What Shall I Do To Be Saved?, St. Ignatious Syrian Orthodox Church Dallas, TX.

Several months ago, I went to have lunch with my Christian friend. Since it was the lent season, I choose to have vegetarian food. In seeing this, my Christian friend remarked, "What kind of Christian are you? I have never heard of Lent. Thank Jesus, that I am not a Christian of your type!" I explained to him that I belong to one of the oldest church, established by our Lord and thereafter shepherded by St. Peter according to the apostolic faith. The church had neither added anything to it nor taken away anything from it. It has always held the faith defined by the Three Universal Synods of Nicea, Constantinople, and Ephesus in the 4th and 5th Century. In hearing this, my friend was awestruck.

This event made me think about the millions of Christians all over the globe who have never heard of our true apostolic faith. If you look around, preachers are everywhere, from television and radio to the Internet. They propagate 'sectarian theology' based on their beliefs and on occasions for their own personal gains.

When one examines these events, they see a minister teaching one interpretation and thereafter, another minister teaching another, but in the end, they all claim that these facts have been revealed to them by the Holy Spirit. If so, this would either mean that the Holy Spirit interprets the Gospel differently for each minister, or they are simply not speaking the truth nor guided by the Holy Spirit. If this is so, they are then deceiving the true followers of Christ. Isn't this what Jesus Christ Himself warned about? But common man is not to blame. He is bombarded with all kinds of teachings and therefore does not know what to believe. He finally comes to the conclusion that all Christians are "more or less the same."

Most people ask me to explain the differences between the various churches? In their eyes, they see the common link in all the Christian churches, for they all preach from the Bible and accept Jesus Christ as their Savior. But I must remind you that differences do exist between the Christian churches. Let me start off with an example. For instance, there are churches that accept homosexuality. Most of us will agree that this is against the teachings of the Bible, but these churches also use the same Bible to justify their teachings! Nevertheless, we know enough about the Bible to disprove this interpretation, for it is very evident. On the other hand, there are so many other issues that we are not so sure about and assume that it does not matter so long as I pray and live a good life. But none of us can live a perfect life acceptable to God, because the only person that ever lived without sin is Jesus Christ. So we all are sinners. And the result of sin is death. The Almighty God knew this and therefore sent his only Son, who essentially established One Church for our salvation. So our choice is to either follow or not follow His original plan. So what is this plan? I hope that this article will answer this question and help you find the truth among the chaos.

"As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it.” There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day".

Jesus Himself warned us that most people will not reach Paradise, and exhorted us in Matthew 7:13-14: "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." Have you ever thought why Jesus says so?

There is a tendency among the western Christian scholars to propagate that Christianity originated in the west and it became mettle of it. It is far from the truth. Christianity reached the west after it reached all of the Middle East, Africa and even India. Christians there were persecuted more than anywhere else, but persecution made them stronger and faithful which preserved the word of God as it is.

Rev. Curian is probably the greatest scholar of the apostolic faith and the Aramaic Syrian language (the language spoken by our Lord, and His mother, and apostles). He rightly point out the errors that crept into the Bible translations, and shows what the true apostolic faith was, and how the modern faith has deviated from the apostolic faith.

In addition to his translation of the Holy Bible from Syraic and his commentary on the New Testament, he has authored 42 books in English, Syriac and Malayalam. He had been a member of the Board of studies in Syriac in Kerala and at Gandhi University for 39 years. He is the recipient of numerous awards and titles from the Patriarchs of Antioch. Even at present in his 97^th year, by the abundant Grace of God, he is writing books for the Glory of God.

I hope this book through the Holy Spirit guides the reader to the true teachings of the Apostles.

The prison keeper asked this question to St. Paul. (Acts 16:30). The answer was “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

A similar question was asked to St. Peter (Acts 2:38), by the people who were 'cut to the heart'. The answer was “repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

This is the crux of the advice from the apostles for the above question. But they were advising the adult non-Christians.

a) "And she shall bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” (Mat 1: 21).

b) “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a savior, who is Christ the Lord. “ (Luke 1: 21)

d) “Nor there is salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. “ (Acts 4:12)

Let us look at some of the people who were described as saved in the book of Acts. This gives us a good starting point for our discussion on salvation.

i) Zaccaus and his family, because of Our Lord’s visit to his home - (Luke 19:9)

3) For salvation one has to believe with his heart for righteousness, and confess with the mouth (Rom 10:10). God did not appoint us to wrath but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

“Nor there is salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. “(Acts 4:12). There is much more than a single line answer for the above question. But let us be concise for the time being.

b) His resurrection is the strength of Christianity (1 Cori 15:17). “And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile: your are still in your sins."

c) He came to save the sinners. He is the only one who declared “I did not come to call the righteous, but the sinners to repentance” (Mark 2:17). (This is important because there are other people believed to be incarnate of God, who came to punish the sinners in other religions)

d) He is the only one who was sacrificed for the sins of the world, and for that he gave his life as a ransom for the salvation of many. (Mat 20:28)

e) Everyone before and after Him were born coincidently, that is not pre-planned. Every event related to Christ was prophesied by the prophets David, Isaiah, Micah, Hosea, Zechariah, Amos, Malachi, Jeremiah etc. Below are a list of Old Testament prophets who prophesized about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

