WHICH TRANSLATION DO YOU READ? AN ARTIST'S LOOK AT TRANSLATIONS.

 Q. How many English translations of Scripture are there?

How many shouted out, "Too many!"

I'm not going to disagree. But allow me to share my thoughts.

First, let's fly to Fullerton, California of almost 60 years back. I forget when I received it, but I was given a Revised Standard Version from the Disciples of Christ church I attended. I was curious on what "Revised Standard Version" meant, both as individual words and as a combination. I wasn't aware what a translation was, nor was I aware there were any others.

Then, I moved to Skull Valley, and there received a Christian Life New Testament and Psalms, King James Version from Skull Valley Community Church, which was followed by the Gideons visiting the school I attended, where I got another KJV, this time New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs. 

I'm not sure if it's when I moved from Skull Valley to Prescott and attended a Free Methodist Church, or if it was sometime later, but I then received a Bible that did not use "Bible" in the title, but rather was titled "Good News For Modern Man." I eventually figured out it was a Bible (make that New Testament), and that it had interesting stick figure illustrations. I wasn't aware the real name for the translation was "Today's English Version" (TEV).

Another move, another treanslation. I spent most of Junior High and all of High School in Cottonwood, Arizona, and while there I received first the Living New Testament (titled "Reach Out) and then the whole Bible (or "The Way").  I also picked up a Spanish version of "Good News for Modern Man."

After graduating high school, I spent a year at community college, and mostly studied art and writing, but also took a class on "Literature of the Bible." There were a lot of new things I never heard of (e.g. JEPD method, 2nd Isaiah), but what makes this part of the story is that I received yet another translation, this one being "The New English Bible."

Allow me to interject a thought. I still wasn't clear that the Bible was translated from Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. I didn't really know what the differences between them, let alone if those differences had any affect on theology.

Hallelujah! I started going to Southwestern Conservative Baptist Church. My first sememster included a class titled "Doctrine of Scripture and God," and learned how off the JEPD method was. I learned that the Living Bible was not a translation but a paraphrase. I got introduced to more Bible translations: The pastor of the church I attended did a series on the 23rd Psalm, each week dealing with half a verse, and he selected a different version each week where the translation brought something out of the text for the week. By the way, that Pastor could be called "King James Only. 

When I started, I never heard of the New American Standard or the New International Version, which were fairly recent. In my first year, the New King James Version came out (my KJV Only pastor, unlike most KJV Onlys, had no problem with the NKJV - his concern was more textual than keeping the Thees and Thous). I saw parallel Bibles, and I saw the "New Testament from 26 Translations," which gave the text in the KJV and then shared variations from the other translations.

At this point, though, I looked at translations as an artist. I liked having a lot, so I can compare them. But then I discovered that for the most part, what the text says in Translation A is what it says most of the time in Translations B-Z. As I matured, I realized that's the way it should be. If it was paraphrases, that would be a different story, but translating done right basically agrees.

But why are there so many translations? And how do I find which one to use? 

I'm thankful to Dr. Dennis Wretlind, who taught a class on Biblical Criticism, where I learned about inspiration, canonicity, textual criticism, translations, and Bible tools. On the translation, he gave 5 things to look for.

