Advocates of the KJV-Only position, however, argue for exclusivity, i.e. the KJV is the one and only form in which we have the true Word of God. In any argument with them, one comes back to this point. A particular reading or translation cannot possibly be right. Why? Because it’s not what the KJV says.

Fred Butler at Fred’s Bible Talk claims this is the most fundamental argument of the KJV-Only position, and all the other arguments come back to it.

He takes a lot more time with this than I would. In fact, in my book I didn’t bother with the KJV at all. But I think he’s right. He’s also right about the implications. If one follows this argument to it’s logical conclusion, it means that almost all Christians at all times have not had the real Word of God available to them. It also means that those who don’t speak English must either go without or must learn English.

In any case, it’s an interesting article for those who want to take time on this issue.

The article cites Pastor Gregg Matte of Houston’s First Baptist Church, and Andrew Werley, pastor of Houston’s Jersey Village Baptist Church.

“I believe the TNIV or the NIV 2011 revision has drifted from what I would consider a true literal translation,” said Werley.

It appears that the most important issue for these readers is the gender language used in these translations. What interests me most is the use of “true literal translation.” The NIV itself was not a literal translation, even insofar as such translation is possible

Of course, truly literal translation is not a possibility because words do not have a one-to-one correspondence between two different languages. Thus it was common in Greek to refer to a group of men and women as adelphoi. A generation ago, the primary way of referring to such a group in American English would have been “brothers.” But today, it is common to refer to such a group as “brothers and sisters.”

So today, “brothers and sisters” is just as literal as “brothers” was a generation ago. What’s more, “brothers” is less literal, always providing one cares about how the word will be understood by the modern audience.

Unfortunately, most debates about Bible versions do not hinge on one’s understanding of language, but rather on theological points. There are those who prefer that the Bible be more male oriented than it is. For these people, the accuracy of the reference is secondary, whether they admit it or not.

The reason I’m including this here is because he goes through some of the history of translation. Many errors regarding Bible translation result from not understanding the background. I think this is a worthwhile basic introduction.

Give Me The Bible from Azure Hills Church on Vimeo.

(HT: Spectrum)