The Johannine Comma

"The Johannine Comma, also referred to as the Comma Johanneum, is a comma (a short clause) known since the 4th century and contained in most translations of the First Epistle of John published from 1522 until the latter part of the nineteenth century, owing to the widespread use of the third edition of the Textus Receptus (TR) as the sole source for translation. In translations containing the clause, such as the King James Version, 1 John 5:7–8 reads as follows (with the Comma in bold print):"

7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

8 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.

Should be:

7 For there are three that bear record:
8 the Spirit, and the water, and the blood; and these three agree in one.

"The resulting passage is an explicit reference to the Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and for this reason some Christians are resistant to the elimination of the Comma from modern Biblical translations. Nonetheless, nearly all recent translations have removed this clause, as it does not appear in older copies of the Epistle and it is not present in the passage as quoted by any of the early Church Fathers, who would have had plenty of reason to quote it in their Trinitarian debates (for example, with the Arians), had it existed then. Most Churches now agree that the theology contained in the Comma is true, but that the Comma is not an original part of the Epistle of John."

You would never believe two verses of scripture could involve so much history, over so many centuries! To learn more about the Johannine Comma, I suggest reading the article at Wikipedia or the following article by Marc A. Schindler:

The Johannine Comma: Bad Translation, Bad Theology

And just in case you think everyone agrees that the Johannine Comma is not original, read some of the links provide by Google!