PROPHESY	VERSE
His coming	Isa 2:2, 28:6, 32:1; 35:4, 42:6, 49:1, 55:4, Micah 4:1, Zech 3:8
About the time of coming	Mala 3:1
The forerunner, who prepares the way. (John, the Baptist.)	Isa 40:3, Mala 3:1, 4:5
Place of birth	Isa 40:3 Mala 3:1
About the scholar’s arrival	Isa 60:3, Mala 3:1, 4:5
The journey to Egypt	Hosa 11:1
Child Homicide	Jeremiah 31:15
The Miracles	Isa 35:5, 6, 42:7, 53:4
The Church cleaning	Psalms 69:9
The Entry to Jerusalem	Psalms 8:12, 118:25, Zech 9:9
The friend will cheat	Zech 13:7
For 30 silver coins	Zech 11:12
Jude’s end	Psalms 55:15, 23, 109: 13
The tiller of soil (Potter’s field)	Zach 13:15
His silence	Psalms 38:13, Esa 53:7
The ridicule of the Jews	Psalms 35:15, 21, Esa 53:7
The crucifixion	Psalms 22;14, 17
The sour juice	Psalms 69:21
Prayer of the Jews	Psalms 109:4
The suffering at Cross	Psalms 22:1, 31:5
Will be with convicted	Isa 53:9, 12
The changes in the nature	Amos 5:20
His robes were shared	Psalms 22;18
His bones will not be broken	Psalms 34;20
The piercing	Psalms 22:16 Zech 12:10
The resurrection	Psalms 16:10, 30:3, 41:10, 118:17, Hosa 6:2
The Heavenly ascend	Psalms 16:11, 24:7, 68:18, 110:1, 111:19

f) He is the only one who said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.“ (John 14:6)

h) He is the only one who promised His presence till the end of the world. (Mat 28:20)

i) He is the only one who said that He will die, resurrect, and come back a second time.

Yes, lots of them. They did more harm to the church than the Gentiles! Since we understood that faith is a necessity for salvation, let us see what faith is. Is it just a moral living, or praying seven times a day, or is it charity?

a) “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen“ (Hebrews 11:1)

e) Faith is through words and ears (John 17:20, Acts 8:12, Roma 10:14, 15, 17, 1 Cori. 3:5)

g) Those who believe in him will have eternal life. (John 3:15, 16, 36, John 6:47, 5:24)

h) “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who, believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also, and greater works than these he will do, because I go to my Father.” (John 14:12)

It is not enough just to believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that he came to save the sinners. (In order to prevent hunger it is not sufficient just to believe that food is good and that eating it will satisfy hunger). Further more one has to:

d) One should believe everything that he taught before and after his resurrection. (Acts 1:3). (Yes, He taught after His

1) “And I also say to you that you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church. And I will give you the keys of the Heaven. And what ever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven and what ever you loose on earth will be loosened in heaven.” (Mat 16: 18, 19)

2) Whatever He has decided for the church administration should be accepted. (John 21: 15-17).

3) The power to loosen (forgive) any one from their sins has been given only to the Apostles. (John 20:23)

4) One should believe that only the Apostles were given the right to teach and baptize (Mat 28:19).

6) One should be a member of the church whose head is Jesus Christ. (Acts 2:47) “And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved “

7) One should be committed deeply to the doctrines of the Apostles. (The book of Acts)

9. If so, did the people who believe in the day of Pentecost or the Prison Administrator, believe in all the above, before joining the church?

During the initial few years of the church, there was no written Bible. Apostles preached and taught by word of mouth. They asked the prison administrator to believe in Jesus Christ before teaching him about what Jesus taught. Initially the Apostles were entrusted by Jesus Christ to baptize, teach, and make as his disciples (in that order) (Mat 28:20)

Now we have learned that the apostles admitted people into the church by baptizing and teaching, and that there was no Bible during the initial period. Since there were no written teachings, let us now examine the formation of the Bible, and how the believer’s were during this period.

If we look at the time in which the New Testament Books were written, we will get an answer to the above question. Let us tabulate the time in which the New Testament books were written.

The gospels, which referred to in chronology, there in establish the crucifixion of Jesus Christ as AD 33. This means that the entire New Testament Books were written 30 to 67 years after His crucifixion.

i.e. Matthew wrote for his own countrymen, St. Mark wrote for the gentiles, and St. John addressed the gospel to the elders of Asia (because of their request) . What he wrote is a summary of what he taught about Jesus Christ (ref: Helps to the study of the Bible)

“And they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship in the breaking of bread. And in prayers” (Acts 2:42) - [some Bibles use the term teaching for doctrine. But in ‘Authorized Versions‘ the term used is doctrines’ meaning principles of belief]. “ The departing Lord doubtless wished to give the Apostles, spiritual instructions to prepare them to receive the Holy Spirit and also special directions for the future government of His church.” (The One Volume Bible Commentary – John R Dummelow)

In Acts 1:2,3 we can see what Jesus Christ had done after the resurrection: “being with them (apostles) during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God” (He gave them the spiritual guidance as to the church and its structure and administration after the resurrection also)

So the apostles preached to the gentiles about Christ and taught the doctrines to the Christians, and exhorted them to stay firm to the doctrines. The apostles filled Jerusalem with this doctrine. (Acts 5:28). St. Paul talks of the doctrines they taught in Rom. 6:17, Rom. 16:17, Eph 4:14, 1 Tim 1:10, 4:6, 4:13,16, Titus 1:9, 2, Heb 13:9, 2 John 9.

From the above we can come to a conclusion that there were doctrines during the apostolic times, and that the believers were taught these doctrines by word of mouth.

They taught by word of mouth (not through writings). Jesus told them to teach (Mat 28:19) and they followed this command daily (Acts 5:42). Again in 1 Cori 4:17, Colo 1:28, The Bible specifies the requirements to become a priest or a bishop. “The servant of the Lord must be exemplary and able to teach” (2 Tim 2:24) and again “should be blameless, sober-minded, hospitable and able to teach”(1 Tim 3:2). St. Paul again says “You should teach and order” (1 Tim 4:11). They taught face to face (1 Cori. 11:34). Paul says, “The one who teaches is compensated “ (Gala 6:6). From the above we can conclude that the Apostles taught by word of mouth.

