Over the lest ten to twenty years, most Christian denominations have abandoned the (1611) King James Version (we Catholics never used it). I believe the Gideons now distribute the "Today's English Version" (Good News Bible) from the American Bible Society to hotel rooms.

I thought the Seventh Day Adventists were very conservative, but a couple of weeks ago I heard a SDA minister advise people not to use the KJV unless they regularly speak Elizabethan English.

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Bill D says: Many pretty devout Christians treat the biblical admonitions as guidance, not commands.

Well, Bill, that doesn't apply to the Ten Commandments. They're pretty basic standards. Most of us don't consider shellfish to be an abomination any more, though - the Jewish dietary laws don't have the same importance as the Ten Commandments. I think most denominations take a fairly commonsense interpretation of the Bible nowadays. It's not really "pick and choose." It's more a "use your head" principle - don't do (and don't believe) things that don't make sense.

-Joe-