1. Number of translators. Some are done by a committee, to make sure they have the translation correct. Others are translated by one person (e.g. Ken Taylor's Living Bible). 
2. Text used. This is more an issue for New Testaments. There are two major types of texts - those that resemble the Textus Receptus used for the King James, and those which are based on two nearly complete Greek texts dating from the 300's. The former have more texts, the latter are closer to the original. Most translators take the latter. Reality? No major and no minor doctrine is affected by thse differences.
3. Type of translation. There are formal (word for word) equivalents like the KJV, NKJV, ESV, and NASB. Others are dynamic (thought for thought) eqivalents. A verse to find the difference is Luke 9:44. Formal equivalents say, "Let these words sink into year ears." Dynamic equiavelents are more like "Listen carefully to what I'm saying." Both say the same, but one is more like how we talk today. There are also paraphrases, which the author is putting the text into his own words.
4. Modernity of text. The biggest complaint against the KJV is that me and thou speakest not in the manner our fathers didst speak in sixteen hundred and eleven.
5. Theology of translation. The Geneva Bible was an English version that come out before the King James, but a lot of church leaders felt it was too Calvinistic. More of an issue was when modernism crept into the Church in the 1800's, which is when the number of translations equipped. One example of a verse affected is Isaiah 7:14 - the King James says, "The virgtn shall conceive. The Revised Standard and others read "The young woman shall conceive." There claim is that "young woman" is a more accurate to the text, claiming there was no Hebrew word which meant virgin. The counter is that the original audience saw "young woman" and "virgin" as one and the same. It may sound like it's a textual issue, but belief in the Virgin Birth was all over this.

So now I've focused on a handful of translations when I'm studying: the New King James Version (my go to for almost 45 years), the Legacy Standard Bible, the Christian Standard Bible, the Complete Jewish Bible, and the Jubilee Bible 2000, translated into English and Spanish by a missionary to Columbia, whose goal was to go back to the reformation era.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Hope you were blessed and that it gave you something to think about.

BOOK REVIEW - "TRANSFORMING CULTURE WITH TRUTH" BY LEN MUNSIL, PRESIDENT OF ARIZONA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY

Question: If individual believers in Jesus, local churches, and Christian institutions dedicated themselves to living out the Gospel unashamed, would it not also impact society?

I'm a graduate of Southwestern College in Phoenix in the early to mid '80's, when the enrollment was between 150 and 200. Southwestern is now Arizona Christian University (aka ACU), and hit an enrollment of 1400 in Fall '24, making it the ninth consecutive year of record enrollment. Let this sink in - this consecutive record streak continued DURING the COVID pandemic. How in earth could you explain this?

If you think the President of the University would be a factor, then you'll be looking at Len Munsil, an attorney who ran for Arizona Governor in 2006, and has been the President of ACU since 2010. The story is told in "Transforming Culture with Truth" (1st edition in 2015; 2nd edition, which I'm reviewing, in 2020). 

In 2012, Munsil brought a set of principles, called ACU's Core Commitments, to the Board of Trustees. This book looks at each of these 9 Commitments in the 8 chapters and Conclusion of this book. His goal is to make ACU the number 1 Christian worldview college in the country.

Nobody should be surprised if those Commitments are illustrated by what's going on at ACU, but there are other anecdotes which would help a church or a Christian organization to implement the same ideas. 

After I graduated in '86 from Southwestern, I moved gradually east till I arrived in Indianapolis in '95, so I have not been following the transition of the school. However, after reading this book and hearing Munsil interviewed on the Natasha Crain podcast, I'm excited to be a Southwestern College/ACU graduate.

BOOK REVIEW - RETROCHRISTIANITY: RECLAIMING THE FORGOTTEN FAITH BY MICHAEL J. SVIGEL

 "If the Church Fathers or the Reformers Showed Up at Your Church, Would They Worship ... or Run?" This quote graces the back cover of RetroChristianity: Reclaiming the Forgotten Faith by Michael J. Svigel.

Change is reality, and can either be positive, negative, or neutral. Sviegel did an excellent job of recognizing a church that has lost its way and reconnecting it to the historical church. He warns us to avoid the extremes of trying to relive the past we no longer can or extreme progressivism. He also is responsible for the great quote at the beginning of this review.

He gives some good suggestions on strengthening the church. One includes that when one evaluates their spiritual gifts they note where they're lacking as well as where they're strong. He recommends an altar pulpit centered church, with a solid emphasis on the sacrament of communion as well as Biblical preaching, and that the church has an elder based leadership.

