Fell Away-Ready to Come Home

[landon13]

Hi y'all,

I have fallen away from my faith for a while. I still was really involved in prayer and Scripture reading, but I was very close to joining the Catholic Church. I still really love that Church. But something keeps telling me, nagging at me, to stick with my Baptist faith that I was raised in and which I chose to be baptized into as a kid.

So, I want to come back and renew my faith, re-invigorate my love for Christ. So, I want to get back into frequent Bible study and all. I was wondering, what Bible version do y'all recommend me to use? I was raised using the NIV, but I want to start fresh with a clean brand new Bible to fill with my notes and prayers, so I was wondering what version y'all would recommend.

Thank y'all and God bless!

 

[98cwitr]

Im a NIV fan, but NASB or NLT is really good too.

What caused you to fall away, and for how long?

 

[landon13]

Im a NIV fan, but NASB or NLT is really good too.

What caused you to fall away, and for how long?

I just felt like the Catholic Church had that stability of tradition. That faith that was there since day 1 of Christianity. But, there was too much innovation and things that I didn't agree with in the post-Vatican 2 world that I just felt like my old Baptist Church was more traditional than the Catholic. So thats why I'm taking a step back and reexamining my faith all over.

 

[BrokenWarrior]

I recommend the NKJV.

It sticks close to the great KJV translation while being an easier read since it's more modern English.

Remember,salvation is by Grace through Faith when by God's Grace He draws you in and you Repent and Believe.

God be with you!
-The Current Lowest Servant

 

[Hupomone10]

Baptist is a good place to stay since this is your foundation, as you get your feet back on solid ground and walking well. Catholic is a very, very, very, very different denomination; and I'm afraid it will in the end confuse you more than help. If you have back-slidden away from the faith, stick to your Baptist roots and look for discipleship to become well-founded; and by all means read the Scriptures; read, read, re-read, re-read. They are the best commentary on the Bible.

Blessings,
H.

 

[MWood]

KJV. It leaves nothing out.

 

[landon13]

KJV. It leaves nothing out.

Why do you say the KJV alone?

 

[MWood]

Why do you say the KJV alone?

I like it . It reads good.

 

[SaintJoeNow]

Hi y'all,

I have fallen away from my faith for a while. I still was really involved in prayer and Scripture reading, but I was very close to joining the Catholic Church. I still really love that Church. But something keeps telling me, nagging at me, to stick with my Baptist faith that I was raised in and which I chose to be baptized into as a kid.

So, I want to come back and renew my faith, re-invigorate my love for Christ. So, I want to get back into frequent Bible study and all. I was wondering, what Bible version do y'all recommend me to use? I was raised using the NIV, but I want to start fresh with a clean brand new Bible to fill with my notes and prayers, so I was wondering what version y'all would recommend.

Thank y'all and God bless!

Use the one that has changed continents for 400 years. There is only one Bible. There are many versions (around 300 now) of books that are not the Bible, and they all claim to improve or replace the Bible. Find a good sound independent fundamental soul-winning Baptist church that uses nothing but THE Bible and rejects all varying books which claim to be Bibles. Few will take this advice nowadays.

It's not the popular choice...though I am happy to say my church is one I would recommend and it is far and away the most talked about as honoring the Lord and far and away the most effective in getting people saved and far and away the one growing faster than the rest. People around here say the only people they hear talking about their faith and sharing the good news of the gospel are from the church I am a member of. I know there are some from other churches who publicly promote the faith, but they are few and uncommon compared to those where my membership is.

The old time gospel, the only true gospel, from the good old King James Bible preaching against sin and for holiness with all sound doctrine causing fruitful ministry in fruitful lives is a rare thing these days.

 

[SaintJoeNow]

I like it . It reads good.

It leaves nothing out is an accurate and excellent answer.

I think it's the RSV that omits over 33,000 words, omits "Jesus" nine times, and "Jesus Christ" over fifty times.

Changes and omissions away from the King James Bible...not good.

"reads good" is also an accurate and excellent answer. Modern versions claim to be easier to read, but they are scientifically proven to be more difficult to read, at higher reading grade levels, because of the legally required amount of substantial changes they must make in order to obtain copyright.

