*What's in a word?

What's in a word? Nothing or everything depending on the word, the timing, the context or a hundred different factors.

"Sure thing honey." could be the loving response to a request by a spouse, or the sarcastic rejoinder to a waitress or bank clerk. Remember when Obama called the female reporter sweetie? Was he being a chauvinistic creep or was that just his way of being endearing to a female? So words in context and intent are important, let me give you a rather unknown but monumental example, the word "is".

No not the Clinton "it depends on what your definition of is, is." is. This is another is, a far more important is, and here it is.

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:16

Now that is one of the most important Christian scriptures in the Bible. From a theological and doctrine stand point it is near the very top. If a Christian believes that scripture, then he believes the Bible in total and all that is in it is the Holy Word of the God he worships.

As a matter of fact that scripture basically standing alone has led to a closed minded view of God and our religion by Christians for centuries. The idea that scriptures are the Word of God and to be taken literally and without dispute has turned many an inquiring and I might say logical mind away from the faith.

It has led to hostilities against Christians by those whose only crime is common sense. It has attempted to defeat logic and science instead of embracing them for the glory of God. If 2 Timothy 3:16 is true, much of science can not be true. Evolution must be explained away rather than embraced as part of God's plan, lest the story of Adam and Eve be seen as nothing more than a Bible parable. Certain absurd Old Testament Laws are embraced as somehow being God's will and a loving God is turned into a petty vengeful tyrant.

Yes that little verse has Christians in a pickle. This despite the fact Christians are more than willing to translate that verse, like all verses, a hundred different ways depending on the particular needs of the particular denomination publishing any of countless versions of the Bible. The truth is their are literally thousands of versions of The Holy Bible. When you think about it we Christians are pretty loose with the so called inspired Gk (theopneustos -literally God Breathed) word of God.

As you may have noticed I italicized is in the verse above. You probably think I did that to highlight it. Well yes, but the truth is that in most of my Bibles, is, in that verse is also italicized. Now I have not bought a Bible in years, I have dozens, so I really don't need another one, so I do not know if they still do, but why did they italicize it in the first place? Some connection to Bill Clinton?

No, the truth is that they did it to denote that the word was added in translation. Now is that important well let's see, let's remove the is added in translation.

All Scripture is inspired by God .....

All Scripture inspired by God ......

Do you see the difference? Of course to finish the sentence in English we would have to add something for it to be grammatically correct and make sense . So since is was added in translation in order to make it read correctly in English from its original Greek, let's keep the is and put it where it makes just as much sense.


All Scripture inspired by God is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

So what did the insertion of is in the translation do? It changed the entire meaning and relevance of the scripture. Instead of all scriptures being inspired by God, we now have only those which are inspired as being profitable. we have also taken away Christianity's biggest crutch and given it the opportunity to grow into the true church, the body of Christ. Not using the manipulated words of man, but the spirit of God through Christ.

Many Christians reading this are now gnashing their teeth, that's OK God loves you. The question will immediately arise by such so called "true believers". If the entire Bible is not the Word Of God, how are we to know what to do?

How about reading the Bible and figuring out what is inspired by God and what is not? How about living in the spirit rather than the letter?

Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.

Matthew 13:52

That's the King James Version, it's so much more poetic, though probably the worst translation ever, oh well. The Apostle Paul who wrote the letter to Timothy that has caused all this silly confusion, men are confused God isn't, also gave us some real good advice about how to know God.

But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, [even] the hidden [wisdom], which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known [it], they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

But God hath revealed [them] unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned.

But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.

For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

Pretty heady stuff huh? The mind of Christ? Notice he did not say the mind of Jesus now did he? Probably inspired by God I'd say, but that's just me.

Basically, to put it bluntly, most Christians forget that they are a spiritual religion, not a literal one. They truly have become Scribes and Pharisees, rather than "new creations in Christ"

Oh well it's just words, So Be It, translated Amen.





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