No eni nara buk bilong religion hem olsem Bible. No eni nara buk hem affectim biliv bilong staka pipol start long bifor kam kasem distaem. Nomata olsem, staka pipol againstim and tok daonem Bible winim eni nara buk.

Olsem example, samfala savveman tingse olketa Bible wea iumi garem distaem hem no semsem olsem olketa Holy Raeting long firstaem. Wanfala savveman wea studyim religion sei iumi no savve barava sure sapos Bible distaem hem stret olsem olketa firstfala raeting. Hem sei: “Olketa copy wea iumi garem hem fulap long olketa mistek, and staka long olketa copy hia olketa raetem plande handred year bihaen olketa firstfala raeting and staka samting hem difren.”

Religion bilong pipol savve mekem olketa kwestinim sapos Bible distaem hem stret. Olsem example, long tingting bilong famili bilong Faizal wea no Christian, Bible hem wanfala holy buk bat hem difren from olketa Holy Raeting long firstaem. Hem sei: “Datwan mekem mi no trustim pipol wea laek storyim Bible long mi. Long tingting bilong mi, Bible bilong olketa hem difren, hem no olsem olketa firstfala Holy Raeting!”

Waswe, hem important for savve sapos Bible hem difren from olketa Holy Raeting long firstaem or nomoa? Tingim olketa kwestin hia: Waswe, iu savve trustim olketa promis long Bible abaotem future sapos iu no sure olketa promis hia stap long olketa firstfala raeting or nomoa? (Rome 15:4) Waswe, bae iu followim olketa Bible principle taem iu disaedem samting saed long waka, famili, or worship sapos Bible distaem hem difren from olketa Holy Raeting long firstaem?

Nomata olketa Holy Raeting wea olketa raetem long firstaem hem no stap distaem, staka oldfala manuscripta hem stap. Why nao olketa oldfala manuscript hia no savve rotten? And nomata pipol trae for changem or distroem olketa, why nao olketa stap kam kasem distaem? Hao nao datwan savve mekem iumi trustim Bible wea iumi garem distaem? Olketa nara article bae ansarem olketa kwestin hia.

PROBLEM: Long bifor, olketa man wea raetem and copyim Bible savve raet long papyrus and parchment.a (2 Timothy 4:13) Waswe, hem gud for raetem Bible long kaen samting olsem?

Papyrus hem isi nomoa for brek, kala bilong hem savve aot, and hem no barava strong. Richard Parkinson and Stephen Quirke wea studyim olketa old samting bilong Egypt sei: “Gogo papyrus savve rotten and kamap olsem dust. . . . Hem savve garem blak markmark, or olketa rat or insect olsem white ants, savve kaikaim.” Bihaen olketa faendem samfala papyrus, sun or hot weather savve mekem hem rotten kwiktaem.

Parchment hem strong winim papyrus, bat hem tu savve rotten sapos man no keepim gud or hem putim long ples wea hem sun or wea hem hot tumas.b Parchment tu olketa insect savve laek kaikaim. Dastawe staka raeting bilong bifor hem no stap distaem. Sapos datwan hem happen long Bible, bae message bilong Bible hem lus tu.

HAO NAO BIBLE STAP KAM KASEM DISTAEM?: Law bilong olketa Jew sei evri king mas “raetem insaed long buk for hemseleva wanfala copy bilong disfala Law,” wea hem nao first faevfala buk insaed long Bible. (Deuteronomy 17:18) Kasem first century C.E., plande manuscript hem stap insaed staka sinagog long Israel and nomata long Macedonia wea farawe tumas! (Luke 4:16, 17; Acts 17:11) Hao nao samfala old manuscript stap kam kasem distaem?

Wanfala Bible savveman, Philip Comfort, hem sei: “Olketa Jew savve keepim olketa scroll bilong olketa Holy Raeting insaed long olketa botol wea olketa wakem long clay.” Luk olsem, olketa Christian duim sem samting tu. Dastawe olketa savveman faendem samfala old manuscript insaed long olketa botol wea olketa wakem long clay, olketa dark ples for haedem samting, and insaed long olketa cave long ples wea barava drae.

GUD SAMTING WEA KAMAOT FROM DATWAN: Staka thousand Bible manuscript stap kam kasem distaem, and samfala hia olketa raetem winim 2,000 year bifor. No eni nara buk hem garem staka old manuscript olsem.

