Session One Does it Matter Which Version?

Purpose – King James Rejection Based on both dollar and unit sales the NIV is the number one selling Bible* While still very popular, the King James is being called an inferior translation by today’s textual scholars Only one Bible on this list is an excellent translation of a reliable text Top –Selling Bibles * 1.New International Version 2.King James Version 3.New King James Version 4.New Living Translation 5.English Standard Version 6.Holman Christian Standard Bible 7.The Message 8.New American Standard Bible 9.New International Readers Version 10.Reina Valera 1960 (Spanish) *2010 Christian Booksellers Association list of best selling Bible translations, based on US Christian retail stores

Purpose – King James Ignorance Many independent, fundamental Baptist church members have no idea why their church is King James Only “It was good enough for Jesus, so it’s good enough for me” Others claim a “preference” for the King James

Purpose – King James Onlyism Accusation – “King James Onlyers are emotional and ignorant” Reality – Exclusive use of the King James is practical, logical, and intelligent Acknowledgement of a few simple truths will lead us to this conclusion 1. God promised to preserve His word 2. Not all translations are God’s word 3. Choose which version is God’s word and use it

Why So Many Versions? Number of English language translations: ??? Historically popular translations – Revised Version (1881) – first major work following KJV – ASV (1901) – American revision of RV – RSV (1946) – revision of RV and ASV – NWT (1950) – Jehovah’s Witness – NASB (1963) – modernization of the ASV Why so many versions?

Why So Many Versions? $$$$ I Timothy 6:10 The love of money is the root of all evil – The Bible printing business is a billion-dollar industry – With each new “latest and best” version released its publisher stands to make vast sums of money – To legally acquire a copyright each new version must be “different enough” from previous versions Pride – the reputation of “scholars” is dependent on new versions Perversion of truth

The Question – Does it Matter? What criteria do we use in selecting a Bible? – I like it – It is socially acceptable – It is available – My Bible is God’s Word! – But can it all be God’s word?

Bible Study Perspectives Existence of God Atheist: there is no God Agnostic: we can’t know if there is or not Pantheist: God is in everything Christian: God is my heavenly Father Existence of God’s word We don’t have God’s word We can’t know if we have God’s word It’s all God’s wordMy Bible is God’s Word Result Hopelessness Misplaced Hope & Self-righteousness Hope

How Did We Get Our Bible? At some point this question must be asked The reader of the King James may go a lifetime accepting their Bible as God’s word without ever pondering this question Ironically, the modern versions bring this question to their reader’s attention regularly – by casting doubt on the text Today’s Christian is bombarded with skepticism and confusion regarding “which version?”

The Wrong Approach “The believer may safely leave such problems (i.e. the transmission of the text) to the discussion of theological and textual experts. He should not try to be a botanist, but simply feed on the fruit of the word. He can let the scholars chew over dry bones; he should fill his mind and conscience with the holy word.”* May sound good to some, but questions remain: – On which word are we to feed? – Who are these experts on whom we may safely rely? *Custer, Stewart “The Truth of the King James Version Controversy” p.16

The Right Approach Question 1: Upon which word do we feed? – The one God promised to preserve – we want to feed on GOD’S WORD – We want what God said, not Dr. Soandso’s opinion of what God meant by what He said

The Right Approach Question 2: Who can we trust? – The so-called scholars that are considered reliable have no problem changing God’s word according to the accepted principles of textual criticism – These scholars come from a primarily liberal camp in terms of theology – F.J.A Hort believed the beginning of Genesis to be figurative, questioned the veracity of biblical miracles, and applauded Darwin’s work – These scholars do not adhere to the doctrine of preservation and even deny verbal inspiration

Aren’t They All the Same? Is it okay to use multiple translations? Are the differences between the translations significant? Are any of the modern English-language translations trustworthy?

The Tragedy of the NIV It was the initiative of the National Association of Evangelicals It is owned by Biblica (formerly the United Bible Society) Virginia Ramey Mollenkott, an outspoken lesbian, was a stylistic consultant on one of the translation teams D.A. Waite has identified 6,650 instances of paraphrase (dynamic equivalence)

The Tragedy of the NIV The NIV was originally published in 1978 It has undergone numerous revisions – Minor revision (1984) – most are using this version – NIVUK – an Anglicized version – NIrV – Readers (1996) – TNIV – Today’s NIV (2005) – It’s latest revision was released in March of 2011 “Time has passed, and language and culture have changed, but the NIV brings you close to the Bible once again. It’s easier to understand yet rich with the detail of the original scriptures.”* *From the official NIV website -

I Timothy 3:16 NIV 2011 Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, [a] was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory. Footnotes: a. Or vindicated in spirit NIrV There is no doubt that godliness is a great mystery. Jesus appeared in a body. The Holy Spirit proved that he was the Son of God. He was seen by angels. He was preached among the nations. People in the world believed in him. He was taken up to heaven in glory. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 1996, 1998, 2011 by Biblica NIV 1984 Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He [a] appeared in a body, [b] was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory. Footnotes: a. Some manuscripts God b. Or in the flesh

Things that Are Different Aren’t the Same That they are different is undeniable – Between popular versions used in tandem – Between revisions of a single version The differences are numerous and drastic – They contain different words – They convey different meaning If different, they cannot all be God’s complete, inerrant word

Things that Are Different Aren’t the Same Popular Bible study websites include bible.com biblegateway.com, blueletterbible.org Such sites allow you to select your version of choice from a drop-down menu Is this what God intended when he said II Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. or did God say…

Things that Are Different Aren’t the Same Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth. (Amplified Bible) Make an effort to present yourself to God as a tried-and-true worker, who doesn’t need to be ashamed but is one who interprets the message of truth correctly. (Common English Bible) Do your best to win full approval in God's sight, as a worker who is not ashamed of his work, one who correctly teaches the message of God's truth. (Good News Translation) Concentrate on doing your best for God, work you won't be ashamed of, laying out the truth plain and simple. (Message) OR

Things that Are Different Aren’t the Same Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth. (NLT) Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who doesn't need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth. (HCSB) Make every effort to give yourself to God as the kind of person he will approve. Be a worker who is not ashamed and who uses the true teaching in the right way. (New Century Version) Try to show God that you are a good worker. Do nothing you would be ashamed of. Tell the true message in the right way. (Worldwide English) OR

King James Preference Preference is the wrong attitude – We can’t study a Bible simply because we prefer it Ephesians 5:10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord Preference does not go far enough because it leaves the door open for using other versions – Other versions are not trustworthy translations – Other versions must be rejected as God’s word