Which Bible?

This afternoon I came across a random blog written by a couple of young ladies, and I was very impressed.  Many of the kids’ blogs I have seen are disappointing at best, but these girls are really trying to have a good testimony for the Lord Jesus, and to point others the right way.  One of the entries was a fictional advice column called “Dear Margaret”, and the questions had to do with Bible versions. Go read it. Young Rose did a good job of answering her “writer”, but I felt "led" to help her out a bit.  I posted a comment (edited a bit, since I have thought on it more), and here it is:

Dear Rose,

I found your blog at random, and I was very interested to see your answers to the above questions. You had some good thoughts, but may I add to them?  There are some very important reasons why one’s choice in Bibles is critical.  It is because we have so many different Bibles that there are so many different “Christian” doctrines.

Is faith in the blood of Jesus alone sufficient to wash away sins?

Is a sinner regenerated by faith in Christ, or by faith in water baptism?

Are you eternally secure (is Christ’s gift of salvation eternal or is it temporary)? 

Is salvation a gift, or must I do good works to go to heaven?

Was Mary a virgin when she gave birth to Jesus? 

Was Jesus 100% God and 100% man? 

Is there only one God? 

Your answers to these critical questions will depend on which Bible you believe to be God’s Word (if you read it), or which Bible you are taught from. Where is the Word of God today?  Do we have the actual words of God now?  Be careful how you answer. If we do not have God’s Word today, then God lied when he promised to preserve his words (emphasis on words, not message or ideas) in Psalm 12, and in other places.

The world IS changing, and most people, even Christians, are getting farther and farther from the Bible. One of the reasons why there are so many “bibles” is that there is money to be had every time someone can come up with a “new” one to sell. You were right when you said possibly some of the translators weren’t satisfied with the original words, and wanted to change them.  Many of the translators of the modern Bible versions have completely changed doctrinal truths by changing words, deleting words, or adding words. (The Bible itself gives us serious warnings against doing this!) They have left out the blood of Christ hundreds of times.  They have made Jesus merely a man, and not God, or the Son of God, or the Christ. They have made his mother, Mary, a “young woman”, rather than a virgin.  They have given Satan the name of Jesus, the “Morning Star”. Some of the translators of the modern versions were spiritists who held seances. At least one is a homosexual. These men do not believe in the authority of God's Word. YES, it is critical which Bible you read! 

Also, there is a good reason for the thee’s and thou’s.  In old English, as with many foreign languages, there is a different word for “you”, singular, and “you”, plural.  By paying special attention to whether a verse says, “thee” or “ye”, you can tell whether the person is speaking to one person or to a group of people.  That is simple, isn’t it?  Rather than confusing us, the thee’s and thou’s clear things up!

You are right about the KJV.  Stick with it.   You can get more information about this issue in a book called, Let’s Weigh the Evidence, from Chick Publications.  It is a small book, and easy to understand. God bless you for trying to point other young ladies in the right direction!

Mrs J.

I have been thinking about posting some things about the Bible for a while, anyway, and here’s a start.  I think most of us would agree it is one of our goals to train up our children (and ourselves!) in the way of the Lord, but we are not all using the same roadmap.  Many Christians think this is a divisive issue.  I am all for the unity of the believers, but not at the expense of truth.  Will be interesting to see where we go from here.