Picked up another Bible this weekend. It's a KJV of The New Defender's Study Bible with notes by Dr. Henry Morris of the Institute for Creation Research. I picked it up for $20 at Half-Price Books (List Price is $40). The cheapest on Amazon for a new one was $31+, so I got a pretty good deal. In addition to the Bible, I also picked up a Bible cover/case that has a fish with a line and hook in it's mouth, and the phrase "Even Jesus had a fish story". That was only $7. They had one that said:
"JESUS Said Go Fish!!"
(then a graphic of a fish)
"He did not say to rake the leaves, mow the lawn,
walk the dog, or change the oil. Matthew 4:19"
Unfortunately that one was not big enough for my Bible, so I went with the fish story one.
I still have at least one more Bible I want to get: a facsimile copy of the 1560 Geneva Bible. This was the first Bible translated into English entirely from the original languages. So, it's a version, and not a translation.
One thing I noticed was now that I'm reading the KJV I have a desire to memorize verses. That's not to say I didn't memorize verse before, when reading other translations, I did, but now I have an increased desire to do so. Maybe it's just because the language is very poetic. Maybe it's just coincidence that I realized how important is it at about the same time I started looking into the KJVO debate. The two verses that really struck me are:
Psalm 119:11-Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
and
1 Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give and answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear 16) Having a good conscience, that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.
By memorizing God's Word-hiding it in our hearts, what do we accomplish? For me, number one is that I can carry God's Word with me, even if I'm not carrying a Bible. As I read the Bible, and things start to stick, I carry it with me. Most of the time it's just the concept that sticks. However, when you memorize the verse, and something happens that brings that verse to mind, you can actually quote it to yourself and mediate on it right there, without having to look it up to get the wording right.
Secondly, when witnessing, it's more effective, in my opinion, to be able to quote Scripture off the top off you head, rather than having a notepad to have to refer to before you can look it up to show someone, as I have done in the past. Not that there's anything wrong with a notepad listing verses, I still carry it with me, along with my Bible, tracts and a pen. However, once you memorize the verse, you can quote it, with authority, and go right to it if you do have to show it to someone-no fumbling around. It gives non-believers a sense that you aren't just reading a list of pre-meditated, unstudied, verses, but rather this is something you know from experiential faith.
That's just my $0.02 worth. I'm sure there's a multitude of other reasons why we should memorize verses, but those two reasons are my main motivation, other than it is personally satisfying for me to memorize them. I'd love to hear other people's thoughts on it. So far I only have 16 verses memorized, but at 1-2 per week, it'll add up pretty quickly.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
King James Version Only? Yes!!!
Howdy Y'all,
When I asked Jesus Christ to be my Lord and Savior on September 23 of last year I didn't even own a Bible. Part of my obsessive compulsive nature is to research every aspect of something before making a decision to buy, or before deciding follow a certain path. I did this with choosing a Bible, as well as determining what Christian denomination, if any, I would most likely receive the truth of the Bible from. After all, our Christian walk is a quest for truth, and that truth comes from the Word of God. Therefore I decided to attend Independent Fundamental Baptist churches, and Non-denominational churches based in the general Baptist beliefs, based of course on my (sometimes errant) presuppositions, and my ever-present conservative world view. For me this was a good choice. I'm not saying others are wrong, though some denominations are in some respects, but rather that for me the Baptist faith most closely aligns with my beliefs and relies solely on the Bible for its authority, teaching directly from the Word of God, which for me is my source of truth.
Unfortunately I did not do enough in-depth research into choosing a Bible. After two weeks of research in trying to decide which translation to get, I finally broke down and bought a $5 New King James Version from Wal-Mart just so I had a Bible to read. (Now are you beginning to understand the kind of crazy person my wonderful wife puts up with?) After about another two weeks I finally decided the NASB was the "best" translation, based on what I had read. True, it is the best translation....of the worst texts. I'll explain that statement below.
