Are strip clubs and nightclubs sinful?

Sincerely,
Party Animal

Dear Party Animal,

Absolutely, completely, totally, and reprehensibly sinful.  The Bible soundly condemns fornication (1 Cor 6:18) and lusting after someone that you are not married to (Matt 5:28).  One sign of a sinful life is to have “eyes full of adultery that cannot cease from sin” (2 Pet 2:14).  Strip clubs are places of whoredom that teach people to lust after human flesh and forsake God’s commands.  Those kind of institutions destroy lives and souls.

Most nightclubs are exactly the same.  Nightclubs are places of drunken partying and inappropriate interactions between men and women.  Furthermore, many nightclubs are specifically designed to cater to homosexuality – which is a sin (Rom 1:27, Jude 1:7).  Drunkenness is wrong (Eph 5:18), and the Bible clearly condemns ‘reveling’ and ‘carousing’ (1 Pet 4:3).  The Greek word for ‘reveling’ literally means ‘drinking parties’.  Nightclubs are places of reveling… and therefore, wrong.

Is there a Bible verse that says, "Count your many blessings”?

Sincerely,
Grateful Mathematician

Dear Grateful Mathematician,

“Count Your Many Blessings” is the name of a popular hymn, but it isn’t a Bible verse.  Having said that, the idea of counting your blessings is a very Biblical idea.  Php 4:8 tells us to dwell upon good and pleasant things.  2 Cor 1:11 gives us the example of being grateful when we receive blessings.  Eph 1:16 points out that the apostle Paul never ceased giving thanks for people who blessed his life.  Php 4:6 tells us that thanksgiving should be a regular element in our prayers.  There is no doubt that the thoughts expressed in the hymn “Count Your Many Blessings” is right on target with Scriptural ideals.

I have heard over and over again, the Bible is perfect as it is.  It is what God wants us to have.  How do you explain what happened in the fourth century with the Council of Laodicea deciding what would and would not be included in the Bible or read at church?  All the books that they decided we didn't need to read... God gave man free will didn't He?  And it can be used to make bad choices and siding with evil or good choices.  If this council was able to do that for evil, then we are denied the other books of the Bible by HUMAN choice.  I have read half of the Book of Enoch which is absolutely incredible!  I was in absolute awe with this book.  I realize this book is not complete, but the thought of some council deciding what should be in the canon makes me upset.  How was it even decided?  Do I believe that what we have now is good enough to be saved?  ABSOLUTELY!!  But it also makes me think of the words “Seek and ye shall find!”  I would love to hear your feedback on this.  Thank You.

Sincerely,
Enthralled With Enoch

Dear Enthralled With Enoch,

The Council of Laodicea in 336 A.D. did make decisions about what books would be included in the canon of the Bible… but everyone completely ignored what they said, and their edicts have no impact upon the actual Bible that you read today.  If we followed the Council of Laodicea’s decisions, then we wouldn’t have the book of Revelation (which they excluded from their canon), and we would have the epistle of Jeremy and the book of Baruch (two false books that they included).  That particular council obviously did not dictate what books were or were not kept in the Bible’s canon because we don’t use their canon today.

The Bible’s canon was decided well before the Council of Laodicea; it was decided by the christians who lived during the first century and were in the best situation to know which letters were from divinely inspired apostles and prophets.  It is important to remember that even though God does give us freewill, there are certainly things that He doesn’t allow us to change – His Word is one of those immutable things.  It doesn’t make sense that God would spend thousands of years perfectly crafting the Bible only to allow us to pollute it in a couple hundred years.  Jesus says that not one jot or tittle of the Bible will pass away (Matt 5:18).  The Bible has been perfectly crafted and handed down to us with every stroke and letter right where it ought to be.

Which Bible "translation" do you recommend out of the dozens out there?  So I understand the KJV to be the "authorized translation", and I do have and read it but more for the poetic language than to actually be able to read and understand it.  I understand the difference between the NIV and TNIV which uses simple, more gender-inclusive language.  Then there is the paraphrase language used in The Message and the Recovery version that one church (Living Waters Ministry) puts out to emphasize what they believe which, to me, seems wrong to do.  Then there is the ESV, the NASB, the Amplified (which to me seems to put words in God's mouth), the... you get the point.  I have been collecting different versions and have read them all (which in itself is good, because at least I am reading it, right?), but I don't know how to choose the "right" one, so I can do consistent Bible study (not to mention lighten the heavy book bag, LOL).  Is it right to choose a translation because I like the language used?

