Direct Answer
The transcript suggests that many Christians may judge a translation by whether it supports familiar evangelical theology or reads well, rather than by whether it accurately represents the biblical text. Bercot sees this as a serious double standard.
Support from Transcript
- The Living Bible claims to express “as exactly as possible what the writers of the Scriptures meant.” - Bercot argues it “alters so many things in the Bible text that it should be marketed as a commentary, not a Bible translation.” - He says its rendering of Romans 3:20-21 “literally doubled the size of the text” with “human additions.” - Despite this, “the Living Bible is used and endorsed by thousands of evangelical pastors.” - He contrasts evangelical approval of the Living Bible with evangelical criticism of Jehovah’s Witnesses, calling it a “double standard.”
Discussion Follow-ups
The transcript implies that faithfulness must be measured by the text itself, not by popularity, readability, pastoral endorsement, or agreement with one’s preferred theological tradition.