Bible-Burning Pastor

Noth Carolina pastor Marc Grizzard is planning to host an event at his church to burn what he calls heretical books and music. The book at the top of his list to burn is none other than the Bible. Any version except the King James that is. Grizzard and the 14 members of Amazing Grace Baptist Church plan to host the bonfire on Halloween night.

Grizzard says that the KJV is the only true word of God. He also believes that all other translations are "satanic" and "perversions" of God's word.

Says Grizzard, "I believe the King James version is God’s preserved, inspired, inerrant, infallible word of God… for English-speaking people."

He goes further to say that any other religious or Christian text that is not the KJV Bible is sacreligious. He considers authors such as Mother Teresa, Billy Graham and Rick Warren to be heretics.

Some residents of the town agree with Grizzard that the KJV is the only "true" version of the Bible. Others disagree, saying that many of the other translations make the Bible easier to understand.


People like this guy really annoy me. He's the type of misinformed, self-righteous bigot that makes other Christians look crazy.
There'a a quote I've heard that says the greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.

It's very frustrating to me that this one crazy guy is who gets the publicity and his story on a national news network. How many true Christians are there who are doing amazing things and no one knows? The weirdos are the ones that can grab the public's attention.

My initial reaction when I saw the headline (Pastor to Host Halloween Bible-Burning Event) was to assume it must be some alternative, possibly satanic, church. It never occured to me that someone calling themselves a Christian would burn the Bible.

As I read farther, I got really irritated by many of the things this guy says.

Why is the KJV the only "true word of God?" Why not the original Hebrew text? Did God tell Grizzard that he liked the Shakespearian sound better? It would stand to reason that the original language would be the closest to God's true word, right? A lot of things can get lost in translation from an ancient language to a modern one.

Another thing I take issue with is Grizzard's comment that the KJV is God's true word "for English-speaking people." So, all you foreigners out there can go to hell or speak English. At least that's how I understand it from Grizzard's statement. I guarantee that God's people, the Old Testament nation of Israel, did not speak King James English. I'm pretty sure that there is no verse, not ONE, in the Bible (KJV, NIV, NKJV, whatever you use) that limits believers to one translation.

I personally don't believe that you have to limit your reading strictly to one translation. I think there are benefits to comparing texts. Some passages may make more sense with a slightly different wording. I think that as long as you keep in mind that they are translations done by humans and not handwritten by God, you'll be fine. I believe the words of the Bible should be taken literally. We run into trouble when we begin to form our own, different, interpretaion of what's being said.

While this man still irritates me beyond belief, I feel a little sorry for him and his congregation. I think that Grizzard is mislead in his beliefs and it's sad to me that he thinks this is the way to show God to the world. There are so many things that could be done that show God's love for people and instead he chooses this hate-filled message.

If they really want to send a message to the town on Halloween, their time and money would be better spent hosting a party for neighborhood kids or helping out poor families. Something other than this misguided attempt to make a statement would have been wise.

I'd also like to point out a little irony I noticed in this situation. All of those books and CDs they plan to burn had to come from somewhere. They had to be purchased at some point. So...while they may think they're condemning this music and literature, they're still supporting the artists and authors. It doesn't matter what you do with the product once you buy it. You've already given your money to that person and supported them financially. I wonder if Pastor Grizzard would consider supporting the lifestyle of the "heretics" as heresy. Maybe his church gets a free pass on details like that.