Repositioning the NLT as a "Scholarly Translation" [UPDATED]
10/08/2008 01:45 Filed in:
Faith &
Reason
Note: for the sake of
clarification, I’ve offered a few footnotes since the
original posting of this article a few hours ago.
Consider this a mild follow up to my post “The Rise of
the New Living Translation,” but I’ll keep this one
short and to the point.
Notice the graphic which I’ve swiped from the Tyndale website. Here the NLT is described as “The standard in scholarly translation with rich, clear language.” I have no real argument with this description. The NLT’s language is certainly richer and clearer than the NIV/TNIV, ESV, HCSB, and other contemporary translations. I’ve described the NLT as having phrasings closer to natural, conversational language than any other translation.
But is the NLT scholarly? I’d point to the translators involved and the continued fine tuning of the NLT through three revisions in 12 years to say, yes.
Granted this is the real question. We probably haven’t always thought of the NLT as a “scholarly” translation, and perhaps its status as such was more questionable in 1996, but it has continued to improve. As I pointed out in my “Rise” post, the creation of an NLT-dedicated commentary series such as the Cornerstone Biblical Commentary series, the tying of the translation to the original languages through the newly formulated “Tyndale Strong’s Numbering System,” and the publication of an NLT Study Bible at least on par with--if not slightly more academic than--the standard NIV Study Bible, all point to Tyndale’s repositioning of its flagship translation as a translation intended to be taken very seriously.
The link to the Tyndale Strong’s Numbering System in the paragraph above will take you to a post on the NLT blog asking if the NLT, as a dynamic translation, is suitable for word studies. The newest post on the NLT Study Bible Blog asks “The NLT: Good for Study?”
If you haven’t already guessed--YES, Tyndale is serious about this.
Look, I don’t know what it will take for the NLT to become a standard English translation in seminaries one day, but it’s not beyond imagination considering the NIV has held that spot for over two decades.1 But let’s put seminaries aside for the moment.
I currently teach in church and in the college classroom. My desire is for the people that I’m teaching to (1) understand the Bible, (2) take what they understand seriously, and (3) let the Bible transform their perspective on life and the world. However, I’ve often noticed when watching others teach the Bible that eyes glaze over when the Scriptures are being read. Reading from the Bible is often a cue to zone out. Why is this? Is it perhaps because we’re too used to what we’ve heard in Tyndale-family translations,2 and even from the NIV?
Granted, it never hurts to read the Bible with a little expression, and sadly many preachers and teachers don’t have a clue as to how to effectively read from the scriptures; but it may just be that it’s time for a new kind of translation to catch people’s attention. Maybe it’s time to use a translation that is fresh enough and bold enough to capture the spiritual imagination of people again.
As for the scholarly angle, there are a few things that Tyndale will have to do if they want to take things to the next level.
I do believe that Tyndale is smartly doing most things well in their promotion of the NLT and repositioning it as a translation both for serious study and one for scholarly pursuits, but there is still a lot of work to done creating a suitable scholarly context for the NLT before it is completely there. Nevertheless, as I originally pointed out in the “Rise” post, Tyndale is not going to be content to sit back and let the NLT continue to be seen as secondary translation to be read alongside supposedly more scholarly ones. Rather, the message being proclaimed is clear: the NLT can serve these purposes as well.3
1I’m referring primarily to conservative/evangelical schools, but the NIV has also gained acceptance beyond these circles where translations like the RSV and NRSV are considered standards.
2This can quickly become confusing. When I use the designation “Tyndale-family translations,” I’m referring to versions of the Bible that follow in the lineage established by William Tyndale including the KJV, RSV, NASB, NRSV, ESV and others. Obviously, the reader should not confuse this with the fact that the company, Tyndale House Publishers, publishes the NLT.
3As I’ve discussed before, my greatest challenge in using the NLT for teaching would come when discussing poetic passages. Although the second edition of the NLT is an improvement here, I still struggle with wanting to hold on to the beauty of some Hebrew metaphors that often become flattened out a bit in the NLT. However, that is not to say that I couldn’t use an approach such as that in Tom Gledhill’s helpful commentary on the Song of Solomon (The Message of Song of Songs [Bible Speaks Today], IVP) in which he uses both a free translation as well as a literal translation to get the meaning of the Hebrew text across.