 

[landon13]

Use the one that has changed continents for 400 years. There is only one Bible. There are many versions (around 300 now) of books that are not the Bible, and they all claim to improve or replace the Bible. Find a good sound independent fundamental soul-winning Baptist church that uses nothing but THE Bible and rejects all varying books which claim to be Bibles. Few will take this advice nowadays.

It's not the popular choice...though I am happy to say my church is one I would recommend and it is far and away the most talked about as honoring the Lord and far and away the most effective in getting people saved and far and away the one growing faster than the rest. People around here say the only people they hear talking about their faith and sharing the good news of the gospel are from the church I am a member of. I know there are some from other churches who publicly promote the faith, but they are few and uncommon compared to those where my membership is.

The old time gospel, the only true gospel, from the good old King James Bible preaching against sin and for holiness with all sound doctrine causing fruitful ministry in fruitful lives is a rare thing these days.

Hi there,

I'm intrigued by your comment about the King James Version. Would you please tell me more about why this is the only true translation in your opinion? Whenever I have tried to read it, it has sometimes gone over my head and all but I may purchase a copy of it as well as another Bible tomorrow when I go to the bookstore.

 

[SaintJoeNow]

I recommend the NKJV.

It sticks close to the great KJV translation while being an easier read since it's more modern English.

Remember,salvation is by Grace through Faith when by God's Grace He draws you in and you Repent and Believe.

God be with you!
-The Current Lowest Servant

This is untrue on both points. They make these claims as sales gimmicks. They are easily proven untrue.

The NKJV does not stick to the KJV, it is taken from different manuscripts and makes many and huge doctrinal changes in wordings and deletions away from the KJV, and it can is easily proven by scholastic standard reading testing to be harder to read at a higher grade level then the King James Bible.

The New King James Version is not at all a revision of the King James Bible. It steals the name "King James" and applies it to a translation which is based on manuscripts rejected and excluded from the King James Bible.

I can document and prove all of this easily. Most people will not hear it. Will you?

 

[Emmy]

Dear landon13. Welcome Home, and Jesus has good advice.
In Matthew 22: 35-40: Jesus tells us: " The first and great Commandment is:
Love God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. The second
is like it: love thy neighbour as thyself." In Matthew 7: 7-10: we are told:
" ask and you shall receive," we ask God for Love and Joy, then we thank God and share all Love and Joy with our neighbour: all we know and all we meet, friends and not friends. We keep asking and receiving, then we share all Love and Joy with our neighbour. God will see our loving efforts, and God will approve and bless us.
A Christian`s weapon is love, with love we can overcome all anger and wrong behaviour, and Satan and all his followers will run away from love and compassion. Love covers a multitude of sins, and love is very catching.
We will find that people will treat us the same as we treat people, and love and caring will change all around us.
The Bible tells us: " Repent and be Born Again," instead of being selfish, let us love and care. We might stumble and forget at times, but then we ask God to forgive us, and carry on Loving God with all our beings, and loving our neighbour as we would like to be loved. The Holy Spirit will help and guide us, and Jesus our Saviour will lead us all the way: JESUS IS THE WAY.
I say this with love, landon. Greetings from Emmy, your sister in Christ.

 

[Hammster]

Hi y'all,

I have fallen away from my faith for a while. I still was really involved in prayer and Scripture reading, but I was very close to joining the Catholic Church. I still really love that Church. But something keeps telling me, nagging at me, to stick with my Baptist faith that I was raised in and which I chose to be baptized into as a kid.

So, I want to come back and renew my faith, re-invigorate my love for Christ. So, I want to get back into frequent Bible study and all. I was wondering, what Bible version do y'all recommend me to use? I was raised using the NIV, but I want to start fresh with a clean brand new Bible to fill with my notes and prayers, so I was wondering what version y'all would recommend.

Thank y'all and God bless!

The NASB has the Inductive Study Bible. No notes and really big margins for notes. Plus, the verses are listed line by line.

 

[tall73]

So, I want to get back into frequent Bible study and all. I was wondering, what Bible version do y'all recommend me to use? I was raised using the NIV, but I want to start fresh with a clean brand new Bible to fill with my notes and prayers, so I was wondering what version y'all would recommend.

Thank y'all and God bless!

You could use a parallel Bible that shows both the KJV and the NIV. That way you can have access to both, in case something about the KJV confuses you. Then after reviewing both if sometime down the line you want to go with one or the other, you can make a more informed decision.