I also decided I was not going to limit myself to just one Bible, so I picked up, and still have:
King James Version (KJV)
Thompson Chain Reference
Thomas Nelson Study Bible
World Publishing (Thomas Nelson) Commentary Bible
Nave's Topical Bible
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Zondervan Study Bible
Ryrie Study Bible
New King James Version (NKJV)
English Standard Version (ESV)
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Recovery Version (New Testament only)
New International Version (NIV)
New Living Translation (NLT)
Now, I should say I was aware of the KJVO debate, but did not look into it much for a few reasons. For one, I didn't care for the "archaic" language, so I was biased towards the easier to read newer versions prior to my investigation. Also, I thought the KJVO position was just a crock of dung, made up by hardcore fundamentalsits. I mistakenly thought that the Textus Receptus, that the KJV is based off of, was handed down by the Catholics, so it must be corrupt. That was a major erroneous presumption on my part. However, the tipping point was that fact that I read that somewhere that the NASB is the most accurate and readable word-for word translation. It just goes to show you can't always believe everything you read.
Now, I do not want to go into too many details because it will be best for you to go to the website listed below and read the booklet, or better yet print it off and read it. However I will give a very basic premise and the reason why I really needed to find this booklet.
I had read on blogs, in pamphlets and heard from other people that the KJV is not corrupt, whereas all other versions are corrupt. No one really ever explained it to me, and everything I had read claimed this, but offered little proof. Then, of course, you get into technical terms, such as Alexandrian Text, Uncials, Byzantine Text, Textus Receptus (TR), Majority Text, Minority Text, Sinaiticus, Vaticanus and ad nauseum. What I was running into was too much information, at too high a level, for me to grasp without at least some explanation included. Then I found the website at the bottom of this post. Thanks be to God!!!
Basically there are two lines of text that all Bibles (NT) come from. One is the TR or Byzantine Text, which the KJV is based off of, and the Alexandrian Text: Uncials (Sinaiticus and Vaticanus) which are corrupt Egyptian texts that Wescott and Hort used to pervert the Word of God. Wescott and Hort's work is what ALL newer versions of the Bible are based on, by way of Rudolph Kittel's use of their work for his Biblia Hebraica and the BH Stuttgartensia. The OT texts also vary, but you'll see that in the booklet. It breaks everything down for you, giving you the history and making it understandable, even to an extreme novice like me.
This all started with a comment by, and conversation with, my pastor. After talking with the pastor from another Baptist church I attend, I decided to research it myself. After searching and reading for hours every day for about two weeks, I have decided that the KJO crowd definitely makes sense now. This does not mean I will get rid of my Bibles, as my NASB, HCSB and Recovery Versions do have some value in that they do at least provide the missing verses within the text, and can provide a present-age language reference (as well as their commentaries) for my studies in the KJV, but the KJV will be my Bible for study, be it doctrinal or general study. This is a personal choice, one some may not agree with, but I'm OK with that. I do plan to get rid of the ESV, NIV and NLT, as they are pieces of garbage that are not fit to be on my bookshelf. Look up Matthew 17:21 in one of these. Then look up Acts 8:37. Where are these verses? At the bottom of the page, that's where. They claim the these verses do not belong there, although the majority of texts have them (about 5000), the two main corrupt texts (and maybe only 50 total) don't, so therefore these verses don't belong in their Bible. Hogwash!! Additionally numerous changes, be it references to Christ's deity, or verses related to major doctrines, have been watered down or taken out completely. Can you trust a Bible like that? I can't. Read the booklet, do other research, and decide for yourself.
Here's the website. At the top of the page there's a link you can click to download the entire booklet as one file. Otherwise, you can just click on "Introduction" under "Part One" and read through it online. If you print it up (without references) it's about 52 pages for all 3 parts, or 43 pages for just part one, which is where the majority of pertinent information is.
http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/SBS777/vital/kjv/index.html
God Bless,
Brian
When I asked Jesus Christ to be my Lord and Savior on September 23 of last year I didn't even own a Bible. Part of my obsessive compulsive nature is to research every aspect of something before making a decision to buy, or before deciding follow a certain path. I did this with choosing a Bible, as well as determining what Christian denomination, if any, I would most likely receive the truth of the Bible from. After all, our Christian walk is a quest for truth, and that truth comes from the Word of God. Therefore I decided to attend Independent Fundamental Baptist churches, and Non-denominational churches based in the general Baptist beliefs, based of course on my (sometimes errant) presuppositions, and my ever-present conservative world view. For me this was a good choice. I'm not saying others are wrong, though some denominations are in some respects, but rather that for me the Baptist faith most closely aligns with my beliefs and relies solely on the Bible for its authority, teaching directly from the Word of God, which for me is my source of truth.
