Archive for the 'Bible' Category

Good News Proverbs

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bcg
on 31 March 2009
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By this I don't mean Proverbs that necessarily are Good News, but the translation of the Proverbs in the Good News translation of the Bible.  One or two have actually made me laugh out loud, because the language is so blunt and in-your-face.  Here are some examples, in the Good News and ESV:

10.13

Intelligent people talk sense, but stupid people need to be punished. (GNB)
On the lips of him who has understanding, wisdom is found, but a rod is for the back of him who lacks sense. (ESV)

10.21

A good person's words will benefit many people, but you can kill yourself with stupidity. (GNB)
The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of sense. (ESV)

11.26

People curse someone who hoards gran, waiting for a higher price, but they praise the one who puts it up for sale. (GNB)
The people curse him who holds back grain, but a blessing is on the head of him who sells it. (ESV)

12.8

If you are intelligent, you will be praised; if you are stupid, people will look down on you. (GNB)
A man is commended according to his good sense, but one of twisted mind is despised. (ESV)

12.15

Stupid people always think they are right.  Wise people listen to advice. (GNB)
The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice. (ESV)

12.25

Worry can rob you of happiness, but kind words will cheer you up. (GNB)
Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad. (ESV)

13.16

Sensible people always think before they act, but stupid people advertise their ignorance. (GNB)
In everything the prudent acts with knowledge, but a fool flaunts his folly. (ESV)

14.13

Laughter may hide sadness.  When happiness is gone, sorry is always there. (GNB)
Even in laughter the heart may ache, and the end of joy may be grief. (ESV)

14.29 (one for me)

If you stay calm, you are wise, but if you have a hot temper, you only show how stupid you are. (GNB)
Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly. (ESV)

15.4

Kind words bring life, but cruel words crush your spirit. (GNB)
A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit. (ESV)

15.13

When people are happy, they smile, but when they are sad, they look depressed. (GNB)
A glad heart makes a cheerful face, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed. (ESV)

15.17

Better to eat vegetables with people you love than to eat the finest meat where there is hate. (GNB)
Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened ox and hatred with it. (ESV)

15.19

If you are lazy, you will meet difficulty everywhere, but if you are honest, you will have no trouble. (GNB)
The way of a sluggard is like a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is a level highway. (ESV)

16.22

Wisdom is a fountain of life to the wise, but trying to educate stupid people is a waste of time. (GNB)
Good sense is a fountain of life to him who has it, but the instruction of fools is folly. (ESV)

16.24

Kind words are like honey – sweet to the taste and good for your health. (GNB)
Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body. (ESV)

17.10

An intelligent person learns more from one rebuke than a fool learns from being beaten a hundred times. (GNB)
A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred blows into a fool. (ESV)

17.12

It is better to meet a mother bear with her robbed of her cubs than to meet some fool busy with a stupid project. (GNB)
Let a man meet a she-bear robbed of her cubs rather than a fool in his folly. (ESV)

17.22

Being cheerful keeps you healthy.  It is slow death to be gloomy all the time. (GNB)
A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. (ESV)

18.2

A fool does not care whether he understands a thing or not; all he wants to do is to show how clever he is. (GNB)
A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion. (ESV)

18.13

Listen before you answer.  If you don't you are being stupid and insulting. (GNB)
If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame. (ESV)

18.20-21

You will have to live with the consequences of everything you say.  What you say can preseve life or destroy it; so you must accept the consequences of your words. (GNB)
From the fruit of a man's mouth his stomach is satisfied; he is satisfied by the yield of his lips. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits. (ESV)

That's enough for now – as you can see a lot of the ones I've chosen revolve around the word 'stupid'.  But it does highlight the difference in translation philosophies – the ESV is 'essentially literal', whereas the GNB is 'dynamically equivalent'.  In other words, the ESV simply tries to translate word-for-word, whereas the GNB tries to explain some of the Hebrew / Greek idioms in plain English.

I have to say reading the GNB this year is very refreshing, after reading the ESV last year.  I'm especially enjoying the Proverbs – no doubt more will follow!

Incorporation ‘in Christ’ and Justification

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bcg
on 17 February 2009
in Bible, Reviews and Theology
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I am currently reading Tom Wright's latest book, 'Justification: God's plan and Paul's vision'.  I am about a fifth of the way through, and so far it is typical Wright: engaging, well-written and thought-provoking.

The back cover quotes someone as saying that he 'out-Reforms' the popular 'neo-Reformed' writers in America.  Wright's starting position is that we should not privilege tradition over Scripture – even the Reformed tradition.  He critiques contemporary evangelicalism for failing to be critical enough of its own tradition in the light of Scripture.

One of the areas he highlights as particularly lacking, is that of 'incorporation'.  This is one of Paul's main themes (just count how many times he uses the phrase 'in Christ', let alone the number of times he relies on the concept) yet it is one of the least developed in contemporary evangelical theology (argues Wright).

I would agree with him whole-heartedly.  He says that incorporation (among others) is one of the main themes, of which the evangelical definition of justification is a part.  His book is therefore making explicit his position, attempting to look at what Paul actually said, rather than what the Reformed tradition says he said.