PROBLEM: Staka bigman long gavman and bilong religion garem olketa goal wea barava difren from message insaed long Bible. Plande taem olketa stopem pipol for no garem, wakem, or transleitim Bible. Tingim tufala example:

• Samting olsem 167 B.C.E.: King Antiochus Epiphanes bilong Greece trae for forcem olketa Jew for followim religion bilong olketa long Greece. Hem talem olketa wakaman bilong hem for distroem evri copy bilong olketa Hebrew Scripture. Heinrich Graetz, wea raet abaotem history, hem sei olketa bigman bilong King Antiochus “brekem and bonem olketa scroll . . . and killim dae eniwan wea readim and studyim olketa scroll hia for strongim and comfortim olketa.”

• Olketa year start long 500 C.E. go kasem 1500 C.E.: Samfala bigman bilong Catholic Church kros long olketa member bilong church wea preachim message bilong Bible and no olketa teaching bilong Catholic Church. Olketa letem pipol for garem buk bilong Psalms long Latin languis, bat sapos olketa garem olketa nara buk bilong Bible bae olketa sei olketa againstim church. Church givim paoa long samfala man for “waka hard for lukaotem olketa wea againstim church . . . long wei for go long haos bilong pipol or eni nara ples wea pipol savve stap wea olketa tingse olketa garem olketa buk hia.” Olketa bigman sei: “Sapos olketa faendem eni man wea againstim church, olketa mas distroem haos bilong hem.”

Sapos olketa enemy win for distroem Bible, bae message bilong Bible hem lus tu.

HAO NAO BIBLE STAP KAM KASEM DISTAEM?: King Antiochus laek distroem evri copy bilong olketa Hebrew Scripture long Israel, bat olketa Jew stap long olketa nara kantri tu. Olketa savveman sei kasem first century C.E., big haf long namba bilong olketa Jew no stap long Israel. Olketa Jew keepim olketa copy bilong olketa Holy Raeting long olketa sinagog, and hem nao olketa copy wea pipol iusim bihaen, and wea gogo olketa Christian iusim tu.—Acts 15:21.

Long olketa year start long 500 C.E. go kasem 1500 C.E., olketa wea tinghae long Bible transleitim and copyim olketa Holy Raeting nomata pipol againstim and spoelem olketa. Luk olsem kasem year 1450 C.E., olketa transleitim samfala part bilong Bible long samting olsem 33 languis, nomata olketa no wakem eni printing machine yet! Bihaen datwan, olketa transleitim and wakem staka Bible winim enitaem bifor.

GUD SAMTING WEA KAMAOT FROM DATWAN: Nomata olketa king and olketa bigman bilong religion trae for distroem Bible, staka pipol evriwea long world garem Bible and hem stap long staka languis winim eni nara buk. Bible hem affectim laef bilong plande million pipol, and long samfala kantri, samfala law and toktok long languis bilong olketa hem kam from Bible.

PROBLEM: Nomata pipol againstim Bible and olketa samting olsem rat or insect savve kaikaim kaen pepa wea olketa iusim bifor, or hem savve rotten, Bible hem stap kam kasem distaem. Nomata olsem, samfala man wea copyim and transleitim Bible trae for changem message insaed long Bible. Olketa no laek changem teaching bilong olketa for followim wanem Bible talem, so samfala taem olketa trae for changem Bible for fitim teaching bilong olketa. Tingim samfala example:

• Ples for worship: Midolwan long year 400 B.C.E. go kasem 100 B.C.E., olketa wea raetem Samaritan Pentateucha addim samfala toktok long Exodus 20:17 wea sei “long Aargaareezem. Long there nao iufala shud wakem wanfala altar.” Olketa duim olsem bikos olketa laekem Bible for sei hem fitim for olketa wakem temple long “Aargaareezem,” wea hem nao Maunt Gerizim.

• Trinity: Samting olsem 300 year bihaen olketa raetem full Bible, wanfala man wea bilivim Trinity addim samfala toktok long 1 John 5:7 wea sei, “long heven, Dadi, datfala Word, and Holy Ghost: and thrifala hia wanfala nomoa.” Datfala toktok no stap long olketa Holy Raeting long firstaem. Wanfala Bible savveman, Bruce Metzger, hem sei: “Start long 500 C.E.,” olketa toktok hia “kamap staka taem long olketa manuscript long Oldfala Latin Languis and long olketa copy bilong [Latin] Vulgate.”

