Explaining Bible Mistranslations - 6 March 2015.

I want to be very clear - the original text of the Bible is God-inspired and God-breathed.  Mistranslations are the work of man who attempted to further their agenda.  What I'm about to say is not against God in any way, shape, or form, but it is against men who have perverted the text of the Bible.  

The original Hebrew and Greek texts of the Bible do not oppose homosexuality. The Old Testament and The New Testament both mention homosexuality, but they cite it as a different culture - but nowhere is it mentioned to be wrong or a "sin". This is a common misconception. The 1611 King James Bible was pushed to have a more Conservative translation, so many words were mistranslated and changed to fit that agenda. Old Testament and New Testament scholars as well as experts in Hebrew and Greek both agree on this. So no, the Bible doesn't say homosexuality is wrong at all. That just comes from mistranslations in the text. In fact, if you reference the Leningrad Codex (which is from as early as 1000 AD and is one of the earliest and most accurate and complete Hebrew texts of the Bible) or the Codex Sinaiticus (from as early as 330-360 AD, and one of the most complete and accurate early Greek texts of the Bible) they are vastly different from modern Biblical text.

First, let’s look at the Bible text prior to the KJV. Prior to 1611, Latin was the only remotely scholarly language used in Europe. The Latin Vulgate translation by Jerome, which was based on an Alexandrian Text was the official text and translation used by most churches. When it came to the KJV, the Protestant translators didn’t have access to the entire Received Greek Official Text. They were familiar with the Vulgate, but without that access they often inserted words that were not there in the original Greek. Most of this is due to the shoddy work of Erasmus, who edited the Greek New Testament prior to the KJV. He was rushed to get the text to press and his work suffered due to that.

Next, to understand more about the modern Bible, it’s important to look at the King James Bible and it’s important that we look at the history of the King James Bible. As most know, King James I hand picked 54 men to translate the Bible. Unfortunately, they ended up modifying the Bible to fit a more Protestant point of view. King James himself gave rules to the translators. He did not allow honest translations of certain words. Many critical words were forced to be translated in accordance with the Episcopalian view of the Church of England. The KJV contained mistranslations on purpose to help further the agenda of the established church. In fact, at the Hampton Court Conference in 1604, King James himself said he would make people conform, or he would force them off their land.

It’s also important to note the revisions of the King James Bible. Since it’s creation in 1611 it has undergone three revisions which have incorporated over 100,000 changes. 300 words in the King James Bible no longer have the same meaning. Many scholars have noted that not only is the English used in the King James Bible no longer understood, but it has been documented to be twisted, perverted and in error numerous times.

Next, we need to turn our attention to the New International Version as well. The NIV was first published in 1978. The translators are Evangelical Christians who showed even more bias than the 54 “scholars” who translated the KJV. They were locked in to believing a certain way, and that bias showed in their translation. When something challenged their way of thinking, they would simply change the text of the Bible. In fact, the publishers of the NIV even stated on record that their purpose was not to preserve the original text of the Bible, but to make a translation that was non-offensive. They eliminated hundreds of words, phrases, and entire Bible verses. In total, 64,576 words were removed with the New International Version.

Now, I want to explain why I bring this up.  It's important to realize that men have intentionally mistranslated important parts of the Bible to further their agenda.  When it comes to important issues like homosexuality, it is important to realize that the original text of the Bible was not against homosexuality - in fact, the Greek or Hebrew words for homosexuality never appeared in the original Bible - they weren't added until 1946!  I always ask people to research their opinions further than just the face level.  Reading the NIV or KJV can't give you the full picture of important topics like homosexuality, it's crucial to look at the original text, as well, to fully understand them.  Our faith and our God is not against the LGBT community, but that commonly held misconception has been created by Conservative men who want us to think that.

Further Reading:
https://bible.org/article/why-i-do-not-think-king-james-bible-best-translation-available-today

http://www.catholicapologetics.info/scripture/translations/kjversion.htm

http://www.angelfire.com/hi2/graphic1designer/errors.html

http://www.wordofhisgrace.org/kjvnomore.htm

https://isthatinthebible.wordpress.com/articles-and-resources/deliberate-mistranslation-in-the-new-international-version-niv/

http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Bible/NIV/why.htm