Notice the graphic which I’ve swiped from the Tyndale website. Here the NLT is described as “The standard in scholarly translation with rich, clear language.” I have no real argument with this description. The NLT’s language is certainly richer and clearer than the NIV/TNIV, ESV, HCSB, and other contemporary translations. I’ve described the NLT as having phrasings closer to natural, conversational language than any other translation.
But is the NLT scholarly? I’d point to the translators involved and the continued fine tuning of the NLT through three revisions in 12 years to say, yes.
Granted this is the real question. We probably haven’t always thought of the NLT as a “scholarly” translation, and perhaps its status as such was more questionable in 1996, but it has continued to improve. As I pointed out in my “Rise” post, the creation of an NLT-dedicated commentary series such as the Cornerstone Biblical Commentary series, the tying of the translation to the original languages through the newly formulated “Tyndale Strong’s Numbering System,” and the publication of an NLT Study Bible at least on par with--if not slightly more academic than--the standard NIV Study Bible, all point to Tyndale’s repositioning of its flagship translation as a translation intended to be taken very seriously.
The link to the Tyndale Strong’s Numbering System in the paragraph above will take you to a post on the NLT blog asking if the NLT, as a dynamic translation, is suitable for word studies. The newest post on the NLT Study Bible Blog asks “The NLT: Good for Study?”
If you haven’t already guessed--YES, Tyndale is serious about this.
Look, I don’t know what it will take for the NLT to become a standard English translation in seminaries one day, but it’s not beyond imagination considering the NIV has held that spot for over two decades.1 But let’s put seminaries aside for the moment.
I currently teach in church and in the college classroom. My desire is for the people that I’m teaching to (1) understand the Bible, (2) take what they understand seriously, and (3) let the Bible transform their perspective on life and the world. However, I’ve often noticed when watching others teach the Bible that eyes glaze over when the Scriptures are being read. Reading from the Bible is often a cue to zone out. Why is this? Is it perhaps because we’re too used to what we’ve heard in Tyndale-family translations,2 and even from the NIV?
Granted, it never hurts to read the Bible with a little expression, and sadly many preachers and teachers don’t have a clue as to how to effectively read from the scriptures; but it may just be that it’s time for a new kind of translation to catch people’s attention. Maybe it’s time to use a translation that is fresh enough and bold enough to capture the spiritual imagination of people again.
As for the scholarly angle, there are a few things that Tyndale will have to do if they want to take things to the next level.
- Beef up Tyndale’s academic catalog. This is where Zondervan, primary US distributor of the NIV, has excelled. Tyndale has a few academic offerings, but there’s much room for improvement.
- Continue to connect the NLT to the original languages. I would suggest that Tyndale should immediately launch a project to publish a NLT/Greek diglot. Include notes that offer explanations behind particular NLT renderings from the Greek. Transliterate nothing. This should be a volume strictly for those who have a background in original languages.
- Publish a series of articles (maybe an ongoing series of books?) by the translators of the NLT regarding translational challenges and decisions behind the translation.
- Publish a series of preaching resources that use the NLT as a basis.
- Offer some serious gatekeeper editions: traditional format preaching editions, wide margin editions for study and teaching.
- Renew attention to the NLT apocrypha/deuterocanonicals. Publish an edition of the NLT with these books that is not labeled a “Catholic edition.”
- Make good use of testimonials from both academics and popular pastors.
- Hold off on any further revisions for at least a decade. Three editions in 12 years is unprecedented. The updates to the NLT have been warranted, but readers need to know that the text has been established/set--at least for a while.
I do believe that Tyndale is smartly doing most things well in their promotion of the NLT and repositioning it as a translation both for serious study and one for scholarly pursuits, but there is still a lot of work to done creating a suitable scholarly context for the NLT before it is completely there. Nevertheless, as I originally pointed out in the “Rise” post, Tyndale is not going to be content to sit back and let the NLT continue to be seen as secondary translation to be read alongside supposedly more scholarly ones. Rather, the message being proclaimed is clear: the NLT can serve these purposes as well.3
1I’m referring primarily to conservative/evangelical schools, but the NIV has also gained acceptance beyond these circles where translations like the RSV and NRSV are considered standards.
