The Week of Prayer Issue of Adventist World

c5zcia36.jpg

Yesterday, I received the Week of Prayer Issue of Adventist World the principal author of which was Hans (Johanne) Heinz, PhD. I believe brother Heinz's article for the "first Sabbath" made some very good points. Brother Heinz started well but for subsequent week of prayer articles he used such bibles as the New International Version (NIV) which is the worst I've looked at and the New American Standard Bible (NASB) which is also very bad. What are they teaching at Andrews University where he received his PhD?

This issue of Adventist World also had a section for children in which the International Children's Bible (ICB) was used for texts. In the preface it says the team that worked on it had translation experience on the NIV, NASB and the New King James Version (NKJV). In Job 14:4 you can read that nothing clean will come out of an unclean thing and they want to feed that stuff to children? These Bibles were born as a result of higher criticism which, as brother Heinz noted, is not to be trusted. You can find the names of the translators of the King James Bible. What you will find in the preface of the ICB is that the translation "team" consisted of the World Bible Translation Center and "twenty-one additional, highly qualified and experienced Bible scholars and translators." Most of the names of those on the translation committee and their denominational affiliations are undisclosed. Rest assured, most if not all of those members on the translating team do not subscribe to Seventh-day Adventist theology.

The ICB is an edition of the New Century Version (NCV) that has been gussied up with color pictures to make it attractive for kids. According to a chart on the back of mine the reading level of the King James Bible is grade 12 (wrong by the way), the Living Bible is grade 8, the NIV is grade 7 and the ICB grade 3.

Just to illustrate how simple the ICB is to read consider the following text:
"There is one God and Father of everything. He rules everything. He is everywhere and in everything." Ephesians 4:6.
That is VERY easy reading and it's New Age and pantheism. That, of course, is not the only corruption in the ICB; if you wish to know more, look up other texts mentioned on this web site.

Though not mentioned in the aforementioned issue of Adventist World, this is a good place to mention another so called Bible that's out to seduce your kids, i.e., The Clear Word for Kids written by Jack Blanco, Th.D., retired dean of Southern Adventist University. Some will argue that it's not a "Bible," it's a paraphrase. No, it's being marketed as a "Bible" at the Adventist Book Center, and in the introduction to the "Dear Young Reader" it says, "This paraphrased Bible was written especially for you!"

Consider the following texts and then decide which is the most "clear" and appropriate for kids. These texts are supposed to explain why "flames and hot coals" were used by God to destroy Sodom and Gomorrha.
From Genesis 19:4-5, "After they finished eating, there was a knock on the door. Some men from the city were there to invite the visitors to come to a neighborhood party. They said to Lot, "Bring your guests and come with us, and we'll all have a good time."" This abomination called a Bible has so mangled up the Word of God it's hard to tell which verse is which and says God burned people up for inviting visitors to a party.

Genesis 19:4-5 in the ICB reads, "Before bedtime, all the men of the city surrounded Lot's house. These men were both young and old and came from every part of Sodom. They called to Lot, "Where art the two men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us. We want to have sexual relations with them."" I think that is a bit more clear than The Clear Word for Kids.

And from the King James Bible, "But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter. And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us that we may know them." I am aware that you will need to explain to your children what "know" in this context means or you can wait until a pedophile educates them.
I'm sure some will protest that the King James Bible is too hard for children to understand. Give this some LONG hard thought. The problem isn't with children but with adults who were probably raised reading corrupt Bibles for the very little time they spent with any Bible. If a child was raised in Finland, that child would learn a language much more complicated than English. Ditto for a child raised by Russian parents. Learning the English of the King James Bible is child's play compared to learning Finnish and Russian.
"But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make the wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." 2 Timothy 3:14-15.
Those scriptures were NOT redacted and reworded by the wisdom of man and WERE of benefit to a child.

Read brother Heinz's article for the first Sabbath. What he says in that article is true. It's too bad he didn't practice what he preached in the rest of his articles.

What I Learned in Church
The New Steps to Christ
The New International Version
Faithpoints 10/5/18 Issue
King James Bible "Errors"
A 2019 Sabbath School Study Guide
The Queen James Bible
Church Service Bibles
For Further Reading

© Martin J. Lohne 2017. Written 11/3/17.