The Sneaky Little Scripture
Written Jul 21st, 2006 by Josh Rives | Email This
Check out this disclaimer first regarding disputed text in Scripture.
We all know that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God right. But for a little while it was the inerrant Word of God plus a little bit from one of us. The Comma Johanneum can be found mainly in the New King James and plain old King James Bibles. It is an addendum to 1 John 5:7-8, which reads in the King James as…
5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. 5:8 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.
The bold piece being the actual Comma Johanneum. Most other modern translations leave the bold part out because oddly enough it is not found in most Greek manuscripts.
The rumored origin of the Comma Johanneum, henceforth nicknamed the Comma, is that it was just a commentary on the original verses possibly by an early church father, Cyprian, but it could also be many others. The addition only appears in eight of the thousands of Greek manuscripts that we have today and those all appear to have been translated from a Latin version. Also leading to its suspicion is the fact that none of the Greek Church fathers ever quote or reference this verse even though it would have immediately quelched some of the heresies that deny the doctrine of the Trinity.
Ironically, the first time that the Comma is ever referenced in ancient literature happens to be by the first person in the history of Christianity that was executed for heresy. Not really the type of person the Comma needs to back its validity.
So how did the Comma tick around all the way through the Roman Catholic Church and into King James’ Bible? Well a man named Desiderius Erasmus was rushed to get out a translation of the New Testament in 1514, so that his employer could beat the competition. Since his first edition was ripe with error due to the rush, so he came out with a second and, most important for us, a third. In his third version, the Comma makes its first appearance.
The story tells us that many people were not happy with him leaving out the Comma, mainly because it pretty much locks down the Trinity doctrine. Erasmus would not budge unless he found it in original Greek manuscripts, which he had not seen. Not too long after this claim, a manuscript shows up at his door with the Comma nicely placed between verses 7 and 8. Today this manuscript is known as Codex 61 and we know that it was actually written after Erasmus’ claim by a Franciscan friar named Froy. Perhaps Froy cleverly spilled coffee on it and burnt the edges with his lighter to make it look old enough or more likely the Catholic Church may have put a little pressure on Erasmus. Unfortunately for King James, the third edition of Erasmus’ translation is what most of his Bible was translated from.
The true problem with the Comma is not an issue with heresy, but more of a desire to have an accurate translation of the Bible. Most Christian churches today agree with the Trinitarian doctrine presented by the Comma, but do not include it in their Bible due to the extensive evidence opposing its validity.
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