The doctrines of faith, which the Apostles received from the Lord had been conveyed to us, either through the Gospels or by word of mouth through the Apostles. Some of the disciples of the Apostles had written down what they had heard from the apostles, but not everyone had written nor had all the doctrines been written down. Thus our divine tradition is what we have received from the Gospels, and through the word of mouth.

12. What do the Apostles say about people who teach heresy, or about one that gives up the doctrines or teaches them partially (perverts the Gospel)?

1) The whole of Chapter two written by St. Peter, deals about this. This is very significant, as he was the administrative head of the church. In short, chapter two tells us that that they and their followers will be punished in the most heinous manner.

2) “If any one comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him” (2 John 10)

4) They (such heretics) are accursed, even if they are from heaven. (Gal 1:6, 8)

5) “There will be false teachers, prophets…. who will bring in destructive heresies even denying the Lord who bought them and bring themselves to self-destruction? And many will follow their destructive ways….. because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words. For a long time their judgment has not been idle and their destruction does not slumber” (2 Peter 2: 1-3).

Be very careful and guard yourself to see that you are in a proper church and be not deceived by false teachers and prophets. You might ask how one will know. Keep reading!

13. When one believes in Jesus Christ, what should be the basis of his/her belief?

It is not enough just to believe in Jesus Christ. Our belief should be based on the un-distorted Bible, the Apostolic traditions handed down by the apostles to their successors, and be based on the Nicean Creed. The ancient churches take this stand. Protestant churches argue that the Bible should be the only basis. This itself is confusing as there are so many Bibles available. The question is which Bible is the true one.

How does our church (Syrian Orthodox Church) treat the Holy Bible? It considers the Bible as the most authoritative source of doctrines. Our church has the utmost respect for the Bible.

While the Syrian Orthodox Church and other ancient churches treat the Holy Bible with great reverence, using it in all their prayers, ministry and sacraments, they also hold the apostolic traditions equally important (more details later). The Church has no doctrine that could not be proven by the Bible. The Bible is not to be degraded by independent interpretation by anyone according to their will and pleasure.

[In the Syrian Orthodox and Coptic Churches every ministry is, as taught and done by the apostles. The church was not created out of a vacuum. Each generation learned from the previous generation, from the time of the apostles to the present. The Syrian Orthodox Church still uses Aramaic as it's official language, the language used by Jesus Christ and the apostles]

2) The Church from its origin taught that the Holy Spirit has written the Bible.

Early historians (pre-Nicean leaders) have stated about the genuineness of the it’s authors. The most notable of them are St. Papiyas, (AD 130), St. Irenaeus (AD 140-202), St. Clement of Alexandria (AD 202), Tertullian (AD 140-260). For more details refer to “The faith of the Early fathers” Vol. 1, Vol. 2, Vol. 3. All of the early fathers and the councils also taught in the same manner. Some of them are Arles (AD 314), Constantinople (381), Elvira (300), Laodicea (300) Neocaesarea (314), Nicea (325), Sardica (342)

3) The councils also taught that the Gospels are by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. They also taught that Luke authors Acts of the Epistles / Romans, 1 Cori, 2 Cori, Gala, Eph., Philippians, Cola, Thess 1 and 2, Timothy 1 and 2, Titus, Philemon are all written by Paul / James, John 1,2,3, Jude, Revelations (John).

4) Even modern Scholars proclaim that it was the early church that codified the Bible, by virtue of its authority. “At length a decree was issued respecting the contents of the sacred books at the Council of Carthage (AD 397) and the books of the New Testament as we have them were settled by the authority of the church” (Helps to the study the Bible-Oxford). Some later scholars were successful in creating doubts regarding their authenticity, authors, and contents.

A few examples, from the very popular ‘Interpreters one volume commentary’ will shock the believers!

a) The article by Jude is written not by Jude but by someone who used his name. (meaning Jude didn’t write the article) Page 942

b) 1 Peter is written by someone in AD 112, or may be written in by someone before AD 64. (i.e. Peter did not write his article). Page 924

c) Scholars of even the Orthodox churches don’t believe that the epistle II Peter is written by St. Peter.” (Page 931)

d) Though the arguments against James are not complete, it is widely accepted and could be concluded that it is written by someone who used his name.

f) The Epistle to Colossians - was not written by Paul, but later by someone who knew his ideas (page 857)

g) A disciple of Paul wrote Ephesians. i.e. This too is not written by St. Paul (P835)

i) Similarly a bizarre interpretation is given about Acts 2:4 (about the disciple talking in tongues). “Although Luke interprets this phenomenon as a miracle of linguistics, the original was probably an outburst of emotional babbling …and the description of the disciples as filled with new wine fits the emotional speech and not proficiency in foreign languages. Actually no miracle was necessary as everybody in the audience spoke of either Aramaic or Greek” (page 731)

In the same manner, many new teachings or interpretations are aimed to evoke disbelief among the Church members. How should we understand the authors who wrote such views? Was it written with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit? This is precisely what St. Paul warned us about. (II Cori 11:3) “But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived eve by his cunning, your thoughts may be corrupted from a sincere [and pure] commitment to Christ. For if someone comes and preaches another Jesus than one we preached, i.e. if you receive a different gospel from the one you received, you put up with it well enough” It is astonishing that all these scholars can believe in all these modern interpretations, but refuse to believe what was passed on from the apostles from one generation to the next till the present. The church showed us what inspired writing is, The Bible, the word of God!

It is dreadful that 'scholars of this kind’ are the foundations of ‘modern churches’.

16. In the various translations of the Bible are there significant deviations from the original. If so, why? What is its significance for a true believer?

Below are a list of some of the variations. The list is from some popular versions. This encouraged many new interpretations and caused heresy. See below how two translations differ. Of all the Protestant English translations, King James Version (of all I have seen) has the least errors.

