Retranslation- good or bad?

Throughout what comparatively little experience I have in studying the history and evolution of the bible, one immensely frustrating question has been lurking in the back of my mind. Why, after learning about the extensive time and effort people have put into trying to assemble a book that has the true messages and teachings of God, would someone wish to purposely go and change such sacred text to fulfill their own personal, political, or reformative desires? Think about it; a thousand years from now, someone may find a misshapen interpretation of the bible popular today and wonder about its purpose and significance, and why it opposes so many other versions found (the same way we may think about a less known scripture, or even those of the Gospels). In the past, scribes would rewrite stories of ancient times for nothing more than practice, or change the original stories to sound more interesting for nothing more than the sake of entertainment. Constantine was able to influence the bible simply because he had power and an opinion. Later, in the formation of early America, after the invention of the printing press let English bibles become more accessible, people took the direct teachings of the KJB and ran with it; anyone had the ability to use or abuse the authority of the scriptural texts as they saw fit. Now, once again, we see people rewriting the bible to bring to light the divine jurisdiction their own opinion or political stance has, when in reality scripture can be twisted to approve of any argument. We see evidence of this today in works such as Jefferson’s Bible, the African American conjurational canon, the Woman’s Bible, and even in translations that occurred through the formation of different denominations, including but not limited to The Book of Mormon.  

However, I would like to take a moment to play devil’s advocate. Perhaps to some people this view may not be seen as such, but to me it is. For as long as I have known that people of the past and present change, reshape, and retranslate the bible for any reason, I have viewed this as being a bad thing. Why go about fixing something that isn’t broken? On the other hand, I have to think about all of the knowledge of past history and culture available today that was gained through close analysis and contrasting viewpoints of holy scriptures of the past. Scribes may have made mistakes and mistranslations in their copies, yes, but that means there were more copies likely to survive and pass throughout time, and evidence of lost culture embedded in their more dramatic writings come to the surface. Constantine may not have bade the best decisions, however we have learned just how much power leaders of his time period truly had. Today, scripture is also changing along with our basic humanistic beliefs as a culture; the bible is literally a reflection of the significant issues and viewpoints prominent today. Another question pops into my head; yes, the bible is originally a literal embodiment of the word of God, but, for those of us who identify with the belief, are we not supposed to fill our ever changing lives with the teachings and promises of God’s word anyways? As our lives change, and new problems arise, what is so wrong with reinterpreting the bible to help teach others the lessons of Christ? In a thousand years, people may be struggling to understand the many biblical interpretations that we now have accepted today. However, they will also have something possibly just as valuable; a piece of our then probably lost culture, and a peek into the values, arguments, and cultural norms of our society today.