This is a follow-up to my post yesterday about Bible translation.

I’m grateful for different Bible translations on the spectrum from the more formal equivalent (like the NASB) to the more functional equivalent (like the NLT). While a mediating translation like the NIV may be optimal overall, I respect the other translation philosophies and benefit immensely from their translations.

I have a lot of friends who advocate a more formal equivalent philosophy and who prefer the ESV as the all-around optimal translation. I respect that. (The last two churches I’ve been a member of use primarily the ESV, and the one before that uses primarily the NASB.)

This is what I emailed one of those friends yesterday (slightly edited): [Read more…] about How to Disagree about Bible Translation Philosophy

I still remember one of my theology professors taking our class to a room with a piano in it. He sat down at the piano and presented a “Middle C concert” to us. He just kept hitting Middle C over and over.

His point was that that’s a bad way to do theology because truth is truth proportionally.

And that’s a danger for one-issue organizations—whether they are advocating a particular view of worship, creation, gender roles, revival, or whatever—because they tend to overemphasize the importance of their one issue:

[I]t often seems to be the case that organizations with such narrow focus and which have been formed for the conscious purpose of advocating that position in opposition to a position viewed as biblically flawed . . . tend to over-speak their case.

—Rodney J. Decker, “The English Standard Version: A Review Article,” Journal of Ministry and Theology 8, no. 2 (2004): 11n17.

I’m not opposed to one-issue organizations in principle; I happily support some and thank God for them. I’m merely pointing out a common weakness.

Dick France (b. 1938), who has served on the Committee on Bible Translation (CBT) for two periods (1990–1995 and 1999–present), reflects on “some issues in Bible translations” at the end of this article:

“The Bible in English: An Overview.” Pages 177–97 in The Challenge of Bible Translation: Communicating God’s Word to the World; Understanding the Theory, History, and Practice: Essays in Honor of Ronald F. Youngblood. Edited by Glen G. Scorgie, Mark L. Strauss, and Steven M. Voth. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003.

France briefly reflects on five issues:

1. The Text to Be Translated
2. Literal versus Dynamic Translation
3. The Problem of Religious Conservatism
4. Public and Private Reading
5. Inclusive Language

What he says about the third issue applies to more than just Bible translation:

The Problem of Religious Conservatism

Conservatism—in the sense of resistance to change—seems to affect people in matters of religion more readily than in other areas. Thoroughly modern people with radical political views may nonetheless be staunch advocates of the KJV and the Book of Common Prayer. Saint Luke long ago summed up the typical reaction to change in matters of religion: “The old is good” (Luke 5:39 NRSV). This is a hurdle every Bible translator must face. [Read more…] about The Problem of Religious Conservatism