+JMJ+
I can easily start this off by pointing out what I feel to be one of the biggest sources of misunderstanding in the Bible: The word "fear" as in "fear of the Lord."
For whatever reason, even modern translations of the Bible keep the word "fear" in it, and as a result, many people are wrongly taught, or wrongfully believe, that they are supposed to be scared of the Lord. Needless to say, many people do not understand that in the context of a loving God, and it can cause people's faith to waver, or even worse, for them to leave the faith altogether. (There is good reason to fear the wages of sin, as that is spiritual death, i.e. hell. But that is not what is meant in most of the scriptural uses of the word "fear.")
An ancient (and no longer used) definition of the word fear is "revere." In Biblical times, if you feared something or someone, you revered them, or showed reverence for them. So when the Old and New Testaments were written, that is the definition known and used by the human authors of scripture.
Now, using the word "fear" in that context, doesn't that make far more sense than using the modern definition of the word?
We are not to be scared of God or Jesus, we are to revere them and show reverence and respect for them. The totality of scripture teaches us that that is what is expected of us, and so the "fear of the Lord" is consistent with that teaching.
It is my wish and strongly held belief that all 21st century Bibles should change the word "fear" to "revere" to reflect the ancient meaning of the word, and to make those parts of Scripture more clear to those studying it.
There is no benefit to using a word's archaic definition and, in fact, it is rather harmful and can lead to incorrect teaching and beliefs. Until this happens, our church leaders and biblical teachers must make it a point to teach the historic context of this word so that it is more clear to their members and students.
Come Holy Spirit.....
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