Written Criticism – Distortion of the Bible
His Holiness Pope Shenouda III addresses the topic the accusation of corruption (alteration) of the Holy Bible, and begins with the methodological question: when, how, and where did the corruption happen? He affirms the necessity of specifying the time and place before accepting any claim.
The spread of the Holy Bible and its translations
He explains that the Gospel and its translations existed from the early ages: ancient Coptic translations, the old Latin translation (the Vulgate), and Syriac translations such as the Peshitta, and that the book was translated into the peoples’ languages alongside the Greek original.
The difficulty of a comprehensive corruption
He points to the impossibility of all translations and copies throughout the world agreeing on a single corruption, especially since Christianity and the Holy Bible spread in all countries and were read in churches and local synagogues.
Historical and ecclesial evidences
He mentions evidence from church history: major councils like the Council of Nicaea (325) with the attendance of 318 bishops, and local councils with hundreds of bishops, and the role of monasteries and manuscript copyists (like the Monastery of Anba Bishoy) in preserving the text and copying it.
Divisions, heresies, and the church’s response
He speaks about the division of Christianity and the appearance of multiple heresies (like Arianism and Nestorianism and those before them) and confirms that the violent disagreements among denominations make it illogical that everyone would agree to corrupt the text; rather the heretics themselves used Biblical texts in their debates.
Exegesis and manuscripts as guarantees for the text
He clarifies that the interpretations of the Church Fathers and books of exegesis (John Chrysostom, Jerome, Charlemagne? [sic in source], Didymus the Blind, and others) preserve the text and can reproduce it if copies were lost, for exegesis itself represents a living form of the text.
The Old Testament and the Jews
He points out that the Old Testament texts were known and distributed among the Jews as well and in the Septuagint translation, and one cannot assume agreement between Jews and Christians and enemies to erase or secretly and uniformly corrupt the texts.
Conclusion
The Pope concludes that the idea of a comprehensive corruption of the Holy Bible is not reasonable historically or logically: the book was widespread, translated, used in worship, preserved among nations and churches, and supported by interpretations and historical traces that prevent its disappearance or collective corruption.
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