This is a bold move, but if there is anyone who can pull it off, it's Tom Wright.  Methodologically, he's spot on.  It has been one of my constant frustrations that there is an implicit 'correct' and 'sound' interpretation and understanding of the New Testament, far beyond the basic and fundamental non-negotiables of the Christian faith (e.g. Jesus' resurrection) – especially when this 'correct' interpretation (in my view) ignores the Old Testament, or treats it simply as the backdrop, rather than as the way of understanding what Paul is really talking about.

I am looking forward to reading the rest of Wright's book – and will no doubt post a full review when I'm done.

Calvin on Ceremony

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bcg
on 3 February 2009
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Writing on John 4.20, Calvin writes that error lies in 'the confusing of different ages':

Later generations devote themselves to the examples of the fathers, not thinking that a different law of action has been enjoined on them by the Lord.  We can ascribe to this ignorance the huge mass of ceremonies with which the Church under the Papacy has been buried.  Immediately after the beginning of the Church they began to sin in this way from a foolish and undue affectation of Judaism.  The Jews had their sacrifices; and therefore, that Christians also might not be without a show, the rite of sacrificing Christ was invented. ... This madness later broke out more strongly and spread beyond all bounds.

Therefore, that we may not fall into this error, we must always heed the following rule: Incense, lights, sacred vestments, altar, vessels and ceremonies of this kind were formerly pleasing to God; and the reason was that nothing is more aceptable or precious to Him than obedience.  We must therefore regard what He enjoins us in the Gospel, so that we may not unthinkingly follow what the fathers observed under the Law.  For what was then a sacred observing of the worship of God would now be a wicked sacrilege.

John Calvin, John 1-10 (trans. THL Parker), Paternoster (Carlise, 1995): p.96-97.

The Anglican Church tries to hold together those who lean towards a more Roman Catholic practice of worship, and those who lean towards a more Protestant/Reformed simplicity.  Many of us regard this as acceptable, that ceremony is a 'matter of indifference'.

However, here Calvin sees it to be a matter of great significance.  He argues that if we 'unthinkingly follow' what was commanded of our fathers, and in so doing ignore what we are commanded to do, we are guilty of 'a wicked sacrilege'.

Calvin's argument is that the practice of ceremony, with 'Incense, lights, sacred vestments...' etc, belongs to a former time, and is not now commanded.  In fact (if I understand him correctly) it distracts us from what is enjoined in the Gospel, and so is a matter of disobedience, not indifference.

New Wine?

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bcg
on 21 November 2008
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Some verses that I think were not in the minds of those who initially set up and name New Wine!

10 They shall eat, but not be satisfied;
they shall play the whore, but not multiply,
because they have forsaken the Lord
to cherish 11 whoredom, wine, and new wine,
which take away the understanding.

Hosea 4.11 (ESV)

2 Threshing floor and wine vat shall not feed them,
and the new wine shall fail them.

Hosea 9.2 (ESV)

39 [Jesus said,] "And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, 'The old is good.' "

Luke 5.39 (ESV)

The Gentiles

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bcg
on 20 August 2008
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In Jeremiah, there's a lot of judgement, of Israel and the surrounding nations.  The final few chapters basically comprise a long series of judgements on the surrounding nations.

So I was surprised when I noticed that God promises to restore some of them.  For example, in 49.6 God says, 'But afterwards I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites.'  And in 49.39 he says, 'I will restore the fortunes of Elam.'  And so on.

While the language of judgement is common to all nations (not just Israel), normally the language of restoration is reserved only for Israel.  They are God's chosen people; the surrounding nations are not.  Therefore, although they are judged, they are never completely destroyed.

So what is going on here?

I wonder if we have here a prefiguring of the mission to the Gentiles that comes in the New Testament.  The fact that God doesn't simply punish, but also restores the Gentile nations suggests that his salvation is not limited to (although he may primarily be for) Israel.

Of course, the verses only have this significance once the mission to the Gentiles is made explicit.  But they are maybe one of the reasons why the early disciples accepted Peter's vision and Paul's mission.  For I hope that they used the Scriptures to test the words of prophecy and visions, as Paul tells us to do.  If they did, they would have found verses like these (and of course many others, even more explicit) to support the visions.

Christian freedom

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bcg
on 15 May 2008
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I read this verse this morning:

Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.

1 Peter 2.16 (ESV)

The kind of freedom won for us in Christ is not that we can do anything.  The word translated by the ESV as 'servants' is actually douloi, which perhaps should be translated 'slaves'.

Too often we exercise our 'freedom' for our own selfish gains, citing 'freedom of speech' or 'it's a free country' as our reasons for doing so.  Instead, Peter tells us we should use our freedom for good, to serve God (and other people).  We have been freed for obedience, freed to serve the one we were made to serve.

In Gone (by U2) Bono sings these lines, some of my all-time favourites:

You hurt yourself,
you hurt your lover,
but then you discover
what you thought was freedom
just was greed.

We have been freed so we don't have to be greedy any more, we can live unselfish lives.  If only more people used their freedom in the way it was intended, rather than to cover up evil.

The Bible in 750 words

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bcg
on 14 May 2008
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Here's an interesting page, on the Grove Books website.  They ran a competition to write the story of the Bible in 750 words, and these are the winning entries.

I think I might have a go at this myself, one day when I don't have a dissertation to write.  Speaking of which..