Re-Creating Easter IV When? The Question of Time

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on 15 October 2015 1 Comments
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Question

I was listening to an audible.com book created through the Great Courses that addressed Books that Changed the World. During one of the discussed books (the Book of Job), the professor stated that the best translation of the Bible books was the King James Version. I was taken aback by this. From my earlier studies, I learned from Dr. Ehrman that the King James translators failed to work off the oldest of the known copies of ancient manuscripts; hence, we must assume that the King James Version might not be as accurate as one might expect. Have you come to a conclusion on which published Bible is the more accurate reflection of ancient Bible books?

Answer

Dear John,

Thank you for your letter. I too listen to the Great Courses from the Teaching Company, which enrich my life enormously. I take 10-12 of their university professors, including Bart Ehrman, a year and still cherish the hope that someday I will be an educated man.

In regard to your question, Bart Ehrman of the University of North Carolina is correct. The King James Version of the Bible is a beautiful, treasured Elizabethan expression of the English language. King James did the world a great service when he ordered it to be translated. The translators also did a magnificent job. What was known about biblical sources in 1611, however, is but a fragment of what is known about them today. If it is accuracy you cherish, then the King James Version is not the biblical source that you ought to read.

I still prefer the Revised Standard Version though I cringe at some of its sexist language. The New Revised Standard Version sought to get rid of that sexist aspect but, in the process of being politically correct, I believe it violated the intention of the original gospel writers in a number of places. I still use the NRSV along with the RSV, but if I had to pick one, it would still be the RSV.

I note that you are retired from the Marine Corps. Our daughter was a marine for nine years, serving three tours of duty in the II Iraq war. I came to admire what the Marines have done and what they stand for, without always approving of the wars in which our nation has engaged, so I want to thank you for your service.

John Shelby Spong

 

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