Answering the "Telephone Game" Argument Against the Bible by Joseph Olivares
Ever played the game of telephone? One person whispers something into someone else’s ear, they whisper into the next person’s ear, and so on. By the time it’s been passed down to the final person, the phrase or sentence bears nearly no resemblance to what was originally said by the first person!
This fun, entertaining game is often used as an analogy in a very popular—yet, as we’ll see, sadly misinformed—argument against the reliability of the Bible. The argument goes something like this: because the Bible has been through so many translations and copied from copies of copies of copies, much like the end message in a game of telephone, we can’t really know that the Bible we have today resembles what was originally written. One popular Youtuber who goes by the name of Pogobat recently gave the argument like this: “The Bible has been through many versions; it’s been translated from language to language to language to language. So if you take on faith that every word in the Bible has been placed there deliberately by God exactly where it needs to be and that it’s totally infallible, well I mean, that’s fine, there’s no way that I can disprove that. But please understand that in the exact same way that I wouldn’t trust the message at the end of a very long game of telephone, I don’t trust that the Bible says exactly what happened in Jesus’ life.”1
On the surface this very popular objection seems pretty convincing—until you look at how we have actually received our modern Bible. The problem is, when it actually comes to the reality of how the Bible has been transmitted to us today, the argument falls apart.
The truth is, our modern Bibles are not merely the result of translations of translations that have been passed through languages and languages and versions and versions. On the contrary, modern Bible versions are direct translations from a wealth of copies of the Biblical documents in their original languages.2 In fact, we have more original language (in this case, Greek) copies of the New Testament than we do of any other ancient work, at over 5,000! And although we do not have as many copies of the Old Testament documents as we do of the New, the same is true for how we have received our modern translations of the Old Testament: they are direct translations from the language in which they were originally written (Hebrew).
And although it is certainly true that the Bible has been translated to and from a variety of different versions, translations, and languages over time, it is not as if this means we do not have the original version! How does this follow logically? We have the original language copies! And we get our modern Bible from directly translating them into English! Would you be in the wrong for trusting the English subtitles of a movie that was originally made in Spanish just because the movie also includes options for subtitles in French, German, and Italian? Of course not! Why? Because despite the other translations, the English subtitle is a direct translation from the Spanish being spoken in the movie, so that you can trust the subtitles you are reading represent what is being spoken in the Spanish! In the same way, despite the fact that the Bible has been translated into different languages throughout history, our modern English translations are still direct translations from the original language, so that we can in fact trust that the Bible we hold today represents what was originally written.
The game of telephone is an unfair and dishonest analogy to impose upon the transmission of the Bible because it does not accurately reflect how we have received our modern Bible, and Christians have no need to worry about such tired, misinformed arguments.
This fun, entertaining game is often used as an analogy in a very popular—yet, as we’ll see, sadly misinformed—argument against the reliability of the Bible. The argument goes something like this: because the Bible has been through so many translations and copied from copies of copies of copies, much like the end message in a game of telephone, we can’t really know that the Bible we have today resembles what was originally written. One popular Youtuber who goes by the name of Pogobat recently gave the argument like this: “The Bible has been through many versions; it’s been translated from language to language to language to language. So if you take on faith that every word in the Bible has been placed there deliberately by God exactly where it needs to be and that it’s totally infallible, well I mean, that’s fine, there’s no way that I can disprove that. But please understand that in the exact same way that I wouldn’t trust the message at the end of a very long game of telephone, I don’t trust that the Bible says exactly what happened in Jesus’ life.”1
On the surface this very popular objection seems pretty convincing—until you look at how we have actually received our modern Bible. The problem is, when it actually comes to the reality of how the Bible has been transmitted to us today, the argument falls apart.
The truth is, our modern Bibles are not merely the result of translations of translations that have been passed through languages and languages and versions and versions. On the contrary, modern Bible versions are direct translations from a wealth of copies of the Biblical documents in their original languages.2 In fact, we have more original language (in this case, Greek) copies of the New Testament than we do of any other ancient work, at over 5,000! And although we do not have as many copies of the Old Testament documents as we do of the New, the same is true for how we have received our modern translations of the Old Testament: they are direct translations from the language in which they were originally written (Hebrew).
And although it is certainly true that the Bible has been translated to and from a variety of different versions, translations, and languages over time, it is not as if this means we do not have the original version! How does this follow logically? We have the original language copies! And we get our modern Bible from directly translating them into English! Would you be in the wrong for trusting the English subtitles of a movie that was originally made in Spanish just because the movie also includes options for subtitles in French, German, and Italian? Of course not! Why? Because despite the other translations, the English subtitle is a direct translation from the Spanish being spoken in the movie, so that you can trust the subtitles you are reading represent what is being spoken in the Spanish! In the same way, despite the fact that the Bible has been translated into different languages throughout history, our modern English translations are still direct translations from the original language, so that we can in fact trust that the Bible we hold today represents what was originally written.
The game of telephone is an unfair and dishonest analogy to impose upon the transmission of the Bible because it does not accurately reflect how we have received our modern Bible, and Christians have no need to worry about such tired, misinformed arguments.
Notes
1 Taken from 1:58-2:25 in Pogobat’s video entitled “Re: Re: Jesus”. URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKV-xrRvLTA (as of July 26, 2010)
2 If the King James Version is considered a modern version, which it generally is not due to the fact that it has been in existence since 1611, it is one exception. However, although it is not quite as accurate as most popular modern versions like the NIV, NASB and ESV, it still remains overall a very accurate, trustworthy translation.
2 If the King James Version is considered a modern version, which it generally is not due to the fact that it has been in existence since 1611, it is one exception. However, although it is not quite as accurate as most popular modern versions like the NIV, NASB and ESV, it still remains overall a very accurate, trustworthy translation.