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One of the goals of contemporary Christianity is to translate the Bible into every possible language. It’s a desire that flows from the Great Commission in which Jesus tells us to go make disciples of all nations. We see Bible translation as a way to ensure that everyone has access to becoming one of Christ’s disciples.

Yesterday, I ran across a fascinating article yesterday that Lausanne Pulse published a few years ago about the history of Bible translation. In the article they mention that the Bible spent the first 1500 years of Christianity in only 35 languages. It wasn’t until the Reformation that Christians started focusing on Bible translation. Yet despite that renewed focus, it took the organization of the Bible Societies in the 1800s for Christians for it to really take off.

The following is a conglomeration of two charts from the Lausanne Pulse article, Bible Translation in a New Millennium:

I don’t have much commentary on this other than to say that it’s just amazing to see how we’ve doubled the number of languages the Bible can be read in in the past seventy years! Yet, even though we’ve made such great progress in the past few hundred years, there are still about 4,000 languages to go.

We all have problems, and we want solutions. That’s why it’s so tempting to treat the Bible like a big book of answers. We just want to find the right verses and passages, because if we can find them then we’d never screw up and get embarrassingly drunk again, or we could win that argument about women in the church, or we could finally have a clear conscience about whether to get the couch or donate the money to charity.

In the Dark Side of Bible Reading Jeremy Berg writes of his concern for this approach. He’s worried that the self-absorption we bring to the study of Bible could be harmful.

Here’s an excerpt:

I am concerned about those who approach the text with their own issues and preoccupations already in mind and ask the Word to magically speak to those issues. I am irritated with an attitude (usually well-meaning and unintentional, by the way) that sounds like: “That’s a nice story Jesus, but can you please address my problem with __________?”…And a thousand other variations.

The hidden dark side of this posture toward God’s Word is that it reveals a deep-seated self-absorption that keeps us at the center of our universe and insists that God and His Word orbit our needs and serve our interests.

He goes on to offer what he calls a “different posture toward God’s Word”:

1. First, let’s humbly approach God’s Word as we would approach God himself. Let’s reverently bow in awe and listen intently to what he is actually saying to us.

2. Instead of “applying the Bible to our lives” (which again assumes we are the fixed center point and the Word is just a holy ointment to be applied to our souls) let’s instead try to “apply ourselves to the Bible.” Put narratively, let’s not let give God a convenient place within our own story; but rather find ourselves swept up in God’s much larger Story!

3. Instead of bringing all of our concerns to the text and forcing it to speak to them, let’s instead let God’s concerns invite us out of our (relatively) petty preoccupations and into the realm of heavenly realities. “Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things” (Col 3:2)…

4. Finally, personal application must come only AFTER one has given God’s Word a fair hearing. Let God lead the conversation where He so desires. When we’re done letting God’s Word speak then we can ask the Spirit to give us a personal assignment in response to God’s challenge.

Read the entire Dark Side of Bible Reading post.

What do you think? Do you agree with Mr. Berg’s posture toward the Bible?

The Bible lies at the heart of the Christian faith. Without it, we would know little or nothing about God, Jesus, and the Easter story that defines Christianity.

The Bible makes some very specific claims about truth and the meaning of life—so it’s clearly important to ask whether or not we can trust what the Bible says about these things. How would you answer that question?

Here’s how Faith Facts answers the question:

From many years of study, we have become convinced that the Bible is true and trustworthy—and that the skeptics are incorrect in their challenges. There are many evidences that confirm that the Bible is reliable. First, history and archeology confirm the biblical record. Over 25,000 sites have now been discovered that pertain to the Bible. As Nelson Glueck, renowned Jewish archaeologist said, “It may be stated categorically that no archeological discovery has ever controverted a biblical reference.” Even though archeology does not prove spiritual truth, archeological confirmation is an amazing testimony to the accuracy of the Bible.

As a comparison, the religion of Mormonism makes many claims as to history, especially about the Americas. Yet none of its claims have been or can be verified by archeology, seriously damaging its credibility.