2This can quickly become confusing. When I use the designation “Tyndale-family translations,” I’m referring to versions of the Bible that follow in the lineage established by William Tyndale including the KJV, RSV, NASB, NRSV, ESV and others. Obviously, the reader should not confuse this with the fact that the company, Tyndale House Publishers, publishes the NLT.
3As I’ve discussed before, my greatest challenge in using the NLT for teaching would come when discussing poetic passages. Although the second edition of the NLT is an improvement here, I still struggle with wanting to hold on to the beauty of some Hebrew metaphors that often become flattened out a bit in the NLT. However, that is not to say that I couldn’t use an approach such as that in Tom Gledhill’s helpful commentary on the Song of Solomon (The Message of Song of Songs [Bible Speaks Today], IVP) in which he uses both a free translation as well as a literal translation to get the meaning of the Hebrew text across.
|
When Pumpkins Drink Too Much
10/04/2008 16:48 Filed in:
Miscellaneous
Ten Years on a Mac (1998 to Present)
10/04/2008 14:50 Filed in:
Technology
In the summer of July, 1998, I was Associate Pastor of Church Growth and Development at Springdale Church. We had just begun experimenting with a projector and screen during our worship services, something that is very common in churches today. Perhaps because I had a copy of PowerPoint or perhaps because I had a Toshiba laptop that I could take into the auditorium, I had been assigned to work with the worship staff and prepare the slides for each Sunday’s service.
In preparing these slides, rather than working on my laptop’s 10.4” screen, I thought it would be easier to use the brand new Compaq PC in my office and then transfer the PowerPoint file to my laptop. I had only one problem: every week as I prepared the slides, I had to suffer through multiple crashes of PowerPoint ’97 in Windows ’98.
I was also a bit of a Microsoft snob. I knew there were other platforms out there as well as other presentation software packages, but I was certain that Office would surely run better on Windows than anything else because both were Microsoft products. I would learn this wasn’t necessarily so.
I’ve always had a high expectation with computers, regardless of what platform I’ve used. Is it unreasonable to expect them to operate as their promoters promise? With PowerPoint constantly crashing, I felt like I was wasting valuable time. It’s at this point, I decided there had to be a viable alternative. I began looking at other programs as well as other platforms.
Okay, I have to admit that I had tremendous prejudice against Apple and the Macintosh platform--all the regular stuff you hear from hardcore Windows folks. Part of my bias went all the way back to a computer class I took in 11th grade in high school. We learned to program BASIC on both the Apple IIe and the TRS-80 Model IV. The BASIC programming language on both machines was written by Microsoft, but for whatever reason programming on the Apple computers often required extra lines of instruction not needed on the TRS-80s. My bias against Apple came early and was based on experience.
In 1998, Apple was just starting to come out of its darkest days. Steve Jobs had returned after more than a decade long exile from the company he’d co-founded. An exciting new self-contained computer called the iMac had been announced that featured a see-through case and a strange technology known as “USB.” There seemed to be a buzz about Apple all of a sudden, and my interest was piqued.
In spite of my bias against all things Apple, I had to admit that my experience with that particular PowerBook at been positive--or at the very least, I had no major complaints. I couldn’t remember applications crashing on me. But at the same time, I never used the PowerBook 5300cs as intensely as I used my Windows PCs.
So, I started seriously investigating the Mac platform. I talked to Mac users on online forums. They promised me that Macs never crash. That was certainly not true, but ironically, after making the switch I was pleased to discover that Microsoft PowerPoint for the Mac was indeed more stable than the Windows version in Windows 98.
I had three concerns in switching. At the time I was using a number of Adobe apps: PageMaker, Photoshop, and Illustrator. This was before the days of the Creative Suite and they had to be bought separately. I was very pleased to see that all three were available for the Mac. In fact, back in 1998, the Mac versions turned out to actually be a bit better than the Windows version--especially Illustrator. I had already seen that I could get Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, and Excel) on the Mac. There wasn’t a Mac version of Microsoft Access, but I only maintained a couple of databases, which I realized I could manually convert to FileMaker Pro which I later did. For the sake of transition, I could even run Windows 98 on a Mac through VirtualPC from Connectix (later bought by Microsoft). It was pokey, but it worked.
