I won’t be doing a review of this, only commenting on how it looks.

I mentioned a while back how to get a free copy, which is no longer available.

I like the typeface a lot. It’s kind of a modified serif that’s closer to sans-serif than most. This is my second favorite that I’ve seen behind TNIV’s Thinline which is pretty much sans-serif. Most people like serif (like Times New Roman) for some strange reason so I’m in the minority there as I usually seem to be. It’s fairly large, a little large for me which is probably perfect for most people. The typeface is the same as in the PDF files, as mentioned below, as in this edition of the Bible.

This is like a medium sized paperback book with good paper, not thin “Bible paper”, and very black print (no red letter either!).

The text goes way out to the far edges of the page so there really isn’t any room for notes and it may be a little tough to read the inside margins.

I was happy to see it come with a bookmark. I love bookmarks and collect them.

Also, it has two color maps. What would a Bible be without maps?

This edition of the CEB Common English Bible New Testament is $5 and can be found at Amazon.com but I would strongly advise waiting for the whole Bible. There’s too much good stuff on who God is in the other part.

At first I thought they stole my splash image but I guess it’s a little different. Kidding. Besides, mine is coffee, which you can see below.

They have a nice web site where you can look up passages of the Bible, compare editions and translations, read PDF files of Genesis, Matthew and Luke among other things.

Common English Bible Web Site

Click for a larger one

“Almost every time I study one of the books of the Bible I think it has become one of my favorites.”

Colossians is pretty special for me though, in addition to the Gospels, and Hebrews, and Ecclesiastes, and Revelation, and the prison letters and Proverbs. Next maybe Genesis? I like Titus and Philemon a lot too.

(For a while I’m going to try to post at least 6x a week. I can at least post a quote.)

Last night I was reading a verse and thinking how bad it would be if taken out of context and obeyed, which is what we do with all kinds of verses, some of them OK, some not.

Jeremiah 44:25
This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘You and your wives have said, “We will keep our promises to burn incense and pour out liquid offerings to the Queen of Heaven,” and you have proved by your actions that you meant it. So go ahead and carry out your promises and vows to her!’

Then today I read a post by Jason called Why Literal Interpretation of the Bible Can Be Bad which you can read if you want to be consternated.

Also see:
Quoting Scripture Out Of Context

The Verse/Scripture of the Day posts the last few days have been leading up to this post.

I can’t express how much I love Scripture and love getting to know God through it, getting to know people and myself, and how God loves and deals with us.

I’ve always believed Scripture to be inspired, infallible and inerrant. I can’t tell you what flavor of inerrancy (and don’t care), where I come at it from, and all those details I don’t want to be mired in that I’ve read about. After reading blogs for a while and reading all the other viewpoints, my beliefs are strengthened a whole lot more. I’m thankful for that but not glad for some of the people I’ve read about.

I believe God is the same person in the Old Testament as he is in the New Testament. When people say that God is different now in this New Covenant age (although God has dealt with atonement of sin differently after the cross and there is not one theocratic nation of Israel anymore etc.), I think, “Have you read Revelation?” God is always the same.

I believe the Bible is just as reliable in the beginning as it in the end and God is portrayed just as accurately all the way through.

And so as time goes on I become even more amazed at Scripture every time I read it. Sometimes I almost can’t stand it. Can I have any more zeal than I have now? To think that God had a collection of books written for us that we can completely trust and is all for our good and is living and active and always speaking to us. I can’t get over how amazing that is.

If I didn’t believe what I believe I don’t think I would have the same zeal. That will ruffle a lot of feathers and I’m not looking for debate. I’m just saying how thankful I am that God has worked it out that I have so much zeal and want to learn so much and grow as wise as I can without thinking I am. This isn’t something that would happen on my own. Unfortunately God partly used suffering to get me to this point. Without it I don’t think I would have taken refuge in God and the Bible like I have.

I’m taking a risk in writing this because some people won’t like it which is kind of strange to me but it’s the reality nowadays. I wanted to write something personal which I haven’t done in a long time and write something that may encourage others (and frustrate some).

