On the TimesDaily Religion Forum, I began a discussion by asking the question, "Should We Interpret The Bible?" And, my Forum Friend, Tigrtrek replied, "Of course people should read the Bible and decide for themselves. (Does) 'Study to show thyself approved rightly dividing the word of truth' ring a bell? Don't let someone -- me, Bill, the Pope, Pat Robertson, or anyone tell you what it (the Bible) says. Read it yourself. And don't limit yourself to any one translation. I spent too many years blinded by a KJV-only bias."
Tigr, I agree with you completely that we should not limit ourselves to one specific Bible translation. Personally, my main Bible is the NASB; but, when doing an indepth study of a passage I will use the NASB, the NKJV, and sometimes the KJV. These are word for word translations and tend to be better for such studies. In my writings, I will sometimes use the NIV when it better expresses the thought I am trying to convey.
I stay away from all paraphrase Bibles, such as Peterson's "The Message." The paraphrase Bibles tend to be more just the author's interpretation and not a translation, i.e., it is closer to a commentary than a Bible translation. Another paraphrase Bible is "The Living Bible." On the title page, in the subtitle, it reads "Paraphrased, A Thought-for-Thought Translation." No, a Bible cannot be a "paraphrase" and, at the same time, be a "translation." Another paraphrase Bibles is the "Good News for Modern Man" -- also called Today's English Version.
The "New Living Translation" began as a redo of "The Living Bible" and would fall more into the category of the NIV.
In a discussion of the New Living Translation, we read at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Living_Translation :
"It has been suggested that this "thought-for-thought" methodology, while making the translation easier to understand, is less accurate than a literal (formal equivalence) method, and thus the New Living Translation may not be suitable for those wishing to undertake detailed study of the Bible."
I also stay away from the Amplified Bible for a similar reason -- the amplification tends to put it more into a commentary status. And, I tend to stay away from the "gender neutral" translations such as the TNIV. In my thinking, if God had intended the Bible to be gender neutral -- He would have authored it that way.
A very good Bible web site is the Blue Letter Bible: http://www.blueletterbible.org/index.cfm
The Blue Letter Bible web site has 12 English translations as well as Spanish, Latin Vulgate, Greek, and Hebrew. You can choose to view a verse in side by side translations for comparison -- or view a chapter in any of the available translations. The site offers Strong's Concordance for word studies, commentaries, Bible dictionary aids, and other great information to help in your Bible study.
Like you, Tigr, I am a wee bit uneasy when someone tells me that we must use only the KJV Bible. And, I agree with you that we must never allow anyone, myself included, to dictate to us what a Scripture verse or passage means, i.e., that their interpretation is the absolute and only correct interpretation.
Yet, on the other hand, I will suggest to anyone who is a new believer, who is not yet mature in Biblical knowledge -- that you find someone who is mature and can mentor you. And, get involved in a good Bible study group -- and do not miss your church's Sunday School classes. I know that, in the church I attend, our Sunday School classes have always tended to be as interactive, challenging, and exciting as our Bible studies. This is an environment where we all can grow more mature in our personal knowledge of God's Word.
I recall my own situation the first few years I was a believer. My Bible knowledge was more on the "Kindergarten" level. In early 1991, during the "Operation Desert Storm" Gulf War, when Iraq set all the oil fields on fire and the scene was looking like Armageddon -- our Bible study leader, Tom Fletcher, began to talk about the Rapture, the Tribulation, etc.
And, I had no idea what he was talking about. Of course, I was not going to ask and show my Bible ignorance -- so, I just smiled and pretended to know what he meant. And, then, I began my own quest to understand End Times eschatology.
But, my point is that we all, when we are new Christian believers, need someone more mature in the Word to mentor us. I began reading Dr. J. Vernon McGee and other Bible teachers, listening as much as possible to KWVE Christian Radio, as well as attending Bible studies and Sunday School classes. I have attended Eschatology Conferences -- and, yes, I read the full set of "Left Behind" series books by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins -- and many other good books on eschatology.
I found mentors and learned from them. Some I soon outgrew, i.e., wanted more meat in my Biblical diet -- so, I moved on to other mentors. And, today, I am still learning -- and have built quite a nice personal library.
However, with all that said -- I have never met, heard, or read a Bible teacher, scholar, or theologian with whom I agree 100% of the time. I do as the apostle Paul tells us in Acts 17:11 -- I read, listen, etc., to my teachers -- consider what they have taught me -- and then, compare it with what I find in Scripture. And, from this -- I settle on what I believe this Scripture passage is teaching me.
Doing this, I feel that I am fairly well grounded in my theology and that I stand on a pretty solid theological foundation. Could I be wrong on some things? You bet! But, I will keep studying and learning until the day I breath my last breath in this mortal body or He comes to rapture me.
And, then, my real education will begin. Can you imagine having an eternity, all that time -- to continue learning? Do you doubt this is true? Consider this point. Only God knows everything and cannot learn.
If we could ever get to a point where we know everything and there is nothing more we can learn -- we would be Gods. Since we know this will never happen (Lucifer is good proof of this) -- then, we must keep learning even after we are in the eternal presence of God. Isn't that exciting? All of these issues which we are debating today, we will know -- and much more. Yes, exciting! I can hardly wait to begin working on my Advanced Degree!
If you have found this useful, please feel free to share it with your Friends, Relatives, Associates, and Neighbors -- all your FRANs. Let's all study to grow more mature in our knowledge of God's Word -- and then use that knowledge to share the Gospel with all the world -- until He returns.
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill Gray