Four Excellent Books on Biblical Interpretation

Some Christians struggle to interpret the bible correctly but wish they could do so. Others don't interpret it correctly and don't seem to care. Additionally, some passages are tough for just about anybody to comprehend. Because of all this, it's critical that we, Christ's church, do our best to understand what God is saying in scripture. One reason for the general impotence of the church in this country is that many Christians fail when interpreting what the bible means.

I'd like to recommend four excellent books that focus specifically on biblical interpretation. None are boring textbook types. Rather, they are enjoyable reads that you can work through without undue effort. I benefited from all four. I've previously written about them individually on this blog, but I'm grouping them together here in case you want to study a few at the same time.

In no particular order:

Exegetical Fallacies by D.A. Carson

This book is a classic. Part of that is because Carson is a both prolific and wonderful writer. In this short text (only 140 pages) he covers word-study fallacies, grammatical fallacies, logical fallacies, and presuppositional and historical fallacies. A basic knowledge of New Testament Greek helps quite a bit when reading this book; I wouldn't say it is required, but it is a large benefit. If I could recommend only one book on biblical interpretation this would be the one.

40 Questions About Interpreting the Bible by Robert Plummer

I love the layout of this book. The author asks and answers forty specific questions as the forty chapters. This is superb because it allows the reader to easily pick and choose which chapters to read. I'm also pleased that Plummer deals quite a bit with genre, which is an often ignored but critical issue.

Click here to read my full review of this book.

The Most Misused Verses in the Bible by Eric Bargerhuff

This book is a lot of fun to read. Bargerhuff's text is composed of eighteen chapters that focus on eighteen common, incorrect biblical interpretations. For example, he tackles "Do not judge," "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you," "Where two or three are gathered," "If my people who are called by my name," "Money is the root of all evil," "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me," and several others. This would be a great book for any Christian to read, especially those who are first wading into the issue of biblical interpretation.

Click here to read my full review of this book.

Urban Legends of the New Testament by David Croteau

Croteau's book is similar to Bargerhuff's but a little more advanced. Urban Legends deals with forty poor interpretations specifically of New Testament passages. If you are more than a beginner in interpreting the bible, then I recommend this text over The Most Misused Verses in the Bible. Think of Bargerhuff's book as being more fun, but Croteau's as being more beneficial.

Click here to read my full review of this book.


For other reading on biblical interpretation, take a look at two blog series I've written on this subject:

Church, Bible, And Interpretation - It's Not So Simple
Old Testament Interpretive Problems Always Lead to Church Problems


Finally, enjoy:

The Bible Was Written in Hebrew and Greek, But We Can Generally Trust Our Good English Translations

As we seek to understand the bible correctly we must remember that it was originally penned in Hebrew and Greek (and a little bit of Aramaic). While we don't need to be able to read Hebrew and Greek to comprehend scripture, it remains important that we respect how it was first put down on parchment.

This is part nine of my ten part series Church, Bible, and Interpretation - It's Not So Simple.

The original languages are important. This is because all languages have certain quirks and idiosyncrasies about them. All are unique. Additionally, languages change over time. For example, the Greek spoken in Greece today differs significantly from the Koine Greek of the New Testament. Because of these things the church needs a significant number of believers who can read and teach biblical Hebrew and Greek to the next generation. If for no other reason this is important for apologetic purposes. It would do great damage to the body of Christ if no one could say with certainty what the Greek and Hebrew mean.

I'm generally not a fan of seminaries (even though I attended a fairly good one). However, I am glad that most evangelical seminaries in this country strongly support the teaching of Greek and Hebrew. Many require classes in both. Until the church gets to the point of teaching Hebrew and Greek one to another we need seminaries to keep doing what they are doing.

The Reformer Martin Luther said the following:

We will not long preserve the gospel without the languages. The languages are the sheath in which this sword of the Spirit is contained; they are the casket in which this jewel is enshrined; they are the vessel in which this wine is held; they are the larder in which this food is stored; and, as the gospel itself points out, they are the baskets in which are kept these loaves and fishes and fragments….

