We live in a time where we are very fortunate to have so many English Translations of the Bible. There was a time when the English speaking world didn’t have a Bible they could read in their native tongue. People usually only heard the Bible read in church, by someone who had studied the Scriptures in their original languages of Greek/Hebrew.

English Translations come in many varieties. These range from very literal, word for word translations from the original languages, all the way to paraphrases that read just like a magazine or newspaper. Some translations follow a ‘thought for thought’ philosophy when translating the text, and some follow a ‘word for word’ philosophy when translating the text.

We typically use the NIV which is somewhere in the middle between a literal translation and a thought for thought translation. The NIV is a great translation but at times can be a little cumbersome and still uses some archaic language that does not sufficiently communicate the meaning of the text. Some of us at the church have been reading the New Living Translation (NLT). We have found it to be a very faithful and accurate translation and one that is very easy to read and doesn’t leave you scratching your head to often wondering what the author is trying to communicate. That’s what good translations do…. they communicate the meaning of the text. Meaning is central.

I am amazed by the spiritual energy that is expended on this. I can’t help, but think that the real motive behind the debate FOR SOME is to provide a reason for division and exclusiveness from the rest of the Body of Christ. The debate certainly seems to come from the legalistic, “we are the only true church” side of Christianity. I have to believe that some pastors are thinking: “If I can convince you that the KJV Bible is the only true Bible, then you will stay in my church rather than go to someone else’s church that uses ‘modern’ translations based on the Alexandrian texts.” Having spoken with some of those pastors, I believe that this is a fair statement of their true motive. It is sad when we have to manipulate people or create scare tactics to get people to remain in our churches.