Christians today seem obsessed with the idea that there should be, there must be, a Bible that is easy to read and understand. A Bible that would lead us into the deep truths of God’s will with little or no effort on our part. Mind you, it would have to be a Bible that we could trust, not one that substituted man’s thinking for God’s revelation.

But what if our desire to make the Scriptures easy to understand is the problem, rather than the solution? What if Bible story books, reference Bibles, and Bible reading plans that never leave us in one place long enough to grasp the context have all contributed to ignorance of the Bible rather than understanding? And what if reading contemporary translations is just an exercise in discovering what contemporary translators think the Bible should say, and not Bible study at all?

Many years ago, when we had a toddler in our home, I bought a set of My Bible Friends. We read them to our daughter a couple of times. I noticed there were small details added to each story and told as if they were fully as authentic as information from the Bible. We got rid of those books. Years later I was visiting with someone who was thoroughly acquainted with the writings of Ellen G. White and mentioned that I had not been sure if those additions were from the imagination of the writer or from Ellen G, White, the prophetic voice of the Seventh Day Adventist movement. “They’re from Ellen. G. White,” was his answer.

Let’s be clear on this, Bible story books are not a trustworthy introduction to Scripture. They are story books that take an account from the Bible, throw in a whole lot of imagination, and often pass judgment on Bible characters, judgments that the Bible itself does not make.

When these children grow up and begin to read the Bible for themselves, they find the Bible account does not always lead to the same conclusion as the story book. They struggle to make the account they read in the Bible fit what they have always thought to be the truth of the story.

The Bible does not have to be dumbed down for children. My father read from the AV/KJV Bible every evening, reading straight through the Bible, a little bit at a time. I believe I retained more from that than I would have if he’d read Bible story books. Jack Miner reported a statement made by an elderly Scotsman many years ago: “In my childhood we were raised on oatmeal porridge and the Bible. Nowadays people try to raise their children on corn flakes and the Eaton’s catalogue. I want to tell you folks, It can’t be done!”

I’m with the Scotsman. Let’s dump the pablum and go back to reading the old AV/KJV Bible.