• Nem bilong God: Staka man wea transleitim Bible aotem nem bilong God from Bible. Olketa duim olsem bikos long kastom biliv bilong olketa Jew for no talemaot datfala nem. Olketa changem datfala nem long olketa title olsem “God” or “Lord.” Long Bible, “God” and “Lord” savve minim Creator, olketa man, olketa samting wea pipol savve worshipim, and Satan tu.—John 10:34, 35; 1 Corinth 8:5, 6; 2 Corinth 4:4.b

HAO NAO BIBLE STAP KAM KASEM DISTAEM?: First samting, nomata samfala wea copyim Bible no duim gud waka bilong olketa, and samfala narawan changem, staka narawan duim gud waka bilong olketa and barava chekim gud. Midolwan 500 C.E. go kasem 900 C.E., olketa Masorete copyim olketa Hebrew Scripture wea gogo olketa kolem datwan long Masoretic text. Olketa kaontem evri word and olketa leta for mek sure hem barava stret. Sapos olketa tingse olketa lukim eni mistek long datfala raeting wea olketa copy from, olketa raetem note long margin. Olketa Masorete no changem eni samting long Bible. Professor Moshe Goshen-Gottstein storyim hao long tingting bilong olketa Masorete, hem bigfala sin for changem eni samting insaed long olketa Holy Raeting.

Mek-tu samting, staka old manuscript hem stap, so hem isi for olketa Bible savveman luksavve long olketa mistek. Olsem example, for plande handred year, olketa bigman talem pipol Bible long Latin languis nao hem stret. Bat olketa addim toktok wea no stret long Latin Bible bilong olketa long 1 John 5:7 wea iumi storyim finis. Gogo datfala toktok stap tu insaed long English King James Version wea staka pipol tinghae long hem! Bat wanem nao olketa nara oldfala manuscript wea olketa faendem showimaot? Bruce Metzger sei: “Datfala toktok [long 1 John 5:7] hem stap long olketa manuscript long Latin languis nomoa, and no long olketa nara manuscript (long languis bilong Syria, Armenia, Ethiopia and Slavonia, and long Coptic and Arabic languis).” Dastawe olketa niu copy bilong King James Version and olketa nara Bible no garem datfala toktok.

Waswe, olketa old manuscript hia pruvim message bilong Bible hem no change? Taem olketa faendem olketa Dead Sea Scroll long 1947, olketa savveman savve comparem Hebrew Masoretic text witim olketa Bible scroll hia wea olketa raetem winim 1,000 year bifor. Wanfala man wea studyim olketa Dead Sea Scroll hem sei wanfala scroll “barava pruvim nomata olketa Jew copyim Bible for winim 1,000 year, olketa barava duim gud waka bilong olketa.”

Long Chester Beatty Library long Dublin, Ireland, olketa garem samfala raeting long papyrus from klosap evri buk bilong olketa Christian Greek Scripture. Olketa garem tu olketa manuscript wea olketa raetem long samting olsem 200 C.E., wea hem 100 year nomoa bihaen olketa finis for raetem Bible. The Anchor Bible Dictionary sei: “Nomata iumi kasem staka niu information from olketa papyrus hia, olketa showimaot tu Bible no change.”

GUD SAMTING WEA KAMAOT FROM DATWAN: Nomata staka manuscript hem stap and hem old tumas, hem no changem message insaed long Bible bat hem mekem hem barava stret. Sir Frederic Kenyon hem sei olsem abaotem olketa Christian Greek Scripture: “No eni nara oldfala buk hem garem staka oldfala manuscript wea pruvim hem no change, and olketa savveman wea honest no savve denyim Bible wea iumi garem distaem hem semsem olsem wanem olketa raetem long firstaem.” Savveman William Green storyim hao no eni nara buk hem olsem olketa Hebrew Scripture. Hem sei: “Nomata olketa copyim staka taem, message insaed hem no change.”

Bible hem stap kam kasem distaem. Dastawe iu savve kasem and readim Bible distaem. Taem iu chusim Bible wea olketa transleitim long gudfala wei, iu savve sure iu readim Bible wea hem barava stret.a Bat why nao Bible hem stap kam kasem distaem nomata pipol againstim Bible, kaen pepa wea olketa iusim savve rotten, or pipol trae for changem message insaed long Bible? Why nao Bible hem barava spesol buk?

Staka pipol wea studyim Bible agree long wanem aposol Paul talem, wea sei: “Evri toktok insaed long olketa Holy Raeting hem kam from God.” (2 Timothy 3:16) Olketa sure Bible hem stap kam kasem distaem bikos hem toktok bilong God and God nao protectim Bible. Faizal, wea iumi storyim finis, hem disaed for studyim Bible for faendaot sapos olketa samting hia hem tru or nomoa. Wanem hem lanem mekem hem sapraes fogud. Hem luksavve staka samting wea olketa religion teachim hem no kam from Bible. And tu, hem barava hapi for lane abaotem plan bilong God for disfala earth.

Faizal hem sei: “Distaem mi luksavve Bible hem present from God. God nao wakem universe, so hem no hard for hem givim iumi wanfala buk and for hem protectim datwan. Sapos iumi sei hem hard tumas for God duim datwan, hem olsem iumi sei paoa bilong Olmaeti God hem smol tumas!”—Isaiah 40:8.