The Bible Translation Museum

In the midst of no water pressure for showers, no gas for cars, and other adventures here in Mexico, it’s time for a more positive note.

This past Sunday we continued our Sunday school series, Where did the Bible Come From?, with the Bible Translation Museum. Using some floor mats, I was able to cover over (some of) the Disney characters on the wall to create the timeline of Spanish translations. With the help of the rest of the congregation we had samples of many different translations in physical form, and even showcased Bible software.

The history of Spanish translations is fascinating, especially when compared with the timeline of English Bibles. The determination to see the Bible in Spanish was in some ways stronger, while the persecution was often fiercer.

At a unique moment in history a new version of a historic translation hit the market – the Reina Valera 1960. The Reina Valera has a similar history to our Authorized (or King James) Version, but in many ways because of timing this version became so popular it’s often just known as “The 60”.

But in modern days, various sects have multiplied in Latin America, many clinging to their own version of the Bible. A splintering has taken place, leading to many, many “Reina Valeras” (between us, in our small group, we have many RV versions), and also to several strange and occasionally heretical versions (which we also talked about).

The common claim here that various sects try to deceive you with “their own Bible version” has led us to put very little emphasis on which version should be used – “bring your own Bible” – because the gospel is there! But we also try to balance that with information about how the Bible is translated and what the strengths of various specific versions/translations are.

One newer couple in our church shared with us that they had had some major questions about the Bible – its origin and transmission. Then they started attending our Sunday service – and guess what started the week after? “Where did the Bible Come From?”!

God has His timings that we know nothing about. It’s been an encouragement to hear people’s responses to the series. We have two weeks to go in this series. But, bottom line – we can trust God’s Word – we have it in our hands – now what will we do with it?