Bitsy at Jack Of All Trades is giving away Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and His Confrontation with the World: An Exposition of Matthew 5-10 by D.A. Carson.
Drawing rules:
The Sermon on the Mount is one of my favorite parts of the Bible and this book has been on my list already.
Without right theology, our right actions are simply self-serving. There’s nothing in them for God.
I used to like to read WorldMagBlog but can’t in good conscience anymore because of reasons stated here.
I’m not a big news hound but used to like to read that site just to see a little bit of what’s going on out there.
The Revised English Bible isn’t online so those of us who have a print version or who have Accordance Bible software have the privilege of reading some of the passages that especially benefit from its literary qualities.
I earlier posted a passage from 2 Corinthians 4 which I thought was especially good.
I recently read through Ephesians in the REB for something different and especially liked this passage.
Ephesians 6:10-18 REB
Finally, find your strength in the Lord, in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armour provided by God, so that you may be able to stand firm against the strategems of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against human foes, but against cosmic powers, against the authorities and potentates of this dark age, against the superhuman forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore, take up the armour of God; then you will be able to withstand them on the evil day and, after doing your utmost, to stand your ground. 14 Stand fast, I say. Fasten on the belt of truth; for a breastplate put on integrity; 15 let the shoes on our feet be the gospel of peace, to give you firm footing; 16 and, with all these, take up the great shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the burning arrows of the evil one. 17 Accept salvation as your helmet, and the sword which the Spirit gives you, the word of God. 18 Constantly ask God’s help in prayer, and pray always in the power of the Spirit. To this end keep watch and persevere, always interceding for all God’s people.
UPDATE 9/4/09: WorldMagBlog added this below the two posts I mention below:
EDITOR’S NOTE: In a post on Tuesday, WorldMagBlog quoted from a post at Christianity Today’s blog that the writer later had to adjust a bit. With CT, we apologize for that misleading detail. The main point of the several stories, however, remains fully accurate. See WORLD’s coverage in next week’s magazine for a fuller report.
However, they did not correct what they originally wrote, as Christianity Today did.
Here is what was originally written in the press release:
In announcing a major revision of the New International Version (NIV) of the Bible, Biblica (formerly the International Bible Society and Send The Light, or IBS-STL) CEO Keith Danby said decisions surrounding the release of the NIV inclusive language edition and the 2002 revision, Today’s New International Version (TNIV), were mistakes.
But in WorldMagBlog’s posts they write, “Translators of the controversial, gender-neutral Today’s New International Version are now saying they made a mistake, reports Christianity Today.” (translators did not say this) and “On Tuesday, Alisa blogged about the TNIV and how its translators now admit the gender-neutral edition was a mistake.”
Neither of these factual errors were corrected which makes me wonder what their motives are.
End of Update
Original Post:
Regular readers know I do my best to keep things positive. There are plenty of other blogs out there to point out the negative or to be polemic in nature.
I also don’t want to get into this whole NIV, TNIV, NIV 2011 thing other than the link roundup.
However I would like to point something out.
For a bit of history, on February 23, 2002 WORLD Magazine’s Susan Olasky wrote a cover story on the TNIV translation which really got things moving in the critical direction.
Then on September 1, 2009 WorldMagBlog wrote a post saying, “Translators of the controversial, gender-neutral Today’s New International Version are now saying they made a mistake, reports Christianity Today.”
But that isn’t what translators said. Christianity Today wrote a retraction saying, “Note: An earlier version of this blog post said that Keith Danby’s remark that “some of the criticism was justified and we need to be brutally honest about the mistakes that were made” was in regard to the Today’s New International Version. He was discussing the earlier New International Version Inclusive Language Edition, released in the U.K. in 1996. I sincerely apologize for the error.” But WorldMagBlog won’t acknowledge the error.
To make matters worse, they said something similar in another post on September 3 (today, as of this writing). “On Tuesday, Alisa blogged about the TNIV and how its translators now admit the gender-neutral edition was a mistake.”
