One Star, and Here is Why…..
Lets clarify a couple things before I start, lest someone dismisses me as a Bible Thumping legalist. I am a Jesus lover, and a New Covenant believer. I love grace. Am enraptured by it. And I am a stronger believer in “Christ in me” and living by that indwelling life. Jesus is EVERYTHING, the Incarnate Word. And in that, I heartily agree with the author of this book.
But here are the reasons why I could not recommend this to anyone, and is in fact, the very first book I have returned back to Amazon.
1) It’s falsely named, falsely advertised. I was expecting a Bible, expounded in the Greek, or at least a New Testament. But it’s not even a complete NT. It’s missing the gospels, except for the 1st chapter of John. And it’s missing some of the Epistles. For some reason he stops paraphrasing and translating after the 1st Chapter of 1st John. I recognize that the author does state in intro to the book that this is not a Bible, but a commentary, but it’s not named or advertised as such.
2) The author paraphrases scripture through the lens of his own agenda. Don’t get me wrong. I love the “agenda” of grace. But to twist things around to fit that agenda? I wouldn’t read a John MacArthur study Bible for that reason either? Who would want a Bible specifically bent to fit the Calvinist agenda, other than Calvinists?
3) Du Toit is ONE man. And while a learned one, he is still just ONE man. The beauty of other translations is that it is translated via a team of people, as many as hundreds of people. Why? Checks and balances. It’s not one man’s interpretation. It’s a team of people desiring to put together a faithful translation of the text.
4) He is a Universalist and interprets the Scripture through that lens. I honestly think this is the reason why he excludes the gospels, and why he doesn’t include all of 1st John. Probably because he can’t interpret through the universalist lens all the scripture in the gospel of John that says that in order for us to receive life, we must believe in Him. And why he stops before 1st John, to avoid addressing the heresy of Gnosticism which he is close to teaching.
For the reasons stated, I cannot recommend this “Bible”, as either a Bible or a Commentary.
Some Verses Well Done But…..
Unfortunately, although much of the contextual paraphrase (rather than an actual translation – admittedly by the author, which normally wouldn’t be a problem or big deal) is fairly well done, some actually beautifully well done, in conveying the truth and limitlessness of God’s amazing love for mankind… the author is of the Universalist doctrine, which is essentially the belief that everyone is already saved, although they may not know it yet, and so there will be no hell, and no judgment for the lost, or the devil, fallen angels/demons, sin is not a factor, etc. which almost negates the reason for Christ dying on the cross, if you really think about it. If that were the case, why did Christ have to suffer and die to save us, then? And why do we even have to live a life in a fallen world and bear the consequences of sin? There are some big doctrinal holes left unfilled in that theological hypothesis that are not supported in the original languages, manuscripts, or even what some might refer to as the best or most accurate translations.
This Is Not A Translation
it is a total perversion. Not only is it anti-gospel, it is anti-Christ. The author is a new age mystic who is trying to find peace in denying the reality of sin altogether, as if sin is just a delusion of the mind and not a deeply ingrained spiritual problem that is inherent in our fallen nature. So many people out there struggle and suffer in their battle with sin, and this so called author has tried to destroy the only true hope any of us have of overcoming sin, by faith alone in Christ alone. The author of this book is subjecting himself to the undiluted full measure of the Wrath of God for all of eternity, and anyone who buys his book only fuels in the damnation, 2nd John 1:11 (KJV), “For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker in his evil deeds.” and Revelation 22:18-19, “If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life”.
To give an example of his blasphemy which I got from a free online critique, John 1:13 (mirror bible), “These (the saved supposedly) are the ones who discover their genesis in God, beyond their natural conception! This is not about our blood lineage or whether we were wanted- or unwanted-child; this is about our God-begotteness. We are his dream come true and not the invention of our parents. You are indeed the greatest idea God has ever had!”
Obviously deifying sinful mankind, denying sin altogether, denying the power of God to save through Christ, while also creating a completely antithetical false gospel of self-praise instead of self-discipline. This isn’t just heretical, it’s demonic. Be warned.
Blatantly Heretical. If You Love God’s Word, You Would Never Read This.
While masquerading as a new and faithful translation of God’s word, this work intends to fundamentally alter the truth of God’s word and place man on the same footing as God himself. Key passages which distinguish the sinfulness and depravity of man are fundamentally altered. The new message is that you are not fundamentally flawed. You’re actually the same as Jesus, but you just haven’t realized it yet. This blatantly contradicts the plain meaning of the original Greek in the New Testament. The “original Greek” that Du Toit claims to understand is absurd from the standpoint of a translator. Du Toit attempts to circumvent the true meaning of words by pursuing etymological rabbit holes. A first year Greek student could immediately tell you that Du Toit’s analysis is unhelpful, unscholarly, and quite frankly, completely bogus. Du Toit has a theology that he wants you to believe – that you and God are really the same – and this “translation” only serves to further this agenda.
An Agenda With False Representations
Just judging by the verses I saw quoted on the website, the translation is inaccurate, and is unrecognizable as even being the Bible. If you would like to read the original Hebrew, transliterated into English, you should go to scripture4all.com. You’ll see there that this translation is off the mark in a lot of ways, and you, by reading that, could probably do better work at translating the Bible yourself.
It has an agenda, and it’s more of a new age work, paraphrasing the Bible in an English that is foreign to the original text, and it kind of smacks of Orwell’s satire in his Essay on Politics in the English Language. The part where Ecclesiastes gets translated into modern English. I think this text could almost be satirical in that front, that it is ambiguous, and the language is esoteric. The King James translation and the Geneva translation are among the most faithful translations for individuals wanting a good translation of the Bible, or The New American Standard Bible is a good word for word translation that attempts to be faithful to the original. But this, just about any translation you would pick up at the store is a better one. Even the NRSV, which is among the worst translations out there.
SOLEMN CAUTION
Do Yourself A Favor And Go Buy A Real Bible Translation And Not Some
Phoney Translation Like The Mirror Bible That It Is Obviously.
Do not be deceived by this book that is called a “Bible” because I can assure you that it is the farthest thing from the Bible imaginable. All this Bible does is paraphrase and Sugarcoat the Actual Word of God, and removes very Important Scriptures regarding sin, and Salvation. There have been instances where churches who have used this book have been torn apart and divided because of this book. This book is not I repeat not the Inspired Word Of God it is nothing but the inspired word of man! Do yourself a favor and go buy a Real Bible Translation and not some phoney translation like the Mirror Bible that is obviously promoting Hell, not God.
