As is commonly believed, the essence of the Bible is stated 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 set of religious texts related to Judaism and Christianity and recognized as sacred in these religions. Texts proclaimed by confessions are called canonical. In Christianity, the Bible consists of two significant parts - the Old and New Testaments. In Judaism, the New Testament is not recognized, as is disputed and everything connected with Christ. Its very existence is questioned or accepted with great reservations.
Old Testament
The Old Testament is a part of the Bible created in the pre-Christian era. This also applies to Jewish beliefs. The testament consists of several dozen books, the number of which differs in Christianity and Judaism. The books are grouped into three sections. The first is called "Law", the second - "Prophets", and the third - "Scriptures". The first section is also called the "Pentateuch of Moses" or "Torah". Jewish tradition traces it back to Moses recording the divine revelation on Mount Sinai. The books in the "Prophets" section include writings written from the exodus from Egypt to the Babylonian captivity. The books of the third section are attributed to King Solomon and are sometimes referred to by the Greek term Psalms.
New Testament
The books of the New Testament make up the second part of the Christian Bible. They refer to the period of the earthly existence of Jesus Christ, his sermons and letters to his disciples-apostles. The New Testament is based on the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The authors of the books, called "evangelists", were disciples of Christ and direct witnesses of his life, crucifixion and miraculous Resurrection. Each of them in his own way sets out the events associated with Christ, depending on what they singled out as the main ones. The Gospels contain the words of Jesus, his sermons and parables. The latest in time of creation is the Gospel of John. It complements the first three books to some extent. 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 Revelations of John the Theologian. The Epistles reflect the interpretation of Christian teaching from the Apostles to the church communities of that era. And the Revelation of John the Theologian, also called the Apocalypse, gives a prophetic predictionSecond 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 in which the events unfolded 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 classified as heretical literature, others are considered insufficiently reliable. Apocrypha are mainly of historical interest, contributing to the understanding of the formation of Christian teaching and its canons.
The place of the Bible in world religions
The books that make up the Bible are not just a Jewish and Christian tradition. They are of no less importance for Islam, which recognizes some of the revelations and the persons whose deeds are described in them. Muslims recognize as prophets not only the Old Testament characters, such as Abraham and Moses, but also consider Christ a prophet. Biblical texts in their meaning are connected with the verses of the Qur'an, and they thus serve as confirmation of the truth of the teaching. The Bible is the source of religious revelation, common to the three world religions. Thus, the largest denominations of 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 translations of the Bible
Different parts of the Bible were created at different times. The oldest traditions of the Old Testament were written in Hebrew, and some of the later ones were written in Aramaic, which was a colloquial language."Jewish street". The New Testament was written in a dialectal version of ancient Greek. With the spread of Christianity and the preaching of doctrine among different peoples, there was a need 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.
The Bible in the languages of Western Europe
The Roman Catholic Church had a negative attitude towards the translation of the Bible into other languages. It was believed that this would disrupt the transmission of the meaning of Holy Scripture, caused by the difference in terminology inherent in dissimilar languages. Therefore, the translation of the Bible into German and English became not only an event in the field of linguistics, but reflected significant changes in the Christian world. The German translation of the Bible was carried out by Martin Luther, the founder of Protestantism. His activities led to a deep split in the Catholic Church, the creation of a number of Protestant movements, which today make up a significant part of Christianity. English translations of the Bible, created since the 14th century, also formed the basis for the isolation of part of the Christians around the Anglican Church and the formation of separate Protestant teachings.
Church Slavonic translation
An important milestone in the spread of Christianity was the translation of the Bible into Old Church Slavonic by the monks Cyril and Methodius in the ninth century AD. e. Retelling of liturgical texts from Greekrequired 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 the authors of the Russian alphabet, the assertion that they used the already existing sign systems used in Slavic writings, standardizing them for their task, also looks quite convincing. The second problem (perhaps even more important) was the adequate transfer of the meanings set forth in the Bible in Greek terms into the words of the Slavic language. Since this was not always possible, a significant array of Greek terms was introduced into circulation through the Bible, which received unambiguous interpretations through the disclosure of their meaning in the Slavic interpretation. Thus, the Old Church 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 Church Slavonic is the basis of the late-time languages spoken by many peoples, differences between the generally accessible modern language and the original basis accumulate over time. It becomes difficult for people to understand the meaning conveyed by words that have gone out of everyday use. Therefore, adapting the source text to modern versions of the language is considered a difficult task. Translations of the Bible into modern Russian have been carried out repeatedly since the 19th century. The first of these was carried out in the second half of this century. The Russian Bible was called "synodal" becauseas a translation was approved by the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church. It conveys not only the factual side connected with the life and preaching of Christ, but also the spiritual content of his views in words understood by a contemporary. The Bible in Russian is designed to facilitate the correct interpretation of the meaning of the events described by today's person. Religion operates with concepts that sometimes differ significantly from the usual everyday terminology, and revealing the inner meaning of phenomena or the relationships of the spiritual world requires deep knowledge not only in Church Slavonic and Russian, but also a special mystical content 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 the ascetics and theologians of former times.
Satanic Bible
The influence of Christianity on society has caused a reaction from opponents of religion. In contrast to the Bible, teachings 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 written in ancient times, preach value priorities that are radically opposed to Christianity and the preaching of Jesus. They underlie many heretical teachings. The Black Bible affirms the uniqueness and supremacy of the material world, placing a person with his passions and aspirations at its center. Satisfaction of own instincts and needsis declared to be the only meaning of a short earthly existence, and any forms and actions are recognized as acceptable for this. Despite the materialism of Satanism, he recognizes the existence of the other world. But in relation to him, the right of an earthly person to manipulate or control the essences of this world for the sake of serving his own passions is preached.
The Bible in Modern Society
Christianity is one of the most widespread religious teachings in the modern world. This position is held by him for a considerable time - at least more than a thousand years. The teachings of Christ, which the Bible gives, covenants and parables constitute 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 population of our planet can read it. The Bible is also the main source of knowledge about Christianity.