My greatest concern was Bible software. At the time, I was using BibleWorks for Windows, and there wasn’t a Mac version. So in my research I came across Accordance Bible Software, which at the time was partnered with the well-respected Gramcord Institute. The more I read about Accordance, the more impressed I became. As powerful as BibleWorks was, Accordance promised to take things to the next level. In the end, of course, I made the switch, but I always credit Accordance as being the final solution to convince me to go over to the Mac.
The Wallstreet II was the last PowerBook to include the “rainbow” colored Apple at the bottom of the screen. It still relied on serial and ADB connectors even though Apple was transitioning to USB in its desktop machines around this time. However, with the PowerBook’s card slots, I was able to add USB and even Firewire capabilities to it eventually. In many ways, that PowerBook offered the best of old and new technology in one machine.
When I received my PowerBook, it was running Mac OS 8.1 but there was already stirrings in the Mac community about the replacement operating system eventually named OS X. In the end it was OS X that made me give up my Wallstreet II PowerBook in 2001. I was an early adopter of OS X, which the Wallstreet PowerBook could run just fine but with one exception. Initially the first versions of OS X didn’t offer DVD playback. This wasn’t a huge deal because as Apple transitioned to OS X, the user was able to boot into either OS 9 or OS X. However, once DVD playback was finally added to OS X (around version 10.1.5 if I remember correctly), the Wallstreet was left out in the cold. For whatever reason, DVD playback wasn’t included on that particular model. Regardless, I had three very good years with that first Mac.
I still remember after my initial transition to the Mac platform how lost I felt at times. I had been extremely comfortable with both DOS and Windows. I remember sitting in front of my new Mac, sometimes struggling to figure out how to do something I already knew how to do in Windows, wondering if there would ever come a day that I would know the Mac as well or better than I knew Windows.
That day came soon enough, but I’ve never completely taken both feet out of the Windows world. After I left my church position, I worked briefly part time for a computer support company in which 90% of our work was on Windows machines. As I daily fixed problems with Windows machines which would not have been problems on Macs, my decision to switch was confirmed over and over. Later, I would become a chaplain and Bible teacher at a private school where one of my responsibilities was to oversee a computer network consisting of three Windows servers and about 140 Windows client machines. I convinced our headmaster to allow me to buy an eMac which I was able to use to monitor and maintain all three servers and the entire Windows network thanks to Windows Remote Desktop. In fact, when French hackers breached our firewall and set up UNIX directories on our servers, unseen from the Windows Explorer, it was my UNIX-based OS X Mac that was able to go in and delete the hackers’ files.
Even today, now with a couple of Intel based Macs, I occasionally find a need to fire up Windows using Parallels. It’s no longer quite so pokey because emulation is no longer needed since Macs and PC’s share the same Intel processors these days. I’ll admit up front that with the advent of Windows 2000, the Windows platform itself became more stable and less prone to crashes like I experienced in 1998. But on a Mac, I don’t have to worry about viruses, spyware and the like that is a constant threat on any Windows machine.
Could I switch back to Windows? Well, I could if I wanted to with little transition or slowdown. The fact is, however, I have no desire. The old joke someone told me back when I was researching the Mac platform in 1998 was that “Once you go Mac, you never go back.” It’s true. I have no need or desire to go back. And I assume the next ten years will be even better and more interesting than the first.
CT Posts Review of Bill Maher's Religulous
10/03/2008 14:06 Filed in:
Movies and
Television
Honestly, it's not the hardest thing in the world to make a religion look silly when you only focus on the kitschiest, most grimace-inducing practitioners of it. Sure, we have to own up to these unfortunate (but fortunately fringe) elements within our ranks, but Maher shores up little credibility for his cause by refusing to talk with any opponent with an ounce of nuance of theological rigor.
Here’s an idea: let’s spend the next year praying for Bill Mahar’s conversion to Christianity. Let’s pray that God sends him on a dramatic and undeniable “Damascus Road” type of experience. Sometimes this is what it takes for those who are furthest from God. Knowing Mahar, you might think this is an impossible thing to pray for, but remember Jesus’ words in relation to those of whom we doubt can find salvation: “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God” (Luke 18:27, NASB).
