Just a Thought: The Ethiopian Bible—What Are We Really Looking For?

I have had quite a few people ask me recently about the so-called “Ethiopian Bibles” being advertised on Facebook and other social media platforms.

I understand the curiosity. Ethiopia has an incredibly rich and ancient Christian history. Having spent many years connected with Ethiopia and Ethiopian ministry, I have a great appreciation for that history.

But I think we need to separate history from hype.

There are countless videos and discussions online questioning many of the “Ethiopian Bibles” currently being marketed in English. Questions have been raised about their translations, contents, origins, and claims of authenticity. Finding reliable English translations of some of the ancient Ethiopian religious writings is not nearly as simple as clicking an advertisement on Facebook.

That brings me to what I think is the more important question:

Why is there suddenly so much interest?

If your interest is historical, I understand it. If you want to study the history of Christianity in Ethiopia, I understand it. If you are interested in understanding why the Ethiopian Orthodox tradition recognizes books that Protestants do not include in the biblical canon, that can be a worthwhile historical and theological study. But those writings must still be examined carefully.

• Something being ancient does not automatically make it inspired.

• Something being Ethiopian does not automatically make it Scripture.

• Something being left out of the Protestant Bible does not automatically mean somebody was trying to hide it.

• And something being advertised as “the Bible they don't want you to read” certainly doesn't make it true.

That is where I become concerned.

What Are You Hoping to Find?

I have noticed another motivation behind some of this interest. Some people seem convinced that somebody, somewhere, has hidden the “real Bible” from them. They believe church leaders removed books. Governments suppressed the truth. Religious organizations covered something up. Somewhere there must be a lost book containing information Christianity doesn't want us to know. That raises a much deeper theological question.

How small is our view of God if we believe human beings could successfully hide something that God intended the world to know?

Think about that.

• We believe God created the heavens and the earth.

• We believe He spoke creation into existence.

• We believe He preserved Israel.

• We believe He sent His Son into the world.

• We believe Jesus Christ died, was buried, and rose again.

• We believe God commissioned His church to carry the Gospel throughout the world.

Yet somehow we are supposed to believe that a group of men could sit around a table, remove a few books, and successfully prevent Almighty God from communicating something He wanted humanity to know?

That gives men an incredible amount of power and God very little.

God's Word Is Not Afraid of Investigation

I am not suggesting that Christians should be afraid to study ancient writings. Study them. Learn church history. Study how the canon developed. Learn about Ethiopian Christianity. Read about manuscripts. Study the Apocrypha. Study writings that were respected historically but were not recognized as Scripture by Protestants.

But learn the difference between:

historically important

and

divinely inspired.

Those are not the same thing.

Paul wrote:

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God…”
—2 Timothy 3:16, KJV

The question is not simply, “Is this book old?”

The question is, “Is this Scripture?”

That requires much more serious examination than a Facebook advertisement or a YouTube personality telling us that Christianity has been lying to us for 1,500 years.

Be Careful With Conspiracy Christianity

There is something particularly dangerous happening in modern Christianity. For some people, conspiracy has become more exciting than Scripture. A secret book is more interesting than John. A hidden teaching is more exciting than Romans. An alleged suppressed gospel gets more attention than the Gospel we already possess. People spend hours trying to discover what somebody supposedly removed from the Bible while ignoring what God plainly says in the Bible sitting on their nightstand. Maybe our biggest problem isn't that somebody hid something from us.

Maybe our biggest problem is that we aren't obeying what God has already plainly given us.

Jesus said:

“Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.”
—Matthew 24:35, KJV

Isaiah wrote:

“The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.”
—Isaiah 40:8, KJV

I have a difficult time believing that Almighty God desperately wanted humanity to possess some essential spiritual truth but was defeated because human beings managed to hide the right manuscript. That isn't much of a God. The God of Scripture is sovereign.

Study—But Study Carefully

There is nothing wrong with asking questions. There is nothing wrong with examining history. There is nothing wrong with studying Ethiopian Christianity or ancient religious literature. n fact, Christians shouldn't be afraid of serious scholarship.

But we should also recognize how easily curiosity can become sensationalism.

Before buying something advertised as an “Ethiopian Bible,” ask some basic questions:

• Who translated it?

• What manuscripts were used?

• What exactly is included?

• Is it actually translated from Ge'ez or Amharic?

• What organization published it?

• Are recognized scholars involved?

• Is the advertisement accurately representing the Ethiopian Orthodox tradition?

• Or is someone simply placing the words “Forbidden,” “Hidden,” “Lost,” or “They Don't Want You to Know” on the cover because those words sell books?

Those are very different things.

The Greatest Truth Was Never Hidden

Here is what I find interesting. While people search for secret knowledge, God has placed the greatest message humanity could ever receive right in front of us. Christ died for our sins. He was buried. He rose again. Salvation is available through Jesus Christ. The Gospel has traveled across nations, languages, cultures, kingdoms, wars, persecutions, political movements, and centuries. Men have tried to destroy Bibles. Governments have outlawed Christianity. Christians have been persecuted. Empires have risen and fallen. And yet God's Word remains.

So study the Ethiopian manuscripts. Study church history. Examine ancient books. Ask difficult questions. But don't become so fascinated with finding a supposedly hidden Bible that you neglect the Bible God has already placed in your hands. And before believing that somebody successfully hid God's truth from the world for centuries, consider what that belief says about your view of God.

If God wants His truth known, man is not powerful enough to stop Him.

Just a thought.