Featured The Ooooh Song

Hello Forum Readers,


The following essay is my personal opinion.

I am not trying to provoke anyone in particular but I know some may become irritated.

This essay has many aspects of an argument but it reflects the argument I have had in my own mind.

I hope you will still be able to receive me.

Thank you.

It will take a few postings to fit all of it in here.


I have joy.

I would like to present a little of why that is.


The Ooooh Song


Lyrics only.

Here we go!


Ooooh-
ooooh!

Ooooh-
ooooh!

Ooonly the originals are inspired!

Inspired!

Inspired!

Only the originals are inspired!

That is why we have no perfect bible!

 

Like it?

I did for a long time.

And many Christian authorities and academics sing this song every day in public.

And yes, this thread is a cousin to the thread "Only the Originals Are Inspired."

On that thread, no scripture reference was provided where it is written in the bible, "only the originals are inspired."

For such an important doctrine shouldn't there be an abundance of corroboration from the bible itself?

In that thread many arguments and evidences were presented by various forum members as to why the KJV or

any other currently accepted bible translation, in any language, is not inspired but does include, to a large degree, the inspired words of God.

How can we state "only the originals are inspired", and then say we have most of the inspired words today?

Well, copies.

However, an argument was presented on that thread, which used scripture to back its premise.

The scripture does not specifically state that only the originals are inspired, but the presenter, John of Japan,

used Greek grammar and logic to make his case.

 

All scripture is given by inspiration of God,
and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof,
for correction,
for instruction in righteousness:
2 Timothy 3:16

"Given by inspiration" is one word in Greek, the singular adjective θεόπνευστος (theopneustos), meaning, "breathed out by God," or, "the breath of God." This word is what is called a hapax legomenon, a word used only once in the NT. It is used nowhere in secular Greek, and only used in Christian writings long after Paul, so it is probably a word invented by Paul.

Now think about it. The word for "breathed out" is singular, one time. If you breathe "I love you" into your spouse's ear, how many times is that? If you say it again sometime, is that not a separate sentence? If God breathed out the words of Scripture, it was one time. So Paul was referring to the original mss in this statement.
p 4, post 71

John of Japan said that God "breathed out" once.

Since God is not solely in time, that once is very plausible.

Especially from One who does not need oxygen.

However, in time, that is one loooong breath, lasting approximately 1500 years, from Moses to the Apostle John.

But didn't God breathe into all the scriptures as they were written?

Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand,
the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
1 Peter 1:11

The Spirit was in them as they wrote in time.

 

Can you please wait to poke fun at me until I am finished posting the essay?
Thank you.

 

So then, do the copies of scripture also have the breath of God?

When our Lord read a passage from a copy of Isaiah in a synagogue,


17And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
18The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
20And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
21And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
Luke 4:17-21


he called it scripture. He did not make a mistake, He did not say only the original of what I read is true. This copy I read from is true = inspired.

Here are more references where New Testament writers were using copies of the Old Testament to quote from called these copies scripture:

Matthew 21:42, 22;29, 26:54, :56
Mark 12:10, :24, 14:49
Luke 4:21, 24:27, :32, :45
John 5:39, 7:38, 10:35, 13:18, 17;12, 19:24, :28, :36, :37, 20:9,
Acts 1:16, 8:32, :35, 17:2, :11, 18:24, :28
Romans 1:2, 4:3, 9:17, 10:11, 11:2, 15:4, 16:26
1 Corinthians 15:3, :4
Galatians 3:8, :22, 4:30
1 Timothy 5:18
2 Timothy 3:15
James 2:8, :23, 4:5
1 Peter 2:6
2 Peter 1:20, 3:16

 

We call our bible the word of God.

We are born again, a spiritual experience, not a physical experience.

If we are born again by "hearing" the word of God that comes from copies, then the copies must be living.


Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
1 Peter 1:23


Do we have anything else from God that is living and perfect?

Oh yes, we have the Holy Spirit of God, the Spirit of His Son, Jesus Christ, the Word of God.

We have had a spiritual birth and even now we are not in the flesh, if we walk in the Spirit.


This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
Galatians 5:16


So even while we have fleshly bodies, we are also spiritual beings.

The Spirit of the Son who is in us does not change.


Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to day, and for ever.
Hebrews 13:8


Jesus Christ is the author of our faith.


Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith...
Hebrews 12:2


Jesus Christ is the author of the bible through His Holy Spirit.



Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
1 Peter 1:11


Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
2 Peter 1:20-21

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
Revelation 1:1

 

Now on to the KJV.

In the KJV, the majority of the editorial changes dealt with printing errors, spelling, punctuation, and type style.

Are not the words the same as the 1611 edition?

Well, changes are changes.

Just the fact that there have been changes through the years show that the KJV is not perfect.

One count lists over 100,000 changes! (Daniel Wallace, bible.org/article-changes-kjv-1611-illustration)

But we want a perfect, unchanged, and beeyouteaful bible.

Do the said changes alter the meaning or insert other words in place of the ones that were originally there?

Are the KJV's changes as drastic as the changes from the 1978 New International Version to the 2011 revision?

Or the changes from the 1963 New American Standard Version to the 2020 revision?

Both of those and other revised versions are called the word of God by their readers in all of their editions.

I submit that the majority of the KJV's real changes are minor, cosmetic corrections.

 

Hey! I left out Jude 25!

Didn't a forum member in a recent thread state that a whole phrase is missing from that verse in the KJV?

Well, does the person who first made that statement have the original?

Did he use a manuscript or fragment copy?

Isn't what we have now from a long series of copies so how can we absolutely certify it's missing?

The changes in the KJV have not led to errors in its text which change God's intended meaning.

Readability repairs affect the external appearances of the text but not the spiritual meaning.

These cosmetic changes altered and even marred the original 1611 KJV.

The alterations, to some, have cancelled any chance of the KJV being an inspired English translation.

We don't like the idea of having a potentially perfect translation that is changed or marred.

If we demand perfect physical appearance the we cannot have Christ!

His physical appearance was not perfect.


... he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
Isaiah 53:2


But Jesus of Nazareth is spiritually perfect, a lamb without blemish.



But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
1 Peter 1:19


The living God touched our lives through the gospel in the bible, whichever version was used as the sword of the Spirit.


...and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Ephesians 6:17

 

The words Jesus wrote (the bible) and spoke are spiritual and living.



It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
John 6:63


So, to me only, the KJV is perfect spiritually, although aspects of the physical text are not perfect.

Jesus is the Word and the Word was made flesh.

Even if the flesh is not perfect by human standards, the Word is perfect.



For most of my 46 years as a Christian, I was very anti-KJV.

The main reason was that the KJV is not in "Koine" English, that is, common English, the language I speak.

This past July, in a thrift store, I picked up a KJV in excellent condition.

As I held that bible in my hands, a thought came into my mind, "Would you like to read it?"

Later, as I read, I had great peace and joy, similar to my born again experience.

Joy, real joy!

Whatever version we choose to read, shouldn't we be able to trust it as the words of God, and read with joy, real joy?

 

Every word of God is pure:
Proverbs 30:5


Prove this scripture:



Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.
Jeremiah 15:16

 

Hello robycop3,

This was a personal statement.
I am not going to debate.
When I was a KJV-hater, I was a Hater with a capital H.
I did not have the ammunition you do but I think I may have been harder of heart.
The sin in my life made me very weak and susceptible, I suppose, to the touch I received.

I am the Lord thy God,
which brought thee out of the land of Egypt:
open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.
Psalm 81:10