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Feeling the aftershocks of Fundamentalism's quake



From a friend:
"I feel as though I am at place in my life where i need to make an important decision regarding the scriptures. Last night I had a long talk with my sister Sheri about the KJV. She is very ardent in her belief that the KJV is the only actual Bible translated into English. She is actually in the Ruckman camp on the issue. I read the KJV and trust it more than anything, but I dont necessarily know if it is the only English Bible... Now, I know the many of the KJV-only reasons for why they believe what they believe, but I don't know if it is a battle worth emphasizing or fighting to the extent that they are willing to take it."

My Response:
"I am really proud of you for approaching this "difficult" issue with an honest and open heart. The scriptures are, besides our relationship with Christ, the most important place to which we can go. Because of that it is very important that we take the scriptures seriously.

Obviously i cant answer all of your questions via a facebook message, but I will give you my pverall honest opinion on the KJV issue. My opinion comes from several years of thinking about the issue, hearing both sides, reading books, listening to material, and studying the real issues myself.

The first thing the we must understand is that the KJV is a TRANSLATION. The KJV is NOT the original scriptures, im sure you know that the original scriptures were written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. In order to read the scriptures in our language we must have a translation. Translation inherently involves interpretive decisions, linguistic decisions, cultural decisions, etc. The Translator MUST make these decisions. The scriptures no where promise that inspiration would find its way into a translator and his translation. Are the scriptures inspired? Of course. Are the scriptures in "English" only (strictly speaking) inspired? No. They cant be, then we must say that the translators of the KJV were inspired by the Holy Spirit to make that translation. As i said before, we find that idea nowhere in Christian teaching. The Christian community has never agreed that a translation is itself inspired of God. A translation is only a representation of the original words. Can we trust our translations? Surely, especially the KJV because it was based on a very strict and careful translation philosophy (a whole other conversation) which is a sort of word-for-word translation rather than a thought-for-thought translation. I think both philosophies have their place, the the KJV is a VERY good 18th century translation of the Received Text.

So, in summary, the KJV is a 17th century (actually 18th,vbecause the KJV we read today is a 1789(?) revision of the 1611(so do we read the 1611 or 1789(?) version if we want to read the "true" scriptures?). If, according to your sister, the KJV is the only "true" bible, then what about the people who read a German bible, or a Spanish bible, or a French bible, or a Indian bible, etc? Do they have to read the KJV (in English) to read the "true" scriptures? Obviously not.

The fact is, language changes, and is always changing. Words today carry different semantics, usages, references, etc. today than they did 200 years ago. Thus arises the necessity of "updates" in translation. Can I read Geoffry Chaucer's cantebury tales in Old English, and I, as a 21st century reader, understand them as he would have intented? No. Surely i can read them and get the picture of what he is saying, though I will not understand to the degree that the readers of his day would understand. If they were translated or updated, then surely i would read them and understand them well.

The truth is Paul, the NIV or the ESV or the NASB are very good translations. They are faithful to the texts from which scriptures come. They are current translations (meaning they speak the language of our day) and they honor the scriptures by seeking to be usable and readble translations. I will not tell you which translation you MUST read. That is between you and the Lord, but if you seek you will find.

I do not wish to be arrogant, but frankly, I think this KJV worship is dangerous, a sort of spiritual idolatry. Many of the KJV-only's treat that translation as if it were God himself. Thats just my opinion, and i think its valid since i was raised in it, though surely they would disagree.

To answer your last question, no, the KJV issue is NOT worth fight (or even arguing about), because that is the last thing the Lord wants us as disciples of Christ to do, is fight and divide over a mis-guided issue such as what TRANSLATION is "right". God's word has spread across the world in thousands of different languages, that should be something which we are excited and talk about. We should not, however, be so self-consumed and haughty as to assume that our English translation is some how the "superior" translation, the only "true" or "right" translation.

The KJV is a good translation, as a matter of fact, i think it to be the most beautiful english translation. It will be hard to surpass in beauty, but it is NOT the "only" english translation."

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