I am exceedingly glad that I speak English. The reason I say this is that the bible has been translated into English in many good forms. We have an abundance of excellent translations, for example the KJV, NKJV, ESV, NASB, NIV, NLT, NET, HCSB, ISV, and YLT. With modern technology it's even easy to compare translations by using a site like Bible Gateway. Because of all this we English speakers can feel confident that we know what the bible truly means even if we cannot read the original languages.

This brings us to another issue: the importance of bible translation into all languages. While we English speakers have lots of choices, some Christians around the globe have only one relatively poor translation or no translation at all. I encourage you to consider giving to those who spend their lives doing translation work; Wycliffe Bible Translators is a wonderful example.

One final thought: some of the English translations do not handle leadership issues well. Because many of those doing the translating are enmeshed in the institutional church framework they tend to translate in a way that gives pastors more authority than they actually should have. In my opinion this is the biggest weakness of many English translations. Therefore, if you are dealing with church leadership/authority issues, I highly encourage you to read multiple translations and consult numerous commentaries prior to coming to any significant conclusions/decisions.

To sum up: let's always remember that the bible was written thousands of years ago in Hebrew and Greek. Despite this, we can know what the bible means.

A Danger of Not Knowing Greek

Linking: "Textual Criticism and Bible Translation"

Most everyone who reads this blog also enjoys reading the bible. This is because through scriptural content we can grow closer to Christ.

Many of us do not know much about the original language texts that our English translations stem from. We should both know about and care about this issue. While we do not need to be experts in textual criticism, we ought to at least know what it is about. E. Ray Clendenen has written a short, helpful piece entitled "Textual Criticism and Bible Translation" that recently appeared on Tim Challies' blog. I encourage you to read it. Although it is a sponsored post for the HCSB translation, you can simply ignore that aspect of it.

My Ten Favorite Blogs 2.0 (7 and 8)

The countdown continues:


8. Dave Black Online

Keeping with the seminary theme from yesterday, Dave Black's blog comes in at number eight. Dr. Black is a New Testament and Greek professor at SEBTS. I had the privilege of taking a class from him that focused on the gospel of Mark in Greek. Dr. Black is an interesting individual with a varied background. He was born in Hawaii, did his doctoral studies in Switzerland, and now lives on and runs an operational farm in rural southern Virginia. He is a prolific writer.

Dave's blog is as varied as his background. He writes on all sorts of things ranging from farming and gardening to surfing and the church. His greatest passion, however, is world missions. He and his wife visit Ethiopia a few times each year to both minister to Christians and witness to the lost. It is clear that the Great Commission is a driving force in Dr. Black's life.

Dr. Black just announced on his blog that he's going to soon be taking a break from blogging. I both understand and admire it. However, in my own self-interest I hope his blog break doesn't last too long.


7. Beyond Evangelical

Like Dave Black, Frank Viola has had a significant impact upon my life. The difference is that while I spent time with Dr. Black, I've never met Frank. Despite this, his influence has affected me deeply. This has come in the form of his writings. In glancing at my bookshelf, I realize that I've read seven of his books. Three in particular have challenged my thinking about what the church is and how it should function (Pagan Christianity?, Reimagining Church, and From Eternity to Here).

On his blog, Frank writes a good deal about both organic church life and personal spiritual growth. The specific topics are somewhat varied. Frank's writings are challenging because he asks hard questions and seeks biblical answers. If you are willing to think outside the evangelical box, then this is an excellent blog for you.

An Interesting Greek Variant in John 1:18

I don't generally spend much time looking at NT Greek variants, but one I recently stumbled across in John 1:18 intrigues me. In this verse some versions use "Son" while others use "God."

A few that use "Son":

"No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him." (KJV)

"No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him." (NKJV)

"No one has ever seen God. The One and Only Son - the One who is at the Father’s side - He has revealed Him." (HCSB)

"God no one hath ever seen; the only begotten Son, who is on the bosom of the Father - he did declare." (YLT)

A few that use "God":

"No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known." (ESV)

"No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him." (NASB)

"No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us." (NLT)

One that tries to use both (even though the original does not support this):

"No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known." (NIV)


What, then, is going on in John 1:18? It is clearly an important verse, sitting at the conclusion of John's prologue. Why the discrepancy?

