As is commonly believed, the essence of the Bible is set forth in the verse "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life."
What is the Bible?
The Bible is a collection of religious texts related to Judaism and Christianity and recognized as sacred in these religions. Texts proclaimed by faiths are called canonical. In Christianity, the Bible consists of two significant parts - the Old and New Testaments. In Judaism, the New Testament does not recognize how everything connected with Christ is disputed. Its very existence is called into question or accepted with great reservations.
Old Testament
The Old Testament refers to the part of the Bible created in the pre-Christian era. This also applies to the beliefs of the Jews. The covenant consists of several dozen books, the number of which varies in Christianity and Judaism. Books are grouped into three sections. The first is called the Law, the second is the Prophets, and the third is the Scriptures. The first section is also called the "Pentateuch of Moses" or "Torah." Jewish tradition leads him to record Moses' divine revelation on Mount Sinai. The books of the Prophets section include scriptures created from the exodus from Egypt to the Babylonian captivity. The books of the third section are attributed to King Solomon and are sometimes called the Greek term - psalms.
New Testament
The books of the New Testament make up the second part of the Christian Bible. They relate to the period of the earthly existence of Jesus Christ, his sermons and letters to his disciples-apostles. The basis of the New Testament is made by the Gospels - from Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The authors of the books, called the "evangelists", were disciples of Christ and direct witnesses of his life, the crucifixion on the cross and the miraculous Resurrection. Each of them presents in his own way events related to Christ, depending on what was highlighted by the main ones. The gospels convey the words of Jesus, his sermon and parable. The latest in creation is considered the Gospel of John. It supplements to some extent the first three books. An important place in the New Testament is occupied by the books of the Acts of the Holy Apostles and the Epistle, as well as the Revelation of John the Theologian. The Epistles reflect the interpretation of Christian doctrine from the Apostles to the church communities of that era. And the Revelation of John the Theologian, also called the Apocalypse, gives a prophetic prediction of the Second Coming of the Savior and the End of the World. The book of the Acts of the Holy Apostles refers to the period following the Ascension of Christ. It, unlike the rest of the sections of the New Testament, has the form of historical chronology and describes the areas on which events developed, and the people who participated in them. In addition to the canonical books of the New Testament, there are also apocrypha that are not recognized by the Church. Some of them are referred to heretical literature, others are considered insufficiently reliable. Apocrypha is mainly of historical interest, contributing to an understanding of the formation of Christian doctrine and its canons.
The place of the Bible in world religions
The books that make up the Bible are not only Jewish and Christian traditions. They are no less important for Islam, which recognizes some of the revelations and persons whose acts are described in them. Muslims recognize as prophets not only Old Testament characters, for example Abraham and Moses, but they also consider Christ as a prophet. Biblical texts in their meaning are associated with the verses of the Koran, and they serve as a confirmation of the truth of the doctrine. The Bible is a source of religious revelation common to the three world religions. Thus, the largest faiths in the world are closely connected with the Book of Books and recognize what is said in it as the basis of their religious worldview.
First bible translations
Different parts of the Bible were created at different times. The oldest traditions of the Old Testament were written in Hebrew, and some later ones were written in Aramaic, which was the colloquial name of the "Jewish street." The New Testament was recorded in the dialect version of the ancient Greek language. With the spread of Christianity and the teaching of teachings among different nations, a need arose to translate the Bible into the most accessible languages of its time. The first known translation was the Latin version of the New Testament. This version is called the Vulgate. Early Bible translations include books in Coptic, Gothic, Armenian and some others.
Bible in Western European Languages
The Roman Catholic Church was negative about translating the Bible into other languages. It was believed that in this case the transmission of the meaning of the Holy Scriptures would be disrupted , caused by the difference in terminology inherent in dissimilar languages. Therefore, the translation of the Bible into German and English was not only an event in the field of linguistics, but also reflected significant changes in the Christian world. The German translation of the Bible was made by Martin Luther, the founder of Protestantism. His activity led to a deep split of the Catholic Church, the creation of a number of Protestant movements, which today form a significant part of Christianity. English translations of the Bible, created since the XIV century, also formed the basis for the separation of some Christians around the Anglican Church and the formation of individual Protestant teachings.
Church Slavonic translation
An important milestone in the spread of Christianity was the translation of the Bible into the Old Slavonic language, performed by the monks Cyril and Methodius in the ninth century AD. e. Retelling liturgical texts from the Greek language required the solution of several problems. First of all, it was necessary to decide on the graphic system, to create an adapted version of the alphabet. Although Cyril and Methodius are considered to be the authors of the Russian alphabet, the assertion that they used the existing sign systems used in the Slavic scripts, standardizing them for their task, looks quite convincing. The second problem (perhaps even more important) was the adequate translation of the meanings stated in the Bible in Greek terms into the words of the Slavic language. Since this was not always possible to implement, a significant array of Greek terms were introduced into the circulation through the Bible, which received unambiguous interpretations through the disclosure of their meaning in the Slavic interpretation. Thus, the Old Slavonic language of the Bible, supplemented by the conceptual apparatus of Greek terminology, formed the basis of the so-called Church Slavonic language.
Russian translation
Although Old Slavonic is the basis of the languages of the late times, spoken by many peoples, over time, differences between the generally accessible modern language and the original basis accumulate. It becomes difficult for people to understand the meaning conveyed by words that have come out of everyday use. Therefore, adaptation of the source text to modern versions of the language is considered a difficult task. Bible translations into modern Russian have been carried out repeatedly since the 19th century. The first of them was carried out in the second half of the century. The Russian Bible received the name "synodal", as the translation was approved by the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church. It conveys not only the factual side associated with the life and preaching of Christ, but also the spiritual content of his views with words understood by his contemporary. The Bible in Russian is designed to facilitate the current person the correct interpretation of the meaning of the described events. Religion operates with concepts that sometimes significantly differ from the usual everyday terminology, and the disclosure of the inner meaning of the phenomena or interconnections of the spiritual world requires deep knowledge not only in Church Slavonic and Russian languages, but also a special mystical filling that is conveyed by words. The new Bible, translated into Russian, makes it possible to continue the transmission of the Christian tradition in society, using accessible terminology and maintaining continuity with ascetics and theologians of earlier times.
Satanic bible
The influence of Christianity on society caused a reaction from opponents of religion. In contrast to the Bible, doctrines were created, clothed in texts of a similar form, some of which are called satanic (another term is the Black Bible). The authors of these treatises, some of which were created in ancient times, preach value priorities that are radically opposed to Christianity and the teachings of Jesus. They underlie many heretical teachings. The Black Bible affirms the uniqueness and primacy of the world of things, placing a person with his passions and aspirations in his center. Satisfying one's own instincts and needs is declared the sole meaning of a brief earthly existence, and for this, any forms and actions are acceptable. Despite the materiality of Satanism, he recognizes the existence of the other world. But in relation to him, the right of an earthly man to manipulate or control the essences of this world is preached in order to serve his own passions.
Bible in modern society
Christianity is one of the most common religious teachings in the modern world. This position is held by him for a considerable time - at least more than a thousand years. The doctrine of Christ, which the Bible gives, covenants and parables form the moral and ethical basis of civilization. Therefore, the Bible has become the most famous book in world history. It has been translated into almost all modern languages and into many obsolete dialects. Thus, ninety percent of the world's population can read it. The Bible is also the main source of knowledge about Christianity.