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Most theologians argue on behalf of a version of the Bible that they believe is closest to the “original language” but my argument is for a version that is closer to mine.

The Bible was written in the ancient languages of Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. Most of the Old Testament writings were mainly written in Hebrew with most of the New Testament written in Greek, the common language of its writers. It has been translated throughout history by different people with diverse perspectives and varying motivations, but the byproduct of their efforts created a Bible relevant to the culture of their day.

I know that many Christian leaders have concerns with certain Bible translations, and with some of these, I would find myself in agreement. But one thing we all can agree on. No matter how high the desire to uphold scriptural accuracy, if people can’t understand it, it doesn’t accomplish the purpose of why God gave us the Bible – to know Him and make Him known.

In my quest to discover how I can help people engage in reading the Bible, I’ve become a huge fan of Eugene H. Peterson, author of The Message//Remix – The Bible in Contemporary Language and other great conversation books he’s written like The Jesus Way. He has done a tremendous service to the Christ-following movement in translating the scriptures into Today’s language so the Bible can actually be read and understood on a simple level for those who need the opportunity to experience it before they would be willing to examine it.

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Unless you’ve been sleeping under a rock for the last few decades, you’ve noticed that communication has drastically changed. We are living in the most connected generation in history with access to more people and information than ever before. It’s a global community that everyone wants to be a part of.

From the telegraph, to the telephone, the television, the Apple 1, the cell phone, the fax machine, the ARPA-net, the world-wide-web, the PDA and the iPhone, technological developments have expanded our community from “down the road” to “around the world.” (A special “thank you” to Steve Jobs for the iPhone by the way!) People are offered the opportunity to connect with practically anyone, anywhere, anytime. From grandparents to grade-schoolers, everybody can be “in touch” on any number of levels.

Advancements in technology have not only transformed communication, they have transformed the culture of community. Look at the rise of social networks like MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Loopt and the estimated 175,000 blogs created every day (1). People have access to each other twenty-four hours a day by computer, cell phone, Blackberry or iPhone, constantly communicating anything and everything with their “virtual friends” all around the world.  Kip, from Napoleon Dynamite sang it right. We DO love technology.

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The Bible has been the most influential and controversial piece of literature in human history. It’s still the best-selling book in the world even though Rick Warren is quickly closing the gap with his book, “The Purpose Driven Life”, the second best-selling book! (I’m only kidding. I don’t think it’s quite that close!)

I believe the reason why “The Purpose Driven Life” has been so successful is because it, too, like the Bible, has presented people with a context for faith in God so that it can be personally understood, personally embraced and personally expressed to the world in which we live. But, unlike The Purpose Driven Life, the Bible is unique in its authority, inspiration and writings. (Sorry Rick!)

The Bible is the story of God interacting and moving among broken humanity, giving mercy, offering forgiveness and delivering justice with a heart to redeem and transform every living soul. Many of those who believed in Him felt the urge of God to write down what He put in their hearts. He gave the privilege of speaking for Him, in spite of their flaws and brokenness. There’s no doubt that they were inspired by Him to tell His story. These inspired stories have been written down so that we who followed could hear their story and the story of God.

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