One Translation > Many
A very insightful posting over at Stealth Bible: TNIV.
While I find the topic of English language translations to be very interesting, I also struggle with the idea that having too many different translations is a bad thing, because it muddies the water & makes a common point of reference & understanding almost impossible. New & different translations sound very noble on the face of it (you know, making the Bible more accessible/less “archaic” and all…), but I fear that Satan has pulled/pushed us astray. Why? Because, rather than educating (i.e., changing them/us) folks such that they can understand a shared/common translation, we’ve decided that it’s better to change the Bible to make it more understandable (!?!) to us oh-so-modern people. IOW, we’ve decided that it’s better to change God’s WORD than to change ourselves!!!
Anyway, check out the article & references over at Stealth Bible: TNIV, because they’re quite interesting.
-ghp
Sometimes, being pithy is a good thing
Now, I generally don’t like glib/pithy quotes when it comes to theological topics. I prefer my theological thoughts to be a bit more substantive; however, every so often a thought comes along that rings true and sounds good. Stealth Bible: TNIV offers up just such a quote in a recent entry: Will you fit your life into this Book or this Book into your life?
I very much recommend that you check out the full postings for the first two a series of short essays by a Presbyterian (PCA) youth minister on the general topic of Biblical “relevancy.” In addition to the gem above from the first entry, the second entry yields another gem in the form of this:
As a youth pastor, I believe it is essential for young people to get the Word “straight,” that is, without impurities or adulteries interjected by those who “know better.”
Inevitably, my ‘best’ classes and talks are when I give it straight to the kids; rather than heeding my own reputation, I “set myself on fire” as it were for the Gospel. I abandon the “packaging” and preach the straight truth. When I stop trying to shine it on, and lay it all on the table.
This is very, VERY good, insightful stuff. It speaks to something that I continually try to keep in mind, namely that God has given His Word to us, and has done so in a clear, straightforward, and easily understandable way (i.e., Holy Scriptures). That we do not understand it is NOT due in any way to either Him or His delivery mechanisms — rather, it’s due to our sinful state, wherein our minds cannot grasp the simple faith. No, we want to help. We want to do it ourselves. We are driven to it by our fallen state.
Thank God that we don’t have to. God has saved us from ourselves — i.e, from the sinful Old Adam that wants nothing more than to run & hide from God.
Yay! 
-ghp
Evidence continues to mount against the TNIV
Thanks to the ongoing efforts of many folks, the hideous postmodern/relativistic monstrosity that is the TNIV “translation” is being thoroughly outed & exposed for what it is: a blatant attempt to “fix” what some seem to feel are errors made by the Holy Ghost when He inspired Holy Scripture to be written.
Not the least of these good people are those over at Stealth Bible: TNIV, where another outstanding post has been made, this time linking to an article/paper that shreds any pretense the TNIV has of being a faithful & accurate translation. Just to whet your appetite for going over there & reading the article/paper, here’s a brief quote:
Mainstream prestige culture finds certain patterns of thought politically incorrect. It is at war with the word of God. And so the integrity of the word of God is at stake. The TNIV fails at crucial points to maintain that integrity. The rejection of the TNIV is important for the spiritual health of the people of God.
It’s sad, it’s true, and we need to be aware of it so that we can faithfully combat it & reject the error upon which the TNIV is built.
-ghp
Author vs. Reader
Check out a very interesting posting over at Stealth Bible: TNIV, entitled The Reader as Arbiter of Meaning.
This is a fascinating issue, over and above the ongoing debate over, and deconstruction/debunking of, the TNIV “paraphrase” (which is giving it a bit too much credit, if you ask me…). It speaks to the unquenchable need that man feels to be at the center of everything. 20th Century textual criticism saw the rise of the idea that the reader, not the author, was the ultimate/final arbiter of the meaning of any given text. It’s very postmodern, very relativistic, and very enticing. It’s also very wrong.
And never more so than when such frippery is applied to the Holy Writ. God informs the meaning of the Bible, and no amount of our wishing otherwise will change that! While we will not always understand that meaning, ultimately such understanding isn’t the point. Rather, faith in the simple, clearly stated promises contained in the Bible is what’s important!
-ghp
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