	CHAPTER AND VERSE	GOOD NEWS BIBLE (1927)	KING JAMES VERSION
1	Acts 1:14	Brothers	brethren
2	Acts 1:20	place of service	bishopric
3	Acts 1:22	must join us	must be ordained
4	Acts 2:42	learning from Apostles	Apostle’s Doctrine
5	Acts 2:47	to their group	to the church
6	Acts 2:47	fellowship meals	breaking of bread
7	Acts 2:27	Servant	Holy one
8	Acts 2:38	God’s Gift	Gift of Holy Spirit
9	Acts 2:48	who were being saved	such as should be saved
10	Acts 3:13	Servant	Son
11	Acts 4:30	Servant	Holy Child
12	Acts 6:6	Helpers	Deacons
13	Acts 14:23	appointed	Ordained
14	Acts 19:18	publicly admitted	confessed
15	Acts 20:7	Saturday evening	1 St. day of the week ( Sunday)
16	Acts 20:7	Fellowship meal	breaking bread
17	Acts 20:28	flock which the Holy Spirit has placed in your care. Be shepherds of church of God which he made his own through the death of his son	Flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers to feed the church of God which he hath purchased with his own blood
18	Acts 22:14	Servant	The just one
19	Acts 22:16	Get up and be baptized and have your sins washed away by praying to him	Arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins calling on the name of the Lord
20	Rom 15:16	Like a priest-	Minister Of Jesus Christ
21	Rom 16:21	My fellow Jews	My Kinsmen - relatives
22	1 Cori 1:18	Who are being saved	Who are saved
23	1 Cori 4:1	Servant	Ministers
24	1 Cori 5:13	As the scripture says	these words are not found
25	1 Cori 7:5	For Prayer	For fasting and prayer
26	Acts 7:17	I teach	I command
27	Acts 10:16	The cup we use in the Lord’s and which we give thanks to God when we drink from it we are sharing in the blood of Christ	The cup of blessing which we bless is it not the communion of the blood of the Christ?
28	Acts 11:2	Teachings	ordinances I delivered
29	Acts 11:3	God is superior over Christ note: In Living N.T. - they use “ Christ is responsible to God”	The Head of Christ is God
30	2 Cori 2:17	We are not like many others who handle God’s message as if it were cheap merchandise but because God has sent us, we speak as servants of Christ	We are not…… which corrupt the word of God….. we speak in Christ
31	2 Cori 5:20	We are speaking for Christ… we pleaded on Christ’s behalf let God change you from enemies to his friends	We are the ambassadors for Christ as though God did beseech you by us we pray in Christ’s stead you be reconciled to God

32	Gala 4:19	Until Christ’s nature is formed in you. I wish that people who are upsetting you ..let them go and castrate themselves	Until Christ is formed in you .. I wish they were even cut off which trouble you (St. Paul did not say to castrate)
33	Eph 1:7	by the death of Christ we are set free that is our sins are forgiven	In whom we have redemption through his blood for the forgiveness of sins
34	Phili 1:1	Church leaders and helpers	Bishops and Deacons
35	Phili 3:3	We do not put any trust in external ceremonies	We have no confidence in the flesh
36	Colo 1:2	By his son’s death on the cross	the blood of his cross
37	Colo 1:25	Servant of the Church	Ministers of the Church
38	2 Tess 2:15	those truths	The traditions which have been taught
39	1 Tim 3:1	A Church leader	Bishop
40	1 Tim 4; 6	Good teaching	Good Doctrine
41	1 Tim 4:11	Give them these instructions	Command them
42	Tim 1:5	to appoint	to ordain
43	Heb 2:12	meeting	Church
44	Hew 13:7	former leaders	The rule over you
45	James 5:16	Confess your sins	Confess your faults
46	1 John 1:9	If we confess our sins to God	If we confess our sins
47	I John 2:20	But you had the Holy Spirit poured out on you by Christ	You have an unction from Holy One Note: Unction - an anointing ointment that which is used for anointing. more details later
48	1 John 5:7	Three witness the Spirit, the water and blood	There are there that bear record in Heaven - the Father , the Word, and the Holy Spirit

For the time being this is enough, as there are hundreds like this, enough that books may be written on it. This proves the point that translators have made their own changes from the original version! [I recently went to a Christian Book store and was amazed by the title of Bibles I found there. Bible for Man, Bible for Woman, Bible for Afro-Americans, Bible for kids, KJV, All American, Bible for Modern Man and so on. There is only one Bible that is inspired, and the others are man made.]

To answer this question, we have to analyze two points. 1) Who codified the Bible and when was it codified? 2) Who made the changes, when, and why?

Ever since the Bible was codified, the church owned it; because the church codified it in the Council of Carthage in AD 397. And thus the Church was its custodian. This is why St. Augustine said, “Since the Church owns the Bible, I believe it. Its interpretation also belonged to the church.” During those days the Church stood as a mighty pillar of the true faith, the body of Christ and as one against which the gates of Hell could not prevail. Later reformist groups began to make changes to the Holy Bible. Thus people like Luther, Calvin, Single, Matthew etc. brought different versions and different interpretations of the Bible into the English and other languages.

Even Luther who started the reformation, became uneasy about this trend [painfully heartbroken to see God’s words modified, twisted and changed] and wrote “Now there are so many sections as there are heads. Some do not need Baptism, some reject Sacraments, some others teach that there is a third world life for a person between this world and the end of the world. Some says Christ is not God. One person says it in one way and another person another way. It has come to this situation that if one sees a dream or one feels so, he decides that it was a revelation to him by the Holy Spirit and declares himself as a prophet.” (Rebuilding the Lost Faith - Pg. 386 Griser, Luther IV).

The Bibles by Wycliffe (AD1382), Tyndale (1535) came out and many copies of the early editions were burned by order of Cuthbert Tunstall, the Bishop of London who was offended by Tyndale’s translations of various ecclesiastical terms, such as Congregations for Church and Senior for priest or Elder.

Then came the Coverdale Bible, (1535) and Matthew’s Bible (1537). This was the first Bible that was printed with the Royal permission.

