The Bible As An Unread Icon

Christianity as most of us know it rests entirely upon the work of Saint Paul, the New Testament and the Holy Bible translations from the Greek and Hebrew scriptures! The world has paid virtually no attention to the fact that the language of Christ, the Apostles, and the Prophets were Aramaic, the lingua franca in Palestine before and during the time of Jesus the Christ. Until now, Christianity has given little recognition to the fact that Aramaic was the language of the Hebrews and that the Hebrew language itself is a dialect of Aramaic!

That great Bible publisher, A. J. Holman, first made the best known English translation of the Peshitta, the Holy Bible of the Church of the East, available in the West, in 1933! The translation was that of Dr. George M. Lamsa, a highly educated man of God who was born in the land of the Prophets with the Aramaic language of Christ and the Apostles.

We remind the reader of these facts because we have embarked upon a crusade to reverse the course of this wretched civilization and the current onslaught against the beloved King James Version of the Bible and Christianity itself. Whatever the shortcomings of the KJV, and there are many, it still is full of the inspired words of God. We want you to know that the theology of this translator and the work of those who will follow him with translations of the ancient commentaries in Aramaic are exactly right for the 21st Century man and woman in search of the Truth of Scripture. Why?

If you are knowledgeable of the theology of Wycliffe, Tyndale, Coverdale, Martin Luther, the Pietists, Quakers, Crummell, Locke and Barth, know why Christianity is sometimes known as "the religion of men, not the religion of God". The only thread, common among these theologians, was their praise for the Lord God and Jesus Christ. Surely, there is not enough enlightenment in this understanding for Christians in our time. If we are to meet the challenges with which we are faced today, we must make use of the one theology that will enable society to get a grip on human affairs leading to improved values so defiled, debased, and corrupted by Supreme Court decisions in recent years.

Knowing as you do that the language of Christ, the Apostles, and the Prophets was Aramaic (Biblical Archaeology Review, Sept./Oct. 1992), you are invited to hear the audio taped lectures of Dr. George M. Lamsa at no risk to you. You are invited not only to hear his lectures dating back to the early 1950's, but also to help us organize and engage in open class discussions of both your work and that of Dr. George M. Lamsa. Drawn from the scriptures received from the hands of the Apostles themselves in the Aramaic original and unknown to the West until 1918.

 

HOW IMPORTANT IS IT THAT YOU KNOW THE THEOLOGY OF THIS BIBLE TRANSLATOR?

 

One measure of the fact that the Bible is an unread icon is that which is cited in an article that appeared in the St. Petersburg Times on October 1, 1994.

"HAS THE BIBLE BECOME AN UNREAD ICON?"

The author, Randall Balmer, Religious News Service, tells us that most households have a Bible, many have several. "So why don't Americans know what's between its covers?" He goes on to report that a Gallup survey tells us, yet again, that the Bible is America's best-read book and the nation's perennial best seller. He then asks: "Why do I find that hard to believe?"

"Presidents such as Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln were profoundly affected by the Bible, even though neither showed up in church very often. Jefferson produced his own version of the Gospels, stripped of references to miracles and other supernatural phenomena, and the magisterial cadences of the King James Version appear everywhere in Lincoln's speeches. ---- Evangelical and fundamentalists are especially guilty of this bibliolatry. More years ago than I care to remember I worked as a writer for a fundamentalist seminary did. This was a place that champions biblical inerrancy, the notion that the Bible is utterly without error in the original manuscripts (which, by the way, no longer exist). The faculty at this institution would wage vicious battles against anyone who claimed to be a Christian but who did not affirm biblical inerrancy. Any faculty member perceived as 'soft' on the issue was hectored and badgered and vilified until he left the institution. Similarly, anyone outside the seminary who expressed reservations about biblical inerrancy was regarded as something of a heretic and treated with indifference or contempt."

I ask you, dear friend of the Holy Bible, is it not time that we put an end to this non-Christian war of debate so destructive of the Christian religion? It is, and you can begin by learning what really were the miracles of the Lord Jesus. Not only did the Lord perform miracles, he told his disciples, and you and me, that we could and would do miracles greater than His own! The question is how and when and under what circumstances can we also exercise this power? Learn from the one man, the only Bible Translator born in the land of the prophets with the language of Jesus and the Apostles, Aramaic!

Organize your own audio taped lecture group and begin class discussions on a perpetual rotating basis. Order several of these tapes of most interest to your current Sunday School or Bible Study Class. Begin on any subject and with your order ask for a supply of Lamsa's little book of 104 pages, "New Testament Origin".