Exodus 15:3
“The Lord is a warrior; Yahweh is his name.”

Speaking of translations, Better Bibles Blog informs us that a sample of the book Matthew in the Common English Bible is available.

Please leave any comments there.

Certainly this must have been mentioned on other blogs but I haven’t seen anything about it yet. There is a New Testament translation called The Bible as Poetry. Information and a sample chapter of Matthew can be found at BibleasPoetry.com.

The translation was done by Phil Ward. The format is unique. There is a gutter to the left which has verse numbers so they aren’t in the way of the text. The text is formatted as poetry. Since obviously not all of the Bible is poetry, I’m not sure how I feel about this, but the formatting can highlight certain relationships between phrases. The translation is somewhat on the literal side but without archaic language which is really nice. To the right of the translation are the footnotes so that you don’t have to look at the bottom of the page.

See the site for other details on the features it has.

Since there is only one translator, including for the footnotes, care needs to be taken in reading. But I find that this translation is interesting enough to be enjoyable to read and when I find something I want to verify, it gives me ideas for things to look into further.

I was given a pre-release sample of the whole New Testament. Here is a sample passage without the formatting. I like the translation.

1 Corinthians 1:27-29 Bible as Poetry
27 But God chose the world‘s fools
to shame the wise.
God chose the world‘s weak
to shame the strong.
28 And God chose the world‘s lowly
and despised
(those without status) –
to eliminate status.
29 So no one can boast

I’d like to know what your comments are based on the sample of Matthew.

BibleasPoetry.com

The Mosaic blog is now active. You can find it here:
http://www.holybiblemosaic.com/blog
RSS Feed

This may offend some people but I cringe when I hear that the Bible is our owner’s manual for life. I believe the Bible is infinitely more than an owner’s manual. Let me give you some reasons why:

• It’s written by our Creator and helps us to know Him and become more like Him. “Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.” (Col. 3:10)
• It speaks to us personally and shows us things about ourself. “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.” (Heb. 4:12)
• Although the Bible does have rules and instructions like an owner’s manual does, these instructions are perfect and can affect our countenance. “The commandments of the LORD are right, bringing joy to the heart.” (Ps. 19:8)
• The instructions can not only show us how to live, but they go beyond that, making us wise. “The decrees of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.” (Ps. 19:7)
• They lead us to Christ and to salvation. “You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 3:15)

Anything else?

Do not forget that the Bible is not for our information but for our transformation.

–David Garland, Interview at BROADCAST DEPTH Blog

As much as I’m tired of the hoopla surrounding Calvin, I liked these first two quotes.

I’m not up for a debate right now but wanted to post these. I will say that regarding the third quote, I realize there is some room for leeway and some people believe in an older earth not necessarily just because of science (I hope). You can still comment if you’d like but I won’t be able to respond to this post.

——

‘Lamenting that many churches today have lost confidence in the truthfulness and authority of the Bible, Julius Kim, associate professor of Practical Theology at Westminster Seminary in California, called Christians to heed Calvin’s voice.

“In many of our churches the Bible has been functionally rejected in place of what we could gain from some sort of rational exercise on the one hand or some sort of emotional experience on the other,” Kim said at the national conference, hosted by Desiring God Ministries, on Friday.

“We need to hear Calvin’s voice once again calling us back to the Scriptures as our only source of truth and life,” he emphasized.’

Evangelicals Urged to Heed Calvin’s Voice

——

So long as your mind entertains any misgivings as to the certainty of the word, its authority will be weak and dubious, or rather it will have no authority at all. Nor is it sufficient to believe that God is true, and cannot lie or deceive, unless you feel firmly persuaded that every word which proceeds form him is sacred, inviolable truth.

–John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2008) 359 (3.2.6).

HT: Michael Metts

——

Question: Why would any Christian want to take man’s fallible dating methods and use them to impose an idea on the infallible Word of God? Christians who accept billions of years are in essence saying that man’s word is infallible, but God’s Word is fallible!

