Is a "Literal" Translation the Best?: Martin Luther Weighs In

“What is the best Bible translation? Should I go with a ‘literal’ translation (word for word) or a dynamic equivalent one (thought for thought)?” How many times have we had someone ask us those questions? How many books and blog posts have we read on the subject? If you’ve been a Christian-intellectual-in-training for a while, then you have probably seen or heard your fair share. Some people swear up and down that there is only one correct translation (usually the KJV) or method (usually the literal with its current champion the ESV) while all the other ones are an abomination.

One of my colleagues at seminary, the Rev. Chad Brooks, said that while he was working at a Christian bookstore he actually had a man come in and ask for “one of those Bibles like Paul carried.” Chad replied, “I’m sorry, sir, we are fresh out of scrolls.” That little story illustrates the fact that too few people understand—unless we read Greek and Hebrew we are not reading the Bible as it was originally written. I have written about this more fully in my post Kissing Through a Veil. But if we get locked in on one method or translation we may miss the actual message of the Scripture itself.

Interestingly enough, debates of this nature go back to the Reformation. While some Reformed churches today get their britches in a wad over “dynamic equivalent” translations versus “literal translations” (one thinks of the nearly fallacious claims made about the ESV over and above translations like the NLT or NIV for instance), Dr. Martin Luther was battling this way of thinking as early as 1530 A.D. He did it in high style, lambasting Papists and calling many people “asses” along the way.

A couple of weeks ago I read a short treatise called “An Open Letter On Translating.” [Click here to read it.] In it Luther justifies his translating methods, particularly surrounding his decision to include sola fide even though it was not in the original language. He writes, “It has been charged by the despisers of truth that the text has been modified and even falsified in many places, which has shocked and startled many simple Christians, even among the educated who do not know any Hebrew or Greek.” This could easily have been written last week, but he moves on to explain why this claim has been made in the first place. “The letters s-o-l-a are not there. And these knotheads stare at them like cows at a new gate, while at the same time they do not recognize that it conveys the sense of the text-if the translation is to be clear and accurate, it belongs there…We do not have to ask about the literal Latin or how we are to speak German—as these asses do. Rather we must ask the mother in the home, the children on the street, the common person in the market about this. We must be guided by their tongue, the manner of their speech, and do our translating accordingly. Then they will understand it and recognize that we are speaking German to them.”

Of course, he spends more space on his arguments than I have quoted here, but I hope you can catch the drift. For Luther, the most important thing was for common people to be able to understand the Bible in their own vernacular. He had no qualms in smoothing out idioms or shifting syntax to aid comprehension. I wonder how he would have weighed in on the subject if he were alive today.

 I would love to hear your thoughts on the subject. Please let us know what you’re favorite translation is and why.

Rethinking How We Teach: The Importance of Story

Over the last 14 months I have been working with middle and high school students on a weekly basis--teaching them, discipling them, trying to cut loose and have fun again. (It's amazing how a steady diet of academics can really turn you into an old man at heart!) For the first nine months, I had a curriculum that was topical and teen-centric, but I discovered that my youth were having trouble putting it all together (or remembering what we talked about for that matter).

The difficulties I find with teaching an unending stream of topics--regardless of whether or not they are "relevant"--is that we, in the church, often fail to lay a good foundation of meta-narrative, the over-arching story of scripture. It's like pulling a bunch of lines and scenes from a movie in random order when you've never watched the whole movie. Pieces and parts are very important, but when we loose the forest for the trees we giving people "twelve baskets of fragments." Information in and of itself is rarely inspiring. Stories are inspiring.

As a guy with a BA in English, I am well acquainted with story. I love stories. I try to read 15-20 fiction books a year. When I get tired of reading, I watch TV (I know, I know! Not very intellectual, but I can't get enough of my favorite characters). The Bible is chocked full of stories. The great stories of the OT, such as creation, Noah's flood, the tower of Babel, Abraham, Joseph, the exodus from Egypt, Joshua leading Israel into the promise land, etc. etc. The synoptic gospels are jam-packed with stories of healings and miracles and conflict with the religious leaders. Plus, Jesus loves answering questions with parables. In his excellent but highly academic book, The Faith of Jesus Christ: the Narrative Sub-structure of Galatians 3:1-4:11, Dr. Richard B. Hays and Scot McKnight in his less dense book, The King Jesus Gospel, have made a strong cases for "the Gospel" at basic level simply being the story of Jesus and the cross--even when someone like Paul seems to be writing a totally different type of material all together. When the gospel is referenced in most of the NT, it points back to basic plot points of a narrative...and narrative equals story.

