birth in 1622, replacing an earlier work in stone. | ||
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+ | **Note:** though Erasmus had about a dozen Greek NT text Manuscripts available to him after comparing the various Manuscripts and confirming their uniformity he only heavily used a couple of them to complete his Greek NT Edition the Textus Receptus – not many repetitive Texts are needed if they all say the same thing because they are supposed to say the same thing. Only a couple of reliable Manuscripts were needed in order to combine them into the Greek Textus Receptus that we have today. | ||
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+ | ===== March 26 ===== | ||
+ | ==== William Tyndale ==== | ||
+ | === William Tyndale translated the first English Bible from the Ancient Greek === | ||
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+ | William Tyndale translated the first English Bible from Greek notably using in part the Greek Textus Receptus of Desiderius Erasmus. | ||
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+ | William Tyndale (1494–1536 AD) was an English scholar who became a leading figure in Protestant reform in the years leading up to his execution. He is well known for his translation of the Bible into English. He was influenced by the work of Desiderius Erasmus, who made the Greek New Testament available in Europe, and by Martin Luther. While a number of partial and incomplete translations had been made from the seventh century onward, the grass-roots spread of Wycliffe' | ||
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+ | Tyndale had to learn Hebrew in Germany due to England' | ||
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+ | In 1535 AD, Tyndale was arrested and jailed in the castle of Vilvoorde (Filford) outside Brussels for over a year. In 1536 he was convicted of heresy and executed by strangulation, | ||
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+ | Notably, in 1611, the 54 independent scholars who created the King James Version, drew significantly from Tyndale, as well as translations that descended from his. One estimate suggests the New Testament in the King James Version is 83% Tyndale' | ||
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+ | ===== March 27 ===== | ||
+ | ==== King James Version ==== | ||
+ | === The King James Version 1611 === | ||
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+ | The King James Version (KJV), commonly known as the Authorized Version (AV) or King James Bible (KJB), is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England begun in 1604 AD and completed in 1611 AD. First printed by the King's Printer Robert Barker, this was the third translation into English to be approved by the English Church authorities. The first was the Great Bible commissioned in the reign of King Henry VIII (1535 AD), and the second was the Bishops' | ||
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+ | King James gave the translators instructions intended to guarantee that the new version would conform to the ecclesiology and reflect the episcopal structure of the Church of England and its belief in an ordained clergy. The translation was done by 47 scholars, all of whom were members of the Church of England. In common with most other translations of the period, the New Testament was translated from Greek, the Old Testament was translated from Hebrew text, while the Apocrypha were translated from the Greek and Latin. In the Book of Common Prayer (1662 AD), the text of the Authorized Version replaced the text of the Great Bible – for Epistle and Gospel readings – and as such was authorized by Act of Parliament. By the first half of the 18th century, the Authorized Version was effectively unchallenged as the English translation used in Anglican and Protestant churches. Over the course of the 18th century, the Authorized Version supplanted the Latin Vulgate as the standard version of scripture for English speaking scholars. Today, the most used edition of the King James Bible, and often identified as plainly the King James Version [and even KJV 1611], especially in the United States, closely follows the standard text of 1769 AD, edited by Benjamin Blayney at Oxford. | ||
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+ | **Dedication by the Translators to King James** | ||
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+ | TO THE MOST HIGH AND MIGHTY PRINCE JAMES, BY THE GRACE OF GOD,\\ | ||
+ | KING OF GREAT BRITAIN, FRANCE, AND IRELAND, DEFENDER OF THE FAITH, ETC.\\ | ||
+ | THE TRANSLATORS OF THE BIBLE WISH GRACE, MERCY, AND PEACE, THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD | ||
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+ | Great and manifold were the blessings, most dread Sovereign, which Almighty God, the Father of all mercies, bestowed upon us the people of England, when first he sent Your Majesty' | ||
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+ | But among all of our joys, there was no one that more filled our hearts than the blessed continuance of the preaching of God's sacred Word among us, which is that inestimable treasure which excelleth all the riches of the earth; because the fruit thereof extendeth itself, not only to the time spent in this transitory world, but directeth and disposeth men unto that eternal happiness which is above in heaven. | ||
