[Natural Law]

"Luther TRANSLATED the New Testament books from Greek INTO German (his native language). Why would it need to take more than a year to do that for someone who was fluent in Kione Greek and was already a religious scholar?"

That proves that Luther did no research, but rather used his "translation" as a monumental exercise in eisegesis.

As for removing books, there are 7 that he removed and several more that he wanted to remove. That is documented fact regardless of the "spin" you are applying ex post facto to the deed.

Peace be with you

[boatbums]

That proves that Luther did no research, but rather used his "translation" as a monumental exercise in eisegesis. As for removing books, there are 7 that he removed and several more that he wanted to remove. That is documented fact regardless of the "spin" you are applying ex post facto to the deed.

What kind of "research" do you believe Luther needed to do to TRANSLATE from one language to another twenty-seven books - many of which were only a few chapters long??? I don't think one year is at all an impossible task to do this but I'm not a Bible translator. The sources do show that he continued to work on the ENTIRE Bible with the help of other scholars, refining and correcting it for at least another dozen years.

As to your continued FALSE assertion - in the face of evidence to the contrary - go ahead and PROVE that Luther removed ANY books from the Bible he translated. I'm not talking about books he made have had "personal issues" with nor the books that he, along with many others, did not accept as canonical (the Apocrypha), because he still did NOT omit them even with his concerns. This is additional info:

While he was sequestered in the Wartburg Castle (1521–1522) Luther began to translate the New Testament from ancient Greek into German in order to make it more accessible to all the people of the "Holy Roman Empire of the German nation." He translated from the Greek text, using Erasmus' second edition (1519) of the Greek New Testament, known as the Textus Receptus. Luther did not translate from the Latin Vulgate translation, which is the Latin translation officially used by the Roman Catholic Church. Both Erasmus and Luther had learned Greek at the Latin schools led by the Brethren of the Common Life (respectively in Deventer (Netherlands) and in Magdeburg). These lay brothers added late 15th century Greek as a new subject to their curriculum. At that time Greek was seldom taught even at universities.

To help him in translating into contemporary German, Luther would make forays into nearby towns and markets to listen to people speaking. He wanted to ensure their comprehension by translating as closely as possible to their contemporary language usage. His translation was published in September 1522, six months after he had returned to Wittenberg. In the opinion of the 19th century theologian and church historian Philip Schaff,

"The richest fruit of Luther's leisure in the Wartburg, and the most important and useful work of his whole life, is the translation of the New Testament, by which he brought the teaching and example of Christ and the Apostles to the mind and heart of the Germans in life-like reproduction. It was a republication of the gospel. He made the Bible the people's book in church, school, and house."

As to Luther's view of the canon, we read:

Initially Luther had a low view of the Old Testament book of Esther and of the New Testament books of Hebrews, James, Jude, and the Revelation of John. He called the Letter of James "an epistle of straw," finding little in it that pointed to Christ and His saving work. He also had harsh words for the Revelation of John, saying that he could "in no way detect that the Holy Spirit produced it."[11] In his translation of the New Testament, Luther moved Hebrews and James out of the usual order, to join Jude and the Revelation at the end, and differentiated these from the other books which he considered "the true and certain chief books of the New Testament. The four which follow have from ancient times had a different reputation."[12] His views on some of these books changed in later years.

Luther chose to place the Biblical apocrypha between the Old and New Testaments. These books and addenda to Biblical canon of the Old Testament are found in the ancient Greek Septuagint but not in the Hebrew Masoretic text. Luther left the translating of them largely to Philipp Melanchthon and Justus Jonas.[13] They were not listed in the table of contents of his 1532 Old Testament, and in the 1534 Bible they were given the well-known title: "Apocrypha: These Books Are Not Held Equal to the Scriptures, but Are Useful and Good to Read".[14] See also Biblical canon, Development of the Christian Biblical canon, and Biblical Apocrypha. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luther_Bible

So, NL, you and others can certainly continue to stubbornly hold to your belief that Luther removed books from the Bible, but you will continue to look foolish and obstinate in light of the truth. It's your choice. But, by all means, if you have some special resources that back you up in your view, now's the time to show them.