Fulton J. Sheen
Life/Times
I was talking to a sister who wouldn't permit her children to read
any other version than the King James Version of the Bible, except
perhaps to cross reference an unfamiliar word. The reason she told
me was that every time one reads the Bible he may see new
depths of meaning. If one were to read a modern version, he would
be limited to the meaning the modern translators saw at the moment
of their work and couldn't go beyond it.
Here's a program for thought:
Fulton J. Sheen561 During the 1950s it was the ecumenical thing to do to watch Bishop Fulton J. Sheen's television program, "Life is Worth Living," on Tuesday nights. Sheen was engaged in showing Americans that Catholics, even Catholic bishops, were just like everyone else, that they experienced the same problems of faith and personal dilemmas, and that "Catholic" answers to these difficulties were highly palatable to an audience of many faiths as well as to those who espoused no specific religious beliefs at all. In his bishop's robes Sheen displayed on network television just how American Catholicism could be, and yet he undergirded his messages with a world view that stemmed from a thirteenth-century philosopher-theologian, Thomas Aquinas. A great part of Sheen's appeal lay in his anecdotal style, his telling of jokes and stories; in contrast with the earnestness of many Protestant radio and television preachers, Sheen was funny. He spoke on a great variety of topics that included both personal and global concerns: nervous anxiety and the rat race of "making it," the dangers of communism; the sustaining of a good marriage; the endurance of pain and suffering; even the psychology of the Irish and the Russians. Perhaps Sheen's ultimate appeal lay in his expressed conviction that life still made sense, that there was indeed a divine plan for the universe (one of his books was entitled The Moral Universe) and for America, and that human beings had the power to discern this plan and had not lost control over their own destinies.
How can we help but be reminded of the New International Version? Sheen's program "was the ecumenical thing to do" and the NIV is the modern book to read. By putting Bible stories into modern speech it shows our heroes of faith to be just like us, even as Sheen showed "that Catholics, even Catholic bishops, were just like everyone else, that they experienced the same problems of faith and personal dilemmas." Furthermore, the NIV has appeal to a variety of denominations of faith and even to those without faith, even as "'Catholic' answers to these difficulties were highly palatable to an audience of many faiths as well as to those who espoused no specific religious beliefs at all."
The NIV shows just how well Christianity can be integrated into our American lives, and yet it's undergirded by the writings of the apostles. "Sheen displayed on network television just how American Catholicism could be, and yet he undergirded his messages with a world view that stemmed from a thirteenth-century philosopher-theologian, Thomas Aquinas." Furthermore, "A great part of Sheen's appeal lay in his anecdotal style, his telling of jokes and stories; in contrast with the earnestness of many Protestant radio and television preachers, Sheen was funny." Yes, and the NIV isn't so heavy handed as the KJV; it is Bible lite. The NIV covers the full gambit, at least in my preacher's sermons, with the exception of prayer which he had to get from another version. "Sheen spoke on a great variety of topics."
"Perhaps Sheen's ultimate appeal lay in his expressed conviction that life still made sense, that there was indeed a divine plan for the universe." Perhaps the ultimate appeal of the NIV is that it helps us make sense of the divine plan for the universe. On the down side, Sheen was still Catholic, prayed to the virgin Mary, and was all wrapped up in church teachings that the Protestants had finally got away from.
bibles.n7nz.org