gengwall

I have been asked by my comp why I can’t recommend just one bible. I am then accused of looking for versions that tickle my ear, that support what I want to believe.

Ah, yes, I have heard this argument. Your response is correct – that no translation is inerrant. To prove it, refer them to the very words of the KJV scholars who were extreamly humble and well aware of their inadequacy in comparison to the original authors.

The answer to the “Greek or Hebrew” scholar argument is that, besides the many scholars who are out there, there are scores of online resources available to help one understand the original languages. (This drives them nuts because they usually hate the internet as well).

As far as scholars “tickling the ear”, challenge them that they also listen to scholars who could be just as guilty. Their very teaching assumes a level of scholarship that you consider just as “ticklish” as any you might listen to.

Of course, in the long run, it is sensless to argue with automatons who have drunken the comp koolaide. Rest assured that you take the more sensible approach, and even their darling KJV scholars would agree.

I prefer the NASB in most cases because it is very literal. I am not very fond of the NIV, although, as I have said above, it sometimes really gets it right. Most of all, when dealing with difficult passages, I start where Cheryl often starts – with the online Greek and Hebrew interlinears at scripture4all.org. I actually have the desktop version which allows me to search, gives mouse over definitions, has the Strongs numbers and concordance, and has several other parallels to chose from. For hard copy I have several versions available and the afore mentioned 8 version parallel. And I use blueletterbible.com quite often as it has multitranslation display, lists all the verses that use any particular Greek and Hebrew word, and has the Thayer’s Lexicon. For extra-biblical resources on Greek, I use the lexicons at perseus.tufts.edu

Of course, for someone who just wants a bible to read, the NIV is probably the most readable text. I just would warn anyone that the bible does not contradict itself, an any apparent contradiction either from plain reading or proposed by another person should be thoroughly studied. your challengers are correct in that there are many out there who “tickle the ears” on all sides of every issue. I trust no person to TELL me what the bible says without researching it for myself.

The good news is that the bible was written for every person. One of the biggest lies that “scholars” like to tell (I actually had a pastor tell me this once) is that to truly understand the bible you have to have a theological education. Everyone else should trust the learned pastors and appologists to explain the “mysteries” and other hard to understand passages. Nothing gets me more ticked off because I know that the original readers, and indeed to a great extent, the original audience, of the bible were not Phd’s.