Yesterday, I was trying to do some research on the whole "Bible has to be changed at least 30% in order for a new translation to be legally published." I couldn't find anything (as in, couldn't find any answers or legal stuff, I need to change my wording or something in my search terms), but I found a KJV-onlyist website with lots of arguments defending the KJV as the one and only perfect and inspired Word of God. In his table of contents, he had one called "Questions for the KJV Critics" and I looked at it, and I just really wanted to answer them as best as I could for some reason.
1. Since you're smart enough to find "mistakes" in the KJV, why don't you correct them all and give us a perfect Bible?
I never said I was smart enough to find mistakes in it. I don't know enough Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic to find any. I suppose you know enough of all three to be able to tell me it is perfectly translated?
2. Do you have a perfect Bible?
I don't know. Like I said, I don't know enough of the old languages to know. I assume you do?
3. Since you do believe "the Bible" is our final authority in all matters of faith and practice, could you please show us where Jesus, Peter, James, Paul, or John ever practiced your terminology ("the Greek text says...the Hebrew text says....the originals say...a better rendering would be....older manuscripts read...." etc.)?
Since you believe the same thing, could you please show us where Jesus, Peter, James, Paul, or John ever practiced your terminology ("you must use the KJV...faith in Christ alone gets you to Heaven if you have a KJV...people who don't believe in the KJV are stupid occultists and satanists...etc.)?
4. Since you do not profess to have a perfect Bible, why do you refer to it as "God's word"?
Oddly enough, I don't. The Word of God is Jesus, and the Bible is a compilation of translated Scriptures. So far, I haven't found a Bible verse or a good enough reason to equate Scripture to Word of God.
5. Remembering that the Holy Spirit is the greatest Teacher (John 16:12-15; I John 2:27), who taught you that the King James Bible was not infallible, the Holy Spirit or man?
Suppose I said it was the Holy Spirit? I'd love to know what you'd say next.
Anyways, if the Holy Spirit is the greatest Teacher and man isn't, why are you trying to teach me (or whoever reads these questions) that the KJV is infallible? If you really think the Holy Spirit should do it, then why not let Him do it while I'm trying to grow in my relationship with God rather than you giving me a lecture on why the KJV is infallible?
6. Since you do believe in the degeneration of man and in the degeneration of the world system in general, why is it that you believe education has somehow "evolved" and that men are more qualified to translate God's word today than in 1611?
In that case, explain the translations before the KJV. Using that kind of (bad) logic, shouldn't the previous versions- the Bishop's Bible, Genevan Bible, etc.- be even better Bibles? Why don't you use them instead?
In fact, let's take it even further and say Jesus used a degenerated Bible- He (and most of the other NT writers) quoted from the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, rather than quoting the actual Hebrew.
7. There is one true God, yet many false gods. There is one true Church, consisting of true born-again believers in Christ, yet there are many false churches. So why do you think it's so wrong to teach that there is one true Bible, yet many false "bibles"?
I never said it was wrong to teach there's some false bibles in the world. There probably are. But the teaching of one true Bible is silly. The Bible doesn't even teach that.
8. Isn't it true that you believe God inspired His holy words in the "originals," but has since lost them, since no one has a perfect Bible today?
Nope. God preserved much of the originals. Not in the originals themselves, since they are indeed lost, but in the thousands of ancient copies. If someone had the originals, they could very well change what it says, since all copies are based on it. But since we have no originals, but many copies, it is extremely hard for anyone to try and change something in any of the Scriptures. Now it's a matter of scholars who know much about old languages to determine what is the best translation to use for certain words and phrases, especially the ones that don't really have an English equivalent. God lost the originals (probably for this reason), but He never lost His words. He preserved it far better than He would have had He preserved the originals. We may not have perfect English Bibles, but His words is still there- Jesus came, died, rose, and forgave. And, from what I've read, we are sure of about what 98.something percent of what the originals said. The rest of the percentage is a few words here and there that really do not at all alter the message of the Bible. We may never be able to translate everything from the ancient languages perfectly into English, since there are things in some languages that cannot be translated into others, but God's message of salvation is still flying through in any language.
9. Isn't it true that when you use the term "the Greek text" you are being deceitful and lying, since there are MANY Greek TEXTS (plural), rather than just one?
Oh yes, there's many Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic texts. But with all the copies we have, we've been able to figure out almost all of what it originally said. 98% of it.
10. Before the first new perversion was published in 1881 (the RV), the King James Bible was published, preached, and taught throughout the world. God blessed these efforts and hundreds of millions were saved. Today, with the many new translations on the market, very few are being saved. The great revivals are over. Who has gained the most from the new versions, God or Satan?
Very few? I still hear of people getting saved all the time.
Why were so many saved in the time of the KJV? Because no Bible had previously been open to the public. The Catholic Church dictated what the people believed, and very few actually were able to get their hands on a Bible and see for themselves what it really said. When the KJV, the first public Bible, got published, of course many people would get saved from reading it. The Bible's teachings clearly contradict much of what the Catholic Church was teaching (though some of it was still kept in the KJV because it was a project to gain more control over Britain). When people found out they didn't need to partake in all the rituals the Catholic Church said would get them to Heaven, and it was by faith alone in Christ, of course there'd be an outbreak of people getting saved! So why's there not so much of a sudden oubreak now? Because having a Bible is a common thing now. It's no longer restricted to only be in the hands of a tyrannical church, and everyone has one or has access to one. But does that mean God's not still saving many people? Of course not.
I may not have answered as well as some other people could, but I wanted to see for myself how well I was able to answer them. 1 Peter 3:15 (1 Pet. 3:15 NIV) does say to always have an answer, right?
Oh, speaking of that verse, it also says to do so with humility and respect. And when I read or listen to KJV-onlyists' arguments, they always have some way of insulting people who don't believe the way they do. Stupid, occultists, satanists, miserable, jack@$$, double faced, fork tongued, unholy, unspiritual, infidels, etc. Sometimes they'll get pretty vulgar. But it's okay, as long as they're only insulting the ones who believe those perverted translations are still good Bibles, right?
If being a KJV-onlyist is gonna require that I throw out 1 Peter 3:15, I don't wanna be one...
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