To KML, et al;
If you have read the King James 200 times, the NIV 200 times, and every other translation at least once, you've never read the Bible. Because "The Bible" is not an English document. What you have read is someone's description of the contents inside the Bible; their interpretation of it. But you've never actually read THE Bible unless you have read it in the language it was written in and can understand it in that language.
This is one of the issues King James Onlyists can't seem to grasp. But why would ANYONE want to exalt ANY English translation to some sort of status whereby it suddenly becomes more important than the original manuscripts?
If you REALLY want to know the mind of God, you need to learn Hebrew. Progressing onto Greek has some value as well, though there is no where near as much that fails to come through translation from Greek to English as from Hebrew to English. Anyone who does will be cured of KJV Onlyism, and debates like the previous URL become moot.
In his post KML said,
"For those who esteem the King James Only users, as a cult, Praise God; because it is prophesied that this too shall happen.To these who accuse and esteem as a cult, the Word of God shall become unto them as a book that cannot be read. Isaiah 29:11 KJV"
Well, no THE Bible never said KJV Onlyists would be persecuted, and neither does the KJV (which is not "The Bible", but merely a translation of it). Furthermore, Isaiah/Yeshayahu does not say what KML claimed it said, even in the King James. What is says is this....
THE Bible is on the left. An English translation of it is on the right. Now if you hand THE BIBLE to a KJV Onlyist, he may fullfil Isa 29:11 by saying, "I cannot [read it], for it is sealed". THE BIBLE is sealed from KJV Onlyists because it is written in a language they do not understand. So if this verse applies to anyone in the KJV Only debate, it would apply to someone dependent on an English translation and not someone who can read Hebrew. If you want to know what God is thinking, learn Hebrew. Yes, it takes some time. But there's an eternal payoff to it. How many things can you do in this life that will have an eternal payoff to it? It took me a lot of work, but it was a great feeling when I was first able to pick up THE BIBLE and read it, instead of an English interpretation of it.
When people promote KJV Onlyism, they are promoting what Isa 29:11 is preaching against. Because they are promoting the idea that people never be able to unseal the Bible and actually read it for themselves. I can read THE BIBLE and understand it. KJV Onlyists cannot read THE BIBLE since it is not in English, and 100% of all KJV Onlyists cannot read Hebrew. If they could, they would realize how bad a translation the KJV is and the error of the philosophy because they would see all the mistakes in it.
Shortly after quoting Isa 29:11, Ps 23:5 is quoted as saying, "Thou preparest a table before me in the [presence] of mine enemies." Are people who don't believe in KJV Onlyism the enemy? I'm straining to figure out how Ps 23:5 fit into the logical flow of the previous post and it doesn't really fit into the logic. The only conclusion I could see was that it sounded as if you were trying to console yourself with the idea that those who read THE BIBLE instead of the KJV are "the enemy", and labelling them as the enemy somehow comforts you. That is sad. If I am wrong about this, feel free to correct it.
It was said,
"IF we do not have the same BOOK, isn't there disadvantage, seeing that the book(s) do not read the same, or some words and passages have been added to, re-worded, or removed altogether?
The NKJV was just ONE step away from The Standard."The "same BOOK" and "Standard" we should all be using is again, not an English document, but THE BIBLE in its original language. Any attempt to discuss it in English is inherently crippled. Now Yeshua told us to preach the Gospel to all the world, and we have to do that in every language. But THE STANDARD must be the Bible in its original language. If you want to get into discussing over fine points of doctrine...ANYTHING written in English is not what you refer to in order to resolve the dispute.
One of my biggest problems with the KJV Only doctrine is that is discourages people from reading the ONLY LEGITIMATE STANDARD and tries to replace THE standard with an English text. That's just wrong. The original language is the standard every translation is judged by.
Yes, we need English translations for the newly saved. But if you want to dive into the deep waters of the word, you need to study in the original language, and not get hung up on whether the KJV or the NIV is a better English version. That whole debate misses the most important point.
Most of the world over people speak 2-3 languages by the time they are 20. Its only those speaking English as their native language that have a resistance to learning foreign languages. But learning Biblical languages SHOULD be a normal thing for believers, not abnormal.
A lot of people have the misnotion that the only value in learning Hebrew is in doing word studies. Not true at all. At www.messiahalive.com/ValueOfHebrew.wmv is a video well worth watching about the value of learning Hebrew that covers EVERYTHING BUT THAT - Why the grammar, thought processses, spelling, and everything else makes it a language well worth learning and something that will enrich your understanding of the Word.
Shalom,
Joe