"Burn the Quran Day"...WHAT???

SHAME ON this pastor from Gainesville, FL..."Burn the Quran Day"...WHAT??? Doesn't he realize the MORAL and ETHICAL damage this will cause, the THREAT OF LIFE towards our Troops, Christians, & Americans; but, more importantly, the DISGRACE and DISHONOR to the name of JESUS CHRIST??? Apparently, NOT!!! May THE HEAVENLY FATHER be with this confused man and work in the hearts of all those who support this TRAVESTY…

No Matter Who You Are <>< A Poem

Have you heard about this man
Who is now in glory and at peace with Him

He paid the price for the laws he didn’t abide
But when it was time to die
He made a choice to save his life

There is not much said about this man.
Only a one phase that he said

But his story is one that speaks
How with two simple words
You can be redeemed

Blessed was this man who was lost
Who was beside the Savior on the cross
When he turned and said, “Remember me”
Jesus replied, “In my paradise you will be”

So…

No matter who you are
No matter where you are from
No matter what you did
You have a choice to live again

All you need is faith
To live in the Father’s grace
So turn to Christ like this man
And one day in paradise you will also stand

Written By ForwardThought (November 2007)

No Need To "Burn" Your Non-KJV Bible

I wrote this in response to a recent blog that condemns any other versions of The Bible besides the King James Version. I have nothing against the KJV, I grew up with that version; and although, my preference today is the NASB, I still refer to the KJV often and uphold it as one of the best translations for a Christian to use.

There are indeed many bad translations out there that have modified The Bible in horrible ways that have reduced The Bible to mockery. However, to say that the only proper translation is the KJV and everything else is Gnostic-philosophy junk is a fallacy; and in no way, can be proven. Furthermore, it undermines the changing power to Christ that many have experienced through these other great and equally accurate translations.

Casting doubt on what God actually says has been a huge strategy of Satan from the beginning; Genesis chapter 3, first of many examples. And casting doubt towards the validity of the words of The Bible would not be a far cry in this strategy of his--he loves to divide and conquer. Division is no stranger within the Christian body, and not only has division been caused over the proper version of the Bible, but in other such issues as commuinion and baptism. Sadly, though, all this division has steered us away into fighting amongst ourselves instead of fighting the real enemy.

My intention in this post is not to stir up more division, as I would be contridicting my beginning message; but rather give an explaination to why a person cannot conclusively state that one version of the Bible is the more accurate while all others are heresy trash that need to be “burned.”

Anyone translating between languages will understand one thing, it is quite an impossible feet to accurately translate between languages. The delimma for any translator is how to properly convey the original idea when wording and language identification can be different from one culture to the next; and more often than some, it is impossible to express the idea of one language in another.

Therefore, the original always supercedes the copy in accuracy; and in a sense, compromise is forced on the translation, as expression of idea is all in accordance to the personal ideas and understanding of the translator.

Many claim that the KJV (King James Version, 1611 AD) as the only true accurate Bible, asserting that the translators of the KJV were divinely inspired just as the original New Testament writers. Unfortunately, there is no conclusive evidence to support this claim (not personally claiming it wasn’t, sake of agruement). They also claim that the KJV was the only “perfect” Bible translated into English; but asserting this, does not take into account that word modification or word meaning has its cultural ties depending on the time: example below

I Thessalonians 4:15 (KJV), “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.”

I Thessalonians 4:15 (NASB), “For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.”

The main difference, as I highlighted, are the words “prevent” used by the KJV translators and “precede” used by the NASB (New American Standard Version) translators. The word “prevent” changed meaning between 1611 and now; and if you did not know that, this verse in today’s English would cause some confussion.

The issue here are the words you think you know, but through time, have changed meaning; unless you are aware of such wording changes, you will definitely have problems reading the KJV. Furthermore, no hasitation from the KJV translators was given in applying their very culturally based thou’s and shalt’s words. These words do not take from the original idea; however, these words did not exist in the original Greek text. However, the issue of the best translation does not stop at translation word identification, it goes even deeper.

Two main lines of Greek texts exist, which most agree that both date back to the same time, first century AD. The text that was mostly used up until the 1800s was Textus Receptus (a.k.a: Majority or Bynzintine text) related to the Syria region. However, other Biblical manuscripts were discovered in Alexandria (Egypt-North Africa region), which many newer translations stem from; nevertheless, the question of its reliablity has been questioned for centuries.

