Wednesday, April 4, 2007

Wow

Well, I've decided I need to get writing every day whether I have something to say or not, just to get in the habit.

Today I'm in a rant of sorts. I was doing a search the other day for some lyrics to a song from a kid's album my sons had in their early years. Don't ask me how, but I ended up in a webring of a bunch of extremely conservative baptists. Now, mind you, I have no problems with conservatives (I am one) or baptists ( my parents are), but this was one of the more bizarre strings of websites I had ever seen. The common thread was that they are absolutely gaga over the King James Version of the Bible, authorized in the year 1611. Gaga doesn't even begin to cover it. Wow. WOW!!! It was crazy! I couldn't tell if they were more in love with Jesus or this version of the Bible. I'm still trying to figure out why they're so obsessed with a version that was 'authorized' by an earthly king (whose own relationship with Christ is largely unknown) for purely political reasons. It was this same king who sent a baptist leader to prison (he died there!) for writing a book on religious freedom.

While I don't have any problem with the KJV, their defense of it as the only english version of the Word of God that is divinely inspired is just plain cuckoo IMHO. There are great options out there. I'm not advocating that we all run out and get "The Message" and take our doctrine from it but the ESV and NIV are both great translations. I believe the Bible was written for everyone, not just the educated. The KJV was written in the english language of 1611. If we're going to essentially translate it into the everyday english of today via our pulpits because it's difficult to understand, what is wrong with a valid, easier-to-understand translation. Being stuck on a translation done in 1611 is kind of like being caught in the amish time warp.....sort of like one period of history is more godly than another. Hmmmm.

I'm just sitting here wondering how the rest of the world can even exist in a Christianity that doesn't include the KJV!!!:-)

I suppose that is enough for today's rant. Maybe the plummeting temperatures are getting to me! I'm so looking forward to warm sunny Florida and hitting the discount bookhouse in Georgia on the way down. Then again, I do have to venture through the Carolinas....home of all these KJV only blogs. You never know what might happen if I get caught with the NIV!!!
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2 comments:

Ted Snyder said...

Hello, I saw your comments on those crazy guys that believe the King James Bible is the word of God and nothing else. You will want to know up front that I am one of those people (though I'm not from the Carolinas.)

Just a couple of questions for you to consider. If every bible version is good enough to for you, Where do find absolute truth? They don't all agree you know.

God does not talk to you and me as he did with Moses, face to face. Or as he did to King David, through prophets. For us to learn what God would have us to know we must go to His finished revelation, the Bible.

If you can use any book that says Bible on the cover then you become the one that decides what is right by deciding what book you will use. But, if there is one and only one true book with God's words then God can be the authority and we are responsible to what He has said.

Forgive me for this brief note, I must get back to work. Please think about who should be the authority in our lives. If you believe it is God then you had better be sure you know what He has already said.

God bless you with all truth,

Ted Snyder

April 5, 2007 at 1:52 PM
Karen said...

Thanks for your comments. First of all, let me say that I know you're not crazy :-), I just think the KJV obsession is a little out there.

Secondly, not every book that has Bible stamped on the front is acceptable to me by any means. Absolute truth comes from God's Word and the Holy Spirit who guides us into all truth.

What I have a problem with is that you say ..."you become the one that decides what is right by deciding what book you will use." Ted....how is that ANY different from YOU deciding to use the King James. Like I said in my blog before....that version was authorized by a secular King (who considered himself quite the theologian}, who let a baptist rot and die in prison because he dared to write a book about religious freedom. There were other english versions prior to that, translated by incredible men of God. So, do tell, what do you think makes the King James 1611 the ONLY English Word of God? If I, as you say, have "become the one that decides what is right by deciding what book you will use", then what is it that YOU have done? You have decided what translation you will use and it is the KJV...but you decided that yourself with the help of the Holy Spirit.....AS DID I. I am selective.....and I think some translations are loose and free with lots of things....like the version of the NIV that has all the gender-neutral garbage in it.....and I'm not too thrilled with The Message either. However, the ESV and the original NIV are fantastic translations.

I think the Lord is far more concerned with our obedience and holiness than He is with what translation we choose. I just don't see any meaningful difference in the King James versus, say, the ESV. If you need to check a few passages, go to BibleGateway.com to compare the two.

To claim that what YOU have decided to read is the only Word of God for today is pretty ludicrous. That would imply that the rest of the body of Christ is living in disobedience, that our decisions are based on human writings, almost like we are a lesser class of believer that takes our walk far less seriously. Scary.

Anyway...thats my opinion and I'm stickin' to it. Sorry for the delay but I've been en route to the sunny south for a few days.

Enjoy your day! I'm not offended by the discussion at all. I think it's good to have these conversations.

'Nerak'

April 8, 2007 at 2:44 PM

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