God is clearly not afraid of stories. But stories can be messy. Story can be vague or unclear in what they ask us to do. Stories can require us to think creatively, so we skip story and Biblical narrative and meta-narrative and give people information dumps followed by three imperatives for the Christian life. Next week, when we ask what we learned about last week, we are greeted with crickets. We tried to inspire people with information, but information does not equal transformation. Transformation occurs when our minds are changed by the Holy Spirit through the Word. Transformation happens when our old sinful and fallen scripts for seeing the world and ourselves are called into question and replaced with a new narrative--a narrative of the cross.

Recently, I have been on a mission to discover how to better communicate with teens, or adults for that matter, by capturing their imaginations and inspiring them to grow in their knowledge of God and the scriptures. Many weeks I fail. Oftentimes I slide back into delivering content devoid of story. I tell myself that building a theological framework isn't sexy but it is necessary. Teaching people a difficult concept such as the Trinity is vital. Teaching them that Christianity is grounded in a historical reality is imperative. Teaching them that God has called His Church to be One as He is One is critical for developing disciples that will cross party lines to work together, "so that the world may believe" that the Father has sent Jesus to be the Savior of the world. I do believe this; however, I don't want theology to become the replacement "topic" to topical lessons and sermons. I want to capture people's imaginations for Christ.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic, and any stories you might share about your experiences in teaching and preaching. Have you found ways to teach theological lessons that inspire and spark imagination in your audience? Please share these with us in the comments below.

This Is A Ride You'll Want To Take: A Book Review of Notes From the Tilt-a-whirl

I have to admit that I started off slightly annoyed with this book. Perhaps it was because the stupid US
Postal Service torqued the package in such a way as to rip an inch long gash in my book half way down the spine. No fault of Wilson's that. Perhaps I didn't get the vibe of the book right away because it came around the time my second daughter was born and I wasn't quite in the right mood. Whatever it was didn't matter for long because it grew on me quickly. It might take you a couple of chapters to get into it too. Kind of like a kid on a new ride, not quite sure what to make of it. Stick it out. I'm sure you'll be saying, "Wee!" before long.

Imagine that you are conversing with a philosophically minded well-read poet with a British sense of humor and enough confidence in his faith to think irreverent thoughts with the ultimate goal of holy reverence. Imagine a Christian book that uses occasional "off-color" language and references songs like "The Bad Touch" by the Bloodhound Gang. Imagine that a writer could take you on a tilt-a-whirl ride through the seasons, describing each as he lives it in order to reflect on what kind of world this really is. Imagine that and you might just imagine this book.

It's hard to describe what this book is about in a concise way because it is a well-structured ramble. It is about words being the building blocks of the universe. It is about ants and aphids. It is about thunder storms. Hawks and rabbits and kittens. It is about Heaven and Hell. It is about Nietzsche, Plato, and C.S. Lewis. It is about children and the elderly. It is about all these things rolled into one.

In many ways N.D. Wilson seems like a kindred spirit (though I don't pretend to have his talent or knack for wordplay). I guess it's his sense of humor, his understated or flippant comments in which you better know what he's referencing because he's sure as heck isn't going to tell you. I love the fact that he is able to tackle topics that normally get treated with dust dry prose and copious footnotes with style and panache. I mean, when was the last time you read a Christian book and thought: "Wow. This is really artistic. This is well-crafted!"?

I loved it and highly recommend it!

Thomas Nelson Publishers and booksneeze.com gave me a free copy of this book in exchange for this fair and unbiased review.

What Should We Preach? Give Them Christ

We now live in a country saturated with seeker-sensitive and self-help sermons. Many of the basic tenants of the Christian faith are be growing fuzzy or extinct in the minds of many church-goers, and when they hear a doctrinal sermon, such as a message on the atonement, it's one note that gets banged on ad infinitum like my two year old daughter playing the piano. Where is the wonder and the beauty of Christ? Where is the manifold splendor that the writers of the New Testament express? No wonder Christian intellects have become scarce of late. Our churches are giving them Novocain--numbing them to Gospel by telling them that this one note encompasses the totality of the Gospel
message.

"Ah, I've heard that a million times." Yawn. "I want to hear something new and fresh. What about my needs?"

To which the churches have responded with "How To Make A Better You." But as Dr. Seamands reminds us, "Often our felt needs are not our truest or deepest needs." Do we feel that there is a sickness in the American Church? Do we sense that there is something missing? "Periods of revival and reformation are always marked with a renewed emphasis on the supremacy and sufficiency of Christ."