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+ | Then not to suffer this fall to the ground, but rather to take it up, and to continue it in that state wherein the famous Predecessor of Your Highness did leave it; nay, to go forward with the confidence and resolution of a man, in maintaining the truth of Christ, and propagating it far and near is that which hath so bound and firmly knit the hearts of all Your Majesty' | ||
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+ | There are infinite arguments of this right Christian and religious affection in Your Majesty; but none is more forcible to declare it to others than the vehement and perpetuated desire of accomplishing and publishing of this work, which now, with all humility, we present unto Your Majesty. For when Your Highness had once, out of deep judgement, apprehended how convenient it was, that, out of the Original sacred Tongues, together with comparing of the labours, both in our own and other foreign languages, of many worthy men who went before us, there should be one more exact translation of the Holy Scriptures into the English tongue; Your Majesty did never desist to urge and to excite those to whom it was commended, that the Work might be hastened, and that the business might be expedited in so decent a manner, as a matter of such importance might justly require. | ||
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+ | And now at last, by the mercy of God, and the continuance of our labours, it being brought unto such a conclusion, as that we have great hopes that the Church of England shall reap good fruit thereby, we hold it our duty to offer it to Your Majesty, not only as to our King and Sovereign, but as to the principal mover and author of the Work; humbly craving of your most Sacred Majesty, that, since things of this quality have ever been subject to the censures of ill-meaning and discontented persons, it may receive approbation and patronage from so learned and judicious a Prince as Your Highness is; whose allowance and acceptance of our labours shall more honour and encourage us, than all the calumniations and hard interpretations of other men shall dismay us. So that if, on the one side, we shall be traduced by Popish persons at home or abroad, who therefore will malign us, because we are poor instruments to make God's holy truth to be yet more and more known unto the people, whom they desire still to keep in ignorance and darkness; or if, on the other side, we shall be maligned by self-conceited brethren, who run their own ways, and give liking unto nothing but what is framed by themselves, and hammered on their anvil, we may rest secure, supported within by the truth and innocency of a good conscience, having walked the ways of simplicity and integrity, as before the Lord, and sustained without by the powerful protection of Your Majesty' | ||
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+ | The Lord of heaven and earth bless Your Majesty with many and happy days, that, as his heavenly hand hath enriched Your Highness with many singular and extraordinary graces, so You may be the wonder of the world in this latter age for happiness and true felicity, to the honour of that great God, and the good of his Church, through Jesus Christ our Lord and only Saviour. | ||
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+ | ===== March 28 ===== | ||
+ | ==== Stephanus NT Bible 1550 ==== | ||
+ | === The Stephanus Greek Textus Receptus 1550 AD Bible === | ||
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+ | Robert Estienne, known as Stephanus (1503–1559 AD), a printer from Paris, edited the Greek (Textus Receptus) New Testament four times, in 1546, 1549, 1550 and 1551, the last in Geneva. | ||
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+ | In 1532, he published the remarkable Thesaurus linguae latinae, and twice he published the entire Hebrew Bible — "one with the Commentary of Kimchi on the minor prophets, in 13 vols. 4to (quarto) (Paris, 1539-43), another in 10 vols. 16mo (sextodecimo) (ibid. 1544-46)." | ||
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+ | Of more importance are his four editions of the Greek New Testament, 1546, 1549, 1550, and 1551, the last in Geneva. The first two are among the neatest Greek texts known, and are called O mirificam; the third is a splendid masterpiece of typographical skill, and is known as the Editio Regia; the edition of 1551 contains the Latin translation of Erasmus and the Vulgate, is not nearly as fine as the other three, and is exceedingly rare. It was in this edition that the division of the New Testament into verses was for the first time introduced. | ||
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+ | A number of editions of the Vulgate also appeared from his presses, of which the principal are those of 1528, 1532, 1540 (one of the ornaments of his press), and 1546. The text of the Vulgate was in a wretched condition, and his editions, especially that of 1546, containing a new translation at the side of the Vulgate, was the subject of sharp and acrimonious criticism from the clergy. | ||
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+ | On his arrival at Geneva, he published a defense against the attacks of the Sorbonne. He issued the French Bible in 1553, and many of John Calvin' | ||
