What if we had a standard sacred text?
Say the English-speaking believing community was to arrive at and agree on a standard sacred text. What negative outcomes do you think will come about? What are the cons? How would the Church be injured? What does the worst-case scenario look like? What is the likely scenario? Why is this the case?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Standard Sacred Text.com 
I believe that having one standard Bible is a good thing. Many local congregations in our area do not have a standard text even among themselves. Preachers may be using one Bible, with a different pew Bible, Sunday School lesson from a different one, congregation reading many alternative translations. I struggle to understand the confusion! The worst-case scenario of having one standard sacred text, as far as I can imagine, is if the standard was one of the sub-par of the lot available. I do not see much changing in the near future toward a standard text. Too many pastors, educators, seminaries, and publishers are all on the multiple version bandwagon.
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Excellent observations! Thank you.
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I prefer to have many translations. Any translation selected as standard would soon be outdated as language is continually evolving. For example, there are words in the KJV that have changed meaning since it was created. Translations must be continually updated as language evolves. When I am reading the Bible, I often look at multiple translations, as well the Greek and Hebrew via concordances, and find I receive a better understanding that way.
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Thank you for your comment. I suppose my greatest concern with your comment is that it is a statement about the Bible thus making your statement a theological statement which should have Scripture to back it up (e.g., “In such and such a verse the Bible says that because language evolves the Bible should constantly be evolving.”) But of course there is no such verse supporting your comment either explicitly or by good and necessary consequences. On the other hand it makes biblical and theological sense that there would be one Bible for the English-speaking church given the facts that there is only one God, one Christ, one salvation, one faith, one bride of Christ etc.
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Peter, your comment made me think of the opening line of a future blog post I am working on: “Oddly, there is one body, and one Spirit, one hope of our calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all … and hundreds of English Bible translations.”
Even though there are hundreds of translations (not all entire Bibles), there are many vying to be the “standard sacred text.” So far I have found 14 Bible translations that use the word “standard’ in their names. Seems they are implying their should be a standard. Additionally, some Bibles aspire to be the “International” or “World” Bibles, which seems to imply the same sort of idea.
(And there is one that is still the standard – the Bible every other Bible either wants to be or to replace.)
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