Again from Dr. Turner

There's a reason he is the primary voice of Arkansas Baptists. He's got good things to say! We need to be careful, and allow the Word of God to speak freely, rather than take all of our knowledge and try to massage the text to fit it! Just because we don't like it doesn't mean it's not true.

Arkansas Baptist State Convention

Faulty Translations…
Posted on Friday, September 12, 2008
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The King James Version of the Bible was severely criticized during its first century for catering to King James’ superstitions, being theologically unsound, and being too political. In the 1950’s the Revised Standard Version was criticized for referring to the “virgin” in Isaiah 7:14 as a “young girl”. A recent translation has been rejected for being “gender neutral” and rightly so.



But common and current usage also translates the Bible. When our practice “shapes” our interpretation of Scripture we are guilty of producing a biblical text for our own usage. Lately I have observed some practical re-writes of several verses.



Ephesians 5: 25 “… just as Christ loved my home group and gave Himself up for it.”



Leviticus 11:45 “For I am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus you shall be politically conservative for I am politically conservative.”



Joshua 1:8 “This power point shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to reproduce it for your own sermons, for then you will make your way to a larger church and then you will have success.”



Cross reference this verse to 1 Corinthians 1:21… “For God was well pleased through the power point to save those who believe.”



Malachi 3: 10 “Bring all you can afford into the storehouse, so that your sermons may be more acceptable to a wider group and so you will not be held accountable for not tithing yourself.”



Mark 21: 3 & 4 “And He said, Truly I say to you this poor widow put in more than all of them; even though you can not spend percentages.”



Colossians 1:28 “And we proclaim Him, admonishing every people group and teaching every people group with all wisdom that we may present every people group complete in Christ.”



Leviticus 19:33 “When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall lobby politicians to have him deported.”



Ephesians 5:19 “Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs and choruses and choruses and choruses and choruses and choruses and choruses and making melody with your heart to the Lord”



If these don’t look strange to you, maybe you have re-written the Scripture.



turnere.JPGEmil Turner serves as executive director of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention. He and his wife, Mary, have two sons and two grandsons. Turner enjoys fishing and hunting in his spare time.