Pink Cross Publishing is revising a gay Bible that will hit the shelves in a matter of weeks. Instead of portraying the common couples of the Bible: Adam and Eve, Mary and Joseph, and Samson and Delilah, there is now Adam and Steve, Mary and Josephine, and Samantha and Delilah. All of Jesus’ disciples will be gay except Judas, and Satan will be straight. Children’s workbooks are also being made to accompany this Bible ("Dead Serious News"). There are many people who are trying to rewrite the Bible for a variety of reasons. In the world, there are many translations of the Bible that are different from revised or rewritten Bibles. Translations attempt to keep the original idea while a revision takes the original idea and changes it into what a person wants it to say. Paraphrases and didactic or literal translations are more direct translations that intend to stay true to the original meaning. The Bible should not be rewritten.
Revision of Bibles appears to be a way that people are able to find satisfaction in religion. It seems to allow different viewpoints of the Bible to become apparent from all walks of life. The Gay Bible demonstrates this. However, this is wrong. Revision lets people say what they want to say instead of what it started out as. Rewriting scriptures is making it into a person’s image to how he or she likes it (qtd. in Vidimos). It cannot be looped with paraphrasing and didactic or literal translations because these focus on keeping the original thought. The Message Bible is a paraphrase that has helped many to understand Christ better. Its intent is to be compared side by side with the Bible and embellish it.
Rewriting the Bible undermines its original intended meaning. With each revision, the meaning that b...
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...s distorted by authors who are not qualified in writing it and the chance for a soul to be transformed by the Word of God is lost. There are many works out there that misrepresent the image of God and His word. People take it and mold it into what they want it to be, and what they need to hear. There must be an understanding of the importance of God’s word. In order to preserve the Bible for future generations, the Bible must stay intact in its original form, translated rather than rewritten.
Works Cited
"Gay revision of the Bible to go on sale." Dead Serious News. N.p., 21 Apr 2010. Web. 28 Sep. 2011.
Richer, Shawna. "Rewriting the Bible: U.S. Conservatives want less liberal bias, more hell." Globe and Mail. N.p., 10 Oct 2009. Web. 28 Sep. 2011.
Vidimos, Robin. "Rewriting the Bible: a heretic's handbook." Denver Post. N.p., 15 Feb 2004. Web. 28 Sep. 2011.
The contents of the Bible have dealt with controversy in regards to its inerrancy since publication, and will surely continue to. Historians progress to learn more about biblical stories in order to provide evidence for the reliability of information. Many believers today understand that not everything in the Bible has been factually proven. An outstanding topic many scholars pay attention to lies within the four gospels. The three synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, replay essentially the same story with minor inconsistencies, while John portrays Jesus in an entirely different way. The differences in each gospel are due to how each gospel entertains different portrayals of the life and understanding of Jesus himself, in order to persuade
Carson, D. A. New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition. 4th ed. Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994.
According to David M. Carr, the history of Scriptural interpretation indicates that religious texts are popular candidates for reinterpretation and, as such, are spaces wherein the personal identity of the reader frequently inscribes itself at length:
Coogan, Michael David., Marc Zvi. Brettler, Carol A. Newsom, and Pheme Perkins. The New Oxford Annotated Bible: New Standard Version with the Apocrypha : An Ecumenical Study Bible. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2010. Print.
For thousands of years there have been many transcriptions and changes to the words of God, For example, just in the last thousand years there has been three different transcriptions, The New Testament, Homer, and also Sophocles. For a person not to look for their own interpretation of the lord’s book is
...yne A. The HarperCollins Study Bible New Revised Standard Edition . New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1993. 1645-1722. Print.
People, specifically in the U.S., have gone from viewing the bible as “The absolute, unchanging word of God,” to, “A collection of guidelines, allegories, myths, and stories useful for good living. Offensive versus must be igno...
Fox, Robin Lane. The Unauthorized Version: Truth and Fiction in the Bible. New York: Vintage, 1991.
Even though humans wrote the text, translating it and passing it down from generations to generations, God’s truth is unchanging. Debates of the inerrancy of the bible cannot usurp God as the King of grace. Instead of focusing on the inerrancy of the Bible, individuals who wish to seek a life of faith should focus on the inspiration God is showing them in his word. These revelations should move them into applicable, daily life changing implications from what they have learned. God shows revelations of himself through the Bible, and his character is revealed time and time again throughout scripture. Any faulty facts or discrepancies in grammar or data, should not take away from the value that scripture holds. When we read scripture we bring new meaning of interpretations of the truths God shows us, since new eras and environmental factors will be influential on how we process information. The bible is not just a fact book, telling humans stories of the past, but instead the bible is inspired instructions for how we can deal with spiritual and ethical encounters we
Ford, J. Massyngberde. Revelation. Anchor Bible 38. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1975. Gentry, Kenneth L. Jr.
Some books have been known to change the way people view the universe, even how they act. One book was very influential to the world when it was published, the King James Bible. The King James Version of the Bible has helped shape the way many people thing and write. Its history and importance is just as relevant today as it was back when it was first written.
Carson, D, & Moo, D. (2005) An introduction to the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
" Christianity & Literature 58.1 (2008): 81-92. Academic Search Complete. Web. 29 Mar. 2014. Fienberg, Lorne. "
Wenham, G.J., Moyter, J.A., Carson, D.A. and France, R.T., eds. New Bible Commentary. Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 1998.
Thiselton, A.C. (2005). Can the Bible mean whatever we want it to mean? Chester, U.K.: Chester Acadamic Press, 10-11.