Translations of the Bible: Which translation should we use?

The Bible is the most printed piece of literature in the history of the world.  It's also the most stolen piece of literature.  For the New Testament (2nd part of the Bible) there are at least 25,000 ancient manuscripts where at least 5600 of those are copies and fragments in the original Greek.[1]

The only other book that is remotely comparable is Homer's book, The Iliad which has 643 copies of manuscripts.  Of these manuscripts 764 lines are disputed as being inaccurate, while only 40 lines of the Bible tend to be disputed. [2]

There are also no surviving manuscripts of Shakespeare's 37 plays which has forced scholars to fill in some gaps on their own.  Both the Iliad and the works of Shakespeare are never talked about in school as being inaccurate in any way.

I write this to preface the articles to follow by saying that the big picture issue that needs to be realized by each individual is concerning the God-sovereign inspiration of the Bible.  Namely, is the Bible God's word?  Is it inspired?  If the Bible is just some handbook on how to have a good life, then we should treat it like that.  But if it is much more than that, (which I am in agreement that it is!) then it demands a focused and committed reading that ought to have an eternal impact on your life.

If you don't know God personally, these articles will probably mean nothing to you, and you should first address the issue of God.  Do you know him?  Do you know who he is and what he did for you?  How do you view him?

For the rest who disagree about translations of the Bible or are indifferent, I hope you gain something that enhances your relationship with the living God.

1]  Josh McDowell, The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict, 34-36

2] Norman L. Geisler and William E. Nix, A General Introduction to the Bible, 366-67