You've heard my thoughts - I also would like to do something I never do, and that's share another view on the book. This is from a person I highly respect: Dr. Mark Bailey, President and Senior Professor of Biblical Exposition at Dallas Theological Seminary (2000-2020) and graduate and former professor/academic dean at Southwestern Conservative Baptist Bible College (now known as Arizona Christian University), where I had the privilege of sitting under his teaching for several classes. He stated:

“Rarely does one find a book so rich in content communicated so well. RetroChristianity is anything but retrenchment. Instead, Michael Svigel advances an agenda to move the church forward without losing the moorings of sound theology grounded in a history of biblical conviction. His words say it best: ‘It’s not rewinding to a more favorable era, but reclaiming the forgotten faith for the future.’ This is a most worthy read!”

Enough said? I highly recommend this book.

 

TIPTOE-ING THROUGH (AND AROUND AND ON RARE OCCASSIONS ON) THE TULIPS, PART 1 OF 3 - BACKGROUND

 

At Cool Creek Park, Westfield, IN

My hunch is the best known "family squabble" in Christianity is the Calvinist (Predestination)/Arminian (Free Will) debate. Of course, there are some in both camps who disown the other camp. 😭

If you asked me when I started Bible College my thoughts about Calvin, I'd reply that I'm not familiar with his presidency, but I knew he had a wry sense of humor. Yes, I had heard of Calvin Coolidge, but had no knowledge of John Calvin, or of Calvin Klein jeans or Calvin and Hobbes (the latter for good reason, since this was seven years before that comic started).

Two events that occurred in a day or two which introduced me to the subject. First, one of my professors teaching Old Testament Survey commented about a book and said it was a little too Calvinistic for the students. Shortly afterwards, one of my fellow students  said the teacher had no right to say that, and he handed me a booklet with the five points of Calvinism and the five points of Arminianism. (A little history - the Arminians came up with their points first, and the Calvinists' points were in response.) This friend, Tom Cousins, mentioned most of the college teachers were four point Calvinists, disagreeing with the concept of Limited Atonement. I'll tell you about my reaction in the next installment.

At this point, I'll ask you to fasten your seat belts, because this paragraph will travel from talking with my fellow student on a fall 1978 afternoon in Phoenix to mornings in Indianapolis in the late '90's. Here are the few developments in that theological tussle:

• In spring/summer '79, I learned Evie's song "Say I Do" contained some Calvinistic theology in it ("I guess Jesus didn't die for you.")
• In fall '79, I read the chapter on Calvin in Fox's Book Of Martyrs, which didn't deal much with the theology.
• During Christmas break, '80/'81, I spent part of the holiday with some friends whose father was a pastor who did not agree with Calvinism, saying Jesus didn't pick some to rescue while letting others drown.
• In Church History I in the fall of '85, I learned what Pelagianism was and thought it was similar to Arminianism. I also learned about Gnostic theology, and had the opinion that the "sparks of divinity" and dual pre-destination resembled Calvinism. Okay, please drop the stones - just my opinion back then.
• Same semester, another professor told us that he considered himself a four-and-a-half point Calvinist. I forgot what word he used to imply what was limited rather than atonement.
  
• In '95, I read a pamphlet about Calvinism from Calvary Chapel (I'm guessing it's written by Chuck Smith, but I'm not sure). One thing is the author thought the "u" in the TULIP acronym stood for "Unmerited Favor" instead of "Unconditional Election." (At that time, I would have made the same mistake without having read that pamphlet.)

I'll deal with the last 27 years in Indianapolis and how my views developed in the next two installments, but I'll give you a quick summary of my knowledge of this issue at that time:

1. I had no idea how Calvinistic most of my pastors at this point were - none dealt with the subject (or if they did, it went over my head). I did attend a couple of churches in predominately Arminian denominations, but even there it wasn't a major issue.
   