TNIV Gate Keeper Profiles, Part 3
10/03/2008 13:25 Filed in:
Faith &
Reason
This post is the 3rd part of a series
in which
the winners of Zondervan’s Renaissance Fine Leather TNIV
Reference Bible tell their own story of why they use the TNIV.
Jeremy O'Clair
Church of Christ, College-level Bible Teacher
Tallahassee, Florida
I've been using the TNIV for about three years now. At my (then) seminary, our dean passed out TNIV Bibles to all the seminary students interested in having a copy -- a simple black hardback. Since it was a relatively new release I decided to give it a try and came to like the overall clarity of the translation. I started out reading through the Bible with the TNIV audio online (Genesis, Exodus, etc.), and really liked how clear and understable the translation was for me. Of course, I would check it against the original Hebrew or Greek if there was a passage I wanted to investigate closer through a word study or exegesis.
In summer 2007 I taught a class on Galatians using the TNIV while interning at my parents' church; then after moving to Tallahassee last fall I also taught Galatians, with the TNIV, at the church I attend, teaching the college class. Since then we've worked through 2 Peter and some history of the Bible. I'm now co-teaching through the book of Romans while I use the TNIV and the other teacher uses his NRSV -- so it should be interesting how the class turns out when comparing the two translations!
The gender inclusive language is another reason I use the TNIV. I like the rendering of the generic masculine nouns (such as anthropos, adelphoi, etc.), but how the TNIV, naturally, retains gender specific words such as ἀνήρ/aner and γυνή/gune. I've been trying to enlighten people on this subject, with the TNIV in one hand, and Greek text in the other, looking at this translation preference in many passages (there weren't mere brothers in the congregations but there were brothers AND sisters!).
Basically, the readability of the TNIV really works for me. For the most part the readings have been quite smooth. But if there is a reading that might seem too glossed over, I'll check the original languages and inform my audience of the translator's task when it comes to translating Scripture.
Debbie Fulthorp
Pastor, Grand Canyon Assembly of God
Grand Canyon, Arizona
My husband and I co-pastor the Assembly of God church inside the Grand Canyon National Park (South Rim). We believe that our church is in a strategic location to reach nations for Christ. We feel that we are not only pastoring a church, but the community God called us to. Because of that reason, we prefer to use the TNIV Bible. We minister on a regular basis to people who are unchurched, and may have never heard the story of Jesus, let alone read the Bible. We have found that using the TNIV circumvents questions about various passages and also uses language non-English speakers can understand. For example, through divinely appointed relationships we were able to give one of the Royalty in Thailand a Bible. Another girl who was Muslim, recently dedicated her life to Jesus. The TNIV is perfect for those who have not been in the church because they can understand that ALL PEOPLE can come the the cross regardless of gender, nationality, age, or economic status.
On a more personal note, I love the TNIV because I am a pastor. I experienced the TNIV my first year in seminary, before I fully understood that God could call a woman to be a pastor. Studying the Greek texts and comparing the TNIV side by side at various texts, brought me one step closer in my journey towards following the will of God for my life. I had no idea God could use me as a pastor, but through studying the TNIV and comparing Greek texts (at the time only New Testament was available) gave me the theological underpinnings for the ministry God placed my husband and I in today.
I love the TNIV because it has given us so many doors for ministry, sharing the gospel to men and women unbiasedly where they can understand it.
My husband and I as well as our church are gatekeepers as we minister together in one of the most transitional places of ministry. We might be a small missions church, but we see the Gates of the Grand Canyon National Park as our place of ministry where every nation, tribe and tongue should have a chance to know God through hearing His Word and experiencing Him through personal relationship!
Feel free to interact with Jeremy & Debbie in the comments.
Other posts:
Part 1
Part 2
Jeremy O'Clair
Church of Christ, College-level Bible Teacher
Tallahassee, Florida
I've been using the TNIV for about three years now. At my (then) seminary, our dean passed out TNIV Bibles to all the seminary students interested in having a copy -- a simple black hardback. Since it was a relatively new release I decided to give it a try and came to like the overall clarity of the translation. I started out reading through the Bible with the TNIV audio online (Genesis, Exodus, etc.), and really liked how clear and understable the translation was for me. Of course, I would check it against the original Hebrew or Greek if there was a passage I wanted to investigate closer through a word study or exegesis.
