I got this today.  Sounds about right!  LOL

==
I was walking across a bridge one day, and saw a man standing on the edge, about to jump off.

I ran over and said, “Stop! Don’t do it!”

“Why shouldn’t I?” he said.

I said, “Well, there’s so much to live for!”

He said, “Like what?”

I said, “Well...are you religious or atheist?”

He said, “Religious.”

I said, “Me too! Are you Christian or Buddhist?”

He said, “Christian.”

I said, “Me too! Are you Catholic or Protestant?”

He said, “Protestant.”

I said, “Me too! Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?”

He said, “Baptist!”

I said, “Wow! Me too! Are you Southern Baptist or Independent Baptist?”

He said, “Independent Baptist!”

I said, “Me too! Do you use the King James Bible or the NIV?”

He said, “The NIV”

I said, “Die, heretic scum!” and pushed him off.

Tony,
How sad it is that so many people believe that way. My own church is a King James Only church. I personally believe that is a very narrow minded position. I have several different translations of the Bible and enjoy reading them all. Some will call me a heretic (even my own fellow church members) but I just can’t be a KJO person.

Dale Baldridge

Dale, I attended that same kind of church for years.  And I think the folks who believe in “KJV only” are well-intentioned.  They really DO believe that it’s the most accurate translation of the Bible and—as such—is the only true Word of God.

My question for them would be, “Where did you get that belief?”.  At the risk of raising Deon’s ire on this topic, I would say that most of them arrived at their belief because that’s what they were told by someone else; not because they (themselves) actually researched the topic of how our Bible came into existence.

I think people should read whatever version of the Bible they find to be easiest to understand.  For whatever else a particular translation may have going for it, if a person can’t understand it, it’s not going to be of value to them.

Anyway, I thought the story above was humorous and light-hearted so I thought I’d share it. 

Tony

Tony, the church where I grew up beleived the KJV was the ONLY version of the Bible.  They believed it was the actual word.  They had no idea that Greek and Hebrew preceded it.  30 years later they probably still don’t.

TonyRush - 01 May 2008 06:56 PM

Dale, I attended that same kind of church for years.  And I think the folks who believe in “KJV only” are well-intentioned.  They really DO believe that it’s the most accurate translation of the Bible and—as such—is the only true Word of God.

My question for them would be, “Where did you get that belief?”.  At the risk of raising Deon’s ire on this topic, I would say that most of them arrived at their belief because that’s what they were told by someone else; not because they (themselves) actually researched the topic of how our Bible came into existence.

I think people should read whatever version of the Bible they find to be easiest to understand.  For whatever else a particular translation may have going for it, if a person can’t understand it, it’s not going to be of value to them.

Anyway, I thought the story above was humorous and light-hearted so I thought I’d share it. 

Tony

I didn’t even know I had an ire.......

I was walking across a bridge one day, and saw a man standing on the edge, about to jump off.

I ran over and said, “Stop! Don’t do it!”

“Why shouldn’t I?” he said.

I said, “Well, there’s so much to live for!”

He said, “Like what?”

I said, “Well...are you religious or atheist?”

He said, “Religious.”

I said, “Me too! Are you Christian or Buddhist?”

He said, “Christian.”

I said, “Me too! Are you Catholic or Protestant?”

He said, “Protestant.”

I said, “Me too! Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?”

He said, “Baptist!”

I said, “Wow! Me too! Are you Southern Baptist or Independent Baptist?”

He said, “Independent Baptist!”

I said, “Me too! Do you use the King James Bible or the NIV?”

I said, “Die, heretic scum!” and pushed him off.

That would be funny if it weren’t true that some people feel that bitter toward the King James crowd.

I think you might’ve missed the punchline, Godsmusic.  That joke typifies the fact that it’s the “King James crowd” who feels bitterly toward everyone else. 

Tony

Tony evidently YOU missed MY punch line.  Re-read my post.  I put the punch line in bold to help you out a little.

Yep, I missed it!  Thanks for clarifying.

But do you really think that there is much animosity toward the KJV crowd? 

For whatever reason, the people I know who are NOT “KJV only” don’t seem to be emotional about it one way or the other.  They seem to acknowledge that everyone picks the version that is best for them and they don’t really get involved in heated debates about the NIV being better than the NASB or the NKJV.

On the other hand, it seems to me that most people who operate in a KJV-only environment seem to have the opinion that they’re right and everyone else is necessarily wrong. 

In other words, I’ve rarely met anyone who said, “Tony, if you’re not using the NIV, you’re not reading God’s word.” But I’ve met lots of people who feel that way about the KJV. 

Wonder why that is?

Tony

By the way, the people who claim that the “KJV 1611” is the only true Word of God usually get a smile out of me.  I’ve yet to meet a single one of them who actually USE a 1611. 

Not one.

The KJV sold today is actually a revision from 1769 (even if it still says 1611 in the introduction).  The actual 1611 also had 14 extra books of the Bible that have not been included in any printings in over 100 years.

Another example of how many people just repeat what they hear someone else say without ever checking to see if it’s actually true.  People claim that the 1611 is the only true “word of God’ but they don’t actually own one, either!

Tony

TonyRush - 02 May 2008 10:14 AM

Yep, I missed it!  Thanks for clarifying.

But do you really think that there is much animosity toward the KJV crowd?
Tony

I bet you it’s 10-1 the non-KJV only crowd complaining about the KJV only crowd.  At least on the message boards I visit.
Wonder why that is?

God’sMusic - 02 May 2008 11:01 AM

TonyRush - 02 May 2008 10:14 AM

Yep, I missed it!  Thanks for clarifying.

But do you really think that there is much animosity toward the KJV crowd?
Tony

I bet you it’s 10-1 the non-KJV only crowd complaining about the KJV only crowd.  At least on the message boards I visit.
Wonder why that is?

I don’t know.  That hasn’t been my observation.  As I mentioned earlier, I rarely see NIV or NASB people hopping up down about how their version is the only correct one.  But, I see a lot of KJV folks engaged in that debate.

Tony

TonyRush - 02 May 2008 11:10 AM

God’sMusic - 02 May 2008 11:01 AM

TonyRush - 02 May 2008 10:14 AM

Yep, I missed it!  Thanks for clarifying.

But do you really think that there is much animosity toward the KJV crowd?
Tony

I bet you it’s 10-1 the non-KJV only crowd complaining about the KJV only crowd.  At least on the message boards I visit.
Wonder why that is?

I don’t know.  That hasn’t been my observation.  As I mentioned earlier, I rarely see NIV or NASB people hopping up down about how their version is the only correct one.  But, I see a lot of KJV folks engaged in that debate.

Tony

Of course KJO advocates passionatly defend their position, but they do NOT tell jokes
deride, belittle, and use inflamitory sarcasm and gross exaggeration against non KJO people over the subject.

Kelly Fogarty

P.S. Why no spell check anymore?

I don’t think it’s possible for such a broad and general statement to be 100% accurate.  Sure, “some” KJVO people might not do that....but some do.  I’ve heard more than one KJVO person say that anyone who reads anything other than the KJV is just “reading a theological comic book”.

If that’s not gross exaggeration or derision, I don’t know what is. 

Tony