Craig Keener and M. Daniel Carroll Rodas, eds., Global Voices: Reading the Bible in the Majority World (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2013), 144 pages, ISBN 9781619700093.

The chapters that make up this book were originally papers that were presented at a meeting of the Institute for Biblical Research which was held in San Francisco, California in 2011. The authors of these chapters are scholars who come from a number of different ethnic backgrounds. The contributors to this book are: J. Ayodeji Adewuya, M. Daniel Carroll Rodas, Daniel K. Darko, David A. deSilva, Nijay Gupta, Craig S. Keener, Grant LeMarquand, Barbara M. Leung Lai, Osvaldo Padilla, Chloe Sun, Edwin M. Yamauchi, and K. K. Yeo.

The purpose of this book is to demonstrate the value and importance of multi-ethnic readings of Scripture. Multi-ethnic reading of Scripture means that Christians in one culture, or from one part of the world, listen to believers from other cultures or parts of the world, in order to learn how they “hear the text.” Such readings can help us gain a greater understanding of the Bible. All of us, regardless of who we are, read the Bible from a particular frame of reference; our culture, upbringing, etc. As a result, we may learn some very important things, but we may also miss some other important things. If we listen to one another then multi-ethnic readings of Scripture can help us draw out the riches of truth found in God’s Word.

A couple of examples from the book may be helpful at this point. Reading from a Hispanic diaspora perspective, M. Daniel Carroll Rodas alerts us to the possibility that Abram’s deception, regarding his wife Sarai (Gen. 12), may be an example of just what one may do in a potentially dangerous situation in order to cross a border. Those of us who have never crossed a border, especially in potentially dangerous circumstances, may miss this in the text because it has not been a part of our experience. The second example comes from Barbara M. Leung Lai. In her chapter she views Daniel’s experiences as instructive to us as a survival manual. She looks at Daniel’s private life and how that impacts his public life. Her examination of the biblical text is very insightful. These examples show us that multi-cultural readings of Scripture can help us to uncover our blind spots and see truth that we might otherwise miss.

This book brings a very important topic to the surface, one that needs to be addressed, because Christianity is a global religion. Multi-ethnic readings of Scripture are especially important because Christianity is growing by leaps and bounds in the majority world. I did not find this book especially easy to read. However, I think that the main point that the book makes is vitally important. We have the Bible, and we have the Spirit, but we need one another as well. The Bible is best interpreted in the community of faith, in the global community of faith.

Reviewed by John P. Lathrop

With so many English versions of the Bible available, why do some still use the King James Version exclusively?

Introduction

We live in an age in which there are many English language translations of the Bible, too many, in fact. There are very good versions and others which are not so good. But which one should we read? To some people the King James Version (KJV) is the only Bible. But are they right?

Like most of my generation (I was born in 1942) I was brought up on the KJV, sometimes called the Authorized Version. Its language, I thought as a child, was old fashioned and at times difficult to understand. However, it was dealing with ancient times, so this did not seem inappropriate.

As I began to take the Bible seriously in my late-teens, the archaic language became more of a problem. I was not yet a Christian, but I had a very strong suspicion that the Bible was, indeed, the Word of God, and I desperately wanted to understand it. However, much of it I found impossible to understand. The Gospels I could generally grasp, and some of the historical parts of the Old Testament, but the OT prophets and the New Testament letters were for the most part a mystery to me. While this was, in part, because I lacked the illumination of the Holy Spirit, the main reason was I just did not understand the language.

When I purchased a modern translation of the New Testament, the understanding began to flood in.

The King James Bible

Many people brought up on the KJV have been happy to let it go, as I did. That does not necessarily mean that any of them respect it less. It is primarily because language has changed so dramatically in the past four hundred years that in many places the KJV is very hard to understand and, worse, very easy to misunderstand. These people have therefore adopted more recent translations, written in modern English.

However, there are many others who refuse to let the KJV go. To most of these people the KJV is the only translation. Indeed, some regard it as not just a translation, but as a volume that has been directly, divinely inspired. That is, many believe that the King James translation was directly inspired by God, and this, we are told, cannot be said of any other translation. These people argue that if the other translations disagree with the KJV, then those versions must be wrong. As James White says, “most” KJV-Only people seem to believe this. In fact, that is the reason that the debate generates so much heat.¹