The KJV is a more literal translation than the NIV. The NIV will tend to put into modern terms a number of idioms, or figures of speech. While you may get some of the notion of what the author was saying you will miss some of the details.

For instance,


NIV: Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.

KJV: Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;


If you read the KJV, unless you are familiar with ancient near east battle practices, or modern cultures where they still "gird up" their loins, you may not get what the author is trying to say.

Basically, running in a robe or cloak is not easy. For battle they would tuck or tie that thing in to be ready to fight. In the NIV you get the notion of have your mind ready for action, but you will not get the interesting comparison or the exact mood of the original. We are in a spiritual battle.

Even the KJV will at times use slight changes to accommodate idiom, but if you get a KJV that has the marginal notes it will tell you the more exact Greek phrase underlying this.


If you have a tablet or smart phone, as many do, you can just use a program to show multiple versions as well, and some allow for adding your own notes.

 

[BookishGirl]

The NASB has the Inductive Study Bible. No notes and really big margins for notes. Plus, the verses are listed line by line.

This is what I use. I am a note-taker and the wide margins are great for this. The Inductive Study Bible also has helpful instructions that teach how to study the Bible inductively.

 

[landon13]

Thank you all for your many suggestions. I ended up purchasing this really nice ESV Bible that is single column and genuine leather for my daily reading and study. I've already begun reading and marking it up! I decided not to purchase a KJV because I honestly could no see myself reading it alone for my daily prayer and study, but I may purchase one sometime soon.

Do y'all know any good Bible studies or guided study websites or videos that may be good for me to go through as I study my Bible or certain sections of it?

Thanks!

 

[BookishGirl]

I use these inductive studies.


New Inductive Study Series (Big Picture Studies)

 

[BrokenWarrior]

This is untrue on both points. They make these claims as sales gimmicks. They are easily proven untrue.

The NKJV does not stick to the KJV, it is taken from different manuscripts and makes many and huge doctrinal changes in wordings and deletions away from the KJV, and it can is easily proven by scholastic standard reading testing to be harder to read at a higher grade level then the King James Bible.

The New King James Version is not at all a revision of the King James Bible. It steals the name "King James" and applies it to a translation which is based on manuscripts rejected and excluded from the King James Bible.

I can document and prove all of this easily. Most people will not hear it. Will you?

That was actually my own testimony.

So far,I have found no contradiction of the two versions (though maybe it's just because of the way I understand the wording).

I won't argue that the KJV is the best translation,but for people like myself who struggle with the older English language,the NKJV is a great compromise,since, as long as you get the same meaning and understanding is what's important.

Getting to the Truth is all that matters,and whatever helps someone get to it easier is fine by me

BUT.... it must be the exact truth.... I don't like the NIV and similar because they omit key words and can really teach the wrong message.

Let me put it this way... I didn't realize (because of the way the NIV reads) that Jesus was God up until a year or so ago until by God's Grace He showed it through the NKJV.

Needless to say,I've only recently been truly saved...

Really important to comprehend His words,and whatever helps others is most welcome.

Feel free to point out some critical things the NKJV gets wrong or rewords though,as I'd be interested to know. Always good to learn something new in regards to Scripture

 

[OzSpen]

Hi y'all,

I have fallen away from my faith for a while. I still was really involved in prayer and Scripture reading, but I was very close to joining the Catholic Church. I still really love that Church. But something keeps telling me, nagging at me, to stick with my Baptist faith that I was raised in and which I chose to be baptized into as a kid.

So, I want to come back and renew my faith, re-invigorate my love for Christ. So, I want to get back into frequent Bible study and all. I was wondering, what Bible version do y'all recommend me to use? I was raised using the NIV, but I want to start fresh with a clean brand new Bible to fill with my notes and prayers, so I was wondering what version y'all would recommend.

Thank y'all and God bless!

landon,

If you want a Bible translation that doesn't come with fancy theological language but is in down-to-earth terms, I highly recommend the New Living Translation. I'm using it for my daily Bible reading and am finding it brilliant. But be warned. It uses a dynamic equivalence translation philosophy (like the NIV), which means that it translates meaning-for-meaning, i.e. meaning in the original language for meaning in English. It is not word-for-word.

I also use the English Standard Version (ESV), but it has many theological terms in it that presume a theological understanding. It is an upgrade of the RSV.

I'd recommend that you get back into a Bible study group and become actively involved in participation in the group.

In Christ,
Oz