Church Wars: Episode 2 - War of the Words

Of all of the topics I've got on my planner for the show, this is the one I've been waiting for the most. I think the battle over Bible versions is a micro-cosmic example of what is primarily wrong with the Body of Christ at large.

The King James Only (KJO) crowd -vs- the Modern English Translation (MET) crowd has been battling for generations. There's passion and zeal for God's word on both sides of the argument as well as plenty of research and historical information. Opinions and convictions are thrown into the ring as much as the research which makes it difficult to separate fact from fanaticism for your average church attendee. In fact, the average Joe on the street couldn't care less about this fight; they just want to know if/how/when God is going to help them.

One underlying problem I see with this battle is the short-sightedness of the participants. Are we really so focused on our own private little wars that we are failing to see the bigger picture, namely the collateral damage done to the countless souls who have been caught in the crossfire not to mention the damage to the testimony of Jesus Christ in the world? I don't know if you've noticed or not gang, but the world is laughing their collective gluteus maxumuses off at Christianity and for good reason.

A listener e-mailed a story to our show during one of our "Church Stories" segments and they relayed something they saw firsthand at a church. A young unchurched child was chastised by a youth worker for bringing a different version of the Bible to church rather than the "authorized" King James Version. The listener indicated the young child never attended that church again. I can't say I blame him/her.

My purpose for bringing this topic up is not to engage in the battle. My desire is for God's people to S T O P all this pointless bickering and fighting over non-issues. Common sense needs to be re-established into the conversation. People need to learn how to use their God-given brains as well as the Holy Spirit of God's leading when reading the scriptures.

When you read passages of scripture like Isaiah 55:8-11 that speak of God's word not returning to him void, I do not see any addendum or clauses indicating God needs our help in maintaining the integrity of His Word. I fear many of God's soldiers are operating under the same presumption displayed by Israel back in Numbers 14. As I've stated before, too many of God's people are under the assumption their opinions are the same as God's; according to God's Word (Isaiah 55:8) that's rarely (if ever) the case.

I've come to learn God is big enough to keep his word all by himself. Many KJO proponents stress the danger of false doctrines coming up from these new translations. The insinuation is there hasn't ever been any false teachers or false doctrines prior to the NIV, the ASV or "The Message". As long as human beings are involved in the discussion, there is going to be false doctrine being taught; intentional and accidental alike. That isn't the issue. God knows how to protect, prevent and preserve; he's been doing it a long time and He's been doing it without our help.

Are there bad translations of the scriptures out there? Absolutely. Do we need to be careful about what version we read and study? You bet. Should we be dividing the Body of Christ up based on Bible version preferences? Show me the scripture that advocates that action and I'll be the loudest one proclaiming that truth. The fact remains there are plenty of battles to fight without inventing issues and problems. To me, this War of the Words is a non-issue that has escalated to ludicrous proportions.

For those who fall under the KJO banner I'll simply relay this anecdote. As a youth pastor at a church in the Houston area I was asked to "entertain" a young missionary who preached at our church one Sunday night. As I drove him to our dining destination he brought up the subject of Bible versions asking me which version I used. I told him I usually preached out of the KJV simply because that was the pastor's preference but that I studied out of many versions. Well, that set him off on a tirade on the heresy of all other versions except the "authorized" KJV.

After he made his point I asked him which version of the Bible he used at his mission (he was a missionary to a South American country; Peru I believe it was.) He proudly asserted that he used the KJV when he preached at his mission. I asked him if all of his people spoke English. He said "no, they speak various dialects of Spanish".

"So, do these people who do not speak English understand what you are reading when you read the KJV?", I asked him ever so politely.

"No, I use a Spanish translation of the King James Version." He stated and added, somewhat smugly, "My father spent years translating the KJV into Spanish and that's what we use."

"So you're using a translation of the KJV, not the actual KJV of the Bible." I pointed out.

"No, we're using the King James Version of the Bible." I could see his forehead start to furrow a tiny bit.

"Ok, just to be clear, we're talking about a Spanish translation of an English translation of the inspired Word of God that was written in ancient Hebrew/Aramaic/Greek, right?" I emphasized the words translation and inspiration trying desperately to make my point. "You do know the difference between the words 'inspiration' and 'translation' right?"

He was incredulous at my argument, "Are you saying the King James Version is not the inspired word of God?"

"Not at all, I'm saying the King James Version is a translation of the inspired word of God. You don't believe your father's translation attempt is the inspired word of God do you?"

"I believe God led my father to translate the KJV..."

"Yes, but you do know there is a huge difference between being led to do something for God and being inspired to write something FROM God, right?"

He couldn't get out of my car fast enough.

There is a difference between translation and inspiration. There is a difference between opinion and conviction. Not all convictions are universal. If you believe God has convicted you to use one version of the bible above all the rest, praise God and stick to your convictions.

The problem lies with the belief that my convictions should be everyone's convictions on every thing under the sun. Herein lies the greatest complaint the world has with modern Christianity and I share that complaint. We must have Godly wisdom to know what battles to fight and what battles to let go of. We must be sensitive to many nuances when conveying truth to the general population. Far too many of us are a subtle as a 50 kiloton nuke when we convey our convictions to others.

Some things are absolutely worth fighting for; the cross, the blood of Christ, the virgin birth, the empty tomb among many others. Some battles are not worth fighting. The War of the Words is one of them. If we were as concerned about ministering the love of Christ to one another as we are about proving our points, things would be much, much different in the church landscape than they are today...