Before I begin this next part of the series, I feel the need to explain something that I have mentioned in several of my posts. I know some of my readers understand this, but I feel that others may not, so I want to clarify. When discussing Christian-perspective materials, you may see me mention "KJV" or "not KJV." This refers to the King James version of the Bible, which was published in 1611 by King James of England, who wanted to get the Bible into the hands of the common people, so he had it translated out of the original languages to English. I consider this to be the most accurate English translation (although I do not believe God "inspired" the translators as some in my circle believe), and it is the only one we use in our household. However, not all Christians share this view, so there are many, many resources that use different versions. I do not have a problem using those resources, because I could always look up the verses in my own Bible if I wasn't familiar with them. I consider those to be Bible "paraphrases," or as I explain to my boys, "putting the Bible into your own words." I really don't even mind versions that change Archaic language to modern words, like "thees" and "thous" to "you." But what I do have a problem with is versions that change the MEANING of the verses. Anyway, that's another soapbox. I have found the KJV users tend to be pickier about what other versions they use, so I mention whether something is KJV or not for those people. I know some who will not use any materials that quote another version of the Bible; I feel that is like "throwing the baby out with the bath water." God promises His Word will not return void, and I feel that those materials can be useful as well.
The way I handle other versions of the Bible in our curriculum is to explain to my boys that someone put the Bible into different words. We have to be careful when we do that so that we don't change the meaning. That would be wrong. If we use materials with a different version, we do not include the reference, because, in my mind, that is not the actual Word of God, it is a paraphrase. You may disagree, which is fine with me. The Bible does not address Bible versions so it's one of those issues we have to use principles from the Bible to decide our stand on it. I do not feel that it should divide believers either. Oops, getting back on the soapbox. I'll quit now. Onto the next part of the series. . . .
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