Bible Translations
All posts tagged Bible Translations
The following video is one of many that have been produced to encourage the reading and hearing of the Word of God. Whether you know the Lord Jesus or not these videos will be a benefit to your life.
‘Jeff Riddle offers a lecture on applied apologetics by focusing on Bart Ehrman’s contribution to the field of modern textual criticism at the 2022 Kept Pure In All Ages Conference in Reedsburg, Wisconsin.’

The Lord Jesus said ‘Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.’ Jesus also said of Himself “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Sadly, some “twist” God’s truth and thereby many miss the ONLY way to Heaven. The following article concerns a woman who leads First Presbyterian in Birmingham, AL https://www.fpcbham.org/projects.
The article states ‘We’ve seen a lot of scripture twisting in our day, but nothing quite like the dark arts performed by Pastrix Terry Hamilton Poore, Head of Staff at the Crypt Church of Birmingham, Alabama, which is a PCUSA Church. Poore gained prominence when she led the fight in her state AGAINST restrictive anti-abortion laws, declaring ” The religious community needs to stand with women, work for just laws, and demonstrate respect for women’s abilities to make decisions about their own lives.”
While we typically see the story of Zacchaeus used by critical theorists and wokesters as a prooftext for reparations, Poore uses it for novel purposes. She starts off by recounting the story of Jonah and the fact that he wanted God to smite the Ninevites, comparing pro-life advocates to the mean old Jonah who just wants to see people punished, then saying Christians ought to be like Zacchaeus and give their money to women to fund their birth control and other social programs.’https://protestia.com/2022/07/20/pro-abortion-pastrix-says-stories-of-jonah-and-zacchaeus-are-proof-we-should-subsize-birth-control/
John William Burgon (1813-1888)
‘“Whatever may be urged in favor of Biblical Revision, it is at least undeniable that the undertaking involves a tremendous risk.
Our Authorized Version is the one religious link which at present binds together ninety millions of English-speaking men scattered over the earth’s surface. Is it reasonable that so unutterably precious, so sacred a bond should be endangered, for the sake of representing certain words more accurately, here and there translating a tense with greater precision, getting rid of a few archaisms?
It may be confidently assumed that no ‘Revision’ of our Authorized Version, however judiciously executed, will ever occupy the place in public esteem which is actually enjoyed by the work of the Translators of 1611, the noblest literary work in the Anglo-Saxon language. We shall in fact never have another ‘Authorized Version.’
John W. Burgon, The Revision Revised, 113′https://www.textandtranslation.org/john-burgon-on-the-risk-of-revising-the-authorized-version/
Here’s what Gordon College states on their website saying ‘Gordon is a vibrant community of believers, a place where Christian faith frames all aspects of the experience—from residence life to athletics to academics. We want students to think deeply and holistically about how their faith informs their influence in society—now and well into the future. Intentional programming and organic relationships propel students to grow in Christian character and deepen their trust in Jesus.’
However, what they state and what they do is different for ‘Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts, this week cancelled three speaking engagements with a speaker who sparked student protests for his alleged “misogynist” and “transphobic” comments.
The speaker, Marvin Daniels—an ordained minister and executive director of The Hope Center—spoke in chapel at the evangelical school on Monday. According to Gordon’s student publication, The Gordon Review, Daniels was scheduled to address the school in three more sessions as part of “Deep Faith Week.” But those were cancelled after students objected to Daniels’ chapel address on social media and announced a walkout.
During his chapel talk, Daniels addressed issues of gender and sexuality, affirming the categories of male and female. Then, speaking about what he called “a culture in chaos,” Daniels added, “We got individuals that say, ‘I feel like I’m a female,’ and they get a chance to participate in female activities. Back in the day I wish that would work. I would have been saying ‘I feel like a female,’ so I can get into girls’ locker room. Come on now.”
Daniels also addressed issues related to dating and premarital sex, stating: “It’s amazing to see that even in the church, my Christian brothers (are) out there treating young ladies like they’re urinals and I am concerned about that.”
He added: “And I’m concerned about my Christian sisters who dress like they desserts on a menu and then they get upset when a brother wants to place an order.”
During the service, students began to react via social posts. “Who does he think he is?” asked one student on Instagram with the moniker ‘Gordon Gossip Girl.’
Another account, @AlanaGordonCollege, posted details of a student rally in solidarity with women and the LGBTQA+ community “traumatized by the degrading statements made in chapel this morning.” It was planned for after Daniels’ session that evening.
A student account stated: “We believe the words Daniels chose to make his point were hateful to both women and the trans community as well as many others . . . We want to show Gordon that they cannot continue inviting someone who will spread more hate than love.”
Shortly after the chapel address, Gordon College president Michael Hammond e-mailed the student body to say he would “personally address” them in a session that evening but Daniels would not.
Billed as a “closed-door meeting,” details of Hammond’s evening talk have not been reported. However, Daniels did not return to the chapel platform the rest of the week.’https://julieroys.com/gordon-college-cancels-speaker-students-protest-misogynist-transphobic-talk/?mc_cid=41f981e31f&mc_eid=b13d34ad49
My advice to any Bible believing Christian is to stay with the Authorized King James Bible. Now, ‘Bible Gateway is a searchable online Bible in more than 200 versions‘ so it was therefore a surprise at least to me that ‘A controversial Bible version popular among charismatic and Pentecostal Christians has been pulled from the world’s top Bible search website, Bible Gateway.
