Bible Switch “Work of Satan”

Monday, March 10th, 2008 | Christianity

Found this article the other day describing a hacker’s attack on Bible Gateway.com. For 3 days in July, this hacker adjusted the settings of Bible Gateway’s Bible search to provide different results. From the article:

“… anyone at BibleGateway.com who looked up passages in the King James Version of the Bible was actually presented with passages from the Amplified Bible (and vice versa).”

Now you would think that anyone who knew anything about either the KJV or the Amplified Bible would recognize the difference between the two. The KJV is an older translation written in a “higher English” manner, meaning it sounds old and dignified. The Amplified Bible is a more modern reading that provides a clearer reading in English by using extra words. However, some people blindly relied on the text found on that website, to some disastrous ends.

A presenter at the American Fundamental Baptist Association National Conference used text he assumed was KJV, but was really the Amplified Bible. The article recorded the crowd’s reaction:

More than 11,000 of the 13,000 appalled attendees walked out of the stadium while over 100 attending pastors’ wives fainted in their dismay.

“Good mercy, there was nothing subtle about the toxin that was spewing from his mouth! How Satan was able to deceive him on such a simple verse, I do not know.” (quoted from a witness)

Now I am all about people using their favorite translation or interpretation for their English Bible (mine is the ESV). However, to call the display of God’s Word a “toxin” or “the demonic realm of blasphemy” is way too harsh. Lighten up, people! Be glad you are free to read the Bible in your preferred translation, yet alone read it. Having your own Bible is a luxury too many Christians worldwide cannot have. Be grateful we have the Bible. Don’t worry about the “evil nature” of translations or paraphrases you may not agree with. View the Bible as God’s Word, and treat it as His written revelation to you.

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