An Oddity more than a Scholarly Work

New Age Bible Versions: An Exhaustive Documentation of the Message, Men & Manuscripts Moving Mankind to the Antichrist’s One World Religion by G.A. Riplinger
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I can only give this book 3 stars. Since the author is a KJV Onlyist I expected it to be one sided. However, Riplinger attacks the integrity of everyone involved in the translation of modern English Bible translations viciously and without any real proof of what she says about them.

For both the translations and quotes from the translators she uses the cut and paste method of quotations. In one instance, for example, she pulls one word or phrase from several different pages of a book by one of the NIV translators and strings them all together using ellipses to make it appear that the author was making damning remarks about himself and the NIV.

In another instance she claims that many of the translators of the modern versions either went insane or lost their ability to speak as if God were punishing them for messing with His Word. When John Ankerberg brought this up on his show and asked the editors of three modern versions if this was true of anyone on their translation teams they all denied it vehemently stating that the claim was categorically untrue.

I only gave it three stars because once you get past all of the exaggerations and rhetoric there are some interesting things in the book. However, I would not take Gail Riplinger or this book too seriously. It is more of an oddity than a scholarly work.

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Excellent Book by James White On What Is Wrong With The KJV Only Movement

The King James Only Controversy: Can You Trust the Modern Translations? by James R. White
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When I first told friends on Facebook that I was beginning this book in order to learn more about this thing called King James Version Onlyism, I was met with various responses. Most warned me that the book was totally one-sided jand that James White went so far as to attack the King James Bible itself. Others said that it was obvious that he hated the KJV and wanted only to destroy its credibility.

I found the first thing to be somewhat true and the second to be totally false. On the one hand, White most definitely goes after the King James Onlyists with the same ardour that they attack everyone who would dare to use any other translation of the Bible or worse, be involved in actually translating the Bible from the original languages into modern English. On the other hand, not only does he not attack the KJV, but he is very complimentary of it and even praises it on more than one occasion. He does, however, point in many many places where modern versions are superior to the KJV and other places where the KJV completely misses the boat translation wise.

I can recommend this book to anyone who might have encountered this KJV Only Controversy whether in their own lives (I have a cousin who is KJVO) or experienced in some other way such as online (as I have on Facebook). James White does an excellent job of representing both sides of the argument and explaining the fallacies and double standards and circular reasonings of those caught up in the KJVO movement. I will admit to having a love for the King James Bible but it is nowhere close to the only translation that I use. In fact, it is number three on my list after the New King James Version and the New Living Translation in that order. I own something like 120 + Bibles either in physical Bibles or electronic versions in multiple languages. Most of them I can’t read because I only speak English, but if I ever learn to read those languages, I’ve got them.

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A Decent Read, but Nowhere Near Being an Objective Treatment of the Subject Matter!

The History of the King James Bible and the People Called Baptist by William R. Byers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I could only give this book four generous stars. It well written and is more like reading the text of five sermons on the KJV and Independent Baptists than a literal history book. Throughout the book Byers continually refers to the KJV and the Textus Receptus as the perfect preserved Word of God: one in 17th century English and one in Greek. Byers is most definitely a King James Onlyist and brings that out on practically every page of the book. Some of his reasons for being such I can understand, but many of his reasons could just as easily be applied to the reader’s favorite Bible translation. Also, Byers views on the history he presents are most definitely slanted by his views on the TR vs all other Greek manuscripts. He has absolutely nothing good to say about these other manuscripts or the Bible translations based on them. In his reckoning they are ALL corrupt as are those who worked on those translations.

Over all it’s not a bad book and is easy to read, hence the four stars. However, it is heavily colored and slanted by the author’s own personal obsessions. Not a bad book if you’re just looking for a quick read, but if you are looking for an objective view of the subject matter you won’t find it here.

This book is $6.00 from Church Bible Publishers. I didn’t see it listed on Amazon.com.

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An Interesting Book on the Translation Philosophy Behind the New King James Bible!!!

The New King James Version: In the Great Tradition by Arthur L. Farstad
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a very good book 📖 especially if you are a fan of the New King James Bible Translation. The author was originally the editor of the New Testament and ultimately became the General Editor of the entire translation project so he knows whereof he speaks when he describes the translation philosophy of the NKJV Bible.

The book is very interesting but I also see where it could be considered dry reading by those whose interest might be considered passing on the topic. Hence, I only gave the book four stars instead of five. I have to admit that I was well into the second chapter of the book before I started to really become interested. Farstad did not pull me in from the very beginning of chapter one. However, the more I read the more interested I became. It didn’t hurt that I was already familiar with much of his terminology so that the learning curve for me was not as steep as it might be for someone else who did not have the same pre-exposure that I had.

This book had the effect of whetting my appetite for books on the same topic but for other Bible translations. The NKJV is my favorite translation of scripture because it retains the beauty of the KJV while dispensing with the archaic wording of it. Perhaps I can find a similar book on the NLT (New Living Translation) which is my next favorite.

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Review of 10 Questions Christians Ask by Dr. David Jeremiah

Ten Questions Christians are Asking by David Jeremiah
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is an excellent book by one of today’s best Christtian authors.

The book takes the reader through 10 of the most commonly asked questions such as:

Can I be sure I am saved?
What is Faith?
Is there really only one way to God?
What is the greatest commandment?

And six other questions that will leave you feeling good about your faith and will tell you how to to be saved and know it. Even if you think you know the correct answer to the questions it is still very much worth reading. I learned so much from reading this book. I would like to get the DVD series that goes with the book. Of course, each question is a sermon from the series.