Unfortunately I did not do enough in-depth research into choosing a Bible. After two weeks of research in trying to decide which translation to get, I finally broke down and bought a $5 New King James Version from Wal-Mart just so I had a Bible to read. (Now are you beginning to understand the kind of crazy person my wonderful wife puts up with?) After about another two weeks I finally decided the NASB was the "best" translation, based on what I had read. True, it is the best translation....of the worst texts. I'll explain that statement below.
I also decided I was not going to limit myself to just one Bible, so I picked up, and still have:
King James Version (KJV)
Thompson Chain Reference
Thomas Nelson Study Bible
World Publishing (Thomas Nelson) Commentary Bible
Nave's Topical Bible
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Zondervan Study Bible
Ryrie Study Bible
New King James Version (NKJV)
English Standard Version (ESV)
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Recovery Version (New Testament only)
New International Version (NIV)
New Living Translation (NLT)
Now, I should say I was aware of the KJVO debate, but did not look into it much for a few reasons. For one, I didn't care for the "archaic" language, so I was biased towards the easier to read newer versions prior to my investigation. Also, I thought the KJVO position was just a crock of dung, made up by hardcore fundamentalsits. I mistakenly thought that the Textus Receptus, that the KJV is based off of, was handed down by the Catholics, so it must be corrupt. That was a major erroneous presumption on my part. However, the tipping point was that fact that I read that somewhere that the NASB is the most accurate and readable word-for word translation. It just goes to show you can't always believe everything you read.
Now, I do not want to go into too many details because it will be best for you to go to the website listed below and read the booklet, or better yet print it off and read it. However I will give a very basic premise and the reason why I really needed to find this booklet.
I had read on blogs, in pamphlets and heard from other people that the KJV is not corrupt, whereas all other versions are corrupt. No one really ever explained it to me, and everything I had read claimed this, but offered little proof. Then, of course, you get into technical terms, such as Alexandrian Text, Uncials, Byzantine Text, Textus Receptus (TR), Majority Text, Minority Text, Sinaiticus, Vaticanus and ad nauseum. What I was running into was too much information, at too high a level, for me to grasp without at least some explanation included. Then I found the website at the bottom of this post. Thanks be to God!!!
Basically there are two lines of text that all Bibles (NT) come from. One is the TR or Byzantine Text, which the KJV is based off of, and the Alexandrian Text: Uncials (Sinaiticus and Vaticanus) which are corrupt Egyptian texts that Wescott and Hort used to pervert the Word of God. Wescott and Hort's work is what ALL newer versions of the Bible are based on, by way of Rudolph Kittel's use of their work for his Biblia Hebraica and the BH Stuttgartensia. The OT texts also vary, but you'll see that in the booklet. It breaks everything down for you, giving you the history and making it understandable, even to an extreme novice like me.
This all started with a comment by, and conversation with, my pastor. After talking with the pastor from another Baptist church I attend, I decided to research it myself. After searching and reading for hours every day for about two weeks, I have decided that the KJO crowd definitely makes sense now. This does not mean I will get rid of my Bibles, as my NASB, HCSB and Recovery Versions do have some value in that they do at least provide the missing verses within the text, and can provide a present-age language reference (as well as their commentaries) for my studies in the KJV, but the KJV will be my Bible for study, be it doctrinal or general study. This is a personal choice, one some may not agree with, but I'm OK with that. I do plan to get rid of the ESV, NIV and NLT, as they are pieces of garbage that are not fit to be on my bookshelf. Look up Matthew 17:21 in one of these. Then look up Acts 8:37. Where are these verses? At the bottom of the page, that's where. They claim the these verses do not belong there, although the majority of texts have them (about 5000), the two main corrupt texts (and maybe only 50 total) don't, so therefore these verses don't belong in their Bible. Hogwash!! Additionally numerous changes, be it references to Christ's deity, or verses related to major doctrines, have been watered down or taken out completely. Can you trust a Bible like that? I can't. Read the booklet, do other research, and decide for yourself.
Here's the website. At the top of the page there's a link you can click to download the entire booklet as one file. Otherwise, you can just click on "Introduction" under "Part One" and read through it online. If you print it up (without references) it's about 52 pages for all 3 parts, or 43 pages for just part one, which is where the majority of pertinent information is.
http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/SBS777/vital/kjv/index.html
God Bless,
Brian
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