All Scripture Has a Journey

K Keith Megilligan

Description

In this spiritualty book, the author traces the providential composition and preservation of the Bible to discover just how it came to be.
The Bible is the most familiar book on the planet. But how did the Bible become the Bible? What is the basis of its composition? What’s this I hear about “inspired”? Who is its author? Why are there two Testaments? What is a Testament? Is it true that it was originally written in two or three languages? How did we get the English version of the Bible? So many questions about one book!
In All Scripture has a Journey, author Keith Megilligan presents the results of his lifelong query of how the Bible came to be. He addresses a host of question about its composition, history, “heroes” who helped along the way and the price that was paid to bring it to us.
This handbook summarizes the English Bible’s journey from origin to publication. Whether the Bible is a dog-eared and well-worn leather bound book or the latest e-pub edition on your devices, that Bible has a journey. God, the Holy Spirit, superintended its origin and preservation.

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Biblical Biography
• Philosophie et théologie

Informations

• Publié par: WestBow Press
• Date de parution: 10 juillet 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9798385000975
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Praise for: All Scripture has a Journey
Keith Megilligan has prepared a unique delicacy for Bible students. Keith informs us about the background issues such as the development of the Scriptures and how the various writings came together and were recognized as a canon. He likewise instructs us about how to interpret the Bible. If you think that reading it is all you need to do, then sit at the feet of this experienced pastor and professor and learn how to understand what you read. Finally, Keith introduces us to giants who have gone before us such as Origen, Eusebius, Jerome, and Tyndale. We have a Bible because these great scholars translated and taught it. We truly stand on their shoulders as we read the Scriptures today.
– William Varner, Ed. D.
Professor of Biblical Studies
The Master’s University
Dr. Keith Megilligan has done an admirable job in detailing the fascinating history of the journey of God’s Word from the pens of the prophets and apostles writing thousands of years ago to the electronic devices we use today. Of all the books I have used or recommended in my teaching, it contains the most details of the trail leading up to the multitude of English translations of the Bible available today. Highly recommended.
– Tom Davis, Ed.D.
Distinguished Professor Emeritus
Word of Life Bible Institute
I suspect that many, if not most, Christians have little idea of everything that took place to produce the English Bible they hold in their hands, not realizing it is the product of God’s providence, working through the unwavering commitment of human beings, even to the point of shedding blood, over a period of several thousand years. Keith Megilligan has captured this remarkable, supernatural story in All Scripture Has a Journey . The author covers numerous issues relevant to the preservation of God’s Word and has done so in a very readable, practical, and useable fashion. I highly recommend it to the serious student or curious lay person who wants to understand better why we can place confidence in our Bibles as God’s divinely-preserved and inspired revelation.
– Trace L. Howard, M.A., Th.M., J.D.
Professor of Biblical Languages and Literature at the College of Biblical Studies
ALL SCRIPTURE HAS A JOURNEY
 
A HANDBOOK OF GOD’S PRESERVATION OF THE BIBLE
 
 
 
 
K KEITH MEGILLIGAN
 
 
 
 
 
 
Copyright © 2023 K Keith Megilligan.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.
 
 
WestBow Press
A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.westbowpress.com
844-714-3454
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Cover Design: Sharla Megilligan
 
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated into any other language.
 
ISBN: 979-8-3850-0098-2 (sc)
ISBN: 979-8-3850-0099-9 (hc)
ISBN: 979-8-3850-0097-5 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2023911174
 
 
WestBow Press rev. date: 07/07/2023
 
 
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
—Psalm 119:105
Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
—Jesus, John 17:17
 
