Expert: Mr. McClellan - 3/5/2010

Question
Hi,  I am very impressed by your biblical knowledge and application of scripture!  Since you are so well-learned in this area I wonder if, over your years of studying, if you've noticed whether any particular bible translation appears to have a more accurate translation than some of the others?  I wish I could read Greek and Hebrew and be able to better "grasp" the concept of the original intended meaning in it's original language. I was brought up by foreign parents who spoke to me and my siblings in their native language at home (even though we spoke back in english) and I know first-hand that there are some words which simply can't be accurately translated.  There is often no "exact" word that reflects the essence and feeling of a particular foreign word, and often the true meaning can be lost or "generalised".  It's that, that makes me wonder if you feel whether one interpretation (for example King James - 1611 ) stands out as more accurate and reliable?  Thanks so very much in advance for your time and willingness.

Kind regards,

Anna

Answer
Hi Anna, here's the web address of as good a presentation on the topic of Biblical Inspiration as you're likely to read anytime soon. If I had written it, I'd have added a couple of things of critical importance that the author didn't think of. At any rate, it's excellent for what he does say. Here it is http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/2466
One more comment. Once I finally discovered the real truth about all those things I had questions about, I felt like kicking myself because it was then that I realized that the truth is right in plain sight all the time and always has been. What keeps any of us from easily recognizing it is all the prejudicial, ready made, answers we naively accept as truth without a serious attempt to find out for ourselves if they are or not. It's as if it doesn't occur to anyone that these questions are of the very first magnitude in importance and demand that we know the real answers and not leave them to guessing. I used to feel blown away when I'd say that king of thing and someone would reply, "If we could actually know the answers to those questions, it would destroy our faith. Don't you know that we are to 'walk by faith and not by sight'? They didn't realize that the way they were using the word faith was exactly the way people use it who believe in false gods and follow false teachers. Pick up your dictionary and look up these words and compare their meanings: faith, credulity, and prejudice. The writers of the Bible did not use the word "faith" the way it's currently defined and used when they spoke of things required in pleasing the Biblical God. Neither do they recall that Paul, who could work miracles to confirm the truth of the things he said, was speaking of a future event that was without doubt going to happen but, of course, no one had witnessed yet. Because most people do not correctly use that word, "faith," (and others) they cannot possibly be believing in the Biblical Jesus or actually have their sins forgiven. They're still lost, don't know it, and don't have a clue.
Have a great day and keep thinking. Set aside all that you think you know and go at it with a completely open and fresh mind, determined not to leave even the smallest stone unturned and let nothing stop you. You're not seeing the forest for the trees, as the saying goes. When you finally see it, you'll feel like kicking yourself too. It is so easy it's hard. : )

My original reply is below.

Hello Anna,
Thanks for your kind words. I began asking some very serious questions myself when I was about twelve years old; questions that no one seemed to have good answers for. I became very aware of the many different ways people understood (or misunderstood) the Bible. At the same time I thought about how some people said we could know that God exists while some said that God does not exist and others said that it was not possible to know one way or the other. I reasoned that it is not possible for all of them to be right. I also reasoned that these questions had to have correct and knowable answers if God is really just because a God that is truly just cannot punish people if they cannot know with certainty that he exists, know for certain what his will is, and be completely able to do what he requires. From that time on, I began to pay close attention to everything that anyone had to say on those topics and see if I could figure out where they were going wrong so that I could discover the real truth once and for all. I told myself that if God exists and requires anything of us, we have to know. The implications of those questions are so serious that I believed they constituted the most important questions that mankind must know the answers to. It took a long time, a lot of money, and a great deal of having to suffer the ridicule and persecution other people heaped on me for trying to find the truth, something, they said that no one could do. I always said, "How do you know it can't be done." They never had a rational answer for that question.

OK, now for your question. You have correctly sensed a clue to part of the answer to one of those very important questions. And, I'm a little concerned about clearly telling you the complete answer right out in simple terms. Over the years, I learned that knowledge too easily obtained is just as easily disregarded. A good teacher also knows that, as the saying goes, if you give someone a fish they will be fed for one day, but if you teach them how to fish they will take care of themselves from then on. Students who are taught how to learn something for themselves will appreciate what they learn far more than students who are simply told the "right" answers. Well, since it's abundantly obvious that there are some differences between the precise wording of the various versions you have to have a legitimate way of knowing which one is actually correct or if any of them are actually correct. First, I've discovered that there are some versions that are better than others in that they hold much closer to the oldest manuscripts. In those manuscripts, even though there are a few differences in some wordings, there are not differences that negatively affect the meaning of the contexts. In english, for example, we have numerous synonyms for many of our words and it makes very little difference at all which word we use, the meaning of what is said will still be the same. Second, there are some "versions" which are nothing but paraphrases where the paraphrasers inserted their own beliefs into their work. We call that eisegesis, or twisting the scriptures to make them mean what you think they should mean. People who do that are "putting words into the mouths" of the people who actually first penned the words but not intentionally. They do not know how to properly interpret written material in order to learn what the writer intended people to understand. That, of course, is no way to discover the truth and I can't explain how it's done in this message. However, at this point we have to admit that the Bible does not have to be word for word the same as the originally penned autographs in order to understand, beyond doubt, the intended concepts and ideas the writers had in mind.
I'm married to a Chinese lady. When we first met she could only say about five words in English and I could only say about ten words in Chinese. Now we can talk about most things with understanding. I've discovered that humans world over experience things alike and sometimes have different ways of expressing those experiences. With some effort, they can come to a common understanding of those things that they seem to have different concepts of. The concepts are really the same, they just don't readily have a way to express their understandings. It takes time, maybe a lot of time but it can be done. In the most essential ways, the Chinese people are no different than anyone else.
You can trust the ASV, the NASV, the NIV, and the NKJV as long as you have a correct understanding of several of the basic concepts such as works, faith, grace, and mercy. Many people do not use these words and others correctly. If you don't use the definitions that the writers used, you can't get it right no matter what version you use. For this reason there are many differing sets of doctrine being preached by people claiming to be true representatives of God. That isn't possible as I've said. What's actually going on is that a lot of false gods and Christs are being taught by as many false teachers and millions and millions of people are falling for their stuff.
I hope this helps.
Sincerely,
Mr. McClellan