The English translations stem, of course, directly from much older Greek manuscripts, some of which use "Son" and others that use "God." There is a good amount of fairly technical, yet important, information about this. I encourage you to look at it if interested (the NET Bible online has good textual notes on this variant), but I'm not going to get into that here.

The great part about this particular issue is that Jesus is both "Son" and "God". John has shown us this in other locations. In John 1:1 the author settles Jesus' divinity for us by making it clear that Jesus is God. John 1:14 shows us that this is obviously who John is referring to in 1:1.

As for Jesus being the Son of God, the author provides us with the eyewitness testimony of John the Baptist in 1:34, "And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God."

We see, then, that regardless of the reading of 1:18, Jesus is both fully God and the Son of God. These truths point us to the beautiful wonder of the Trinity, something which we will never fully comprehend with our limited, fallen minds.

Variants like what we read in 1:18 should not cause us to doubt scripture. Rather, they show us that the bible is a real book of history written and copied by real people. None of the significant truths of scripture are lost or even called into question by variants.

John 1:18 tells us wonderful truths regardless of which word John originally wrote. We can be confident that Jesus is both the Son of God and God himself.

The Nature of the Epistles Points to Unity

The very nature of the epistles of the New Testament points to expected unity of the church. In other words, the apostolic writers formed their letters in such a way that it was clear that they desired the unity of the body. I'm not referring here to commands for unity but rather characteristics of the letters themselves. I've thought of several that I'm briefly discussing below. Please add any that come to mind.

-The epistles, if not sent to individuals such as Timothy, were sent to all the Christians in a city or region.

I Corinthians 1:2, "To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours." (emphasis mine)

II Corinthians 1:1, "Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the church of God that is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia."

Galatians 1:2, "Paul, an apostle — not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead — and all the brothers who are with me, to the churches of Galatia."

-The epistles were not sent to particular groups within a city. All the Christians in the city or region were thought of as the church.

I Peter 1:1, "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia."

-The epistles were designed to be shared between churches in various locations.

Colossians 4:16, "And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea."

-The epistles were written to everyone in the church, not just the elders/overseers and deacons.

Philippians 1:1, "Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons."

-The writers considered all the Christians to be saints. The priesthood of all believers is emphasized. No one had special status.

I Peter 2:9, "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light."

-The epistles focus on the importance of the one anothers. All are expected to minister and serve. The commands associated with the one anothers are in the plural.

I Peter 1:22, "Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart."

-The epistles were written to both men and women.

Colossians 1:2, "To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father." (The word for "brothers" in Greek often referred to Christian brothers and sisters).

-The epistles were written for all ages to hear.

Ephesians 6:1-4, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 'Honor your father and mother' (this is the first commandment with a promise), 'that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.' Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord."

We see that even the form of the NT letters was designed to convey the expectation of unity within the entire church. We can and should learn much from this example.

Trying to "Master" One Book in Greek

I'm trying a new approach to New Testament Greek. Instead of reading various chapters and verses here and there, I'm attempting to "master" one book of the bible. I write "master" in quotes because, to be realistic, I'm just hoping for a good understanding of the text. Mastery would take years (and I'm not even sure what it actually means anyway).

I've always loved the epistle to the Philippian Christians. Because of this, I've got a pretty good understanding of the text in English. I even had the great blessing of taking an intensive summer course in seminary from Dave Black on this book. It is one of his favorites; even though the course focused on the English text, Dave still couldn't resist delving into the Greek, which was great for all of us.

Now the goal is to gradually work through the Greek text of Philippians. My plan is to translate it verse-by-verse about five times. By that point I hope to have a good feel for the verbs and participles. More importantly, my desire is to better comprehend Paul's primary themes in the letter.

I encourage all of you to venture into NT Greek in any way you can. If you don't have access to Greek classes but do well learning from books, then this is a good way to start.

Another Helpful Greek Resource

I am a biblical Greek novice and therefore need as much help as I can get. The Online Greek Bible is a nice resource that makes it easy to look up any New Testament passage. It would be particularly helpful if you were in a spot with internet access but didn't have your Greek N.T. with you.

For some Greek inspiration (that has no connection with The Online Greek Bible site), I'll repost this fun video:

Our Family's Favorite Greek Word

God has blessed Alice and me with three wonderful children (Caroline, Mary, and Bobby).