Stephen Seamands--my theology professor in seminary--has issued a statement to the church at large that we must return to the basics of preaching Christ, preaching his incarnation, cross, resurrection, ascension, and return. This is a book for preachers--a book on preaching. But it is not a "how to," it is a "what to." Seamands takes the theological aspects of each of these events in the life of Christ (and many that have either been unnoticed or neglected) and draws out the significance for the Christian life. People in the pews do need to know how the Bible applies to them. They need to know why theology is important. The strength of this book is that it examines the "so what" of Christology, making it accessible to lay people without dumbing it down.

Seamands writes with a clear and simply style, always looking for examples from culture, his own life or the lives of others to illustrate his points. He excels in synthesizing information into an easy to use and highly readable format. This is one of those books I will be pulling off my shelf next time I preach. Actually, I referenced it recently while reworking a lesson on the Cross for some junior high and high school students. I found it beneficial, as someone who has a tendency to become very academic, for connecting the Gospel to my students. I highly recommend it.

Reclaiming Love--A Good But Not Fun Read

Reclaiming Love is a pastoral commentary on one chapter of the Bible--the over quoted, under-applied 1 Corinthians 13. Over quoted for weddings may be a better way to say it. The "Love chapter" goes far beyond our romantic and trite views of love. Fernando examines the contextual understanding of love. Specifically, he looks at what love truly is and how it plays out in all of our relationships in the midst of the struggles and hardships of everyday life. It is a thoughtful mix of scholarship and reflections gleaned from over 35 years in ministry, reminding readers that love is supreme and is worth the effort.

If I am being truly honest, I struggled to love this book. Was it solid exegetically, theologically, and practically? Absolutely. Was it full of stories and illustrations to help me remember his points? Yes. So, why the struggle? If I'm going to be honest, I guess I would say that I was somehow expecting more.  I was expecting to have my mind blown by esoteric insights and exegetical nuggets that would revive this well-worn passage. I was wanting something from this book that it was never meant to be. Perhaps my reaction to this book reveals how much I truly need its message.

When I saw that Ravi Zacharias had written a forward, I was immediately interested. When I saw that my very own theology professor Dr. Steve Seamans, as well as, respected scholar Dr. Craig Keener gave the book a good review, I was very excited to read it. As I read, however, I kept wondering what was so great about it. Fernando was hitting all the notes, so to speak, but he wasn't singing my tune. The song was a good song, but it was James Taylor when I was wanting Pink Floyd. Part of it might be that his particular cadence didn't grip me. Some writers suck you in, even while discussing the mundane ins and outs of life. Some writers carry you on by sheer virtue of the fact that they deliver keen insights, even if their style suffers from academic woodeness. The insights of the book rang true but not novel. How could so many men that I respect find this book insightful and encouraging while I plodded along out of a sense of duty?

The more I think about it the more I believe that I read this book looking for knowledge rather than help. Interestingly, the Corinthians also prioritized knowledge. Paul said that "knowledge puffs up; love builds up." Fernando is writing this book to build up rather than to puff up, so he focuses on encouragement and example. After finishing this book, I believe that I will reread it at some point in the future when I recognize my need for help loving. For instance, I would highly recommend this book to those who are struggling with unforgiveness, bitterness, and/or resentment. Solid material: 5 stars. Enjoyment factor: 3 stars. Averages out to 4 stars for me. May change this in the future.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com® <http://BookSneeze.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Is Today's Christian Overfed?

For a while now I've been on a mission to push for deeper teaching in our churches. Occasionally I'll encounter someone who says that most Christians have enough intellectual knowledge and simply need to be "out there" doing something with it. On the surface this sounds good and right. After all, our churches are full of people who hear sermon after sermon week after week and never really do anything with it. There is no real change. The answer has to be that they are overfed right? Not necessarily.

Think of it this way: There is a major problem with obesity in this country. According to the CDC, roughly one-third (35.7%) of the adults in the U.S. are obese. However, doctors and other health professionals do not recommend a strict regiment of exercise with no eating. Why not? They have clearly eaten enough. Now they need to get out there and work some of it off.

No--starvation and exercise do not go very well together. We would quickly grow weak because our fat supplies cannot be immediately turned into energy. The answer to getting healthier is both diet and exercise. Incidentally, I get so frustrated with many Christians' seeming inability to think in term of both/and rather than either/or. Merely taking away junk food is not enough--you must replace it with good food...and, yes, exercise too.

The problem is: I'm not sure if the American Church is obese or starved. You see, just because people are being fed regularly doesn't mean that they are getting the proper nutrients. Maybe the reason we don't see the Church working enough is that they are subsisting on gruel rather than wholesome food.