It is obvious that from the 16^th century, many translations came and each translator made considerable changes during the process.

Those responsible for the Authorized Version Translation submitted a request to King James which was “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.” This proves that so many translators did their works as they pleased.

Even the early Protestant scholars were of the opinion that the early translations were full of mistakes. Dixon says, unless one is a fanatic Protestant, one will agree to the fact that early translations were full of serious errors. Ward in his book “Errata” proves that these errors were not accidental, but purposely introduced. Bishop Eikot in his book says that the translated versions have many additions which were not found in the original Bible. Blunt, another Biblical scholar, in his book says that “The personality of the translators were such that, it was easy for them to get the respect of the public.” (Keys to the knowledge and use of the Bible)

Robert Gell, who was a member of the revising committee and who was a chaplain to Arch Bishop Abbot tells - as many times the truth has taken a back seat to the interest of many sections and voted out (truth), as required by different sections of people.

We have seen lots of differences between translations and most of the translations did not do justice to the original. Now let us see how some of these changes affected the true faith. Please refer to the above table (question 16) and see how each of these changes were used to twist the original church teachings.

Refer to Numbers From the above Table (Question 16)	CHANGES TO THE ORIGINAL BIBLE AND HOW THEY ARE USED TO CHANGE THE INTERPRETATION OF THE BIBLE (How changes mentioned in question 16 are used to change the teachings of the original Church)
1	They had to prove that Mary had other children too, and so to prove that she is not a virgin. Hence they use “brothers”
2	To prove that there is no position of Bishop or episcopacy
3, 42	To prove that Ordination (of Priests) is not necessary
4	To prove that there were only teachings from Apostles and no Doctrines
5	To prove there is nothing like church, only groups
6, 16	To prove that there was no breaking of bread, but just fellowship meals
9, 22	To prove that for salvation, no Church is necessary or that one need not be a member of the church.
10	To satisfy the section of people who believes that Jesus is not Son of God and there for not equal to God
12	To prove that there was no Deacon positions in the early church
13	To prove that there was no ordination, but just appointment
14	To prove no one confessed to the apostles and they have no right to absolve your sins
15	To prove that there is no importance to Sunday
16	To prove that those elders who were given position were not guided by the Holy Spirit
19	To give the impression that baptism does not absolve one's sins.
20, 21	To prove that Christ has no ministers or priests
25	To prove that fasting (and lent) is not required - they left the word fasting
26,28	Apostles has no right to command, but only to teach
27	The cup of blessing is not the communion of the blood of Christ
29	To satisfy the section who believes that Christ is not God
30, 32,33	Faulty translations
31, 41	To prove that the Apostles or their successors are not the representatives of Christ
34,39	To give impression that there were no deacons or Bishops in the early church
35	Proves that there is no need of external ceremonies
38 – 40	In early church there were no Doctrines or traditions
43	Church means just a fellowship
45	Added a word to prove that anyone can confess to anyone
46	Added a word to support another view
47	To prove that to receive Holy Spirit, no unction is necessary

Yes, it is shocking for any independent scholar to see all these changes in the different translations. All these changes were made for ones own selfish gains.

The "Soul Winners New Testament Bible" has substituted the word ‘baptize’ with ‘immerse’. This book also uses the word ‘immerse in Holy Spirit’. In the Good News Bible, they use ‘Holy Spirit poured on you’.

Again in Mark 11:3, it is written ‘The Lord has need of it [Colt]…," In Good News Bible it is written ‘He will return it soon’ ie. Christ will return the colt!

Ruthor Ford established the Jehovah Witness, in 1870. He was 29 years old at that time. They have their own New Testament. In 1954 F.W. France, this group’s president, revealed how they received their interpretation of the Bible. “They are passed by Holy Spirit who invincibly communicates with Jehovah’s witness”. This section does not consider the Son and the Holy Spirit as God.

Again, The Church of Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the fastest growing religion in the U.S., is based on a revelation to Joseph Smith in 1820. They have their own Bible and their own interpretations. Orson Prat a famous scholar in that church asks, whether if there is a single sentence in the Bible now, that is original? (The cults page 88).

As you have seen from the table in Question 10, the different books of the New Testament were written during the period AD 60-100. It is widely accepted that some of the books were written in Aramaic and some in Greek (but used lots of Aramaic words), which was also the prominent language in Palestine at that time. [Some scholars are of the opinion that nothing was written in Greek, as no one knew Greek there. Jesus Christ taught in Aramaic, as common man understood no other language. So it is unlikely that anything would have been written in Greek. What is the use of writing in a language not understood by the people?]

Josephus wrote (AD 42): “I have taken a great deal of pain to obtain the learning of the Greeks and understand the elements of the Greek language; although I have accustomed myself to speak our own tongue, that I cannot pronounce Greek with sufficient exactness. ……there have been many who have done their endeavors, with great patience, to obtain this Greek learning, there have yet been hardly two or three that have succeeded herein. (Antiquities XX, X1 2)” (George Lamsa’s Translation)

Many scholars believe that it is very unlikely that the Epistles targeted for common man, were written in a language understood only by a few.

“Aramaic was the language of the of the common people during the time of Jesus Christ. It is certainly the language of the Semetic culture, the language of the Hebrew Patriarchs and in the older days, the lingua franca of the Fertile Cresecent. The term Hebrew was derived from the Aramaic word Abor or Habor, which means ‘to cross over’. This name was given to Hebrew’s because Abraham and the people who were with him crossed the river Euphrates and went to Palestine. Therefore they were known by those who lived east of the river Euphrates as Hebrews, that is ‘the people across the river’ (Lamsa’s Peshitta Translation). Another view is “Aramaic was the mother-tongue of the region comprising of present Eastern Syria and Northern Iraq. This region was called ‘Aram’, after Aram, Sem’s fifth son. Aramaic is the oldest of the semantic languages. Aram, the father of Armenians, was the grandson of Noe, while Heber the father of the Hebrews was the great great grandson of Noe.”