This is the crux of the issue. When Christians have agreed with the world that they can accept man’s fallible dating methods to interpret God’s Word, they have agreed with the world that the Bible can’t be trusted. They have essentially sent out the message that man, by himself, independent of revelation, can determine truth and impose this on God’s Word. Once this ‘door’ has been opened regarding Genesis, ultimately it can happen with the rest of the Bible.

A young Earth—it’s not the issue!

Matthew 9:32 REB
They were on their way out when a man was brought to him, who was dumb and possessed by a demon;

I’m not usually into being especially politically correct but I’m glad that the word dumb, used for people who can’t speak, has been replaced with the word mute, here in the USA.

I was reading R.T. France’s commentary on Matthew and he uses the word dumb with no comment at all which was surprising to me. Every modern US translation uses unable to speak, mute or couldn’t talk. The latest one I could find was the 1977 NASB which they changed to mute in the 1995 revision.

So I was wondering if it’s still in use in the UK. I looked up deaf dumb in Google News and found that it’s used across the ocean from us here in the US. I looked at R.T. France’s bio and saw that he is from the land of tea, warm beer, mist and fog also. I then looked at the REB which is the Revised English Bible, as in England, and it uses the word dumb also (as seen above).

I’m not sure of the etymology of the word for this usage but it certainly has a negative connotation to us here in the US in contemporary language.

So I thought I’d mention that if you see the word dumb being used, it’s common in some areas outside the US.

Has there been any discussion on this over there or is it seen in a different light than we do here? I’m not making any judgments, I’m just asking.

Jason Staples at Outside the Building has a series on Misinterpreted Bible Passages. I learn a lot from these.

I like the “Judge not, lest you be judged” post. When people say this, I call it “playing the Judge Not card”. (As in “playing the race card”.) I hear Christians and non-Christians alike using it all the time. This is a good rebuttal. I’d like to condense it sometime and post it so that I can point people to it.

Joel at The Church of Jesus Christ is offering a chance to win an NLT Mosaic Bible.

The rules are simple:

• Write a blog post for me to use on the 22nd.
• It could be anything from a blog post you have already done (in which I will post a link and the first paragraph or so) to your favorite NLT passage to your thoughts about issues concerning the NLT (this means, you don’t have to be a blogger. Just email me your thoughts.)
• It must be NLT centered

It would be nice if you had an Amazon wishlist (if you don’t you can get one for free. Once you have it, put the Mosaic on your wishlist.) THIS IS NOT A REQUIREMENT.

Tyndale has sent me a certificate (which saves shipping costs!) for a free NLT Mosaic.

• You have a a shot at two entries here – comment on this post and give me a reason why you want it and/or mention this post on your blog.

See his blog for more details.

Matthew 4:19 NIV
“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.”

Matthew 4:19 France
He said to them, “Come and follow me, and I will send you out to fish for people.”

This famous verse is one of the most difficult in the NT to translate satisfactorily in a way which reflects modern sensitivity to the ‘exclusive’ effect of a generic masculine. Not only has the traditional masculine phrase ‘fishers of men’ become firmly entrenched in Christian usage, but any nonmasculine rendering also loses the echo (in English, not in Greek) of the preceding clause, ‘for they were fishermen.’ Nevertheless, the attempt must be made if we are to avoid the sort of misunderstanding which reputedly caused Fishing for Men (a paperback on evangelism) to be listed among recent publications in the Angling Times, while a young woman of my acquaintance was disappointed to discover that the same paperback was not a guide to dating. Simply to add ‘and women’ invites the response, ‘What about children?’ I adopt the TNIV rendering as the least unsatisfactory.

–R.T. France, Matthew, footnote on pg 144

Matthew 5:22-24 TNIV
But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca, ‘ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.
23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you,
24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to that person; then come and offer your gift.

