Christian Gentiles & God’s Scripture
Quran Talk Blog · Article · June 18, 2024
In a recent video, Tovia Singer discusses how the Church Fathers who decided which books would be included in the Christian Bible were all Gentiles who did not know Hebrew. He points out that only two Church Fathers, Origen (third century) and Jerome (fourth/fifth century), were fluent in Hebrew but were not involved in the canonization of the New Testament. This linguistic gap among the Church Fathers raises questions about the authenticity and accuracy of their decisions.
2:78 Among them are gentiles who do not know the scripture, except through hearsay, then assume that they know it. 2:79 Therefore, woe to those who distort the scripture with their own hands, then say, “This is what GOD has revealed,” seeking a cheap material gain. Woe to them for such distortion, and woe to them for their illicit gains.
وَمِنْهُمْ أُمِّيُّونَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ إِلَّآ أَمَانِىَّ وَإِنْ هُمْ إِلَّا يَظُنُّونَ
فَوَيْلٌ لِّلَّذِينَ يَكْتُبُونَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ بِأَيْدِيهِمْ ثُمَّ يَقُولُونَ هَـٰذَا مِنْ عِندِ ٱللَّهِ لِيَشْتَرُوا۟ بِهِۦ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا فَوَيْلٌ لَّهُم مِّمَّا كَتَبَتْ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَوَيْلٌ لَّهُم مِّمَّا يَكْسِبُونَ