The earliest manuscripts of the Bible are in Aramaic, and different versions are available which dates back to 2^nd, 5^th and 7^th centuries. “Astonishingly enough, all of the Peshitta Texts in Aramaic agree. There is one thing the eastern churches can boast about. They copied their holy books diligently, faithfully and meticulously. Sir Frederic Kenon, the curator of the British Museum, in his book Textual Criticism of the New Testament speaks highly of the accuracy of the copying and of the antiquity of Peshitta MSS. The versions translated from sematic languages into Greek and Latin were subject to constant revisions. Learned men who copied them introduced changes trying to simplify the obscurities and ambiguities, which were due to the work of first translators. The present translators and Bible revisers does the same, when translating the Bible.”

“The Scriptures in the Church of the East, from the inception of Christianity to the present day, are in Aramaic and have never been tampered with or revised as attested by the present Patriarch of the Church of the East. The Biblical manuscripts were carefully and zealously handed down from one generation to another and were kept in the massive stonewalls of the ancient churches and caves. They were written on parchments and many of them survive to the present day. When expert scribes copied these texts, they (the copies) were carefully examined for accuracy before they were dedicated and permitted to be read in churches. Even one missing letter would render the text void. Easterners still adhere to God’s commandment not to add or omit to a word from the Scripture. The Holy Script condemns any addition, subtraction or modification to the Word of God."

“The term Peshitta means straight, simple, sincere and true, that which is the original. The name was given to this ancient and authoritative text to distinguish it from the other Bible revisions and translations which were introduced into some of the Churches of the East after the division at Ephesus and Chalcedon in 431 and 451 AD respectively. This Peshitta is still the only authoritative text of the Old and New Testament of all the Eastern Christians in the Near East and India, the Roman Catholic Church in the East, the Monophysites and Indian Christians. This was because this text was in use for 400 years before the Christian Church was divided to several sects.” (George Lama’s translation)

“The originality of the Peshitta Text is strongly supported by the early evidence. Aphraates quoted it. St. Ephraim wrote a commentary on it and the doctrine of Addi placed it at apostolic times”

“The names Aram, Aramaeans and Aramaic were changed, during the course of time into Syria, Syrians and Syraic. The Greeks were responsible for this change. And Aramaic Christians gradually became reconciled with this change of name” (Syro-Chaldaic grammar by Fr.Gabriel)

Peshitta version of the Bibles existed in the 2^nd Century. “The Peshitta version of the Bible was made about the first or second century.” (Helps to the study of the Bible – Oxford page 7)

These isolated manuscripts were collected, examined, and approved by the early church fathers only in AD 389; and thus the New Testament became part of the Holy Bible. Soon after the New Testament was translated into Latin, this New Testament was in use till the 14^th century. From the 15^th century (see the list below) onward, different protestant groups began to make their own Bibles through distorted translations to suit their arguments.

19. How different are the views of various Protestant groups who argue that the ‘Bible is the only basis of Faith?’

Child Baptism allowed	No, only baptism by faith (belief)
Offering only by priest	No
Baptism, marriage, anointing with oil etc by priest	No priest is necessary
Can offer incense	No
Bishop to be unmarried	Can marry
Jesus Christ is God	No
Sunday has special importance	Saturday is important or no special importance to any day
Should use consecrated oil, chrism	No
Laying hands is necessary for ordination	No. No such thing as ordination
Can burn candles	No
Offer of Holy Communion	No
Both Baptism and Communion are Sacraments	No - they are just symbolic representations
Should respect cross	No
Accepts episcopacy	No
The episcopacy have uniform or specialized garments	No
Can use gold	Can use gold colored, but no gold
Believes in Baptism for remission of the sins	No it is just symbolic
Can pray for the dead	Can't pray for the dead
Can pray to the saints	No you cant
Priests can absolve sins	No priests at all, and no one has the right for it
Church may contain good and bad people	Church contains only people who are saved
Anointing oil should be applied on sick people	No anointing oil
Can use written prayer	No
Can use Palms 51	No, not needed

These individuals forget or purposefully ignore the fact that the church owns the Bible and that the Church only has the power to interpret the Bible. Some relied on personal or individual interpretation of the Bible. This is why so many new ‘churches’ were formed. Let’s look at the list of a few modern fellowships.

What St. Peter, the head of the disciples said is very relevant then and now. “And consider that long-suffering of our Lord is salvation - as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you. As also in all his epistles speaking in them of these things hard to understand which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also rest of the Scriptures.” (2 Peter 3:15,16). St. Paul has issued similar warnings in 2 Cori 11.

20. During the Apostolic times were there people who interpreted the Bible in their own ways?

Yes. St. Paul says (in Gal 1: 7) “Which is not another, but there are some, who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ”. If one goes through his epistles, he instructed against these kinds of teachings. Here are some extracts from the Good News Bible, in the introduction to the epistles by St. Paul

From this we can infer that false teachers were church members, who chose to go out of the church. Some of them like Sirinthos (contemporary St. John) preached that Jesus was not God. Essenenes, a sect of Jews, (that existed before Christ) propagated that, it is not possible to have a man who is God and complete man. They also insisted, to observe Sabbath, not to marry, not to eat the forbidden foods or meat, wine etc.

Another sect of people (who believed in a form of gnosticism) adopted similar teachings (Helps to study of the bible). Simon (Simon referred in Acts 8:9,18) was a Gnostic and was the author of a book titled The ‘Great Revelation.’ (Justin Martyr). Their false teaching rejected the fact that Jesus was the Son of God (refer to 1 John 2:22, 5: 1, 5 to see what St. John says about it). They also rejected the Father Almighty and the Son of God. They did not believe that the Word took the body (1 John 2:22, 4:2,3). They also propagated that Christ was not crucified. They also believed that the Son is not needed for access to God, (John 2:23) and that they have no sins (2 John 1:7, 5:6 2:23, 1 John 1:9).