2. Due to a three year break from college and the revamping of the curriculum, I managed to escape college without taking either Romans or Soteriology (under the title "Doctrine of Salvation and the Church before I left and "Theology III" which also dealt with man, sin, and angels after I returned). As mentioned above, I took Church History I, which was pre-Reformation, but I didn't take the second semester.
3. Yes, this was the age before the internet, but I never heard anybody imply this was more than a family squabble. My belief was then (and still is) that both camps were true Christians.

It's at this point where I got introduced to this Civil Holy War.

SUNDAY HYMNS, PART 15 OF 22: SPIRIT OF GOD, DESCEND UPON MY HEART

 

Dove statue, Peace Garden, Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden

Spirit of God, descend upon my heart;    

Wean it from earth, through all its pulses move;

Stoop to my weakness, mighty as Thou art, 

And make me love Thee as I ought to love.

I ask no dream, no prophet ecstasies, 

No sudden rending of the veil of clay,

No angel visitant, no opening skies; 

But take the dimness of my soul away.

Hast Thou not bid us love Thee, God and King? 

All, all Thine own, soul, heart and strength and mind.

I see Thy cross - there teach my heart to cling; 

O let me seek Thee, and O let me find.

Teach me to feel that Thou art always nigh; 

Teach me the struggles of the soul to bear,

To check the rising doubt, the rebel sigh; 

Teach me the patience of unanswered prayer.

Teach me to love Thee as Thine angels love, 

One holy passion filling all my frame;

The baptism of the heaven descended Dove, 

My heart an altar and Thy love the flame.

NOTES ON HYMN

• This song is in the Worship and Service hymnal that was a major part of my life (used by two churches I attended while growing up and at chapel at Bible College) and probably in others also which I was unaware of until we sang it once at Arlington Avenue Baptist Church no sooner than 2018. It has become a favorite.
• The end of the song is called "modal." Typically, a verse/song ends on the root note of the key. For example, this hymn is in the key of C, and thus the root note is C. However, this song ends on the G note; it still ends with the notes of a C major triad (C,E,G), but not the root note. This is called a modal ending, and you'll notice a different tone because of it.
• The meter of this song is 10,10,10,10. Becky and I sing this to the tune of "Abide With Me." You can also sing it to the tunes of "Search Me, O Lord" (aka "Cleanse Me) and, if you want to add trumpets or not, "God Of Our Fathers."
  

PASTOR APPRECIATION MONTH, PART 2 OF 3 - PEOPLE GOD USED TO HELP SHEPHERD ME

Courtesy of TheGospleMark

Continuing with looking at Pastor Appreciation Month, I'd like to mention other ministers who had an impact on me that I believe are worthy to be included as pastors, even though they did not have that title. Some had the role of teacher, others were more friends. These would include:

• Rita Reynolds - my Grandmother, who taught me to memorize the books of the Bible.
• Rev. Marv Cowan, a Missionary to Utah, who I had opportunity to talk to one week at camp when he did an elective on cults. I saw him at Verde Baptist soon afterwards, since Verde Baptist supported him.
  
• Mike Cook. Was he supposed to be a youth pastor, or did he just serve a role?
  
• Bible college professors David Nicolas, Steven Sonmor, Rick Railsback, and Dennis Wretlind. I had opportunity to speak to them outside of class while I was at school.
  
• Bill Smith, who taught a men's Precept class in Tennessee.
• Dan Harting, founder of Families Against Cults.
  
• David Witt, CEO of Spirit of Martyrdom 
  
• Bishop Robert Lyons, who was head of the chaplains department Becky worked at. I had some opportunities to interact with him as well.
• Church Planter/Artist Kerry Jackson and Steve Sering, who worked with Circle City Canvas Church.
• Josh Jacobs, who was an influence to me while he was pastor at Hunter Road Bible Church.
• Mark Mirza of Common Thread Ministries.
• Missionary Monte Baker. I've talked to him on phone and Skype.
• My men's study group at Northside Baptist Church: Curt Waters, Nick Laurino, Jim Myers, and Tim Schlotterbeck. I also will include the teachers of the Living Stones class, which include Myers, Schlotterbeck, Glenn Christie, and Chris Pole.
• Finally, a list of friends I've had throughout my life that have had an influence on me spiritually in alphabetic order: Lonnie Atkenson, Mel Brown, Tony Finch, James Lawson, Dan Schafer, and Mario Smith.
  