Sincerely,
The Reader

Dear The Reader,

There are two things to consider when choosing a Bible translation:

1. Accuracy
2. Readability

As you have noticed, the easier a translation is to read, the less accurate it becomes – and the more accurate a translation is, the more difficulty you will have in reading it.  The key is to find the right balance between readability and accuracy.  There are three types of translations: word-for-word translations, thought-for-thought translations, and paraphrase translations.

Paraphrase translations don’t even attempt to be accurate; all they want to do is make the Bible easy to read.  We never recommend a paraphrase translation.

Thought-for-thought translations try and take the original language and translate it using what the translators think is the same idea or concept that the Greek and Hebrew languages were trying to convey.  The NRSV, NIRV, and TNIV are all though-for-thought translations.  The NIV (currently the most popular version) is a mix between a word-for-word and a thought-for-thought – we have a lengthy article on the NIV translation that will give you more insight into that particular translation (click here to go to that post).  Thought-for-thought translations are better than paraphrasing, but they still remove the exact words of Jesus and His apostles and replace them with someone’s best guess at what they might have said if they had spoken in English.

Last, but not least, we have word-for-word translations.  Word-for-word translations are exactly what they sound like – they do their best to directly translate every word from the Greek and Hebrew into English.  There are currently five major word-for-word translations available: King James Version (KJV), New King James Version (NKJV), American Standard Version (ASV), New American Standard Version (NASB), and English Standard Version (ESV).  God tells us that every word was directly conveyed from God to the original Bible writers (1 Cor 2:13).  Since God made a point of divinely inspiring every word of the Bible, we here at AYP only feel comfortable using a translation that keeps those words intact.  Personally, we find the NASB and NKJV to be very readable and highly accurate.  Having read the New Testament in both the Greek and English (a couple of our AYP writers can read Koine Greek), we have found those two versions to be very sound.

To sum up, if you really want to make sure you are reading what God authored, make sure to ask for a word-for-word translation.

It has been a long time since I last e-mailed you.  I would like to know from whomever answers this question how long they've been serving God.

My question is:  My christian friend and her father (in particular) say that I shouldn't listen to Turkish/Arabic or any music from around the world.  Now, in my defense, I do hope that it isn't the words of the devil but of the counsel of God.  My defense is that God made music, and like art, it makes you feel good.  I understand I should want to hear only music to exalt God, but I have gotten translations to these tracks, and they just talk about life and how they went through life trials.  Why can't I enjoy some classical or salsa music just because nobody is singing "hallelujah God"?  Their defense was that everything you do should work up to God; if you’re a christian and you are pleasing yourself before God, it is wrong.  Long story short, why can't I appreciate the gift God gave to a man to play the violin or a computer to make tracks or art that doesn't particularly talk about God, like Monet or Rembrandt paintings?  I also understand to back away from things (in particular things God has told you not to do) that will hinder your path to God.  So I don't listen to specific music, art, movies, books that may arouse me negatively or state inappropriate lyrics.  But classical?  Jazz?  I still listen to christian rock and gospel 70% of the time, though.

Sincerely,
Art Lover

Dear Art Lover,

  There is nothing wrong with listening to music of any type as long as it:

1. not teaching or professing evil ideas (such as drunkenness, promiscuity, immorality, violence, etc.)
2. not full of foul or crass language (Eph 4:29).

Bad company corrupts good morals (1 Cor 15:33), and bad music is a form of bad company.

Having said that - any other type of music is perfectly permissible.  Jesus even uses music as an example of general happiness in the parable of the prodigal son (Lk15:25).  In fact, you might find it interesting to read some of our articles on religious music; it might give you a point of view you've never heard before.  Here are links to a couple of those posts:

“Should The Hip Hop Stop?”

“Ain’t Nothing But A Hound Dog”