Another sector of people (a form of Docetism) propagated that it is impossible for God to become man. So Jesus was in fact not a man but created a feeling that He was man (1 John 3: 3). He was like a ghost and when He walked His legs did not touch the earth. He did not eat or drink. Cirenthis members of this sect said that Christ was a man and not Christ. He was born an ordinary child from Joseph and Mary and during his baptism, the Holy Ghost came to him and hence he was able to do miracles and during the time of crucifixion Christ left him.

So docetism denied His human embodiment and Cirenthis denied His Crucifixion (and hence the salvation). John called them anti-christs (1 John2:22) and these people were church members. But they interpreted in their own manner and fell into false teachings.

21. But some people argue that St. John has permitted one to interpret by themselves and that ‘no one needs to teach anything’ (1 John 2:27)

What St. John says is this - “And you also, if the anointing which you have received from him abides among you, no one need to teach you; that same anointing which is of God will teach you all things; it is the truth, and there is no lie in it; and even as I have taught you, abide in it.”

1) “You do not need any one to teach you”- it means nobody needs to teach you anything against what we (the apostles) taught you.

2) We have seen the very purpose of John’s epistles. The heresy that these articles counter, is of the type, which was difficult for even the present day scholars to counter. All throughout these epistles, it is an exhortation to defeat those heretics and their teachings. If one was anointed and if St. John had not written the epistles, what would have been the situation? Even the anointed would have been lost. This is because even the people who brought the heresy were also anointed. St. John specifically says that the purpose of his epistles were to counter the heresies, by the people who learned the teachings and interpreted themselves. So it is obvious that the purpose of these epistles is to teach the anointed people again. ie. written to the people who were anointed to teach them again.

3) Again in the articles to Hebrews "Therefore, we must give the more earnest heed to the things we heard, lest we drift away” (Hebrew 2:1) and again in Hebrew 2:3 “ How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him. (We have to understand that Hebrews were anointed, yet they have to learn). Again in Hebrew 5:12, “For through by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again, the first principles of the oracles of God and you have come to need milk and not solid food”. The anointed people should be taught again and again. He thanks God, because the Corinthians (who were anointed) obeyed the doctrines given by Paul in the form of teaching. “For this reason I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you my ways in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church” (1 Cori 4:17). Remember that the Corinthians were anointed people and Paul says, they will be taught again. So if one says that he is anointed and hence need not be taught, it is wrong. Some Christian fellowships argue this way!

4) In a letter written to the ‘people who were sanctified and could be called saints’ (1 Cori 1:2) St. Paul suggests that wicked persons be removed from them. Here Paul teaches the anointed ones. Note that if the anointing-unction were to teach them all, Paul need not teach. But we see that Paul is teaching again!

5) Again in Gala 3:1-3, Paul calls the Galatians foolish and says they were bewitched (the Galatians, who were the anointed ones). What should we understand from this? The anointed need to be taught again. If ‘anointing-unction' would have taught them, why should Paul write to them? Therefore it is obvious that they were not allowed to interpret by themselves.

6) Even the anointed ones could be wrong and could teach incorrectly. See below what St. Paul writes.

a) In 2 Tess 2:1-2 Paul says, “Now brethren concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him we ask you not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled either by Spirit or by word or by letter as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.”

b) In Thess 3:6 Paul exhorts, “But we command you brethren in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us.”

c) In 1 Timothy 19-20 Paul says that some people have rejected good faith and conscience and are not faithful anymore. Both Hymenaeus and Alexander were people of this type and were delivered “to Satan that they may learn not blaspheme.” And again in 2 Timothy 1:15, “This you know that all those in Asia have turned away from me among whom are Phygeleus and Hermogenes”. Again in 2:18 “And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort." We have to remember that all these people were, not only anointed ones but were also working with St. Paul. Still they became heretics.

d) In Titus 3:10 - "After first or second warning, break off contact with a heretic”

e) Not only the anointed ones, but even the people in the position of Elders (or Presbyters) may be misguided or influenced by false teaching. That is why Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 5:19-20 “Do not receive an accusation against an elder, except from two or three witness. Those who are sinning, rebuke in the presence of all that the rest may fear.” From this we understand that Elders can sin and if so, he should be corrected.

The argument that 'if one is anointed, nobody needs to teach him anything', was put forth by Decenters. This argument is against the teachings of God, and could not be justified based on what Decenters themselves practiced. Let's look at what they practiced:

1) They started the Bible society whose primary objective was to teach the 'anointed people’

2) This group had Gospel sermons, Sunday schools, and Bible colleges. They all basically taught the ‘anointed people.’

3) If one of their community member comes with an interpretation against that fellowship’s interpretations, and claims he too ‘is anointed and has the power to interpret’, he was excommunicated. If ‘anointing-unction taught’ a member, why not accept his argument?

4) We have seen that there are so many Christian communities with different interpretations and teachings. To say that the Holy Spirit will teach one community one way and another community another way is a sin against the Holy Spirit itself. What is most horrifying is the fact that sins against the Holy Spirit will not be pardoned.

In 1969 a survey was conducted among 10,000 Protestant pastors and 7,441 people responded to the questions asked. These questions asked if they believed in the fundamental doctrines of Christianity. Here are the responses:

What should we infer from all this? Self-interpretations has caused many to turn away from Jesus Christ.

