Is the bible complete

@zenki08 (700)
Philippines
July 13, 2011 10:10pm CST
I must admit, I have not read the bible cover to cover. But I am wondering why is it that there are many versions of the bible? and is it true that there are missing books in the bible?
7 responses
@urbandekay (18278)
14 Jul 11
Well, there is the theory that there is a missing document, the so called 'Q' document; an early gospel from which Mark and other Gospels borrow. Apart from that it seems to be complete, most of the apocryphal documents have been discredited. The matter of translation is not so important. The same meaning can be said in several ways and any language is capable of translation. In fact, since any statement stands in need of interpretation, even by its author and that word meaning drifts over a period of time, a translation may render the meaning more accurately than the original. Besides much of the source material is available for checking all the best urban
1 person likes this
@waflay (2737)
• Nairobi, Kenya
14 Jul 11
Indeed, someone can use a long method to explain a certain theory but the same text can be explained by just one or two words and the purpose is done...
• Philippines
14 Jul 11
I believe that the bible is complete and would serve its purpose. There are several versions but it has been predicted by the bible itself that there would be people who will do this on purpose. God has a promise to keep His Words intact. I believe, whatever happens, the bible will not lose its real meaning and the messages that it intends to bring to people. It is just a matter of asking help from our Creator for Him to send us some help in understanding its content. Nice discussion you have here.
@zenki08 (700)
• Philippines
14 Jul 11
a friend of mine who is well versed with the bible told me that the bible was compiled with the help of divine intervention. If this is so maybe it is complete. But another question would be is that of the translation. is it correct?
• Thailand
14 Jul 11
Which version of the Bible are you referring to, The Roman Catholic version or the slightly slimmer Protestant version?
• India
2 Jun 12
Yes,it is.
@veganbliss (3895)
• Adelaide, Australia
14 Jul 11
No it is not complete, not by a long shot. It only contains bits & pieces of a few years in the life of Jesus & other prophets, etc. Regardless, if you felt inclined to, I would encourage you to read the Holy Bible more, whether alone or as part of a guided study. It will help you relate to Christians & others as well as perhaps help you in your daily life. The Bible itself tells us that it is not complete & should not be presented to us as a complete work. The final verse in the final chapter of John's gospel reads thus, from the Standard Authorized (King James) Version: And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen. There are supposedly many versions of the Holy Bible given to us to keep up with our changing use of the English Language. Another accepted reason is that there are many slightly different ways to interpret the different translations. I find many of the modern study bibles - the thicker the better - good, in some respects, for analyzing this sort of thing, but we need to bear in mind that not every angle or aspect is covered by any one group of Christian Bible Scholars. Yes, there are quite a number of missing books to any Bible one picks up, but I will leave that aspect for you to conduct your own research on. You would be better advised reading the books that are there first & then "going for more" once you have digested these.
• United States
15 Jul 11
Not only are the responses above correct about the editing process taht the early Church went through to create the modern version of the Bible, but there are a couple other considerations. To the strict Jewish community, the Bible was complete with the Old Testament. The New Testament is "Chistian Propaganda". To the Mormons, the Bible is incomplete until you add in the Book of Mormon, as it gives another, fuller description of Christ's role on Earth, only in North America. Speaking just of the Nicaea edits, the important thing to consider is why they left out what they did. Many people are happy to believe it was all duplicate stories and "fluff", but a growing community of Christians are convinced important stories were left out just because they were not comfortable for the new Church as it set about organizing the growing religion. This becomes a key point in Dan Brown's books (The DaVinci Code, Angels & Demons, etc) and is a huge point of debate in many theological circles. Personally I feel that if the purpose of the Bible was to give everyone stories around which to learn to make good decisions in life, then the more added into the Bible, the better. Limiting it to "Church approved gospel" is a fancy way of saying the Church gets to control interprettation and therefore maintain control over people. I'm afraid it comes down to being able to use the Bible by yourself or being told what it means. And if the latter is the case, why even bother to let the masses read it? (Of course, that wasn't a problem when few people could read!) And please don't get me started on translation "errors"!
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@macp1120 (27)
• Philippines
14 Jul 11
Bible is the Word of God. Though it was done by human but it is written with the guidance of God and the holy spirit was cast upon His apostles. God is perfect so his works will surely be perfect.