When Was Jesus Really Born?

Beliefnet's Bible expert answers your questions about Christmas, the Trinity, and more.

BY: Ben Witherington

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In the history of the Bible, how many times was the holy book revised? During the revision, is there any possibility that God's verses were amended to suit the needs of the scholars concerned?

The Bible has not really been revised over the ages, as you are suggesting. However, words and passages have at times been miscopied or mistranslated.

If you are wondering if there has been a scholarly conspiracy to amend the Bible to suit particular theological views, the answer is basically no, unless you are dealing with versions like the New World Translation by the Jehovah's Witnesses.

But bear in mind that every translation is already an interpretation of the original language text, and scholars do debate what the proper translation of this or that foreign word or phrase may be. Words only have meaning in context, and as with English, many Greek or Hebrew words have multiple possible meanings. Only careful study of the context helps determine what the inspired author may have meant.

I would like you to explain how the concept of the Trinity came about and comment on the acceptance of it in various Christian denominations. Are there things about the Trinity that certain denominations believe and others don't? --Barbara G.

The Trinity has been an accepted doctrine of the Christian church in all its major branches (Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox), and indeed was an accepted doctrine even before it was officially ratified at major church conclaves in A.D. 325 (at Nicea) and in A.D. 450 (at Chalcedon).

All Christian denominations affirm the Trinity as an essential doctrine of the faith. Some offshoots from the church (for example, the Jehovah's Witnesses or the Unitarians) have not accepted this concept, but they have chosen to go their own way, and are not part of the fellowship of Christian churches worldwide.

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