From: Ben Kelley
Subject: What translation are you?
I'm sure that
sometime during your life you have heard this saying, directed to you or someone
close by, "you are the only Bible some people will ever read." I believe
that's very true, especially in the days we live in now. Most people own a
Bible, but very few ever pick them up to read and study. Therefore God
sends us forth to sow the seed of His Word into the fields of this
world. I was thinking along this line while lying in bed on a
recent night. If I'm the only Bible some people will ever read,
what translation am I? I ask you to apply the same
question to yourself.
Some people are
quite scholarly and learned in "Bible." They are fluent in the
"original languages" of the Bible, they can "parse" the verbs, and they can give
you all the interesting background customs and practises. They just can't speak
what God says in such a way that people around them can understand and apply it
to their personal lives. If they can't make it practical, so people
believe it applies to them today, what good is their knowledge?
I classify this type of Christian as an "Interlinear Greek-English
Bible." (Great-but for scholars only)
Another group of
believers can't quote the Bible without using "thee's and thou's, doeth's and
sayeth's." They can quote, and often do, lengthy Scripture passages,
citing chapter and verse. They will fight you over the version they read
and condemn you if you read any other. They can't understand why
people have a hard time "getting the message" they're trying to get
across. They only lapse into this old English speech pattern when they are
praying aloud or talking "spiritual things." These are the "King James"
translations.
We have another
type that goes the opposite way. They take the Scriptures and dilute
them until reading the Bible seems like eating a bowl of mush; you know you
ate something, but you're not sure what it was. God the Father becomes
"God the person." Sins become "mistakes", and Hell is minimized, if it's
mentioned at all. They trivialize the Word so much that people don't
recognize God's message from them either. They make light of "Biblical
inerrancy, blood atonement, eternal Heaven and Hell." I call these
the "World Council of Churches Version."
I don't plan on
going through all the possibilities I could list for us to be described as
"Bible translations." I also don't mean to say anything derogatory against
your choice(s) of favorite translation(s). (actually, I do, if one of
the heretical types-the last type mentioned- is your choice. They fit
well in today's quest for a one world religion, but they don't change
lives) I really just want each of us to realize we should be familiar
enough with God's written Word that, when needed, we can "transliterate"
whatever version we memorize to get it into our everyday conversations with
those around us. When we are in "intense witnessing mode", it
is good to quote chapter and verse, but we can get an awful lot of
the Scriptures into peoples' hearts if we can learn to speak it in what I will
call the "Living Word" translation. Living, because it seems alive, and
not dead and unintelligible to them.
I often ask people who have gone through some type of training
or teaching to tell me, in their own
words, what they learned, and how they can apply it in their lives. I do
this, because I realize the mere memorization of facts is not true
learning. The next step takes place, in my way of thinking, when you are
able to convert, express, and apply those facts into your own thoughts, words,
and actions. One example is, "Give, and it will be given to you: good
measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your
bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to
you." Luke 6:38 KJV I could quote that verse to you years ago, but I didn't
really know it until the last few years, as God has taught me
to "convert, express, and apply it" in my personal "Living Word"
translation. I can share much more with others now about the subject than
the standard 2-3 verses I would have normally cranked out back
then.
I hope you won't
misunderstand what I'm trying to say through this e-message. I'm not
"downing" or "dissing" a particular person, translation, gospel presentation
method, etc. In fact, I praise our God and Father that many of you are
actively seeking to learn and grow in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior,
Jesus, the Christ. I just want to stir the rest, and remind each of us,
to, the fact that the world around us is not knocking down the doors of our
churches. They are not waiting in line for our carefully laid
out "********* Translation -
This Is How You Do It In 5 Easy Steps Program" brochure.
No, our lost friends, family, co-workers, acquaintances, and the strangers we
meet, are generally going about their day to day lives just trying to get
by. They usually think "religion" has its place, but generally it's not
where they are at the moment. No, friend, to the multitudes
we encounter in our daily activities, we must give God's Word in
"palatable pieces." As a mother does with the child she carries in her
womb, we must "ingest the Word" and convert it to what they can
handle. Just as with a baby, after spiritual birth, their diet
can change somewhat, and will, if things are done right, continue to change as
they mature and grow.
Remember the
statement in the very first sentence of this e-message; "you are the
only Bible some people will ever read." Is God's
Word getting to them through you? What translation
are you?