The Bible is the most sacred scriptures of Christianity. All the various different versions of the Bible consist of principally two main sections-

• Old Testament- a selection of some of the ancient and most holy Judaic texts
• New Testament-a selection of four of the many Gospels written during the 1 st and 2 nd Century CE plus a range of early Christian writings.

While the Bible contains selections of some of the most ancient and holy Judaic texts, Jews do not recognize the Bible as their main source of scripture, instead preserving their scriptures in Hebrew as hand written scrolls known collectively as the Torah (see Torah).

The physical list of scriptures (books) included in a version of the Bible is called the canon (see separate notes on history of canon) with the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox versions of the Old Testament being slightly larger because of their acceptance of certain books and parts of books considered apocryphal by Protestants.

The New Testament is by far the shorter portion of the Bible compared to the Old Testament, but, through its associations with the spread of Christianity, it has wielded an influence far out of proportion to its modest size. The four Gospels deal with the life, the person, and the teachings of Jesus, as he was remembered by the Christian community. The book of Acts carries the story of Christianity from the Resurrection of Jesus to the end of the career of Paul. The Letters, or Epistles, are correspondence by various leaders of the early Christian church, chief among them the Apostle Paul, applying the message of the church to the sundry needs and problems of early Christian congregations. The Book of Revelation (the Apocalypse) is the only canonical representative of a large genre of apocalyptic literature that appeared in the early Christian movement.

The different translations/editions of the Bible

There have been countless translations of the Bible between the different languages of the world, but only a handful of notable editions. This is due in large part to the fact that most translations have sought to dutifully preserve the literal and implied meaning of verses of scripture from earlier works rather than seek to “enhance” or “reinterpret” the documented scripture.

The three most notable reinterpreted editions that are worth note because of their historic, cultural and continuing influence today are:

• Vulgate
• The King James Version
• International Version

The Vulgate is the official Roman Catholic version of the Bible and is notable both in terms of its history and its inclusion of specific words and phrases that reinforce the doctrine of the catholic church, compared to other churches such as Protestants and Eastern Orthodox.

Traditionally, the Vulgate has always been in latin and for many conservative and anti-reformist catholics, their belief remains that the Bible (as well as the Sunday Mass service) should all be spoken in Latin.

The King James Bible (1611) is notable as it remains the most popular English translated and revised Bible in human history and even today remains the primary Bible version of most Protestants in English speaking parts of the world.

Even though the King James version differs considerably in its interpretation of phrase and scripture from many other English translations of the Vulgate and other Bibles, controversially many protestants and Baptists continue to be taught that it is the only “true” version of the Bible.

In a fearful incitement on the lack of proper religious education and instruction of many Christians in such places as America, there are many influential preachers in America who continue to quote ad nauseum from the King James Bible and claim every single word- as translated and reinterpreted by English scholars in 1611 to be the “literal” word of God.

The New International Version (NIV) of the Bible (1978) Published by the International Bible Society is notable in its attempt to create a kind of contemporary and generic Bible that might be universally accepted by all Christians. What makes the NIV interesting is the significant reduction in the language of “fire and brimstone” so prevalent in the King James version. As a result, many protestants and Baptists reject this version as fatally flawed.