CONTENTS
Preface
The Bible
Acknowledgments
1     The First Step in Our Journey: How to View This Book
2     The Theology of the Book
3     Storytelling and the Bible
4     The LXX (The Septuagint)
5     Two-Hundred-Year Gap
6     Origen and Origin
7     E and J: Eusebius and Jerome
8     “And So We Came to Rome”: An Interlude
9     Books and Scrolls, Part 1
10   Books and Scrolls, Part 2: A Review of Sorts
11   Canons, Not Cannons
12   A Thousand Years of Captivity
13   Heroes of the Thousand-Year Gap
14   Meanwhile, Back at the Iberian Peninsula …
15   The Italian Renaissance and Its Biblical Link
16   Venice: The “City of Books”
17   The Western Italian Impact on the Renaissance
18   A Review of ad fontes in the Reformation
19   A Few Noteworthy Reformers of the Sixteenth-Century European Reformation
20   Crossing the Channel: Bringing the Bible into English
21   Back to England and the English Bible
22   The End of Our Journey?
Appendix A   Valla/Erasmus
Appendix B   Aleppo Codex
Appendix C   The Reuchlin Affair
Appendix D   Ongoing Work of Textual Criticism
Appendix E   Printing and Printers Relevant to the Reformation
Appendix F   Polyglot: Greek , Meaning Several Languages
Appendix G   NT By Constantin Tischendorf
Appendix H   A Suggested Timeline of the English Bible
Appendix I   Lists of Canonical Books
Appendix J   Personal Reflections on the Doctrine of the Inspiration of Scripture
Appendix K   Courtesy of Defenders of the Gospel
Glossary
Bibliography
PREFACE
THE BIBLE
The Bible is probably the most familiar book on the planet. Its annual sales are estimated to exceed those of any other book, perpetually. Whether it is a dust collector on one of your tables or dog-eared from continual reading, it is familiar to families around the globe.
But how did the Bible become the Bible? What is the basis of its composition? Why are there two testaments? And what does a testament mean? How is it that the Bible has lasted as long as it has? Who’s responsible for putting it together; are there many authors/writers or one? Why was it written in two or three languages? How did English-speaking cultures get their translation? For that matter, considering all the existing translations of the Bible for people groups around the world, is there a way to know its original source? What’s this I hear about it being “inspired”? So many questions about one book.
I was raised in a family where there was always talk about the Bible. Or more particularly, we read it and let it talk for itself. From childhood, my sister and I were taught to memorize many of its verses. (Another question: What’s a verse?) Let’s just say the Bible was very familiar literature in our household. We had many copies (even a few different English versions). By the time we were teenagers, each member of our household had his or her own copy.
But even within our friendly environs of Bible reading, by the time I reached college, the variety of English translations (or versions) of the Bible was increasing rapidly. The choice of which English translation you used became the grounds for either nods of approval or the first volleys of cannon fire of unnerving debate. Which translation is the best?
Then, as my academic life took me to seminary, I discovered yet another translation that was unofficially endorsed by the faculty and certainly used as the major English translation during my time there. It was a paradigm shift of translation for me and of great concern to my parents. I learned to tread lightly.
In this chapter, I have raised more questions than might be possible for me to fully answer. Yes, I will touch on most of them, but that’s not my current goal. I raised these questions to paint some broad strokes on a canvas that will be multicolored if not multitextured.
During my time in seminary, I not only studied the Bible, I also became familiar with its historical and even geographical contexts. I have long since graduated from seminary. However, my interest in the Bible’s history and historical context of theology has increased. In fact, I have read more books on that subject since I graduated than I did in seminary. This last statement only begs more questions.
The aforementioned statements are not intended to be, “Look at what I’ve done.” Rather, I have become humbled by how much I didn’t and don’t know concerning the backgrond of the Bible.
As part of my reading, I became more engrossed in not only the Bible’s historical context but in its historical theology. That is, what did biblical and church leaders understand about what they read? What is theology, and how does it differ from just studying the Bible as a book? How did different views of theology develop? How or did they change from century to century? Whose theology is better than the others? Okay, that is an almost impossible question to answer to everyone’s satisfaction.
And just where, exactly, was the Bible in all this theological quandary? The Bible is the foundation of theological opinion. It is therefore critical to understand what copy/translation of the Bible was available to scholars, pastors, and teachers of the Word. Further, was the copy of the Bible a good rendering of the original manuscripts, that is, Hebrew, Greek, and even Aramaic? Further, was it ava