This will come as no shock to you: our kids frequently leave their things lying around the house. The messes that reside in their respective rooms more than occasionally migrate out into the living room and beyond. This is where our favorite Greek word comes into play.

We take this word from Philippians 3:8 where Paul writes, "Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ."

The word I'm focusing on is "rubbish." In the Greek, this word means garbage or even dung.

The actual Greek word is σκυβαλα (pronounced skoo-ba-la). All our kids know it well because it is our favorite.

Skubala just carries a colorful, even aromatic, sense to it. For this reason, we will often say to one or all of the kids, "Please take your skubala to your rooms." It not only feels good to say it, but it is also very effective.

The kids often reply with something like, "My toy/book/pillow/stuffed animal/action figure is not skubala." The key, however, is that they are almost always carrying their objects to their rooms as they say it. Mission accomplished.

Sometimes I even hear one kid say to the other something along the lines of, "Your skubala is on the couch." Nice.

So, learn some NT Greek. Start with one word if you need to: skubala.

Languages, Priesthood, and Much Discussion

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a blog post entitled Original Languages and the Priesthood of Believers. In this post I was trying to stress a few things. First, all believers with the opportunity should learn as much Hebrew and Greek as they can. Second, anyone with knowledge of Hebrew and Greek needs to be humble about it. Third, use of the original languages can actually harm the priesthood of believers if those with this knowledge set themselves up (intentionally or not) as having some sort of special knowledge. The harm comes when those who do not know Hebrew and Greek feel like they cannot interpret scripture themselves and thus stop doing so.

Apparently this topic is one of interest to others as well. Several bloggers have linked to this post. I'm guessing this issue is one that is of concern to many people, especially those who humbly teach the original languages.

Here are some bloggers I have found who have linked to the above post (or linked to a link to the post):

Rod Decker

Marc Cortez

Bill Mounce

Tim Challies

I'm glad to see that others are concerned about this issue. It is clearly not one that has an easy, black-and-white type of answer. On the one hand, we certainly don't want to ignore the original languages. On the other hand, we don't want to create another divide in the church between those who know the languages and those who don't.

Here's my suggestion for how to best deal with this issue: Encourage the original languages to be taught in the local church free of charge to all who want to learn them. Once enough people are familiar with them, encourage them to be taught at home from a young age as part of family devotions. The more people who are familiar with the Hebrew and Greek, the less opportunity there is for a small minority to feel like they hold "special knowledge."

In addition to this, let us all show humility in this area as in all areas of life.

Luther on the Original Languages

Martin Luther wrote this in 1524 about the importance of the original languages:

"And let us be sure of this we will not long preserve the gospel without the languages. The languages are the sheath in which the sword of the Spirit is contained; they are the casket in which this jewel is enshrined; they are the vessel in which this wine is held; they are the larder in which this food is stored; and, as the gospel itself points out, they are the baskets in which are kept these loaves and fishes and fragments. If through our neglect we let the languages go (which God forbid!), we shall...lose the gospel..."

Thank you, Martin Luther, for this reminder. May we all (not just pastors) labor to learn the languages for the sake of the gospel.

NT Resources Blog

A few days ago this blog was linked to off of a blog named NT Resources Blog. The reason for the link was that I wrote a post about the use of original languages and the impact this can have upon the priesthood of believers (click here to read that post).

Since the link from NT Resources Blog, I have gotten hits from quite literally all over the world. Therefore, I have to assume that many people from around the globe are reading NT Resources. Although I'm no NT Greek expert, I have taken a look at the blog. It looks interesting and I encourage you to go on over and take a look. It is a bit technical, but it is worth the effort.

Original Languages and the Priesthood of Believers

The original languages of scripture can be a blessing and they can be a curse. They can help or they can harm the priesthood of believers. I have seen both happen.

First, let me say that I encourage all followers of Christ, if they have the opportunity, to learn as much as possible of the Hebrew and Greek. The reason is simple and it has to do with bible translation. No languages ever have perfect one-to-one correspondence in word meaning. Because of this, when a sentence in Hebrew or Greek is translated into English, some of the slight nuances of meaning are lost. The basic meaning is retained, but some of the flavor cannot be translated.