In summer 2007 I taught a class on Galatians using the TNIV while interning at my parents' church; then after moving to Tallahassee last fall I also taught Galatians, with the TNIV, at the church I attend, teaching the college class. Since then we've worked through 2 Peter and some history of the Bible. I'm now co-teaching through the book of Romans while I use the TNIV and the other teacher uses his NRSV -- so it should be interesting how the class turns out when comparing the two translations!
The gender inclusive language is another reason I use the TNIV. I like the rendering of the generic masculine nouns (such as anthropos, adelphoi, etc.), but how the TNIV, naturally, retains gender specific words such as ἀνήρ/aner and γυνή/gune. I've been trying to enlighten people on this subject, with the TNIV in one hand, and Greek text in the other, looking at this translation preference in many passages (there weren't mere brothers in the congregations but there were brothers AND sisters!).
Basically, the readability of the TNIV really works for me. For the most part the readings have been quite smooth. But if there is a reading that might seem too glossed over, I'll check the original languages and inform my audience of the translator's task when it comes to translating Scripture.
Debbie Fulthorp
Pastor, Grand Canyon Assembly of God
Grand Canyon, Arizona
My husband and I co-pastor the Assembly of God church inside the Grand Canyon National Park (South Rim). We believe that our church is in a strategic location to reach nations for Christ. We feel that we are not only pastoring a church, but the community God called us to. Because of that reason, we prefer to use the TNIV Bible. We minister on a regular basis to people who are unchurched, and may have never heard the story of Jesus, let alone read the Bible. We have found that using the TNIV circumvents questions about various passages and also uses language non-English speakers can understand. For example, through divinely appointed relationships we were able to give one of the Royalty in Thailand a Bible. Another girl who was Muslim, recently dedicated her life to Jesus. The TNIV is perfect for those who have not been in the church because they can understand that ALL PEOPLE can come the the cross regardless of gender, nationality, age, or economic status.
On a more personal note, I love the TNIV because I am a pastor. I experienced the TNIV my first year in seminary, before I fully understood that God could call a woman to be a pastor. Studying the Greek texts and comparing the TNIV side by side at various texts, brought me one step closer in my journey towards following the will of God for my life. I had no idea God could use me as a pastor, but through studying the TNIV and comparing Greek texts (at the time only New Testament was available) gave me the theological underpinnings for the ministry God placed my husband and I in today.
I love the TNIV because it has given us so many doors for ministry, sharing the gospel to men and women unbiasedly where they can understand it.
My husband and I as well as our church are gatekeepers as we minister together in one of the most transitional places of ministry. We might be a small missions church, but we see the Gates of the Grand Canyon National Park as our place of ministry where every nation, tribe and tongue should have a chance to know God through hearing His Word and experiencing Him through personal relationship!
Feel free to interact with Jeremy & Debbie in the comments.
Other posts:
Part 1
Part 2
Anyone Have an Old Copy of a TLG CD?
09/30/2008 20:22 Filed in:
Technology
The Thesaurus Linguae
Graecae (TLG) is a project to digitize every Greek work from
antiquity to the modern era. Currently, texts incorporate the works
from Homer to the fall of Byzantium in AD 1453.
At one time these texts were released on CDROM, but since 2001 these texts have been made available online to subscribing institutions and individuals. At SBTS, where I am studying, I have access to these texts online.
However, years ago we had the texts on CDROM. I even used the older CDROM version over a decade and a half ago for a paper that I wrote in my last semester for my M.Div. Recently, I tried to see if these CDROMs were still around because Accordance Bible Sotware includes the ability to directly import these ancient Greek texts and convert them into user modules for use in Accordance and in conjunction with other Accordance modules. Unfortunately, this only works with the CDROM modules, not the online texts as the underlying format has now changed. Anyone familiar with Accordance would recognize the value of having these texts available as modules over the limited ability to search and manipulate the texts online.
When I looked in SBTS’ library catalog, the TLG CDROMs are still listed. Unfortunately no one could find them. The discs were probably packed away in a box without proper acknowledgement in the database. I’m certain they will be unpacked in a hundred or so years and then summarily thrown away.
