Our pastor has been preaching a sermon series on what the kingdom of heaven is like, using as his text, inter alia, the parables in the book of Matthew. At the end of one of his sermons, he asked us to write our own parable using our occupations, capacities as parents, or grandparents, etc. as the basis for our own parable.
For example, a teacher’s might begin, “For the kingdom of heaven is like a classroom…” Naturally, I thought, “Church assignment…blog post.” And thus, a snippet of the gospel according to Peter (red-letter edition):
Satan Smiting Job, William Blake
…and Jesus said, “For the kingdom of heaven is like a court of law, where the accuser very thoroughly and convincingly builds a case against the accused. He presents the evidence to the jury bit by bit, witness after witness.
Pointing to the one on trial, the prosecutor boastfully argues to the jury:
‘Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, this poor excuse for a human being has committed heinous violations of the most holy law.
He has placed other gods before the one true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
He has made idols of innumerable persons and things.
He has taken the Lord’s Name in vain countless times.
He has never kept the Sabbath holy, defiling it at every opportunity.
He has dishonored his father and mother all of his life.
According to the very words of God’s own Son, he has committed murder and adultery. Repeatedly!
This man is a thief, a liar, and a coveter. A worse human being has never been created. This man is guilty! Guilty! Guilty!
And justice requires that he be punished!’
There is no defense to present. The jury, horrified by the actions of the accused, quickly returns a verdict of ‘guilty,’ fully expecting the Judge to impose the stiffest sentence possible: an eternity in the lake of fire.
The Judge turns to the accused and says, ‘Is there anything you have to say for yourself before sentence is imposed?’
The accused, still bound and shackled, bows his head in shame knowing there is nothing he can say in defense of these accusations.
But, quietly and confidently, the advocate for the accused stands, and, placing his hand on the accused’s shoulder, says:
‘Your Honor, I stepped out of heaven and became flesh. I was born to a human mother. I was raised by a human father. I spent my life teaching humanity about You.
I was hated. Mocked. Spat upon. I was imprisoned, scourged, and tried before a sham court. I was convicted, sentenced to death, and crucified, all so that this man and others like him would not have to endure the same.
Three days later I rose again, having paid in full the price for all human sin. It is true, this man is guilty of all of those things. And more.
But, what you have required of this man is this: that he believe in Me and what I did for him and others like him, that it would not have been done in vain.
Your Honor, the only thing I can say in defense of this man is that he believes.
I have paid his debt. I have endured his punishment. His sentence has been imposed, his time has been served.
Ought not this man, being a son of Abraham, whom this accuser has bound, be acquitted and loosed from this bondage? Ought not this man be set free?’
The Judge, robed in pristine white, leans forward, looks at the accused, smiles, and says, ‘You are free.’”
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I still believe this, but I think it is incomplete because it only answers the question on an individual or micro level. I recognize that anyone could receive from a given translation whether it is considered authoritative (by the reading public at large, or on a macro level) or not. However, I would still recommend this approach to help determine what one’s personal reading Bible should be.
ElShaddai discusses two of the most common measurements of authority, which are, in short:
I suppose that by employing a popularity standard, the King James Version (KJV) and the New International Version (NIV) are the most authoritative. I think the influence of the King James Version is unquestionable, and the New International Version seems to be the Bible of choice for many in America.
Ironically, it is the “objective” standard that is muddied so much by subjectivity. Which translation is the most accurate? The King James or the New American Standard (NASB)? Which is the most readable? The New Living Translation (NLT), the NIV or the TNIV? Does anyone other than a small number of bibliobloggers even care? I would certainly hope so, but I fall into the small-number-of-bibliobloggers category (or should it be bibliabloggers?).
Based on the Christian Booksellers Association’s (CBA’s) list of best-selling Bible translations for October 2008 (by units sold and sales dollars), the top four selling Bible translations are the NIV, NLT, KJV and NKJV. If you (bloggers specifically) still doubt the “authority” of the NIV, check out Rick Mansfield’s post about which Bible translations are blogged the most (admittedly it is somewhat dated (8/06), but I doubt the numbers have changed that dramatically). So, if popularity is the measure, the NIV reigns supreme, followed by the NLT, KJV and NKJV.
I doubt that satisfies any of my biblioblogging brethren (and brethren includes biblioblogging brothers and sisters, and that includes you too tc) because it doesn’t really satisfy me (my own personal favorite, the NASB, is not on the list). I see only one objective (mostly) way to measure authority, apply both and see what happens.
According to the CBA’s October sales numbers the top five selling Bible translations are: 1) NIV, 2) NLT, 3) NKJV, 4) KJV, and 5) tie, English Standard Version (ESV) and Holman Christian Standard (HCSB) (ESV in units sold; HCSB in $). Now, regarding objective excellence, my own person subjectivity necessarily comes into play, but I think the most influential translations because of their historic objective excellence are 1) KJV, 2) NASB, and 3) New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) (and its predecessors the RSV, RV and ASV).
Applying both standards, the only Bible translation that is in the top five in terms of sales and also in the top three in terms of historical objective excellence is the KJV. I suppose this should come as no surprise, but it should confirm what most already suspect. Here is a little table of my findings:
Most Authoritative Bible Translation
A few qualifiers:
Here they are, my top five most authoritative Bible translations:
1. King James Version - This is as objective as I can make it, and the KJV reigns supreme.
2. New American Standard Bible - #6 in $ and #8 in units sold, so it was pretty close, but, alas, only #2.
3. New International Version - Can you really argue with the numbers?
4. New Living Translation - Again, can you really argue with the numbers?
5. New King James Version - Although bloggers aren’t in love with it, it’s top 5 in units and $.
Honorable Mentions:
The greatest proof of this post’s objectivity is that these aren’t in the top five:
A. Holman Christian Standard Bible - #5 in $ and #6 in units sold, not bad at all, and one of my favorites.
B. English Standard Version - #7 in $ and #5 in units sold, a relative newcomer that will be near the top of this list soon.
C. New Revised Standard Version - #8 in $ and #9 in units sold, still a classic if not a little stale.