A Greek professor of mine described reading the NT in Greek as compared to English like this: "Reading in Greek is like watching a TV in high definition, while reading scripture in English is like viewing TV in black-and-white." That may be a bit of an overstatement, but we can understand what he is getting at.

Knowledge of Greek and Hebrew can, therefore, lead to a greater understanding of scripture. I imagine everyone agrees with this.

The key, however, is how this knowledge is used in the life of the church. Is it used to help the priesthood of believers or harm it?

Hebrew and Greek can be helpful to the church when this knowledge is used in humility to teach and be taught, to admonish and be admonished, to exhort and be exhorted, to rebuke and be rebuked, to encourage and be encouraged, etc. If a church is together discussing scripture, and knowledge of the original languages helps to better stir up the body to greater love for God and greater works for God, then all the better.

The problem for the priesthood of believers comes when someone uses the Hebrew and Greek to set himself up as "the one with knowledge." This may happen inadvertently, but it harms the church nonetheless. For example, when a pastor (who does almost all the preaching in the modern Western church) repeatedly says, "Well, in the Greek this means..." he is telling the folks of that church that he has special knowledge that they don't have. While he may not mean it this way, this is the message that they receive. He is the expert and they are not.

What does this do to the priesthood? It can devastate it. It causes a passive church when it comes to reading and interpreting the bible. If the people think that the pastor is the one "who brings the word of God," they won't be motivated to study and think for themselves. Instead, they will wait for the expert to bring them "the message" on Sundays.

One of the influences that brought about the Protestant Reformation was the renewed study of the original languages. The printing of Erasmus' Textus Receptus led to an explosion in bible study that I doubt anyone anticipated. As the Reformation progressed, one of the great doctrines to be proclaimed was the priesthood of all believers. As opposed to the teachings of Rome, the Reformers said that all people could interpret scripture.

So we see that in the Reformation, the original languages and the priesthood of believers went together.

Today, sadly, we often see the one harm the other. The reason for this is, whether recognized or not, pride that circulates among pastors. Many pastors seem to want to "go back to Rome" in that they themselves act as a sort of Pope in their local churches because they know (at least something) of the Hebrew and Greek.

There is no reason for the pastor to say repeatedly, "In the Greek it means..." Now, I realize that on occasion this may be necessary, but this would be infrequent at most. Better is to just explain what the text means and leave the Greek and Hebrew out of it. Of course, any discussion is better and easier in a small group situation than when one person is lecturing.

I write all this for two reasons. First, pastors (or anyone else) must be careful to be humble about their knowledge of the original languages. This knowledge is a gift from God to be used for the building up of the body. Second, anyone who does not know the Greek and Hebrew must feel confident that he can still interpret scripture effectively. Greek and Hebrew help, but they are not a must for accurate understanding of the bible. So keep interpreting and don't wait for someone else with "special knowledge" to tell you what the bible means.

All followers of Christ are priests. Therefore, we can all understand the scriptures.

Cow Pi (A Holstein Greek Joke)

All Things Are Better in Koine

I admit that I have a love-hate (mostly love) relationship with Koine Greek (the Greek used by the writers of the New Testament.) This is a fun video about that great language.

The Word Became Flesh and Tabernacled with Us

I'm much more interested in the incarnation of Christ than I am in the birth of Christ. John 1:14 is the primary verse discussing the incarnation in the N.T.

In most translations, John 1:14 says something like, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." (ESV)

In speaking of Jesus being with us, most versions say that Christ either "dwelt," "pitched His tent," or "took up residence." All these translations miss something very important. In the Greek, John says that Jesus "tabernacled" with us. I've only been able to find one English translation that puts it this way: "And the Word became flesh, and did tabernacle among us, and we beheld his glory, glory as of an only begotten of a father, full of grace and truth." (Young's Literal Translation)

The word "tabernacled" gives a much fuller meaning of what Jesus did than does a word like "dwelt." The reason for this should be clear. When we hear "tabernacled," we ought to immediately think of the tabernacle of the O.T. That tabernacle was the place of God's presence with His people. Exodus 40:34-38 says, "Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys."

