The Holy Bible is perfect just how it is.
By ParaTed2k
@ParaTed2k (22940)
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
November 21, 2010 10:23pm CST
Is it? If it is perfect, which version is perfect? Does it matter? Does the Holy Bible have to be perfect to be the Word of God?
6 responses
@djbtol (5493)
• United States
23 Nov 10
The most important thing about the Bible is that it is God's word, meaning that God has declared it to be His word.
Now, if God had wanted to, He could have created one copy of the entire Bible and maintained that original copy for all the generations to see and use. That apparently was not His plan, Instead, he used men, inspired by the Holy Spirit to write down His word. It is a real testimony to its uniqueness that 40 authors over 2000 years were used to create the Bible, and yet it all ties together beautifully.
So the Bible can be trusted by all to be God's word.
Those Bible translations that are prepared to be consistent with the original manuscripts can be trusted as God's word. Those versions that are paraphrases of the Bible are helpful, but not as trustworthy to carry the original meaning.
Regarding those differences between translations: The great majority of Biblical truth is the same in the different versions and is clearly understood. I am talking over 90% here and it is quite adequate for anyone wanting to live according to God's word.
But we need not fear Hebrew and Greek scholars that come in and carefully scrutinize the difficult passages, or work to find the best translation for a given verse. There will be differences and this need not be alarming. For instance, the Greek language will sometimes have more words with slight variation in meaning than the English being translated to. There is also sometimes variation in the interpretation of a verse based on how it fits with other passages of the Bible.
The great equalizer in all of this is the Holy Spirit. We can trust that if we are seeking God with a sincere heart, the Holy Spirit will be faithful to correctly teach us His truth.
1 person likes this
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
23 Nov 10
Exactly! Our relationship with God and communication with Him in the name of Christ and through the Holy Ghost is the important part. The Holy Bible is important, but it isn't God.
@magtibaygom (4858)
• Philippines
22 Nov 10
If you are looking for a version of the Bible that is very close to the original, I suggest you go for the King James Version. Although the English being used there is really hard to understand, old English, but it is the closest to the original manuscripts. I think, it is the first among the Bible translations.
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
22 Nov 10
I agree, it is the version I use. However, do you think it's the "perfect" version?
@magtibaygom (4858)
• Philippines
22 Nov 10
I think, even the King James Version cannot be regarded as perfect. It was re-written (transferred or translated) by human writers and is subject for human errors. But the errors can be confided to "typographical errors" only, but the thoughts are still there intact. You can see, all the books of the Bible written by so many writers that existed one after another (from different generations), all their writings jived together. What a great miracle, isn't it? No other book compilations can ever do that!
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
23 Nov 10
I agree, The Bible is the Word of God, but since only God is perfect, the printed book can't be... and doesn't need to be.
1 person likes this
@headhunter525 (3548)
• India
22 Nov 10
The Bible we now use is not perfect; only God is perfect. Versions we now use have so many errors; error as in the sense of not getting the meaning quite correctly all the time. Even KJV has errors and so has others. There is no version that has all the chapters translated accurately compared to the originally written meaning. That's why we use different version to get close to the original meaning as far as possible.
@headhunter525 (3548)
• India
22 Nov 10
John 1.1 says that 'the Word was God'. But can we say Bible = word of God? or should we say Bible is the inspired word of God written by men as they were carried along by the Spirit? I think there is a difference between the two. Bible is a collection of books; Bible is not equal to Word (logos). Bible also has the message (kerygmatic proclamation).
@artnoble123 (198)
• Philippines
22 Nov 10
God and his Word is ONE according to John 1:14. Therefore, God's word is flawless since God is flawless. To say that God words has defects will invite doubts on your spirit and you will face the danger of confusion. The different version of the bible has their own purposes to serve particularly to make the bible understandable to ordinary people. If we want to search for the deeper meaning to the bible I would suggest look for Thompson Greek Hebrew Dictionary. Understanding the bible takes diligent study and utilizing tools such as concordance and etc. And more special, you need the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
@EdnaReyes (2622)
• Philippines
12 Jan 11
God is perfect so is His words. The bible is God's words so it's perfect. It is the foundation of every Christian faith. Faiths are guided by the bible and many of our beliefs are based on it. I believe in the bible as I believe in God's words.
@EdnaReyes (2622)
• Philippines
12 Jan 11
God is perfect so is His words. The bible is God's words so it's perfect. It is the foundation of every Christian faith. Faiths are guided by the bible and many of our beliefs are based on it. I believe in the bible as I believe in God's words.
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
12 Jan 11
So which version of the Holy Bible is the perfect one?