A Visit to the Museum of the Bible: Part 2

[Darris McNeely] In my last BT Daily, I talked about my visit to the Museum of the Bible, a newly opened museum dedicated to the story, the narrative, and the history of the Bible in all culture and upon history and I found it to be a fascinating visit. I talked about a little bit of the criticism that I guess come against those who have built this museum, fearing a separation of church and state might be breached and other problems that may be there. 

But one of the things that I've found going through the Museum of the Bible was the many very well done displays that trace the development of the Bible in English and other languages are the common tongue of people. What is little understood about the transmission of the Bible through the years is that for many years, it was only in either Greek, or Hebrew, or Aramaic and/or Latin. And the person on the street, the common people did not have access to the scriptures like we do today. We take that for granted. But with men like Wycliffe, and Tyndale, and Erasmus, and Martin Luther, the Bible was translated into English, German, and other languages, and then began a spread around the world which today is rather remarkable. And that is all told there in the story of the Bible.

Often on Beyond Today, we have a question that will come to us and that is, "Which translation is the best for me to use?" And there are many English translations of the Bible that are strong and weak in various parts and something that we all should know about. You should know what is the translation that you are using, where it came from, and it's purpose, and it's strong and it's weak points. But coming to a decision about which is the best for you is another matter altogether. 

We have a lot of articles on our Beyond Today website that can help you wade through the issues surrounding that question. I do know that some people think that the King James Bible of 1611 is the only translation that we should be using, and I've had that discussion with people before. There are many strengths yet to the King James version, the original, but there are other strengths that are brought in by other translations that cannot be ignored and should be understood and considered as well.

So when it comes down to making a decision for you as to which translation you should use, here's what I usually tell people and I think it's good advice. The best translation of the Bible for you is the one that brings you to a change of heart, a change of mind, and a change in your life to come to understand the true God and his purpose, and to understand Jesus Christ as your savior, and actually changes your life. 

Find that translation. Get familiar with that and as it leads you into the story of the Bible and into a relationship with God, and then you will have the best translation of scripture. 

That's BT Daily. Join us next time.