Read the rest of Faith Facts’ answer.

Here’s how RBC Ministries answers the question:

There are many factors that give the Bible unparalleled moral and spiritual authority. The Old and New Testaments are deeply rooted in a historical and geographical record that is linked to laws, poetry, and predictions that express timeless life-changing wisdom. Even the parts of the Old Testament with parallels in Mesopotamian literature (the creation story, the story of the flood, etc.) are incomparably superior to the pagan versions. Although it is an ancient document, its realism is stunning and contemporary. The records of the Bible portray people in all of their complexity and inconsistency, with not only their achievements but also their sins—and the consequences of their sins—clearly displayed. J. B. Phillips expressed in a few words what countless others have noticed about the New Testament: It has the “ring of truth.” There are few people of any religious tradition who are familiar with it that don’t hold it in high esteem. Further, the historical accuracy of Scripture has been demonstrated time and again—often to the surprise of skeptical scholars.

Read the rest of RBC Ministries’ answer.

How would you answer this question?

What do you think?

A few weeks ago, I pointed out an article on the Koinonia blog about common Bible study mistakes and the usefulness of inductive Bible study. But what exactly is inductive Bible study? How’s it different from “normal” Bible study, and is it something you need a seminary degree to undertake?

It turns out that inductive Bible study is actually a very simple concept, something that anyone can do while reading through the Bible. It’s a very personalized way of reading through the Bible, and lets you walk thoughtfully through the Bible at your own pace. The good folks at Intervarsity have a short step-by-step guide to inductive Bible study that has helped me grasp the concept.

If your Bible reading feels directionless or lacking, I encourage you to try out the inductive study method on a few chapters. It’ll get you interacting with the Bible text in a way that you may never have done before. If you do try it out (or if you’ve been doing inductive Bible study for a while now), stop by the comment section below and share your experience!

Do you struggle with any bad Bible reading habits?

I’m not talking about the bad habit of not actually reading the Bible (a battle every Christian I know has fought at least a few times in the course of their life). Rather, have you ever caught yourself reading the Bible in a misleading or counterproductive way?

Andy Le Peau talks about bad Bible reading habits and suggests that inductive Bible study is a good way to re-train yourself to get the most out of your Bible reading. He points out one example of bad Bible reading, described by Ajith Fernando at Koinonia: the habit of scanning through a large passage and picking out the handful of familiar, inspiring verses—ignoring the rest of the text, which may provide critical context for those inspiring bits.

I’ve certainly seen that bad habit in action, and have fallen victim to it a few times myself. Another bad habit lots of us commit is proof-texting—singling out a verse or two that appears to support an idea we like, without bothering to ask whether the verse, put in the full context of the complete passage, is really saying what we want it to.

What about you? Have you noticed any bad Bible habits taking root in (or even worse, being promoted by) the church today? How did you break out of your own bad reading habits?

The Lausanne World Pulse has recently published a new issue about the state and future of Bible translation. The other articles develop the theme further, with a focus on topics like the challenge of translating the Bible for non-reading audiences and empowering nationals to translate the Bible into their own language.

The overarching theme of these articles is that the sacred task of Bible translation is quickly growing beyond the boundaries of European and North American academia. Interestingly, this very topic came up this morning at a press conference announcing plans by Zondervan, Biblica, and the Committee on Bible Translation to release a new edition of the New International Version of the Bible.

I’ve always found Bible translation to be a fascinating topic—my limited exposure to Biblical Greek and Hebrew was just enough to give me a glimpse at what a monumentally challenging task it is to accurately translate ancient texts into modern languages while preserving their meaning and nuance. The Lausanne World Pulse articles document how much more challenging that task becomes when carried out across the hundreds of languages, dialects, and audiences who need to hear the Gospel around the world.

Do you have any Bible passages memorized? If you were brought up in a church community like mine, Scripture memorization was a staple of the Sunday school experience. Every Sunday morning, on the car ride to church, I’d find myself hastily memorizing that week’s Bible (or catechism) passage, knowing that my Sunday school teacher would show no mercy if I mangled Romans 8:28 or stammered my way through Heidelberg Catechism question and answer #1.

