I still debate King James Version Onlyists (people who believe the King James Version of the Bible is the only version anyone should read) oftentimes, and their biggest premise is this: we need a perfect, God-inspired, and translated book in order for us to be saved and know anything about God and history (some would even argue for science as well), and they typically believe one cannot be saved without it- and, obviously, they claim this perfect book of God is the KJV. And if you can be saved by reading "modern versions" (such as the NIV, NASB, NKJV, etc.), one cannot grow spiritually with them- only with the KJV can this spiritual growth be achieved.
If the KJVO are right, then a perfect Bible has to exist somewhere, and only access to a perfect Bible can enable us to at least grow spiritually. If they're wrong, then we don't need a perfect Bible (and their KVO position falls apart).
Then there are the majority of Christians (at least, from what I know and can tell), who, while they do not believe in the need for an absolutely perfect Bible, do believe in the necessity of the Bible for salvation, growth, and knowledge of God and His ways and love. If they are wrong, then we do not need the Bible to know about God and be saved and spiritually grow.
Before I start, I wanna clarify: I'm not arguing that the Bible doesn't give any insight or help whatsoever to God and His ways and love, and I especially don't think we should throw it in the trash. It is a powerful tool and a fantastic gift from God to man and is one of Jesus's testifications of who He is. I'm only arguing against the beliefs that 1) without the Bible, all would be lost, and 2) the Bible must also be perfect.
A short passage I recently found (that has become my personal favorite) seems to debunk any notion claiming the Scriptures* are necessary for salvation, much less the idea of the Scriptures needing to be perfect: John 5:39-40 NET " You study the scriptures thoroughly because you think in them you possess eternal life, and it is these same scriptures that testify about me, but you are not willing to come to me so that you may have life." Jesus Himself was against thinking the Scriptures were necessary for eternal life- only in Him is eternal life! However, He also makes mention that the Scriptures do testify of Him. Hasn't He said something similar before? Indeed, John 5:36-37 NET "But I have a testimony greater than that from John. For the deeds that the Father has assigned me to complete – the deeds I am now doing – testify about me that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me has himself testified about me." And again in John 8:18 NET "I testify about myself and the Father who sent me testifies about me.” And once more in John 10:25 NET "...The deeds I do in my Father’s name testify about me."
So now we see that the Bible is certainly not the only thing that testifies about Jesus; Jesus has His Father, His deeds/works/miracles, and even Himself that testify of Him. In light of these many witnesses Jesus has, how can anyone say we need the Bible (much less a perfect one) to know about and understand God? Is not God Himself, the one who inspired the Bible in the first place, an even greater witness than that which He inspired?
This begs the question though: how does God testify of Himself and make Himself known to people if there's no Bible to do it with? First of all, He could do it the same way He did it with the other people in the Bible who didn't have the Bible. Secondly, there is yet another witness that testifies of Jesus I didn't mention before: John 15:26 NET "When the Advocate [or Helper, or Comforter] comes, whom I will send you from the Father – the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father – he will testify about me," (brackets mine). The Holy Spirit is Jesus's greatest testifier. He isn't words written in a book- He is God, living in us, and simply showing love to everyone around Him. What greater witness than God plainly showing His love to other people who don't know about Him through those who do know Him? The Bible can't do that, even if it's more perfect than humankind can comprehend. The Bible cannot love. It can only be sat there and read. You give someone a Bible, no matter what translation (and I know this from a friend's personal experience, and the translation chosen was the KJV), and they could read it all the way through, admiring the wisdom, beauty, and stories, yet still feel no need to believe any of it.
In fact, it is silly to give an atheist or agnostic or someone of any religion the Bible and argue that Christianity is true because of something the Bible says- they have not accepted the Christian Bible is Scripture, so if one somehow won over them by using the Bible, it will have required much manipulation of thoughts and emotions. If one is going to argue for Christianity using only Scriptures, they will fail, because they are arguing the point he must first prove. However, loving someone with the same love God has through the Holy Spirit, will get one much further. God's love is perfect and never ends, and will (whether sooner or later) cause the recipient to want to return the love. This is why Jesus died in the first place- an act of perfect love, in order to get perfect love in return.
We don't need to translate Scriptures into other languages; we don't need to find a culture without a written language, invent one for them, then translate the Scriptures into their newly written language; we certainly don't need to teach people English so they can read the KJV. The only absolute necessity for salvation, spiritual growth, and knowledge of God, His ways, and His love is His love, shown through us via His Spirit. After all, it wasn't as if the Apostles went out handing pocket-sized Bibles- they didn't use any Bible, yet thousands every day heard the message and believed. We use the Bible all the time, and one doesn't hear about such phenomenons nowadays. Has the Bible replaced the Holy Spirit?
-J-Lindo
*Note: I use "Scripture" and "Bible" interchangeably.
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