One of the things I hear a lot and even believed at one time is, "The Bible is written by men and is therefore flawed." There are even "Christian" religions who state that the Bible has not been accurately translated and is erroneous. The latest I have encountered was the idea that Satan is corrupting the scriptures by influencing the translators into blatant mis-translation. Let me take on each of these challenges directly.
First, the idea that the Bible, being written by a flawed human hand, is flawed as well. This would be true if men were writing the Bible of their own intelligence and understanding. But God works through men, perfecting what is flawed so that His glory is fully shown and not attributed to anything else (2 Cor. 12:9). The evidence that this is so is in the fact that over 2000 years later the Bible is still as relevant today as it was when it was written. Think about that. Even the founding fathers of the U.S. had their "perfect" government significantly altered and it's only been a little over 200 years!
When someone says to me that the Bible has been mistranslated or corrupted I like to say, "Show me where." They have to have read the Bible including the original Greek and Aramaic texts to prove their point. Not many people have done that, and those that have are dedicating their life to the translation of the Bible. I would say they have a lot more vested interest in accuracy for their own's sake. Besides, to say that the Bible has been corrupted is to deny the power of God. Let me draw you a simple picture.
God created everything that we see and know. The universe, the planets and stars, the earth and everything in it. He did it with mathematical precision that we are only beginning to unlock. Yet he lacks the power to keep His one book completely accurate? The only (if you're a true Christian) book that tells us who God is, what He wants and values, and what gives our lives meaning? What kind of God gives us a book that He can't keep accurate and then sends us to hell because we didn't do what we're supposed to? Does that sound like justice to you? If the Bible is not true then we're just as lost and confused as the rest of the world.
As far as the Bible being accurately translated, Bible scholars have identified 3,157 texts that include all or part of the New Testament, some dating back to the second century. Out of this abundance of documentation 95% of all errors in translation have been misspellings or mis-punctuations or the like. What of the other 5%? Let me just say that no one Bible verse invalidates the entire Bible if it should happen to be mistranslated. There are many verses in the Bible that taken out of context can be used to support any course of action or inaction. The Bible is meant to be used as a whole. Only after studying the Bible as a whole does one come to a complete understanding of it. Seemingly contradictory statements are throughout the Bible but after studying the Bible as a whole, only then is the truth revealed and those statements are shown to be in harmony. We love to quote people, movies, books, etc. but only those who have read, watched, or listened to them understand what they truly stood for. Which brings me to my last point.
As I studied the debate over which Bible version is the most accurate, I ran across an argument that Satan is perverting the Bible in order to keep man separated from God. Other than defenses previously discussed I offer Mark 3: 25-26. When the Pharisees accuse Jesus of casting out demons by the power of Satan, Jesus replies, "If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan opposes himself and is divided he cannot stand; his end has come." The Bible is the word and truth of God. Satan cannot and will not promote the reading of the Bible. In order to know and prove that the Bible has been corrupted you must have read it. Satan will, however, use the argument that the Bible has been corrupted to keep people from reading it. The more we as Christians argue about which version of the Bible is the most accurate the more damage we do. Those outside of the faith see our infighting and say, "See! Even they can't agree on which Bible is true!" God will keep the meaning of His scriptures intact, but it's us that Satan is using to keep people from the Bible.
Let me be clear. Whatever leads people to God is a good thing! Whether or not you think it's the truth, if it points people to God, then it's a good thing! Deut. 4:29 assures us that when we seek God with all our heart we will find Him no matter what has prompted us to seek. Satan will not prompt us to seek God, he will attempt to keep us in the dark and separated.
Whatever version of the Bible you prefer, be it King James or other, the message is the same. There is a God. He loves you so much He sent His son as an atoning sacrifice so that we would be free from sin and death. He showed us who He is and what He values through His son Jesus Christ. Christ rose from the dead and remains risen so that we may have confidence that we also have life through Christ Jesus. "...and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not overcome it." Amen.
Excellent! You did a great job with this topic.
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