By By Ugochukwu Ugwuanyi
Given the criticisms and denunciation that Brian Simmons has suffered since coming up with his The paraphrased translation – nay The Passion Translation (TPT) – of the Holy Bible, it’s a given that the wide use and acceptance of Scripture wouldn’t have survived to this present age if authored like other publications or adulterated with the subjugating motives of some white men. That’s the outlandish claim by Pastor Tobi Adegboyega of the UK-based SPAC Nation.
The Passion Translation has remained widely unpopular. Most preachers wouldn’t even quote from it. I won’t be surprised if this is your first time hearing about that version! If the Bible weren’t true, it would have faced a similar rejection rather than being venerated as The Good Book or Holy Writ! Actually, it is because of the revelations in the Holy Bible that the world’s other major religion calls Christians Ahl al-Kitāb (People of the Book). Such a critical life manual cannot be dismissed as the product of some person’s whims and caprices.
It didn’t matter to the flamboyant Adegboyega that the Holy Bible was originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek languages. With a straight poker face, he surmised that “the white man wrote the Bible to make us (Africans) submit to him. Christianity is a social construct.” Isn’t this bare-faced heterodoxy from someone who should know better? What has this designer-wearing pastor been teaching his members all along? For someone who says he cannot but probe the Bible to reach this eventual conclusion shows how shallow and harebrained his investigation was in the first place.
Whatever the intention, there is a need to impede the back-to-the-roots poison Adegboyega is trying to inject into the Body of Christ before it metastasises on the wings of his pastoral privileges and the influence he wields on digital natives courtesy of his swashbuckling lifestyle. This is more so as “the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:4).
Adegboyega’s unfounded teaching must not be allowed to shipwreck the faith of the weak. If tempted to cruise along with man’s absurd thesis on social media, let his devotees be minded of this warning in Malachi 3:13, “Your words have been stout against me, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee?” How heretic for Jesus – the Word – to be projected as malleable towards achieving mere mortals’ selfish agenda!
Impressionable minds are at the mercy of the unconventional pastor’s posturing and postulation because they lack an indwelling of the Spirit that guides into all truths. Indeed, there’s no believer with an active relationship with the Holy Spirit who would question the veracity of the Holy Bible. They work hand in glove as Scripture is the major means through which the Holy Ghost communicates with and comforts the Brethren. It’s most tragic that a supposed man of God would be pulling people from The Way when he should be doing the exact opposite. Let’s now go ahead to show that there’s no scintilla of truth in Adegboyega’s expressed thoughts.
Scripture is not a European social construct but a Middle Eastern book. The Holy Bible was written between 1400 BC and AD 100, mostly by Jews in the Middle East. Second-century Syrian writer Tatian attempted to create a canon by weaving the four gospels together as the Diatessaron. The Muratorian Canon, believed to date to 200 A.D., is the earliest compilation of canonical texts resembling the New Testament. By the 5th century, all the various Christian churches unanimously agreed on the Biblical canon.
The emergent books that were canonised reflect when they were embraced as much as the time of events they portray. They were critically acclaimed because several ancient non-biblical texts provide accounts that complement details, offering insights into biblical narratives, figures, and prophecies. These ancient materials, such as the Book of Enoch, the Apocrypha, and the Dead Sea Scrolls, provide parallel proofs to the details contained in the Bible.
Pastor Tobi Adegboyega.
The contentious injunction about “slaves obey your masters” in Ephesians was written by Apostle Paul circa AD 50-51, that’s some 1,400 years before European colonialism of Africa began in 1400–1500. While the Ethiopian Eunuch was baptised in Acts 8 (AD 35), Christianity reached Africa in the 1st century, the same epoch that the Coptic Church in Egypt started. The Kingdom of Aksum (Ethiopia) became officially Christian in AD 330 before most parts of Europe! How is it then possible that the white men wrote the Holy Bible?
The earliest edition of the Bible that has Caucasians’ imprimatur is the King James Version (KJV). Yet, the promotion of slavery wasn’t the motivation nor featured in the conversation that birthed it. Known in England as the “Authorized Version,” the KJV was commissioned in 1604 by King James I following political pressure from Puritans and Calvinists who called for church reform and demanded a complete restructuring of the ecclesiastical hierarchy. Therefore, King James 1 wasn’t driven by empire expansionism or territorial conquest in coming up with the inimitable KJV, as Adegboyega would say of the white man.
The SPAC Nation founder couldn’t apparently be referring to the United States with his bogus claim, even though President Ronald Reagan signed into law an Act of Congress proclaiming 1983 to be the “Year of the Bible.” That law described the Bible as the “Word of God” and emphasised “a national need to study and apply its teachings.” Even with such zeal for the Holy Bible, the Americans were no slave drivers in Africa. While they had a rabid horde of confederates and white supremacists, there were unionists on the counter.
Indeed, the Holy Bible couldn’t have been a literature that supports slave raiders and colonialists, given that it is replete with messages of liberation and equality, as per everyone being created in the same image of God. According to Isaiah 61:1, part of the mandate clause of Jesus who is the Word in flesh, is to: “proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;” The Scripture that details great lengths God went to free the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and says in Galatians 3:28 that “there is neither slave nor free for you are all one” will definitely not lend itself as a tool for repression and suppression of any race.
Heartwarmingly, Scripture is so all-knowing and prescient that it bears answers to arguments about its origin, thereby making a fool of whoever challenges its authenticity as God’s enduring Word. According to 2 Timothy 3:16 (NLT), “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realise what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.”
Many have relied on the initial part of the verse to counter Adegboyega’s claim, but the fallacy of his thesis is better addressed in the latter part of that scripture. Of the raison d’être for the Holy Bible listed in that verse, nowhere was colonialism mentioned. That should settle the argument without us needing to highlight Biblical facts that speak volumes about the enduring truthfulness of the Word of God.
VIS Ugochukwu is a Sage, Storyteller and Brand Strategist who engages with readers via X @sylvesugwuanyi
