Feel free to post a comment on the sermon. Since the topic for this week is experiencing God through Scripture, instead of posting a question, I thought it would be good to list three of the best Bible study resources available on the web.
The Online Bible site is especially helpful because it allows you to download Bible study and research software, whole searchable texts of the Bible, and many commentaries and maps, all for free.
Here's the list:
MM
4 comments:
Why are there so many different English "translations" of the Bible (i.e., NIV, King James, etc.) and what are their main differences? Doesn't something get lost in translation, so to speak (as I have been in studies where the leader thinks one word is so important, yet some of the Bibles we're using don't even have that one word)? And what is the best translation if you're really trying to study the Bible in depth and what is the best translation if you're giving one to a young Christian? Thank you.
I really enjoyed this sermon and appreciate the links you posted. Whenever I've tried to really sit and read the bible I usually end up frustrated and full of questions. I've never been a fan of taking scripture out of context. Sometimes it's fine but often the meaning seems to get lost. I always feel like I need a small library of reference books to look things up and a few theologians to bounce thoughts and ideas off of. I don't usually have these, hence the frustration. However, after Sunday I've decided to give it another shot. Although I doubt I'll go into a Bible reading frenzy, I refuse to get frustrated and avoid it. There are resources and people out there. I just need to look for them and hopefully I can experience God through scripture and through those I discuss it with.
Kelly,
I can understand the frustration. It's easy to get lost in some places in the Bible, especially parts of the Old Testament. I think too many Christians have made the Bible out to be more simple than it really is (and failed to see its depth and richness in the process). If we begin reading the Bible with the expectation that every part of it is simple, straight forward and easy to read, it will not take long to get discouraged.
Something that's helped me is an awareness of the historical and cultural context, and the literary genre of each biblical book. Once we understand the time and culture in which the things we read took place, and--most importantly--the place of each event within the overall biblical story, things become much more clear. Also, we have to remember not to read Matthew like we read Psalms, or Leviticus like we read 1 Timothy, etc.
The most important thing to remember is that Jesus is what the Bible is all about, so we must see the other 62 books in light of the four gospels. Jesus has to be the back drop or the "interpretive lens" by which we understand everything else in the Bible. (John 5:39-40)
In case it's of any help, I've posted a short essay I wrote on this whole issue on a webpage: http://docs.google.com/View?docid=ddr5rgsk_56dpkwrzc8
Also, a few biblical scholars whose works I have found very helpful are Craig Blomberg, Ben Witherington, and N.T. Wright.
Thanks so much for your input on the blog.
Chris,
This is an excellent question. To be as concise as possible, we must have different translations because language evolves overtime, so our translations must change as well. Language is organic and changing, not fixed and mechanical. It's important for us to have modern translations instead of one of the earliest and most popular English translations (the King James) because it was translated in 1611, and the way we speak English today is dramatically different.
As for the differences in the modern translations, keep in mind when translation takes place from any one language to another, it's not only a translation of words, but of word order (AKA "syntax") and sentence structure. For example, we translate the Spanish phrase "Que hora es?" into English as "What time is it?" But, if we translated literally word for word, the Spanish actually says “What hour is?” Because contemporary English uses different word order, we not only have to translate the words but the word order as well.
The difference in modern English translations is that some of them take more liberty in changing the word order from the original Hebrew and Greek so that it makes more sense in modern English. Others stay as close to the original syntax as possible. I don't know the exact Greek word order, but the words of John 3:16 translated without a change in word order might read something like this: “For the world God So loved only begotten son his he gave...”
I'd need to go check to confirm this but I think the New Revised Standard Version is one that stays closer to original syntax than most other modern translations (check me on this). I know the NIV is one which takes more liberty in changing the sentence structure than some others. As far as I know (and I'm glad you asked this because I need brush up) the New American Standard, New Revised Standard, New International Version, and English Standard Version are all reliable modern translations. There are others like the Living Bible and The Message, which are not actually translations, but paraphrases. These are valuable, but should not be used as a primary Bible.
Another important point that adds value to modern translations is that we actually have more ancient Greek and Hebrew manuscripts to translate from than what was available in 1611 when the KJV was first translated.
One of the great things about some of these websites, like biblos.com, is that you can read a number of different translations paralleled next to each other.
Also, something that's been very helpful to me is to reference an “Interlinear” Bible which has English paralleled line by line with the Greek or Hebrew—which is also available on biblos.com.
As for a new Christian, I would suggest any of the ones listed above, and be sure to mention some of these points about language translation.
Thanks also for your post on the blog. These are the types of issues I think all Christians need to spend time discussing.
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