Versions of the Bible

[Bekah92]

I am a firm believer in using only the King James Version of the Bible.  Down here in Florida it is hard to find a church that uses the KJV, so for the past 5 years we have been attending a church where the pastor uses the New King James Version and we have been OK with it until yesterday when he was making some negative comments about the KJV.  I guess what I am wondering is how you all feel about the versions of the Bible.  I grew up going to Maranatha and graduated from ZCS where we only used the KJV.  By the way I am not planning to switch to any other translation just curious  what other peoples feelings are on the subject.  I would like some insight into why or why not we should go with a certain version.  I am sure Pastor Dale preached on the subject many times I was just to much of teenager at the time to really listen .  I am ready to listen now!  Thanks in advance for any info on this matter.

[bishopbrown]

Bekah:

I am not sure who you are but I appreciate your honesty.  I believe that there are a good many who are in the exact same position that you are.  This space really does not permit a complete discussion of the issue.  However i will try and give you some basics and you can study this out on your own and I may try and write more later as time and space permits.  I would love to see you helped in this matter and again appreciate the fact that you have come to this place with an honest and obviously open heart.   

The core issue really is the issue of the doctrine of the scripture.  Those who believe the Bible believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God.  You may have heard someone speak of the verbal, plenary inspiration of the scripture.  The word VERBAL is the idea that the Holy Spirit of God inspired every word of the Bible.  The Bible teaches that he literally moved the along the pen of each writer (II Peter 1:18-21;see the word MOVED in verse 21 which literally means "to move along by bearing" it translated from a Greek word which would be used to describe the wind that would blow and bear along a ship across the sea.)  The word PLENARY refers to the collective whole of the Bible, not only has God inspired the individual words of the Bible, He has also inspired the sum total of the Bible. 

The word INSPIRATION apprears in II Timothy 3:16.  When you get out your Strong's Concordance and look at that word it is the Greek word theopneustos, which comes from two word Theos which = God and Pneo which = to breathe, to breathe out.  So the word theopneustos or INSPIRATION literally means GOD BREATHED.  God through his Holy Spirit breathed out His very words to the various scriptural penmen as they wrote the various books of the Bible.  Verbal plenary inspiration is one of the true tenets of Fundamentalism.  If the Bible has flaws or errors then the  very foundation of our faith is at risk.  We have stated that the Bible is the foundation of all we believe in faith and practice. David asked in Psalm 11:3, IF THE FOUNDATIONS BE DESTROYED WHAT SHALL THE RIGHTEOUS DO.  As I can develop later there are two categories of texts from which Bibles have been translated, the critical texts and the received text.  The critical text and its various translations (NIV, NASB, etc...) have altered the Word of God and have eroded certain doctrines most notably the person of our Lord.  I have to go for now but I may write more later. 

[Bekah92]

Thank-you so much for responding!  I know this is a very lengthy issue and I am researching this on my own also.  Just hoping to get some others thoughts and maybe some help  sending me in the right direction.  My mother has the book New Age Versions of the Bible, however she has loaned it out to my sister at this time. 

By the way I am Rebekah Perez ( Williams ), I graduated from ZCS in 1992. 

Thanks again for the information.

[SkyWarp]

WOW, what a topic to bring a little life back into the Coliseum!! 

I know exactly how hard it is to find a church that uses the KJV.  Living out here in the middle of nowhere Iowa, we ended up having to travel 40 miles to find a church that uses the KJV (there are two or three about 40-50 miles away) and none of them are in Iowa.  Minnesota and South Dakota are the closest we know about. 

It was rather interesting visiting a few churches when we first moved out here and thinking each time, that this church would be the one, then all of a sudden they would start quoting scripture and we were totally lost trying to follow along.  We usually found that these churches were on varying trips toward a more liberal approach in many areas.  (although we can't say that was always true since we only visited them one time). 

[Bekah92]

Wow!  It has been awhile since anyone has posted anything.  I just wanted to post a little update regarding my search for a church that uses the KJV.  We have been attending a church since July and they take a very firm stand on the KJV and their music.  Music is another big issue these days, I don't enjoy the background music, I feel it takes away from the service.  So many churches are having mini rock concerts, I just don't see how that can be glorifying to God.  Anyway, I have gotten off track a bit, we are really enjoying this church, and the crazy thing it is only a minute from my house! 
When I first posted this topic I honestly didn't think about how many people might read it and not understand the importance of using the KJV or watching what kind of music is played during services.  I do hope that maybe this topic will help people realize that God has not changed and we also shouldn't waiver in our beliefs just to appease the world.  So many of the churches we tried down here try hard not to offend anyone, since we have been going to this church I haven't been offended just convicted about things that I should have been convicted about a long time ago.  We really need to pray hard and often for those churches that are staying on that straight and narrow path.  I thank God everyday for churches like Maranatha that have guided me in the right direction.

[Kunchie]

KJVAV1611

That's the book Kunchie uses!

[DaveF]

I'm no means a Bible scholar but went the route of thinking versions other than the KJV were okay.  At this stage (senior years), I see it's more than just avoiding all the thee's and thou's.  Critical are the "basic doctrines" (Jehovah being all He says He is, the virgin birth, the basic gospel, the Bible interpreted literally as much as possible, etc.).  For example,  God (1 Cor. 15:28) and Christ (Eph. 1:23) being "all in all" really subsumes a great deal illuminating such pictures as Christ being all the items listed in the tabernacle, belief in the Fall of man answers the question of the "Gap Theory", and the delusion of such people as Charles Darwin, his "theory" of evolution and its effects throughout history. Through seeing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as presented in the KJV we can "rightly divide and interpret this God-preserved Word of God".

[Bekah92]

It is nice to see someone writing on here again.  I have continued to look into this issue and one bit of information that I have come across is very basic. That all the other versions of the Bible create confusion and Satan is the author of confusion.  If most churches had their congregation stand up to read in unison out of their version of the Bible it would just sound like a bunch of noise.

[Kunchie]

I've been doing some research on the subject of which version of the Bible to use. I've been raised to believe that the correct version to use is the KJV. I've found out some very interesting things. Im by no means an expert on this, nor is my study on the subject complete. (It's a pretty huge topic.)

I was amazed at just how many translations are out there. The first thing I found out was that their are different "approaches" to translation. These are- Formal equivalence and Dynamic equivalence. Formal equivalance is an attempt to translate a work as word for word as possible. Dynamic equivalance attempts to show the thought of the text. The problem with dynamic equivalence is that people will translate it into what they think the passage means, or in some cases, what they want it to mean.

After finding out about these two types of translation approaches, I realized I didnt want a bible full of what people think it means. I wanted a Bible that IS what it is. I wanted what was preserved by God. Ruling out dynamic equivalent bibles narrowed down my search quite a bit.

I found this webpage which may be of use to you.

http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Bible/all_corrupt.htm