Getting Distracted With Questions

There is a branch of theology that attempts to dig into questions and answer them for people who don’t know anything about Jesus and the church. And while that is admirable, a person does not have to get all their questions answered before believing in Jesus. You can learn as you go. Just start with being born again.

And in today’s world, trying to get questions answered is a particularly difficult thing to do. There are people who try to say something distructive about everything, and who try to destroy past historical answers, making it even more difficult to dig out the truth.

To try to explain, have you ever gone to Amazon to look for reviews, and there always seems to be the one person who is extremely negative while everyone else is giving five or four star reviews?  It is almost like the one person has joy in being a hater.

Or what about Facebook or Twitter…now there’s a place where you can post something positive and those who are having a bad day can come out and just try to destroy or make fun of everything you said or the picture or video you just posted.  It is a place where a lot of bullying and tearing down goes on.

Or you have the people who want to quibble. If a person who has a truck says he has a vehicle or a truck, the quibbler would say no, it is an 18-wheeler, it is a Dodge, it is a Ford. They would not be content with the word used.  They would nitpick.

And to a certain extent, when Bible translation occurs, the way the translation is made depends a lot upon the translator, his training, his experience, and how he feels the word should be translated.  And it depends on whether he is giving an exact translation or a more readable translation in modern jargon.  This is why it is good to have more than one translation, as both types of translation occur, literal and more readable translations.  And, some translations, like the King James Version, were made in the 1600s and English has changed since that time.  We no longer use “thee” and “thou” for “you”.  The King James Version is like reading Shakespeare.

For example, here is John 3:16 (click to view) in multiple versions.  Now people can quibble over why there are different versions and get no where, or they can realize the point.

John 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

Here is the same verse in the Young’s Literal Translation.  You can see that while it may be literal, it is not as easy to read, particularly for a young child trying to read the Bible.

John 3:16  for God did so love the world, that His Son — the only begotten — He gave, that every one who is believing in him may not perish, but may have life age-during.

Jesus put it this way about this topic.

Matthew 23: 14  “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you shut up the Kingdom of Heaven against men; for you don’t enter in yourselves, neither do you allow those who are entering in to enter. ¹⁵ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel around by sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of Gehenna as yourselves.

Matthew 23:24 You blind guides, who strain out a gnat, and swallow a camel!

The point is, again, instead of quibbling over all sorts of details which have unending rabbit holes people can try to take you down,  and trying to figure out everything, simply believe in Jesus and turn your life over to Jesus.  Take the testimony and witness of those who have believed in him for over 2000 years.  Jesus is alive.  He rose from the dead.  Jesus is Lord.

John 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

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