I highly recommend this book. You won’t be sorry.

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Review of The Gospel According to Jesus

The Gospel According to Jesus: What Does Jesus Mean When He Says “Follow Me”? by John F. MacArthur Jr.
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was an excellent book. Even though this was an anniversary edition published in the 90’s of a book that was originally published in the 1980’s, its messsage is still very relevant for today if not even more so.

The book deals with the duel subjects of easy believism and no-LORDship Christianity which are closely connected to each other. No-LORDship Christianity is the belief that one can accept Christ as their Savior without making Him their Master and LORD. This easy believism says that a person can give mental ascent to the facts of the gospel and life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ without requirinng any changes to a person’s life. Some have refered to those people who attempt to do so as Carnal Christians. The truth is the acceptance of the gospel requires the believer to make changes in their lives living in accordance with scriptures found in the Holy Bible. If there are no changes to the way a person lives their lives then that person’s salvation is found to be suspect. As the apostle James wrote in his letter to the Jews of the Dispersion era Israel, “Faith without works is dead.

This is the message that John MacArthur addresses in this wonderful book. I will read again soon, and I HIGHLY recommend it.

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A Reader’s Guide to the Major Writings of Jonathan Edwards by Nathan A. Finn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a good book but was, frankly, above my current theological skill level. There are ten chapters, each written by a different person. Each chapter talks about different works of Jonathan Edwards and pretty much all of them discuss the theology of each book covered.

If I were a more skilled theologian I would probably like this book more.

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HCSB Minister’s Bible, Black Genuine Leather by Anonymous
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love this Bible. I originally purchased it for the wide margins for note taking. However, I love the translation. It is easy to read.

The HCSB falls somewhere between a word for word literal translation and a thought for thought dynamic equivalence translation. At times the text agrees almost word for word with my ESV 2015 Reformation Study Bible, and at other times I find it is very close, if not word for word, with my other favorite translation-the 2009 New Living Translation. This combination gives me the best of both worlds. B&H Publishing refers to it as an Optimal Equivalence translation in the introductory notes to the Bible. Whatever it’s called it makes for a great, readable and entirely understandable translation that is used in many mainline churches.

The wide margins are very good for making notes. It is a single column Bible but has very few references in it. There are footnotes at the bottom of each page that are very helpful.

The cover is a soft, flexible cowhide. I don’t believe it is top grain cowhide though. The liner inside is a synthetic paste down liner that is also very soft. Since this is not a Study Bible, there are no notes or study helps beyond the footnotes on each page.

The minister’s helps at the end of the Bible are very helpful and includes such helps as classical wedding or contemporary weddings. There are helps for adult funerals and another for a child’s funeral. There is even a three page help to give the minister Bible passages for a variety of counseling needs among many other things.

The font used looks to be about 8.25 – 9.25 pt for the text and maybe a 7 pt font for the footnotes. It is not a large print Bible, but I wear bifocals and have no trouble reading either the text or the footnotes either one without my glasses. The paper is not excessively thin. There is very little ghosting even though the text doesn’t appear to be line-matched. I use Pigma Micron pens for all of my underlining and note taking and there is little if any bleed through.

I have only one complaint. The black end sheets are doubled for extra thickness but they are not completely glued together. They are only glued half- way up in both the front and back end sheets. I have no idea what the purpose of that was.

All-in-all the Holman Christian Standard Bible Minister’s Bible is an excellent edition and a great addition to my growing collection of Bibles. If you are a minister or just looking for something to make notes in like I was, I can easily recommend this one.

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Great Story but only So-So Narration for Ursula K. Le Guin’s “The Left Hand of Darkness.”

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When an envoy from earth lands on the planet known as winter he encounters a species unlike any other in the intergalactic coalition. His job is to facilitate their entrance into the coalition but first he must find a way to bridge the gap between them. Those os earth are either male or female, but the inhabitants of Winter can change their gender at will.

This is my first book by Ursula K. Le Guin even though the book is over 50 years old. I enjoyed it very much and plan to listen to others I have been curious about like The Dispossessed. I think it was good that I waited until my fifties to read this book. If I had read it as an adolescent I would have missed the more subtle aspects of the book and thus entirely missed the point of the book.

This is also my first book narrated by George Guiddall. I don’t think he did a bad job of narrating the book, but I wish there were more distinction between the various voices. It was often very difficult to tell who was talking. Sometimes a character would make a statement about something and the next character replied in the same voice. This happened so often that Guiddall might have well have just gone with a straight reading. I don’t know what his other books sound like but if they are like this one I don’t think Guiddall is in danger of becoming a favorite narrator of mine.

The rating is for the book alone. Guiddall’s narration is at best a three star ratingmaking the overall rating four stars for me.

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I loved this book as an adolescent and love it even more as an audiobook!

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

I remember loving this book when I was an adolescent in the 9th grade at Gresham Junior High School. I remember how it made me laugh back then so I was delighted when I saw it in the recent SciFi & Fantasy Sale on Audible. I had never listened to anything narrated by Stephen Fry but had heard great things about him. I jumped at the chance to listen to this book hoping that I would find it just as humorous as I did when I read it in print back in the 1970’s.

I was not disappointed! This book not only held up well over the almost 40 years since I read it but I think I enjoyed it even more because this time I understood the subtle humor as well as the blatant stabs at society and things such as religion, politics, and evolution. There are just so many nuances that I cannot remember getting the first time I read it and Stephen Fry just brings a whole new dimension to the story.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough and I will be buying Douglas Adams other books that are available on Audible, especially if Fry is the narrator.

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