Truth in Meming

One of the major problems with communication in our modern era is the absolute glut of information. We're bombarded by 24-hour cable news, online news sites that send alerts about stories to our smart phones, and links and memes shared by family and friends on an endless list of social media platforms.

Every voice is competing to be heard in a very crowded, noisy room. The American public seems to have a very short attention span and to not want to take the time to read anything that does detailed analysis or requires deep thought and self-aware reflection. 

There's even an abbreviation for that -- TLDR, which stands for "too long, didn't read." (Consider the irony of shortening a four-word phrase to four letters, because using the full words would take too long for the writer to type and too long for the consumer to read.)

I suspect some of you, if you scroll down this post, may even say "TLDR" and move away without reading further. (But if you do that, you'll just be proving my point.)

Are Modern English Versions of the Bible Corrupt? -- Part 10

This is the tenth installment in a multi-part series concerning social media posts that are circulating and accusing the NIV and other modern English translations of the Bible of taking out important words and concepts, leaving out verses, and other nefarious things.

Read part 1 here
Read part 2 here
Read part 3 here
Read part 4 here
Read part 5 here
Read part 6 here
Read part 7 here
Read part 8 here
Read part 9 here
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Some Closing Thoughts

After reviewing all this data, we must confront the elephant in the room: the motives of the persons who originally put these posts together and started circulating them. While only God and the individuals involved in the creation of these memes and articles know what was in their hearts, we can make some educated deductions based on the fruit they have borne.

Let me make one thing clear: I am not talking here about the motives of the people who have shared and circulated these alerts out of a heartfelt concern and love for God and His word. Most people sharing these alerts don't know all of the information I have presented over the past nine articles. They simply see something that grabs their attention using alarmist language, look at the few cherry-picked examples that allegedly support the claims being made, and then share or forward it without looking deeper or asking someone who has more knowledge in this area (such as a pastor or even a friend who is a Bible nerd). As I stated in the first post in this series, they have a zeal for God, but they lack knowledge. The purpose of this series is not to condemn these brothers and sisters, but rather to fill in the gaps in their knowledge.