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+ | **Note:** the 1611 AD King James (New Testament) Bible was translated into English primarily from the existing Textus Receptus family of Greek manuscripts. The 1550 AD Stephanus (Greek New Testament) a NT Bible edited by Robert Estienne using the existing Greek Textus Receptus of Desiderius Erasmus and in making his few changes and additions provides a closely matching KJV Greek NT manuscript. | ||
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+ | ===== March 29 ===== | ||
+ | ==== Tischendorf bible Hoax ==== | ||
+ | === Constantin von Tischendorf' | ||
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+ | Lobegott Friedrich Constantin (von) Tischendorf (January 18, 1815 – December 7, 1874) was a noted German Biblical scholar. He deciphered [the code] the Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus, a 5th-century Greek manuscript of the New Testament, in the 1840s, and rediscovered the Codex Sinaiticus, a 4th-century New Testament manuscript, in 1859 AD. | ||
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+ | Constantin von Tischendorf just a few scant years after the dazzling vision, all three versions of the same vision of Joseph Smith Jr., Tischendorf discovered the remarkable Codex Sinaiticus possibly the oldest and rarest NT Manuscript on the face of the earth - if you can believe it, any of the three versions articulated by Tischendorf. | ||
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+ | LDS First Vision by LDS Prophet and Founder Joseph Smith, Jr. 1832 AD | ||
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+ | The First Vision, also called the grove experience, refers to a vision that Joseph Smith, Jr. said he received in the spring of 1820, in a wooded area in Manchester, New York, which his followers call the Sacred Grove. Smith described it as a personal theophany in which he received instruction from God. Smith' | ||
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+ | Smith wrote several accounts of the vision beginning in 1832, but none of the accounts was published until the 1840s. Though Smith had described other visions, the First Vision was essentially unknown to early Latter Day Saints; Smith' | ||
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+ | Piltdown Man Hoax 1912 AD | ||
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+ | The Piltdown hoax is perhaps the most famous paleoanthropological hoax ever to have been perpetrated. It is prominent for two reasons: the attention [it] paid to the issue of human evolution, and the length of time, more than 40 years, that elapsed from its discovery to its full exposure [in 1953] as a forgery. | ||
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+ | ===== March 30 ===== | ||
+ | ==== Douay–Rheims Bible ==== | ||
+ | === The Douay–Rheims Bible a translation of the Bible from the Latin Vulgate into English === | ||
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+ | The Douay–Rheims Bible is a translation of the Bible from the Latin Vulgate into English made by members of the English College, Douai, in the service of the Catholic Church. The New Testament portion was published in Reims, France, in 1582, in one volume with extensive commentary and notes. The Old Testament portion was published in two volumes thirty years later by the University of Douai. The first volume, covering Genesis through Job, was published in 1609; the second, covering Psalms to 2 Machabees plus the apocrypha of the Clementine Vulgate was published in 1610. Marginal notes took up the bulk of the volumes and had a strong polemical and patristic character. They offered insights on issues of translation, | ||
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+ | The Rheims New Testament had an influence on the translators of the King James Version. Afterwards it ceased to be of interest in the [English] Anglican church. The city is now spelled Douai, but the Bible continues to be published as the Douay–Rheims Bible and has formed the basis of some later Catholic Bibles in English. | ||
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+ | **Early Bible Unity** | ||
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+ | King James Version (1611) — Revelation 5:10 And hast made __us__ unto our God kings and priests: and __we__ shall reign on the earth. | ||
+ | Douay-Rheims (1899) — Revelation 5:10 And hast made __us__ to our God a kingdom and priests, and __we__ shall reign on the earth. | ||
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+ | **Modern Bible Variances** | ||
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+ | Modern Catholic Bible – Revelation 5:10 You made __them__ a kingdom and priests for our God, and __they__ will reign on earth. | ||
+ | New International Version (NIV) — Revelation 5:10 You have made __them__ to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and __they__ will reign on the earth. | ||
+ | English Standard Version (ESV) — Revelation 5:10 and you have made __them__ a kingdom and priests to our God, and __they__ shall reign on the earth. | ||
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+ | ===== March 31 ===== | ||
+ | ==== Pressing On ==== | ||
+ | === Pressing on in Our High Calling in Jesus Christ === | ||
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+ | Let's leave Mephibosheth and his unhelpful practices in the pages of history while we ourselves move forward and press on in our High Calling in Jesus Christ. | ||
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