At Christmas this year we bought a ROKU device. I had heard about them on Worldview Weekend’s radio programs, and I was tired of using our PS3 for viewing videos online.

Having had it for a couple of weeks now I can say that it was well worth it. I think we are actually getting better quality, and we have a lot more resources available to us at minimal cost.

So we found ourselves watching a few videos on Tubitv.com and there have been a couple of really good ones.

The one I want to talk about today is called “Bridge to Babylon” By Christian J. Pinto, and his company Adullam Films.

I first heard Chris Pinto on audio files I downloaded from Worldview Weekend, Brannon Howse’s website.  I think I first heard Chris being interviewed by Brannon, and later downloaded his own radio programs.  Chris is a Calvinist, and so I disagree with him on the TULIP, but I still have a lot in common with him, on a lot of other subjects.  I consider him to be a Brother in Christ, and a co-traveler.  On the subject of Salvation, or the Deity of Christ, or the preservation of Scripture, I think it is fair to say we are in agreement.

So what is “Bridge to Babylon” about?

Bridge to Babylon is an exposé of the Modern Critical Text of the bible, and of the men who put it together.  It is also an exposé of the modern Dynamic Equivalent translation method used in the majority of modern bible translations.  Dramatic re-enactments are used, as are interviews with several experts.

The two men most responsible for the creation of the Textus Criticus, were two Anglican churchmen, Brook Foss Westcott and Fenton John Anthony Hort, who compiled their text from mainly three sources, during the mid 1800s.

The philosophy of these two men is examined, and their methods are exposed.  You will see evidence that their scholarship is in question, and their methods suspect.  Writings of contemporary experts are also examined, so you can see that there was some Christian opposition to the ideas of these two men, even at the beginning.

The history and use of the Sinaiticus manuscript is examined, as well as the claims of one Constantine Simonides, an expert calligrapher, that he had created the manuscript himself in the 1830s, on an old bound but mostly blank book, and had donated it to the St. Catherines monastery, where Tishendorf found it.

Evidence indicating this to be true is presented, including the fact that Simonides himself had published the first Greek versions of “The Shepherd of Hermas” and “The Gospel of Thomas” several years before Tishendorf had found the Sinaiticus manuscript.  This “Bible” manuscript contains the same Greek versions of these two books!

Tishendorf claimed that he had visited the St. Catherines monastery and had found some of the pages from this document in a waste basket, which were then being burned by the monks.  He took some of the pages back to Germany, and two years later returned and obtained the whole document.

The question that must be asked, is “If they were burning the pages of the Sinaiticus Manuscript, how is it that he came home with a complete book?”  This doesn’t add up, but it leads to the conclusion that what they were burning must have been practice pages which had been donated at the same time as the rest of the document, or that they were the original source pages, from which Simonides had copied from!

Pinto interviews several experts in bible preservation including Dr. Jack Mooreman, James White, and Dr. Donald Waite.

There is so much more in the movie, but its probably best if you see it yourself!  Just go to Tubitv and search for “Bridge to Bablyon”.

The documentary is around 2 hours and 40 minutes long, so watching it in one sitting is a challenge.  We did it in 3 sessions over 3 days, but I have to say it was well worth it.

Tubitv also has another Adullam film by Chris Pinto, “A Lamp in the Dark” which I am eager to watch!  Hopefully I will get to it this week!

God Bless,

Dan