In the Letter to the Hebrews, the writer says it this way:

"In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still and infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil." (Hebrews 5:12-14)

In and of itself this passage does not speak directly to the issue I have raised. Here the writer is merely saying that these people should be further along in the process than they are. They should have grown up by now. They are still drinking milk rather than eating meat. The problem can be seen more clearly when we ask ourselves the question of what are we serving in our churches--milk or meat? Some people want to eliminate both!

What would we consider to be meat today? Think that one over for a moment before you read on, because it is a question well worth pondering.

The writer continues:
"Therefore, let us move beyond the elementary teachings (milk) about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again (milk) the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment." (Heb. 6:1-2)

Do you catch what he's saying? Repentance of sin and faith in God, baptism, laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead (eschatology), and eternal judgment (seemingly heaven and hell) are kids' stuff...Christianity 101. But when I look at this list, I can't help thinking that if many of the churches I have been in over the years were to preach on these topics, people would think it was incredibly deep.

I don't think our food is too rich. I think we are living on skim milk. The answer isn't to cut people off and send them out the doors to change the world. They will die on the side of the road. I believe the answer is that we need to be offering something more substantial--more nutritional--at church.

I have been in the church my whole life, but it wasn't until I experienced deeper teaching and richer reading through seminary that I was actually motivated to impact the world. There has to be something to back the enterprise, so to speak. When our people are asked to give a defense for what they believe, they should be able to give one. The trendy solution of "just get out there and serve" doesn't cut it. Service is essential. But transformed hearts come from transformed minds (Rom. 12:2). The church must be a place of transformation and growth. If our people are fat and lazy or if they are starved and languishing, the answer is more good food and less filler--not less food altogether.

Kyle Idleman's Gods at War--Idolatry 101

Recently, I listened to a sermon series on idolatry. It was fantastic, so when I saw this book offered on the booksneeze blogger program I immediately signed up for a copy. The cover was cool. I had mental images of Thor and Loki battling it out with battle axes and fire...only in a Christian sort of way because this was about idols of the heart--an enormously important topic. I was a little disappointed that there was no battle imagery depicted in this book (should I say *Spoiler Alert*?), but Kyle has written a good book none the less.

In part one, he sets up his premise, declaring that idolatry is not just a issue it's THE issue. The heart is the battle ground where the gods war for our attention and worship. And the fact that God is a jealous God, who is not content to let us chase after lesser things. 

From here the sections revolve around Temples: the temple of pleasure (the god of food, the god of sex, and the god of entertainment), the temple of power, and the temple of love. There is no "practical section" at the end of the book because he does this after each god he addresses. He always includes a segment called "Idol ID" in which he walks you through some searching questions to help you discern whether this might be an idol in your heart or not. Then he includes a segment called "Jesus My Satisfaction" with the tag line "Idols are defeated not by being removed but by being replaced." This last one is where he walks the reader through Jesus' supremacy and the idol's inability to satisfy.

Kyle Idleman uses lots of first hand examples from his life or people he has counseled. These are often very useful for grasping the reality of the situation--making the issue concrete rather than theoretical. He helpfully applies Scripture, making it fun and interesting. At the same time, I was left wanting something more. I'm not sure if this is a problem of the book or me. 

I'll admit that I'm a glutton for punishment. Years of academic reading have conditioned me to want harder reading, detailed exegesis, or at least some serious A.W. Tozer style prophetic tongue lashing. If that is what you are looking for, then you won't find it here. That's probably OK with the average person. 

This is a great introduction to the concept of idolatry. It's fun (even though there are no cool battle scenes), filled with examples and practical helps, and it's Gospel centered. It also has great potential to reach more Christians because it is written at the popular level.

I did find it difficult to not compare it with the sermon series I mentioned above, but that's not even a fair comparison (especially since I haven't even read the book the series is based upon). So, I'll let that slide. But there where a few minor things that annoyed me:

 There are frequent QR codes throughout the book, linking to a song or an audio/video testimony. I don't have an iPhone. Plus, it is an element of the book that will go out of date in the near future, so I would have preferred it if they would have left it out (I would have probably thought otherwise if I had an iPhone...who knows). 

But the biggest annoyance to me was superfluous footnotes that could have easily been included within the body of the text. Footnotes like "So I've been told," "They would probably say, gobbledygook, hooey, hogwash, or poppycock," "Admittly, that is awesome," etc. 

So when it comes to some of these editorial choices within the book I would say, to quote Kyle Idleman's first book, that I'm "Not a Fan." The true content of the book, however, is well worth reading. I would say that I give it between 3 and 4 stars.