Belief in Black and White: Religions' Texts Story aired: Thursday, December 23, 2004
'Tis the season, and across this land, in church pageants and snowy front yards, a familiar tableau is arranged: the infant Jesus is in his cradle. Mary and Joseph gaze on adoringly. There are shepherds and kings, and often as not, an ox and an ass.
But how much of the familiar nativity scene in the stable comes from Gospels, and how much is from other traditions that have been added later?
Ben Witherington is New Testament professor at Asbury Theological Seminary in Lexington, Kentucky. We speak with him about how much we know about the Bible comes from the text, and how much from tradition.
The Bible is the most translated book in history. Ever since the early church overcame its resistance to seeing its sacred text appear in every day language, evangelists have worked tirelessly to make it available.
According to our next guest, of the 6,000 languages in the world, the Bible has only been translated into 415.
Guests:
Miriam Ronning, co-founder of the Home for Bible Translators and Scholars in Jerusalem.
