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Monday, September 14, 2009

God's word in footnotes?

(Berean Jews)


Acts 17

11These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. 12Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.  
13But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also, and stirred up the people.  
14And then immediately the brethren sent away Paul to go as it were to the sea: but Silas and Timotheus abode there still.  

Must admit when my brother Arion told me to throw out the NIV that it was of satan, I did hestitate. In fact I wanted to remove it from the garbage, but instead I went to purchcase the Holy Bible in King James. How can I explain how I felt when I compared the KJV to the NIV. Felt hurt. Felt angry.  

Though the scripture came to mind:
2 Timothy 4(King James Version)  
3For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 
4And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.  

All this time I was not reading the full word of God. Instead I was reading a book that left out scriptures, or misinterpreted them, or twisted them or threw them into the footnotes. 

Footnotes A footnote is a note of text placed at the bottom of a page in a book or document. The note comments on and may cite a reference for part of the main body of text. A footnote is normally flagged by a superscript number following that portion of the text the note is in reference to. Footnotes are most often used as an alternative to long explanatory notes that can be distracting to readers. 

The word of God is supposedly so distracting in parts that the writers of the NIV had to use footnotes? Aside from their technical use, authors use footnotes for a variety of reasons: As signposts to direct the reader to information the author has provided or where further useful information is pertaining to the subject in the main text. To attribute to a quote or viewpoint. As an alternative to parenthetical references; it is a simpler way to acknowledge information gained from another source. To escape the limitations imposed on the word count of various academic and legal texts which do not take into account footnotes. Aggressive use of this strategy can lead the text to be seen as affected by what some people call "footnote disease  

The word of God is meant to be read as a whole. Especially in scripture. Not a "By The Way" or "here's a tip". Let me know your thoughts.

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