Legends of the Jews
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The Bible is a very interesting piece of literature. As Christians, it is important to not only believe it, but understand its contents and composition. We must also remember the history of its creation and how it was edited. Yes, that's right, the Bible has been edited many times over, in fact the greatest revision was done in the period of the Constantine's rule. Back then the Bible was lose scrolls and old papers. It was at this point Emperor Constantine had Bishop Eusebius of Caesaria put together some of these old scrolls and papers and present them in a book form for the new churches that would be in his new capital, Constantinople.
Now understand there were hundreds (yes I said that right) of books, scrolls and papers of the Jewish/Christian history from The Beginning and up. So when you think about it, Bishop Eusebius is the one who basically wrote the Bible. He took all the information he had, and we as Christians trust this man in that we believe God used him to dish out the Bible we currently have today. The thing is that we Christians do believe everything that's in the Bible to be true since we assume God wouldn't allow His Word to be really altered and distorted, so that everyone who followed His written laws would go to Heaven.
That leads me to the question of, "What about the information that was edited out? Isn't there anything good that comes from it?". Well there is a yes and no to that. Some of the things edited out were edited out since they might sound silly to unbelievers who don't have a thick Shield of Faith over their brain like all Christians do. If lets say the entire library of lost and edited out information of the Word of God were suddenly reinserted into the Bible it would create an uproar in Christianity and most likely God would lose souls to Satan.
People who were originally known by Jews/Christians/Muslims who essentially were "edited out" would be like the first demon queen, Lilith --the mother of the succubi. Also other creatures which some are even mentioned in the Bible, but the context that they are is confusing unless you know the full story that you can get from the missing/lost/edited Word of God would be like the behemoth (Job 40:15-18), leviathan, and ziz. I found a piece of literature though written by the Jewish Rabbi Louis Ginzberg in his book "Legends of the Jews" where he gets a hold of many other old scrolls, texts, and so forth that have been locked away by the Roman Catholic Church (which Emperor Constantine basically created) since Bishop Eusebius made the great revision. Rabbi Louis then pretty much writes the Old Testament (also known as the Torah by Jews) from the basic components again, rather than like some Bible around today that have been rewritten/revised 10-20 times since the original times they were penned.
Does that mean the actual Word of God was altered in a negative way? Maybe, but the fact remains the the basic message is there, which is the fine point.
So What Bible is the Best?
Currently in English speaking parts of the world, the King James Bible 1611 is the most popular Bible. We here at TrueChristian.com usually use this version for this reason as well as the NIV since it is easier to understand with modern English in its current state.
Originally in 1604, King James of England wanted to have a conference at Hampton Court, gathering a total of 47 clerics and scholars. King James wanted to have a Bible produced that would be of use to all; everyone from the king and clergy down to common folk. This was a bold move in the Church of course since many of the self righteous within the church didn't want to see commoners submit directly to God, rather than them.
So these men went to work and finished the King James Bible 1611 in 1611. What was their source though? The King James Bible was actually just a revision of the Bishop's Bible which was written in 1602, but the thing was that the Bishop's Bible was actually just a revision of another Bishop's Bible from 1568, which actually was just a revision of Covverdale's less than scholarly "Great Bible", which actually was just a rewritten revision of the Tyndale and Wycliffe Bibles which had been translated in a rush by another pissed off religious leader who wanted an English version rather than the Old languages.
So, with such an obviously reliable historical source of the King James Bible, why is it just so popular? Well let me show you why with an example from Matthew 6:28-29:
King James Version of 1611: "Consider the lilies of the field how they grow; they do not toil, neither do they spin, yet I say unto you that even Solomon, in all his glory, was never arrayed like one of these."
Good News Bible (American Bible Society, 1976): "And why worry about clothes? Look how the wild flowers grow, they do not work or make clothes for themselves. But I tell you that not even King Solomon, with all his wealth had not clothes as beautiful as one of these flowers."
Richmond Lattimore Translation (Farrar Straus and Giroux, 1996): "And why do you take thought about clothing? Study the lilies of the field, how they grow. They do not toil or spin, yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these."
So tell me, which is the more accurate translation? Most scholars will agree that the beauty of the King James 1611's language and power of its prose has seldom been equaled in English literature. So basically it just sounds like scripture, it sounds like it must be the Word of God, which it must be. It must be true since it just sounds so good!!