Therefore, I am sending out this request to anyone who might still have access to the old CDs so that I might obtain the texts in their original format to use them with Accordance.
To my knowledge, I am not doing anything illegal in asking to borrow these discs since my institution has/had copies of both the physical CDROMs as well as a current subscription to the online service.
At one time these texts were released on CDROM, but since 2001 these texts have been made available online to subscribing institutions and individuals. At SBTS, where I am studying, I have access to these texts online.
However, years ago we had the texts on CDROM. I even used the older CDROM version over a decade and a half ago for a paper that I wrote in my last semester for my M.Div. Recently, I tried to see if these CDROMs were still around because Accordance Bible Sotware includes the ability to directly import these ancient Greek texts and convert them into user modules for use in Accordance and in conjunction with other Accordance modules. Unfortunately, this only works with the CDROM modules, not the online texts as the underlying format has now changed. Anyone familiar with Accordance would recognize the value of having these texts available as modules over the limited ability to search and manipulate the texts online.
When I looked in SBTS’ library catalog, the TLG CDROMs are still listed. Unfortunately no one could find them. The discs were probably packed away in a box without proper acknowledgement in the database. I’m certain they will be unpacked in a hundred or so years and then summarily thrown away.
Therefore, I am sending out this request to anyone who might still have access to the old CDs so that I might obtain the texts in their original format to use them with Accordance.
To my knowledge, I am not doing anything illegal in asking to borrow these discs since my institution has/had copies of both the physical CDROMs as well as a current subscription to the online service.
New Journaling Bibles on the Horizon (HCSB, NRSV)
09/30/2008 20:21 Filed in:
Faith &
Reason
This Lamp reader Dirk Hattingh emailed
me a few days ago to let me know about two new HCSB Bibles designed
specifically for taking notes. Regular readers of This Lamp know
that I strongly advocate the kind of interactive Bible study that
wide margin Bibles allow.
There are two new editions in the HCSB, called the HCSB Notetaker’s Bible, set for release very soon (October 8). One is referred to as a Men’s edition (ISBN 158640475X) and comes in a decorative brown hardcover. A women’s edition in mauve/olive green is also available (ISBN 1586404768).
There are no page spreads available for viewing yet, but these images of the covers are available at the CBD website (click on each image to see each Bible’s respective page):
Both Bibles measure 9.38 x 7.25 x 1 and contain 1280 pages. Biblical text will be presented in double columns. Personally, I feel that if a Bible of this sort uses double columns of text, there should be equal amounts of spacing for written notes for each column. We will have to see if B&H Publishing thought of this.
While I was on the CBD website, I also noticed an NRSV Notetaker’s Bible (ISBN 0195289226) to be released from Oxford University Press in 2009. There aren’t a lot of details yet, and no image that I could find even of the cover. But according to the CBD site the Bible will be paperback, contain 1296 pages, and measure 8 x 6.3 inches.
There are two new editions in the HCSB, called the HCSB Notetaker’s Bible, set for release very soon (October 8). One is referred to as a Men’s edition (ISBN 158640475X) and comes in a decorative brown hardcover. A women’s edition in mauve/olive green is also available (ISBN 1586404768).
There are no page spreads available for viewing yet, but these images of the covers are available at the CBD website (click on each image to see each Bible’s respective page):
Really, B&H should have probably avoided calling these
“Men’s” and “Women’s” editions.
I’m certain there will be some women who want the brown, and
you never know who might want the other edition as well.
The CBD website also includes the following ad copy:
In an age when people can take notes using a variety of
electronic media, there has emerged a countertrend whereby people
want to journal in their won handwriting. The Notetaker's Bible
features wide margins with subtle ruled lines, helpful
center-column cross references, a concordance, and best of all, the
largest point size among all Bibles of this kind. Handsomly bound
for a man's taste. [The women’s edition says
“Beautifully bound in with a woman's taste in
mind.”]