 Do you have any teachers and friends who weren't technically pastors but who filled that role in your life?

A FOUR DAY MISSION TRIP

 

On May 1-4, 2022, I had the honor of joining half a dozen other members of Northside Baptist Church in Indianapolis on a four day mission troop at Ethnos 360 in the Ozarks in Missouri.

Are you familiar with Ethnos 360? Some of you might be more familiar with it by its former name, New Tribes Missions. Two of my college friends, Tony and Lauren Finch, joined New Tribes when they graduated. I remember Tony writing to me in the '80's and excitedly mentioning he was going to a place where "Jesus" isn't even a swear word. We learned Ethnos 360 is the third largest missionary organization, behind Wycliffe and the Southern Baptist's International Mission Board.

We came right after the missionary trainees spent a three week period of time in shelters they constructed during the first week and lived more off the land (they also learned how to butcher their meat). A billboard company gave them used billboard tarps which they used for shelter. We helped collect the used tarps and tools. Me and one other friend helped grind up pork for sausage.

The grounds were quite large and have a lot of things going on. For example, they had an auto garage, where they seemed to store everything. We also had a presentation on working with solar energy and water purification, and saw where they were growing plants hydroponically (without soil, using nutrients in water).

One thing we did was construct a place where they kept some of their supplies. We first put a couple of billboards up and then covered it with plastic to protect the structure from wind and rain. They decided to put the billboard with the pictures facing in, so anybody in that building could see a gigantic Jimmy John sub sandwich and this guy advertising truck driver training.

One blessing was finding out the grounds crew leader had served in Mexico with the Finches previously, and one of the other grounds workers who also headed up working with volunteers spent a semester at my alma mater, Southwestern Conservative Baptist Bible College.

We spent time with Ethnos Missionaries Dennis and Monika Farthing. Dennis and his family used to attend Northside. We had dinner with the Farthings, their children, and Dennis' parents, and Monika, who's from Germany, fixed us Wienerschnitzel. Another evening, we took a boat ride on the Lake of the Ozarks, with a former missionary piloting the vessel.

It was a blessing to spend some time on working with Ethos 360 and with my co-laborers at Northside Baptist Church.

 

 







 

ALBUM REVIEW: FREE 'N' EASY, DAVE BRUBAKER (1978)

 

This morning, I was thinking about Jesus' parable of the Pharisee and the Publican. My mind then recalled a song called "Mr. Simon" which gave a modern interpretation of that parable. The singer's name is Dave Brubaker. 

I had the honor of hearing him perform four times; unfortunately, the most recent was early 1980. Twice, it was under the umbrella of my college (then Southwestern College, now Arizona Christian University) - the first time being a two song set in chapel, the second a full concert at the Spring banquet. The other two times were at Cactus Baptist Church, where I attended. 

By the way, my roommate had both this album and it's predecessor "Jesus I Will" (which included the above "Mr. Simon") and background tapes of the "Jesus I Will" tracks.

Let me focus now on "Free 'n' Easy". I believe this one was all original compositions (there were some covers on "Jesus I Will"). I would classify his music inspirational. The project starts with "House Of David" (one of the two songs he did in chapel), which focuses on giving his life over completely to Christ. The other chapel song, if I remember correctly, was "Remind Us To Remember."

One thing I've liked about David Brubaker is he wasn't afraid to confront complacency. This was clear in "Secret Service Christians" and the project's conclusion "Milk And Meat". 

I wish I had his albums, and I'd encourage anybody to try to get them. They are a blessing.

Has there been Christian music that impacted you for a long time, as this album has for me?