But some people quote Paul saying -“And no man shall teach his neighbor, neither his brother, saying Know the Lord; for all shall know me, from youngest to the oldest” (Hebrew 8:11). They argue that since Paul wrote this, why teach others? If one reads a few sentences prior to this, he will understand what Paul means! Paul has quoted this sentence form Jeremiah 31:34. It is a prophecy for the Israelites. This has nothing to do with Christians (ie. if you read the whole chapter, you will understand it). Hebrews 10:16, says “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their Hearts, and in their minds, I will write them”

In Eph 3:5 Paul writes, “Which (mystery of Jesus) in other ages was not made known to the sons of men as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets.” Since Paul says that it was revealed only to the apostles and prophets, we have to study from them alone, and not from anyone else.

We now know that the argument that “the anointed need not be taught again” is unjustified. We have to learn the true teachings from the apostles and prophets. So obey what they ordered, and learn from what they taught. (ie. learn their interpretations)

23. The traditional churches discourages its member from going to Protestant Churches. Is this because they want their people to remain in their faith?

Yes, this is correct. Like the traditional churches, the Protestant churches also does the same (for they discourage people from going to Orthodox churches). The Church is justified in its position towards this issue. The Apostles always urged not to attend false teachings and heretics (Gala 1:6-9). Jesus himself ordered not to listen to the Pharisees and Sadducees though they were Jews (Matt 16:6-8). St. Paul said that those who object his teachings were to be cursed. (Also refer to Question 12)

It is good to learn the Lords words from anyone, as long as the person teaching refrains from giving his or her self-interpretation. Unfortunately this is not the case most of the time. They add, alter, and interpret the Lord’s words for their own gain. Apostles barred these kinds of teachers and barred people from going to listen to these people’s teachings. This is because of the fact that believers can easily be misguided. For example, the serpent that entered Eden never told Eve that there was no God or that one should not obey nor worship Him. All he did was to give a small lecture that if one eats the fruit, he or she will be like God. Eve listened thinking that God asked them not to eat the fruit because God feared of them becoming like Him (Her own interpretation). Subsequently she ‘made a decision’ to eat the fruit without thinking about the consequences. She even enticed Adam to eat the same fruit. Today’s heretics and ‘modern day teachers’ do the same thing - i.e. create doubts and confusion in the minds of people. This will create doubts regarding the truth. If people who stayed with the Holy Trinity were swayed by a small lecture, what would be the fate of ordinary people, if one were exposed to false teachings?

“I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who create dissension’s and obstacles, in opposition to the teaching that you learned; avoid them. For such people do not serve our Lord Christ but their own appetites, and by fair and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the innocent.” (Roman 16:17)

Please read 2 Cor. 11: 4-15. “But I am afraid that just as the serpent through his deceitfulness misled Eve, so your minds should be corrupted from the sincerity that is in Christ. For if he who has come to you preaches another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if you have received another spirit, which you had not received or another gospel, which you had not accepted, you might have listened to him” (2 Cor. 11:3-4). “For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, who masquerade as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan masquerades as an angel of light. So it is not strange that his ministers also masquerade as ministers of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds” (2 Cor. 13-15). Paul gives us such strong messages. If Paul felt that, listening to anyone preaching would not be a problem, he would not have issued such strong messages. From the above advice from Paul, we should understand that many of the preachers or ministers could be false apostles and deceitful workers. John also has issued similar warnings. Now the question is ‘who is telling the truth?’ Is it the new advisers and interpreters that have mushroomed recently or that which was taught (and) practiced from the time of the apostles?

25. What is wrong in saying that faith and belief is based only on the Bible?

We have seen from the earlier questions that only the Bibles of the First and Second centuries were genuine and that it was altered extensively from the 15^th century onwards for the translator’s own personal gains. Therefore it is dangerous and misleading to accept such books (the altered ones) as the sole reference.

1) It should contain all the faith-related reference; this doesn’t mean that it should be an Encyclopedia.

2) It should contain all that Jesus Christ and the Apostles taught. (and none of their teaching should be interpreted contrary to each other!)

3) Since Christ taught before and after, both are equally important and one cannot reject what is taught after the resurrection.

4) The only means for us to learn them is through the apostles and their disciples writings or oral teachings. This is called apostolic tradition.

As I had discussed at the start, there are many things, which Jesus taught that are not written. By arguing that one will do or obey only what is written, one is saying that he will not listen to other matters, which were commanded by Jesus. Isn’t this disobedience to our Lord?

Christ never gave anyone a reference book. He could have done that! What was given was the permission to teach (Matthew 28: 18-20). St. Paul accepted this same methodology (1 Tim 4:11, 2 Tim 11:13). But some people quote John 5:39 “You search Scriptures…..and these are which they testify of Me,” and teach that the Bible is comprehensive. But this scripture suggests referring to the Old Testament, where it talks about Jesus Christ. The first council in Jerusalem demonstrates that the authority to teach, interpret, and decide is for the church alone (Acts 15), and not for anyone else.

26. How does the Syrian Orthodox Church and modern Christian communities treat the Bible?

'The traditional Churches' (like the Syrian Orthodox Church) has only one Bible, and is the version from the first and second century. They treat it as Holy and calls it the Holy Bible.

The Books	Dummalow Commentary	Helps to the study of Bible	Biblical Encyclopedia	Scofield Bible
Matthew	70 AD	AD 50-60	AD 66-70	37
Mark	AD 60	AD 63-70	Before AD 65	AD 57-63
Luke	AD 59-74	AD 58-60	AD 57-65	AD 63-68
John		AD 85 -90	End of 1^st century

CHURCH	ESTABLISHED BY	YEAR
Protestant	Martin Luther	1524
Presbyterian	John Knox	1560
Baptist	John Smith	1600
Congregational	Robert Brown	1600
Quackers	George Fox	1647
Methodist	John Wesley	1739
Brethren		1800
Disciples of Christ		1827
Salvation Army	William Booth	1865
Sabbath	William Miller	1844
Pentecostal	G. Spirling	1884
Christian Science	Mary Eddy	1879
Jehovah’s witness	C.T Russell	1870
God's Church	Daniel Vernan	1884

KING JAMES VERSION