Frequently criticized by biblical scholars as a paraphrase mislabeled as a translation, The Passion Translation (TPT), which seeks to “recapture the emotion of God’s Word,” was reportedly removed from the site as of February 1.
TPT was first released in 2017 as a New Testament with the Psalms. It now also includes Genesis, Isaiah, Proverbs, and the Song of Solomon.
BroadStreet Publishing, which markets and distributes The Passion Translation (TPT), confirmed the removal from Bible Gateway in a statement to Christianity Today (CT). BroadStreet noted that Bible Gateway gave “no explanation” for TPT’s removal but added: “Bible Gateway has the right to make decisions as they see fit with the platforms they manage.”
A representative of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, which owns Bible Gateway, told CT that the decision involved a realignment of business goals.
However, as first reported by Church Watch Central, evangelist and TPT lead translator Brian Simmons of Passion and Fire Ministries blamed the removal on cancel culture.
“So, cancel culture is alive in the church world,” wrote Simmons. “Bible Gateway just removed TPT from their platform.” Simmons also alleged that a critic of TPT paid scholars to “trash” the translation, but did not post any documentation.
Simmons then called on his followers to contact Bible Gateway and request it back. However, that Facebook post has since been deleted.
The Roys Report reached out to Simmons but did not hear back by publication time.
Several scholars of various Protestant Christian traditions have criticized TPT since its release. Andrew Shead, Ph.D., a member of the NIV Committee on Bible Translation, authored a 7,600-word criticism in The Gospel Coalition’s Themelios journal.
“TPT is not just a new translation; it is a new text, and its authority derives solely from its creator,” wrote Shead. “TPT is not a Bible, and any church that treats it as such and receives it as canon will, by that very action, turn itself into an unorthodox sect.”
Other vocal critics of TPT include Reformed charismatic pastor Andrew Wilson of King’s Church London and Calvary Chapel-trained pastor Mike Winger. Winger’s website and YouTube channel, Bible Thinker, has produced 12 videos with scholars critically reviewing the Bible version.
Evangelical parachurch ministry Got Questions provides lengthy analysis of TPT. The website includes an earlier statement from Simmons, since revised on the TPT website. He once stated his translation is “about prioritizing God’s original message over the words’ literal meaning.”
Got Questions compares one verse, Luke 1:37, in several translations. “For nothing will be impossible with God,” the verse states in the ESV. “For no word from God will ever fail,” it reads in the recent NIV translation. The Passion Translation renders this verse as: “No promise of God is empty of power, for with God there is no such thing as impossibility.”
The Message, which late author Eugene Peterson maintained was his own paraphrase of the Bible and not a translation, remains on Bible Gateway. Peterson, who died in 2018, told CT in a 2002 interview that he felt “uneasy” about The Message being used in public worship. By contrast, Simmons and his ministry applaud using TPT as the primary text in sermons.
An official website for TPT lists about 20 Christian ministers who have given “Endorsements” to the paraphrase. These include figures such as Bill Johnson of Bethel Church, Chuck Pierce of Glory of Zion International Ministries, Heidi Baker of Iris Global, and Bible teacher John Bevere.
On the TPT website, an FAQ page notes that “respected scholars and editors” have evaluated Simmons’ translation work but does not name them.
Addressing his qualifications to serve as lead Bible translator, Simmons said in a recent interview: “My qualifications are that I was told to do this from the Lord. Whatever he tells you to do, he will meet the need you have to finish it.”
Simmons continues his work on the remaining books of the Old Testament. The Passion Translation remains available to read via YouVersion, OliveTree, and other Bible platforms.’https://julieroys.com/bible-gateway-pulls-controversial-passion-translation/?mc_cid=f84216aae2&mc_eid=b13d34ad49
Dr. Jeff Riddle reviews ‘…Matthew Barrett’s comments on problems with modern translations, with respect to the doctrine of the eternal generation of the Son, in his book Simply Trinity (Baker 2021), recently named by Christianity Today as a 2022 book of the year in the category of theology and ethics (read about it here).
Among other things, Barrett points out that in the twentieth century scholars “erased ‘only begotten’ from John’s corpus and replace this phrase with ‘only’ or ‘unique’ instead,” adding that due to this change “generations of Christians were never introduced to the concept of eternal generation” (186). He also announces, “that consensus is now changing, and fast” (187).
This illustrates the sometimes subtle (or not so subtle) theological problems that arise from modern texts and modern translations.
I also covered this issue in WM 207, reviewing part of a conversation between Barrett and Charles Lee Irons, and I did a text note on John 1:18 in WM 56.’http://www.jeffriddle.net/2022/01/wm-222-barrett-modern-translations.html
The Masoretic Hebrew Text and the Traditional Received Text gives the Bible believing Christian stability knowing they have the very Words of the Living God. John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
