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Question
I believe the original untranslated manuscripts of the Bible, express God's perfect Word. It is the inspired and infallable Truth.
However, I can't quite grasp how a translated Bible, after being touched man, can be as pure as the original text. The transliterations of YHWH and Yeshua support my point. Or to another extreme and perhaps not the best example; the J.W.s render John 1:1 - "and the word was a god." I'm sure you can see where I'm going with this.
My question is, am I wrong in my thinking? Is the translated Bible absolutely 100 percent accurate in conveying God's message. If so, which translation?
Thanks!
Serenity,
Remember that the original untranslated manuscripts were also touched by man. Another question that you might have is, How do we know which books of the Bible should be in the Bible?
The question I always ask is, does God want us to know His word? My answer to that is, Yes. Therefore, I believe God's Providence provided us with the manuscripts and translations necessary for us to know God.
If we consider the translations that were attempted from a pure motive and not from an agenda, then we can begin to see that the translations are pretty good. You can compare the KJV, NKJV, AS and NAS and see that these match very closely. When you look at the Hebrew and Greek, you can also see that they are excellent translations. I prefer the NAS, but the NKJV is also excellent.
Hope this helps.
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LEBoyd
Expertise
I am available to answer questions on most subjects dealing with the Old and New Testaments. I have more than 30 years of detailed study in both Testaments. Additionally, I have studied the many facets of evolution, including a detailed study of Darwin's Origin of the Species. I am a fundamentalist, in that I believe that all Scripture is inspired, or God-breathed, (II Tim. 3:16). I believe that there are no contradictions in the Bible, and that the Bible is complete in telling us our purpose on earth, how to gain salvation and how we should live to obtain salvation. I believe in sin, Satan, heaven, hell, choice-immersion, grace as the free-gift of God and that one can fall from grace. I am a 'layman' in that I taught myself Hebrew (in the English alphabet) and Greek (in the Greek alphabet).
Experience
I have taught many adult classes on the Scriptures on many different subjects over the last 25 years. I have also debated many people (several at once) over subjects such as evolution, original sin, the Diety of Jesus, whether Jesus was perfect by choice, and so-called Biblical contradictions.
Education/Credentials
I am a layman, so I come as a self-trained "expert". I can provide copies of sermanets, classes and emails where I have debated Scripture with others.
I do have a BBA and an MBA from a Top-10 MBA School. I also have several NASD/SEC licenses.
Awards and Honors
In Bibilical areas, I have scored the highest score, or in the top 10, with other adults in an all day annual test on specific Bible books. Some of these books were Luke, Revelation, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronmy, Joshua, Judges, II Kings, and others. Currently, I am teaching an indepth study on the book of Judges.
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