Erasmus, Catholic Theologian, in 1525, compiled the first Greek text using manuscripts from the Textus Receptus. The Alexandrian manuscripts were available at the time, but for unknown reasons, the Alexandrian text was not used. However, in 1853, Brooke Westcott and Fenton Hort, were the first to compile a Greek New Testament, which took 28 years to complete. They, unlike Erasmus, relied heavily on the Alexandrian text; and what influenced them to go this route was that Alexandian text was written in a more polished Greek writing style, where as, the Textus Receptus seemed more paraphrased in style, which led them to question its’ reliablity.

So, which one is more reliable? Actually no one really knows; however, many studies of the two show that the texts are very must alike in both quality and quanity, agreeing 98% of the time, and that the 2% differences are so minor that they neither show up in translation nor affect understanding.

In conclusion, to assert that Alexandria text is a product of heresy, a rather interesting question can be posed, “Was the Alexandrian texts the only resource the Egyptian Christians had during the first three or four centuries?” If not, no problem; but if so (no evidence to say either way), then the conclusion would be that the Egyptian Christians only had access to this heresy version of God’s Word. But to take such a conclusion would essentially place the doctrine of preservation into a serious dilemma; and if you define preservation in terms of the Syrian Textus Receptus; you would be speaking poorly of God's sovereign care of the Christians in old Egypt.

My advice is this, we must have balance and no translation is 100% perfect, they all have their problems. This does not mean errors or inconsistencies exist in The Bible, but it is important to understand how your translation came to be, what methods were used in its creation, and what crediable Christian scholars and theologians have to say.

Nevertheless, the most important thing to consider in all of this, always seek the Holy Spirit of Christ on all questions; taking the pursuit on your own without the Spirit’s quidance can lead into crucial errors.

Broad Way...Narrow Way: Two Ways On The Same Road

“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. (14) For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”>>Matthew 7:13-14

Most Christians would agree that this passage in Matthew chapter 7 is perhaps one of the most widely known. The principle that Jesus was portraying is simple; there are two ways that every human will follow.

One way is the broad way--the easy way--that many will take. The people who go this way will put their faith on themselves and/or false teacher rather than in Jesus Christ. This way is full of deceit, denial, self-satisfaction, and hopelessness. This way can bring its bright moments for those who chose it; however, in the end, this broad-wide path will ultimately lead to the gate of eternal destruction.

The other way is the narrow way--the hard way--that few will take. Those people who go this way put their faith only in Jesus Christ and deny all selfish desires. This way is full of truth, love, humbleness, self-sacrifice, and hope. This way can bring isolation, ridicule, persecution, or even death for those who chose it; however, in the end, this narrow-small way leads to the gate of life everlasting.

I am sure the depictions of these to ways are nothing new to most of us; and more often then some, we often in vision these two ways as two road from a fork in the road; and then, branching of into two separate directions--one wide leading to hell and a one narrow leading to heaven.

But is there really a fork in the road leading people into two separate roads; or perhaps, just one road leading people into opposite directions?

All humanity, from birth, inherits the nature of sin; and its consequence--“Therefore, just as through one man [Adam] sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12). There is no way around it, we all receive it. So, at birth, all humanity starts walking the same way; and that way is the broad way, which leads to the sin consequence of destruction. However, God through the loving sacrifice of His only Son, Jesus, made it possible for humanity to one day choose to overcome this inherited sin and walk another way--the narrow way, back to Him, which leads to eternal life.

The few, who come to the realization of Jesus’ sacrifice, and then, humbly accept it; instantly stop in his or her tracks on the broad way, take a 180 turn, and start walking the opposite way. Indeed, this opposite way becomes very small and narrow; the new Christian is now going against the grain and has to start dodging, weaving, and maneuvering around the many who are going still going the other way-- the broad way.

To give an analogy: Have you ever been immersed in a large crowd exiting out the same door; but then, you realize you forgot something and you have to turn around go back in? Needless to say, it is not going to be easy; and many obstacles, difficulties, and push backs in squeezing and maneuvering around every one instantly becomes your reality; but eventually, through perseverance, you will make it. Well, this is similarly the Christian’s reality in his or her narrow way--many obstacles, many difficulties, and many push backs (set backs) will come; but through perseverance in the Lord, the Christian will make it.

So, I encourage you Christian, as we walk our narrow way; to always seek the Lord for strength because there are many obstacles fighting against us; and we are going to need that added perseverance to get around them.

“Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”>>James 1:12