The tabernacle of the OT points ahead to God's presence with us, His people. This presence came in the person of Jesus Christ. Matthew 1:23 says, "'Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel' (which means, God with us)."

Jesus Christ, in His incarnation, was the full manifestation of God with man. He was the full self-expression of God. Colossians 2:9 says, "For in Him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily."

Jesus Christ is also the perfect display of the glory of God. Hebrews 1:3 instructs us, "He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high."

Jesus was with us in His first advent. Jesus is coming again in His second advent. When He does, the tabernacle of God will be with men. Revelation 21:1-3, "Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.'"

Let us ponder the wonder of Jesus Christ tabernacling with us. Praise be to God!

Greek Still Stuns Me

I do not claim to be a New Testament Greek scholar. I'm not even close. However, I can read the basics. I'm very thankful for the apostle John because his Greek writing is simpler than that of Matthew, Mark, Paul, James, Peter, Jude, and especially Luke. Some of John's statements, despite being simple in Greek structure, are absolutely profound. I continue to be stunned by the Greek of passages such as John 1:1-5 (see below). It does not take years of instruction for someone to learn the basics of Greek and enjoy passages like this one. Therefore, it is my hope that churches will increasingly begin to teach NT Greek to all people. I hope this happens at our church within the next year.

¹ εν αρχη ην ο λογος και ο λογος ην προς τον θεον και θεος ην ο λογος

² ουτος ην εν αρχη προς τον θεον

³ παντα δι αυτου εγενετο και χωρις αυτου εγενετο ουδε εν ο γεγονεν

⁴ εν αυτω ζωη ην και η ζωη ην το φως των ανθρωπων

⁵ και το φως εν τη σκοτια φαινει και η σκοτια αυτο ου κατελαβεν

Please Just Be Fair to the Original Text

It appears that we will soon have another English bible translation. Unfortunately, this one is yet another with theological/political bias. To read about this, click here.

Several modern translations lean to the left theologically and/or politically (for example, the TNIV and NRSV). Now there will be another - except this one swings to the opposite extreme - too conservative.

It is entitled the Conservative Bible Project. The project's on-line home is Conservapedia.com.

According to Timothy Paul Jones, a professor at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a critic of this project, "This is not making scripture understandable to people today, it's reworking scripture to support a particular political or social agenda."

Dr. Jones goes on to say, "Ironically, there's a long tradition of the liberal twisting of scripture. Scholars have rightly deemed those translations illegitimate, and this conservative Bible is every bit as illegitimate."

Here is my plea: if you are going to translate scripture, PLEASE be as fair to the original text as is possible. I realize we all carry biases and should be aware of these. However, we ought to, as best we can, just let the original languages speak for themselves.

Maybe this is another reason why we should become at least familiar with the original languages (I have really got to brush up on my Hebrew!!)

I Love My Reader's Greek New Testament

I'll admit up front that I am no expert in New Testament Greek. In fact, if I was an expert I would not be so excited about the new bible I just purchased.

A Readers' Greek New Testament - 2nd Edition is perfect for people like me who have a decent but not great knowledge of New Testament Greek. I have known about this particular Greek text for a while, but for some unknown reason never bought one. Well, I saw it today in a bookstore and decided to take the plunge (interestingly, right beside this book sat A Readers' Hebrew Bible. My Hebrew ability is, sad to say, too poor to even bother).

As soon as I opened this Greek text, I knew I had made the right choice. The reason for this is simple: this bible displays and explains in English (at the bottom of each page) all of the Greek words that occur fewer than 30 times in the New Testament. So, if your Greek knowledge is limited like mine, the words that you don't know are right there in front of you. I'm thrilled to not have to spend time searching through a dictionary/lexicon.

I clearly recall something my Greek professor said early on in my first Greek class. He compared reading the New Testament in English to watching black-and-white T.V. He then said reading it in Greek is like watching T.V. in high-definition color on a flat screen. I don't know if I would go that far, but I see what he is saying.

Martin Luther said, "And let us be sure of this: we will not long preserve the gospel without the (original) languages. The languages are the sheath in which this sword of the Spirit is contained."

If you have basic knowledge of Greek but are no expert, I highly encourage you to buy this book.