Features include:
- The largest point size among Bibles of this kind
- Easy-to-navigate center-column references
- An easy-to-use concordance
- Ribbon marker
- Words of Jesus in red
- Translation footnotes, and exclusive HCSB bullet notes
Both Bibles measure 9.38 x 7.25 x 1 and contain 1280 pages. Biblical text will be presented in double columns. Personally, I feel that if a Bible of this sort uses double columns of text, there should be equal amounts of spacing for written notes for each column. We will have to see if B&H Publishing thought of this.
While I was on the CBD website, I also noticed an NRSV Notetaker’s Bible (ISBN 0195289226) to be released from Oxford University Press in 2009. There aren’t a lot of details yet, and no image that I could find even of the cover. But according to the CBD site the Bible will be paperback, contain 1296 pages, and measure 8 x 6.3 inches.
NLT: "Highway to Hell"
09/30/2008 20:20 Filed in:
Faith &
Reason
[No, this isn’t an
anti-NLT post.]
Sunday at church, our pastor referenced Matt 7:13 with the NIV text on the overhead screen:
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.”
Kathy, who refuses to carry anything other than the New Living Translation, nudged me to show me what her Bible said:
“You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose the easy way.“
When the NLT was released in 1996, I spent the next year or so reading it cover to cover. It was unexpected renderings such as this that made me fall fall in love with the dynamic flavor of the NLT. I look at a rendering like “highway to hell” and at first it startles me, but then upon reflection I delight to realize that it absolutely carries the meaning of the phrase, ἡ ὁδὸς ἡ ἀπάγουσα εἰς τὴν ἀπώλειαν, into the contemporary vernacular in a clear and contemporary way.
I also appreciate the verses that employ the word “scum” (Matt 9:11; Mark 2:16; Luke 5:30).
The only problem with the NLT’s rendering of Matt 7:13? Now I have that AC/DC song playing in my head...
Sunday at church, our pastor referenced Matt 7:13 with the NIV text on the overhead screen:
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.”
Kathy, who refuses to carry anything other than the New Living Translation, nudged me to show me what her Bible said:
“You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose the easy way.“
When the NLT was released in 1996, I spent the next year or so reading it cover to cover. It was unexpected renderings such as this that made me fall fall in love with the dynamic flavor of the NLT. I look at a rendering like “highway to hell” and at first it startles me, but then upon reflection I delight to realize that it absolutely carries the meaning of the phrase, ἡ ὁδὸς ἡ ἀπάγουσα εἰς τὴν ἀπώλειαν, into the contemporary vernacular in a clear and contemporary way.
I also appreciate the verses that employ the word “scum” (Matt 9:11; Mark 2:16; Luke 5:30).
The only problem with the NLT’s rendering of Matt 7:13? Now I have that AC/DC song playing in my head...
Quote for the Day #10 (Jerome)
09/30/2008 20:19 Filed in:
Faith &
Reason
“Ignorance of scripture is ignorance of
Christ”
--Jerome
Referenced in “Singing the Blues with St. Jerome”
at ChristianHistory.net.
More on Olive Tree's iPhone Bible Reader
09/27/2008 17:43 Filed in:
Faith &
Reason | Technology
In August, I posted
a review of Olive Tree's iPhone Bible Reader. That particular
post still manages to get quite a few hits.
Today, Steve Rogers (Captain America?) left a comment asking the following questions:
Will these bibles work with the iphone 3G? Are there plans to create an NIV and NLT versions for iphone 3G. Those are versions that I read.
Olive Tree’s Bible Reader works with any iPhone that has the 2.x software loaded, obviously including the iPhone 3G.
And yes, there are plans to release the NIV and NLT versions. In fact here are screenshots of these two translations from a beta version I have loaded on my iPhone:
Note: Olive Tree does not require I sign an NDA for use of its beta, and I have been given permission to share any information about the beta including the images above.
Today, Steve Rogers (Captain America?) left a comment asking the following questions:
Will these bibles work with the iphone 3G? Are there plans to create an NIV and NLT versions for iphone 3G. Those are versions that I read.
Olive Tree’s Bible Reader works with any iPhone that has the 2.x software loaded, obviously including the iPhone 3G.
And yes, there are plans to release the NIV and NLT versions. In fact here are screenshots of these two translations from a beta version I have loaded on my iPhone:
Note: Olive Tree does not require I sign an NDA for use of its beta, and I have been given permission to share any information about the beta including the images above.