Religious Dogma>>>God is not punishing you!

The spiritual response to anxiety and depression
GIL
Posts: 46
Joined: Sun Oct 14, 2007 2:28 am

Re: Religious Dogma>>>God is not punishing you!

Post by GIL » Tue May 22, 2012 2:02 pm

Hi Lynda,

There is a lot that could be said about all the different versions of the Bible. It is a topic that is vigorously debated by some--especially the King James vs. all of the modern translations. I would not expect you to take my word for it, but I would recommend that you stay with the King James Version as your main source to rely on and for memorization. The modern translations have copyrights and it is my understanding that at least 20% of the translation has to say something different in order to obtain a copyright. Also, all the modern translations are translated from a different manuscript source as compared to the King James. Even if I didn't have any understanding as to what is going on with Bible translations, the fact that the King James Bible came about through the protestant reformation and was in use for a few hundred years before most of these modern versions came about is good enough for me. In other words I believe that God's hand was in on this.

You posed the question, "Why are there so many versions of the bible? I believe one of the reasons is that the enemy of souls wants there to be confusion--especially as we are getting closer to the final history of this world. This same confusion applies to why there are so many different churches. God is not the author of confusion. Babylon means confusion and God is calling His people out of confusion. " Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen. . . . Come out of her, my people."--Revelation 18:2-4.

A paraphrase is a loose translation. As you know when someone is paraphrasing they are putting into their own words what someone else had said. Examples of these would be the Living Bible and The Message. A dynamic equivalent translation is a thought-for-thought translation and not as loose as a paraphrase. Examples of these would be the New International Version and the New Century Version. A literal, word-for-word, translation attempts to produce as exactly as possible the original languages into English. Examples of these would be the King James, Revised Standard/New Revised Standard, American Standard/New American Standard. I believe that the danger with anything other than a literal as possible translation would be it becoming more of an interpretation rather than a translation.

Just as I mentioned before as to how it is important to study and see for yourself what the Bible is saying, I would recommend that you do the same with the various translations. You can study the history of the Bible and compare the various translations as you study. There are free translations and study tools on the internet now-a-days. One that I know of is called e-sword. It is a free down load program with some free Bible versions and other reference resources. It also has some that you can add by purchasing if you choose. Another one is biblegateway.com where you can search and read a variety of translations.

Martin Luther, said, “No greater mischief can happen to a Christian people than to have God’s word taken from them, or have it so falsified that they no longer have it pure and clear. God grant that we and our descendants be not witnesses of such a calamity.”

I was very brief here, but I hope that it is of some help.

God Bless,
GIL

PS: Thanks for sharing those inspiring Bible verses.

LyndaLu
Posts: 794
Joined: Sun Oct 03, 2010 4:43 pm

Re: Religious Dogma>>>God is not punishing you!

Post by LyndaLu » Tue May 22, 2012 11:15 pm

GIL:
Thank you for all of the information !
Stay Strong and God Bless,
Lynda

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