Barbed Wire Fences

Some people defend the idea that the King James Version of the Bible represents the one true inspired Bible and all modern translations are perversions of the true text and are to be avoided. Seems to me like they are trying to build a protective barbed wire fence around the KJV, a fence that is unnecessary.

I've been reading some things on this topic recently and have come to a couple of conclusions which I will get to later. (You can check out the web site, http://faith.propadeutic.com/questions.html and also see http://www.bible.org/page.asp?page_id=1221 for Daniel B. Wallace's article mentioned below.)

We know the original languages form the basis for the English Bible. Also, most translations are revisions of previous translations. So there are “families” of translations. For example, Tyndale's translation became the Great Bible which became the Bishop's Bible which became the King James Bible. The KJV was revised in the United States and became the American Standard Version which became the basis for the New American Standard, the updated NASB, the Revised Standard Version, the NRSV, the English Standard Version, the Living Bible and the New Living Bible. I hope I've got that right. The point is there are a lot of translations available today many of which are revisions of previous translations.

There are more than 5000 Greek manuscripts of the New Testament and these too are grouped into families. Erasmus work was the basis for what became known as the Textus Receptus also known as the Majority Text which represents the Byzantine tradition. When the KJV was translated the Textus Receptus was virtually the only source for the translation. After Erasmus day other earlier manuscripts were discovered; the Western text (Latin influence), and the Alexandrian tradition (Egypt and Palestine) are two examples. Scholars began using these earlier manuscripts along with the later Byzantine texts. This became known as the Critical Text. So, to greatly oversimplify the process, we ended up with a Majority Text based on the Textus Receptus and a Critical Text that made use of all available texts.

Some people argue that the Textus Receptus/Majority Text constitutes the only inspired, inerrant, providentially preserved New Testament. Daniel B. Wallace in his article, “Inspiration, Preservation and New Testament Textual Criticism,” provides an excellent and detailed discussion and rebuttal of this viewpoint. He refers to Jasper James who concludes, “that no modern version of the Bible may be properly be called the Bible, that salvation and spiritual growth can only come through versions based on the TR, and that Satan is the prime mover behind all versions based on the more ancient manuscripts.”

Well, I'm a conservative, evangelical type. Sometimes people think I'm a religious person and ask me, "What are you?" When all else fails I tell them I'm a Billy Graham Baptist. Their eyes brighten and they mutter, “Oh, yah,” and I'm assured they know where to pigeon-hole me. I trust and rely on an inspired, inerrant Bible. I will never encourage people to use carelessly translated, sloppy, or heretical translations. But it seems to me that building a protective barbed wire fence around the KJV is unnecessary and motivated by fear of losing control of God's Word. I think the Lord ignores their efforts and His Word goes on in power, informing and transforming the lives of people who read The Book.

After my web surfing I brought up the Net Bible on my computer and pulled a number of translations off the shelf and compared a few passages. I was pleasantly surprised at the similarities among them and how the footnotes explained translation variations. Trust me, you can pick up any standard translation and immediately be confronted with God's Word aimed right at you. You won't be able to avoid His message to you.

It seems to me that in some substantial measure God's Word is self-authenticating. In a strange way I was reminded of our basement on 33^rd Avenue in South Minneapolis 60 years ago. Water continually seeped into it. My dad patched it, cemented it, and Bondexed it to no avail. We always had water in the basement. God's Word has a way of seeping in no matter what people might do to try to control it either positively or negatively. I am in favor of defending God's Word, but you don't have to build a fence around one Greek text to protect it.

God's Word is like red paint. Trying to cover it is tough because it always bleeds through. Read it in Greek, English, Spanish, Korean, whatever, you can't avoid the message. If you read it, God's truth will forever change your life and your destiny.

So the word for today is READ THE WORD. Become familiar with it from cover to cover (Your choice of leather, hardcover, paperback, vinyl, etc.). Let its truth seep deep into your mind and bones. I just got a copy of the English Standard Version. I'm excited about getting into it. jimstj