My advice to you would be to use a Bible, preferably the King James translation as it has proven through many years to be the most faithful English translation on a word for word basis. But use a copy that contains no study notes whatsoever. And keep any commentary or other writing that you wish to consult separate from the Bible itself.
The Bible is the Word of God; it is God speaking directly to you as you read it and study it using the principals that God has laid down in the Bible itself. The Bible is its own interpreter and its own dictionary. No commentary is the Word of God nor is it infallible because it is the understanding of men and not God, and therefore must be checked out using the Bible itself.
Having study notes or commentary along side of the Word of God itself in the SAME VOLUME, tends to give it an authority in our thinking, perhaps only subconsciously which can be dangerous, even though that may not be our conscious intent.
These are my thoughts. But we need, I believe, to keep the authority and Holiness of the Word of God on a completely different level than any Human writing of any kind. And I think this is particularly important in our day when the Bible has lost its absolute authority nearly anywhere we look.
Hi Tim86. I'm unsure whether there is sufficient information within any particular Bible or other reference material where one can establish that study notes within the KJV Bible were written by the KJV Study Bible originator. Someone here might have some reference to this if it has been noted in their study Bible.
I only use the Ryrie Study Bible, notes & other inclusions of which were written by Charles Ryrie (1925-2016), once Professor of Systematic Theology at Dallas Theo Seminary. There is nothing within my Bible to suggest that he read only from the KJV, though I found this note on the Web: "The Ryrie Study Bible, with the DTS (Dallas Theo Seminary) professor's 10,000-plus explanatory notes, used the King James Version when it was first published in 1978. It is now also available in New American Standard Bible and English Standard Version translations."
It seems to suggest here that his notes were based on his reading of the KJV, even though other translations were available before 1978. I think that what would be more important is to know the theological & doctrinal stance of the note writer within any KJV (or other) translations. When you learn that, you would get a better understanding how their beliefs tie in with yours (or your Fellowship's), because if one is not careful, one can easily be swayed to understanding & accepting certain notated verses as given by the writer. It's always best to learn what God is telling you about a verse or passage & then use the notes as a supplementary point of added information. Ryrie can be considered to be a 'pre-millenial dispensationalist'; and this means, "he believed that God has worked throughout human history in different ways in various divinely ordained eras. Dispensational premillennialism says that the end times will be characterized by the rapture of the church first, then the tribulation, the restoration of Israel to a place of preeminence, and the millennial kingdom". I hope this helps you some.
My advice to you would be to use a Bible, preferably the King James translation as it has proven through many years to be the most faithful English translation on a word for word basis. But use a copy that contains no study notes whatsoever. And keep any commentary or other writing that you wish to consult separate from the Bible itself.
The Bible is the Word of God; it is God speaking directly to you as you read it and study it using the principals that God has laid down in the Bible itself. The Bible is its own interpreter and its own dictionary. No commentary is the Word of God nor is it infallible because it is the understanding of men and not God, and therefore must be checked out using the Bible itself.
Having study notes or commentary along side of the Word of God itself in the SAME VOLUME, tends to give it an authority in our thinking, perhaps only subconsciously which can be dangerous, even though that may not be our conscious intent.
These are my thoughts. But we need, I believe, to keep the authority and Holiness of the Word of God on a completely different level than any Human writing of any kind. And I think this is particularly important in our day when the Bible has lost its absolute authority nearly anywhere we look.
I only use the Ryrie Study Bible, notes & other inclusions of which were written by Charles Ryrie (1925-2016), once Professor of Systematic Theology at Dallas Theo Seminary. There is nothing within my Bible to suggest that he read only from the KJV, though I found this note on the Web: "The Ryrie Study Bible, with the DTS (Dallas Theo Seminary) professor's 10,000-plus explanatory notes, used the King James Version when it was first published in 1978. It is now also available in New American Standard Bible and English Standard Version translations."
It seems to suggest here that his notes were based on his reading of the KJV, even though other translations were available before 1978. I think that what would be more important is to know the theological & doctrinal stance of the note writer within any KJV (or other) translations. When you learn that, you would get a better understanding how their beliefs tie in with yours (or your Fellowship's), because if one is not careful, one can easily be swayed to understanding & accepting certain notated verses as given by the writer. It's always best to learn what God is telling you about a verse or passage & then use the notes as a supplementary point of added information. Ryrie can be considered to be a 'pre-millenial dispensationalist'; and this means, "he believed that God has worked throughout human history in different ways in various divinely ordained eras. Dispensational premillennialism says that the end times will be characterized by the rapture of the church first, then the tribulation, the restoration of Israel to a place of preeminence, and the millennial kingdom". I hope this helps you some.
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