People become angry if they feel that their bank account has been altered by just a few dollars, yet say nothing when the Bible has been tampered with. Jesus used an illustration to show how the religious leaders of his day, the Pharisees, Sadducees, and scribes, allowed gross spiritual uncleanness while finding fault with minor things, saying:"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you give the tenth of the mint and the dill and the cumin, but you have disregarded the weightier matters of the Law, namely, justice and mercy and faithfulness....Blind guides, who strain out the gnat but gulp down the camel !"(Matt 23:23, 24)
Hence, many give little consideration to Bible accuracy, but rather are content with just the Bible they may have grown accustomed to, whether or not it is accurate. These feel that if it was ' good enough for my parents or grandparents, then it is good enough for me'. It's like using a 100 year old map to navigate in a modern city today. Will they become lost ? Most likely.
Few examine the Bible without bias, having a pre-formed opinion or viewpoint. These allow the churches or what is "orthodox" to be their guide. When Jesus was walking the territory of Israel, most of the Jews followed what the religious leaders taught, without giving much thought to what the Hebrew Scriptures (commonly called the Old Testament) really taught. Today, most care little about God's name of Jehovah, though it is in the original Hebrew and Greek over 7000 times. And if a person thinks that God is not offended for his name having been supplanted by "Lord" or "God" in a great number of Bibles, these are sadly mistaken. Through Isaiah, he says: "Look! I shall raise up my hand even to the nations,....and you will have to know that I am Jehovah, of whom those hoping in me will not be ashamed.”(Isa 49:22, 23)
Likewise today, few examine the Bible on a level or par that goes below the surface, failing to inspect various sources such as interlinears, reference works, Hebrew and Greek word dictionaries, such as a concordance or lexicon, allowing evidence that comes to light to provide a basis for their understanding of the Bible, rather than what is the commonly accepted view. These do not permit the Bible to "speak for itself", but rather impose the ordinary view or "orthodox" belief. Most never do any sort of "homework" on the Bible, digging down deep as when looking for gold or diamonds.(Prov 2:4)
Jesus said that those who want to know the "truth" of the Bible, has to "keep on asking, and it will be given you; keep on seeking, and you will find; keep on knocking, and it will be opened to you."(Matt 7:7, New World Translation) As a side note, the King James Bible does not convey the thought of continuous action that the original Greek does, but rather of just "ask...seek....knock." It makes it appear that one time will suffice. However, Jesus does not agree with that viewpoint. The online interlinear, Scripture4all, reads: "be-requesting....be-seeking....be-knocking", continuous action, not a one time deal.
Hence, how important is accuracy, especially in relation to the Bible ? Jesus said it succinctly that God's word is "hidden...from the wise and intellectual ones and have revealed them to babes."(Matt 11:25) Only those humble enough to set aside prejudicial views, with a desire to learn what the Bible accurately teaches, will find "even the deep things of God."(1 Cor 2:10)
Hence, many give little consideration to Bible accuracy, but rather are content with just the Bible they may have grown accustomed to, whether or not it is accurate. These feel that if it was ' good enough for my parents or grandparents, then it is good enough for me'. It's like using a 100 year old map to navigate in a modern city today. Will they become lost ? Most likely.
Few examine the Bible without bias, having a pre-formed opinion or viewpoint. These allow the churches or what is "orthodox" to be their guide. When Jesus was walking the territory of Israel, most of the Jews followed what the religious leaders taught, without giving much thought to what the Hebrew Scriptures (commonly called the Old Testament) really taught. Today, most care little about God's name of Jehovah, though it is in the original Hebrew and Greek over 7000 times. And if a person thinks that God is not offended for his name having been supplanted by "Lord" or "God" in a great number of Bibles, these are sadly mistaken. Through Isaiah, he says: "Look! I shall raise up my hand even to the nations,....and you will have to know that I am Jehovah, of whom those hoping in me will not be ashamed.”(Isa 49:22, 23)
Likewise today, few examine the Bible on a level or par that goes below the surface, failing to inspect various sources such as interlinears, reference works, Hebrew and Greek word dictionaries, such as a concordance or lexicon, allowing evidence that comes to light to provide a basis for their understanding of the Bible, rather than what is the commonly accepted view. These do not permit the Bible to "speak for itself", but rather impose the ordinary view or "orthodox" belief. Most never do any sort of "homework" on the Bible, digging down deep as when looking for gold or diamonds.(Prov 2:4)
Jesus said that those who want to know the "truth" of the Bible, has to "keep on asking, and it will be given you; keep on seeking, and you will find; keep on knocking, and it will be opened to you."(Matt 7:7, New World Translation) As a side note, the King James Bible does not convey the thought of continuous action that the original Greek does, but rather of just "ask...seek....knock." It makes it appear that one time will suffice. However, Jesus does not agree with that viewpoint. The online interlinear, Scripture4all, reads: "be-requesting....be-seeking....be-knocking", continuous action, not a one time deal.
Hence, how important is accuracy, especially in relation to the Bible ? Jesus said it succinctly that God's word is "hidden...from the wise and intellectual ones and have revealed them to babes."(Matt 11:25) Only those humble enough to set aside prejudicial views, with a desire to learn what the Bible accurately teaches, will find "even the deep things of God."(1 Cor 2:10)
