North Carolina Church Wants You To Burn Your Bibles

"All Scripture is inspired by God" -2 Timothy 3:16

Called the "Good Book" by many people, the Bible is no doubt responsible- according to many- for changing lives for the better. Politicians even use parts of it to frame laws on the books. Whether you believe every tenet and scripture or not, that's your personal choice. Hell, there are parts of it that I don't agree on, and in some cases, I even believe that parts of it is outdated. But that's me. There are many translations of the Bible. For instance, many faiths such as the Southern Baptist Convention use the New International Version, or NIV. Many others use the King James. The Jehovah's Witnesses have their own version, The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures. No matter the translation, many stand by the Bible for wisdom and comfort. However, there is a congregation in Canton, North Carolina- which is near Asheville- who believes that all translations, save for one, are perverted and even the spawn of the Deity many call Devil and Satan.

Amazing Grace Baptist Church is sponsoring a mass burning on Halloween. Among the materials that are suggested to be fuel for the bonfire are:

• CDs of rap/hip-hop; heavy metal; and other genres of music
• Books and magazines. Not just the pornographic kinds, either. Novels, mainstream magazines (such as Vanity Fair, Esquire, Time), and probably the local and national newspapers, too.
• And Bibles and Contemporary Christian Music CDs, as well as books by Billy Graham and Rick Warren, and other evangelicals.

Wait a sec. Bibles and Contemporary Christian music is included on this list? Yes! The Bible is included in this list of items to be burned. Apparently all translations- save for the King James Version- have been perverted by the Devil Deity, according to the pastor of Amazing Grace, Marc Grizzard. Grizzard believes that openly the King James Version- and not the New King James Version, mind you- is the only true translation of the Bible. He also believes that Billy Graham- who has his Billy Graham Evangelical association ministry in nearby Charlotte- and Reverend Rick Warren, of Saddleback Church (which is affiliated with the SBC), among others, are nothing more than messengers for the Antichrist.

I'll admit that I'm not exactly the most spiritual person on the planet, but I am nonetheless a spiritual person, and do believe that there is a Deity and God. So I'm trying to comprehend the reasons behind Marc Grizzard's decision that only the King James version is true, while others are just rubbish. Even as I don't read my Bible as much as one probably thinks I should, I'm not going to burn it, no matter the translation. As I look at this story, which you can watch by just clicking on the title, I look at the past, when people were burned at the stake- some holding their Bibles, nonetheless, in their efforts to keep it alive through the ages. Others- those in communist countries such as China, and for a time Russia (when it was the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics), plus a few Muslim countries- banned it and probably held a few Bible burnings as well. Of course, some jurisdictions still do this today. Admittedly, the Amazing Grace Baptist Church is within its right to do so- freedom of speech and expression under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Still, I don't have to agree with them. I don't think too many others do, either.

(C) 2009 by Darren W. Alexander. All Rights Reserved.