The ‘brother or sister’ (adelphos) of vv. 22-24 is probably to be understood as a fellow disciple rather than a literal family member, a similar concern with good relationships among fellow disciples will be the theme of the fourth discource in ch. 18, where the term adelphos will recur in Matthew 18:15, 21, 35; cf. Matthew 12:46-50 for the concept of Jesus’ ‘family’ of disciples. It would, however, be pedantic to suggest that Jesus’ ruling applies only to relations with fellow disciples and not to people in general; Matthew 5:44-47 suggest otherwise.

–R.T. France, Matthew, pg 200

I found a web site with the Good News Bible. This is an often neglected  translation. Gordon Fee referred to it fairly often as is “other” go to translation as did F.F. Bruce with the NEB.

For looking up passages I find it easiest to browse using the left column. This site has book introductions, cross references where you see the arrow and a note where you see a star (*). Plus it’s formatted as it would be in a paper version. I would like to get a paper version of this translation since BibleWorks doesn’t have it. Not that I need another Bible.

If you’re unfamiliar, the GNB is also often referred to as the GNT (Good News Translation) and was formerly the TEV.

“In 1992 the ABS issued a revision of the Good News Bible with gender neutral language, and in 1995 it published the Contemporary English Version, a very similar version which is apparently meant to replace the Good News Bible.”
http://www.bible-researcher.com/tev.html

I’m not familiar with this system. I’m passing along the links to the explanation of the system and a two part interview with a couple of guys named Tom and Rick who are friends of a guy named Brett. Even if you aren’t serious about using the plan, the posts are very interesting.

• Professor Horner’s Bible Reading Plan
• Professor Horner’s Bible Reading System: Interview with Tom Shelton and Rick Doctor, pt. 1
• Professor Horner’s Bible Reading System: Interview with Tom Shelton and Rick Doctor, pt. 2

HT: Cal.vini.st

He is on Facebook and I found this link to a PDF file which you can download that has all the information on the reading plan.

Tim Challies wrote an encouraging post titled Ten Chapters Per Day if you’re interested in reading more about it.

Also read:
Professor Horner’s Bible Reading Plan by Pastor Brett

TNIV – the bad boy Bible. Hated by Piper, Sproul and MacArthur enough for them to mention it in their sermons!

TNIV – not your father’s Bible

TNIV – we like chicks

TNIV – the best Bible you’ve never heard of

TNIV – Christianity’s best kept secret

TNIV – we catch the flack so the NLT doesn’t have to

The NIV is yesterday’s Bible; use the TNIV

TNIV marketing: work smarter, not harder

Any others?

Deuteronomy 6:5
And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.

Matthew 22:37-38
Jesus replied, ” ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment.

How seriously do we take this? I know there are a lot of people who say that we love God by doing things for others etc. which is obviously important. But why does it seem to be easier for some people to “do things” than it is to get to know God better? How can we really love God without knowing Him? How can we know Him without knowing the Bible? We are in a seriously Bible illiterate Christian culture. Just the the other day I was thinking about how I sometimes get Esther and Ruth mixed up. That’s pretty embarrassing.

Here is yet another quote by D.A. Carson from A Call to Spiritual Reformation, Priorities from Paul and His Prayers:

When it comes to knowing God, we are a culture of the spiritually stunted. So much of our religion is packaged to address our felt needs–and these are almost uniformly anchored in our pursuit of our own happiness and fulfillment. God simply becomes the Great Being who, potentially at least, meets our needs and fulfills our aspirations. We think rather little of what he is like, what he expects of us, what he seeks in us. We are not captured by his holiness and his love; his thoughts and words capture too little of our imagination, too little of our discourse, too few of our priorities.

This isn’t to lay a guilt trip on myself or others. Those familiar with this blog know I’m not into that. This is to spur us on to know Him better so that we can do what we were created to do which is truly fulfilling and pleasing to God so that we can live in the reality of His Kingdom instead of the veneer of this world.

(This post was prepared before I was sick. Proverbs 30:25)

If you search for “Random Verse” at Biblia Hebraica (which I’ve done for you in the link) you will find some random verses illustrating how you usually can’t just use a single verse from the OT as a platitude (or something like that). If you haven’t seen it, go over there and you might find it as interesting as I did.