In a comment on the thread I suggested they look into the facts and haven’t seen anything yet.
World Magazine is one of the instigators in starting this division in the church over a Bible translation. Whether you agree with TNIV’s translation philosophy or not, it’s gotten out of hand. Let’s see if they do anything about it and if this little blog makes any difference.
If you haven’t been following here and are interested, I’ve been adding links to a previous post, Zondervan will discontinue putting out new products with the TNIV and will continue to add links as I come across them. If you know of any I miss, please let me know.
Do you get many sales through your Amazon Associates account via a bookstore that you have set up? I think I could have a very comprehensive list of books on suffering. I didn’t think that would be a popular subject but then saw how popular Piper’s book on suffering is on Amazon, even though it’s a free Kindle book (and a couple of days ago a book about learning Greek was #100). I think I could put together some other stuff too. But it would be a lot of work.
I don’t get many sales through book links here or the search box.
Would it be worth it?
The August Experiment is now over because it’s not August anymore.
Even though I got sick in the middle, I managed to put up a couple of posts a day through to the end.
It takes more work for both writing posts and keeping up with comments, which I always welcome. But I learned that in trying to come up with more posts, there is more to write about than I thought and I can write more personal fluffy type stuff and still stick to Biblical subjects.
Alexa ranking went way down (lower the better) for some reason but that makes no difference. I didn’t get any more people buying books from Amazon through the blog unfortunately.
I learned a lot and it was a good experience. Some things will be kept up. Others will be reduced. And we’ll see how things go. Stay tuned and thanks for reading.
I would highly recommend spending a day alone with God with no computer, internet, cell phone, TV, music and whatever other extra stuff you may have going on. It’s weird. It’s difficult. It’s lonely. It’s just you and God. It’s sacrificial. It’s educational. It’s beneficial. It’s wonderful. God will speak in one way or another and He will enjoy having you concentrate on Him all day.
Edit: This is turning into a roundup of links. I will keep adding as I become aware of more. Each of these has a little bit something different in them. I’m trying to only add links that address the NIV 2011.
Correcting the ‘Mistakes’ of TNIV, Translators Will Overhaul NIV at Christianity Today
Correction from earlier version of the article:
‘Note: An earlier version of this blog post said that Keith Danby’s remark that “some of the criticism was justified and we need to be brutally honest about the mistakes that were made” was in regard to the Today’s New International Version. He was discussing the earlier New International Version Inclusive Language Edition, released in the U.K. in 1996. I sincerely apologize for the error.’
HT: WorldMagBlog
Exciting Announcement about the NIV Translation at Koinonia
Translators announce 2011 update of popular NIV Bible at USA Today
“We may even be returning to what we had in the 1984 NIV,” says Moo.
This Just In: the NIV to be Updated as “NIV 2011″; TNIV to be Discontinued at This Lamp
NIV Revision at Thoughts and Meditations
Ligon Duncan on Zondervan and the TNIV at Between Two Worlds
Albert Mohler Responds to NIV Annoucement at CBMW
CBMW leader “very encouraged” by NIV announcement at CBMW
(let’s see how that turns out)
The Thawing of the 1984 NIV – Louis at Baker Book House has some thoughts
The future of the TNIV at Aberration blog
Interview with Douglas Moo on the 2011 NIV at DashHouse.com
Thoughts & Predictions on the 2011 NIV (and a Requiem for the TNIV) at This Lamp
What will the updated NIV look like? at Gentle Wisdom
Dumnezeu n-a spus asta – despre traducerea genurilor in textul sacru
Documented history – much of it in English
HT: Dr Jim West
More Bible Wars On The Horizon? at Restless and Reforming
(T)NIV[i] 2011
HT: Thought and Meditations (his favorite)
The NIV 2011 – 95% TNIV? – Reflections at Baker Book House
Why Did I Ever Buy Into the TNIV? at New Leaven
Those Complaining Complementarians Won at New Leaven
Evangelical Leaders Welcome NIV Revision Plans with Caution, Hope at The Christian Post
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