The Great Dialogue

Today I read "When the King Saved God" in the latest issue of Vanity Fair in which Christopher Hitchens, himself an unbeliever, argues that the King James translation of the Bible is essential to our American cultural literacy. Beyond this, he even asserts that this translation must surge ahead of the ever-burgeoning tide of lesser, more trendy texts to come along due to its timeless poetry and authoritative interpretations. While he highlights some of the infamously biased word choices of the great English translation, he maintains that it should still be considered the essential version of the Christian Bible. This begs the question of the Dialogue: Do you think there can or should be an essential translation of the Christian (or other religious) text, by which all others are measured?

Good Morning    I have been reading about Pastor Rob Bell - Pastor Bell has written a book in which he asserts that there IS NO HELL - while quoting scriptures out of context [and very fluidly] to make his point - Below is a link to a NY TIMES article about him [TIME magazine made it the cover story a week ago].    This stands out for me as one of the greatest problems for the Dialogue, and society; how to approach examples in which a newer "form" of Christianity becomes popular but in total disregard for traditional and even explicit, foundational, Church teaching...there appear to be, in the mind of many, no Essentials to anything...Will science be next? See: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/05/us/05bell.html