Over at the Addenda and Errata blog, Dan Reid admits to living through a similarly demanding Scripture-memorization routine as a child. But as an adult, he’s developed a new perspective toward memorization. Memorizing Scripture needn’t be just an onerous Sunday school routine: it can be a wonderful way to internalize and reflect on passages of the Bible.

His memorization strategy is more ambitious than most Christians’ (he does some of his memorization in the original Greek!), but there’s no reason anyone couldn’t get a lot out of memorizing Bible verses in good old English. Here’s some encouragement from Dan for anyone considering embarking on Scripture memorization:

First, I learned that memorizing doesn’t come as easily at age 59 as it did at age 9 or 20. Though I’m sure there are many other folks my age who can memorize with much less effort than I! But it’s possible. Just don’t set your expectations too high. Don’t beat yourself up when it doesn’t seem to be “taking” fast enough. If you keep at it, the text will work its way into the cranium, laying down its patterns and crystallizing in words, sentences and paragraphs. Keep inching forward and keep reviewing. Nothing is lost and much is gained by taking more time. Think of it as meditation. […]

And here is another benefit: walk the dog, go on a drive or a run, and lines and paragraphs of the Greek text come to mind unbidden. Not bad.

If you’re looking to dive into the teachings of the Bible in a new way this year, I can think of few better ways to do so. So grab a Bible, pick a passage or two (start with some short and easy ones), and see if you can’t commit some Scripture to memory!

It probably comes as no surprise that the way the Bible defines wealth contrasts with the way the world defines it. Wealth—according to the world—is based upon accumulation and comfort. Wealth—as defined by the Bible—is concerned with everything God has given us: our friends, family, and opportunities. God is not just concerned with the size of our bank accounts, but with every blessing He’s given us.

Here’s an excerpt from the article God’s Gift of Wealth by Woodrow Kroll:

When we understand wealth as the gift of God, we understand that it comes from God and it belongs to God. This is a very difficult attitude for the world to adopt. But the Bible makes it clear that God created everything, God sustains everything and God owns everything. Psalm 104:24 declares, “The earth is full of Your possessions.” In 1 Chronicles 29:11 we read, “Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty; for all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours.” Haggai 2:8 reminds us, “‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says the LORD of Hosts.” Everything in the ground, everything above the ground, everything in the air, everything that passes through the air ultimately belongs to God. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, the wealth in every mine.

Read more over at Back to the Bible.

The folks over at IntoThyWord quietly launched the Biblical Eschatology blog a few weeks ago. If you’re interested Biblical exegesis or eschatology, this might up right up your alley.

From their About page:

This is not a simple Bible study; it is a vast undertaking, of which I do not believe has ever been done. What we sought to do is give you a more thoroughly engaged and proper viewing into the art and science of eschatology, evaluating end time’s scenarios and biblical thinking into the book of Revelation. At the same time, layout all of the main views for you side by side!

And from their first post:

The main point of Biblical, Exegetical Eschatology is to tell us not to be discouraged, but remain faithful and vigilant. We are to live our lives as if Christ were coming tomorrow, or preparing and planning as if He were coming a thousand years from now. We are not to be preoccupied with the details and trivialities. That is why Jesus did not give them to us. Rather, our faith development and steadfastness are far more impacting and real for ourselves and others around us!

Turning water to wine… walking on water… healing the sick and raising the dead. All are activities attributed to Jesus during his ministry—but did they really happen? Isn’t it more likely that these are myths invented (or at least embellished) by his followers?

A new blog post at Faith Facts presents ten reasons to take those miraculous stories seriously, rather than chalking them up to the imaginations of Jesus’ disciples. Lots of links and Scripture references to explore there—and if you’re interested in reading more about Jesus’ miracles, see their more thorough page about the importance of Jesus’ miracles.