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Biblegateway rolls out the TNIV as NIV

Wednesday, November 17th, 2010

***Update: Dr. Karen H. Jobes explains I’ve jumped to some wrong conclusions. My apologies. The new NIV is apparently not identical to the TNIV, although they share some updates in common. It would appear that this is a classic case of do your homework before raising a stink so you don’t look like a fool (Prov. 17:27 [NIV 1984] [NIV 2010]). Side note: If you click the two links you might notice a slight difference between the two illustrating some of the updates (“man” vs. “one” and “having” vs. “of”). Ironically, my very rusty Hebrew actually prefers the ESV here, but the moral of the story though is that if I’d practiced that verse (which I memorized a while back) a little better, I might not be writing this update.

I’ve been a big fan of BibleGateway.com ever since I discovered it. Not only is it an easy way to access scripture in multiple different translations, but the topical linking and searching it offers are helpful in exploring topics. It defaults to the NIV, which saves me an extra step when searching, since the NIV is my preferred translation.

Today I typed in Philippians 4:8 so I could quickly take a look at the context of the verse, and I noticed that the NIV (which I memorized) didn’t exactly match what was showing up on the screen. However, the website still claimed it was the “NIV” translation. Then I noticed a link on the right side to “An Introduction to the updated NIV.” Turns out, what was once labeled as the TNIV has dropped the “T” on BibleGateway and is now considered just the NIV. This may be due to the publisher’s original intentions of “discontinuing” the 1984 NIV in 2011.

If you ask me, this is wrong. I don’t think the TNIV is “evil” with its gender-neutral language and other updates they’ve made. I understand that many changes have brought greater faithfulness to the originals or clarified readings for more current speech. That aside, my beef is that they’re re-labeling Scripture translations: “NIV” has become “NIV (1984 Version)” and “TNIV” is now “NIV”. The NIV Bibles found in thousands of pews across this country are no longer going to be the same as new (T)NIV Bibles. Rather than saying to our congregations that a group of scholars has taken updated scholarship and written the most precise translation to date, we’re labeling two different translations the same: how does that help affirm Scriptural inerrancy? “My NIV is different from your NASB” is a question that can be answered credibly. “My NIV is different from your NIV” is a bit more sticky.

If the TNIV is better, serve that up as default–I have no problem with that. Just label it TNIV, or even tNIV if you want to understate the T a little. How can we roll out large-scale updates to the NIV–changes large enough that for 8 years we called it the TNIV–and call it still the same translation?

PS. If we’re so concerned about accuracy, can we finally get rid of John 7:53-8:11, or at least move it to a footnote? Our most reliable, earliest manuscripts don’t include this passage. If scholars know it doesn’t belong, it shouldn’t be in there. There was enough furor over the TNIV to begin with, why not actually do things right?

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Love. Loving yourself? Loving others?

Wednesday, November 10th, 2010

As I prepare to speak this week on Love, I find myself confronted with a plethora of opinions that contradict Scriptural perspectives on love. There are 116 million results returned by Google if you search for “Learn to love yourself.” I read through a few of the top results, and it grieves me deeply to see a repeated theme that roots the entire idea of “Love” firmly in narcissism.

Take, for instance, Leslie Karen Lobell writes atTheArtOfLoving.com,

I have made the analogy that, if you keep giving to others without giving to yourself, it is like pouring water from a vessel. If you pour and pour without ever refilling it, eventually, it will run dry. So, if we are like that vessel, how do we refill, recharge, re-energize, and replenish ourselves, so that we will have energy and love to give to others and to the world? The answer is: by loving and giving to ourselves, first.

In other words, we are the source of love.

Scripture clearly contradicts this idea in 1 John 4:7, which tells us that “love is from God.” Later on John writes “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” (1 Jn. 4:10, NIV). At the foundation of the worldly concept of love lies the belief that we deserve to be loved, treated well, respected, etc. At the foundation of a Christian view lies the belief that we are sinners who deserve nothing more than the wages of sin, the penalty of death–and yet God loves us enough to sacrifice his only Son on our behalf, to pour out our punishment on Christ instead of us.

In clear contrast to Ms. Lobell’s analogy, 1 John 4 teaches that we are a glass devoid of all traces of true love. We cannot fill ourselves up with a love that we don’t have within us to begin with. However, God shows his love to us in Christ, pouring an endless supply of love into our life if we will only accept it. From that eternal spring we are then enabled to also pour out into the lives of others a love that originates in God. We cannot “run dry” when our love comes from God.

Thus, when we find in 1 Corinthians 13 that “love is not self-seeking…always perseveres” we can truly live that out. A “love” that originates in self-love dies when personal needs are not met, when the giver is scorned, or when will-power gives out. A love that flows from God’s eternal grace can never be out-paced. As much as we can ever attain to loving others, God is always there ahead of us, loving us more than we could ever deserve.

“Love” based in self-love reveals itself as selfishness when push comes to shove. If you come first before others, your love for them becomes an action you live out to prove to yourself that you are “good”, a secondary priority in a life designed around keeping yourself happy. If God comes first, love becomes a natural response to the undeserved favor he pours out on us. “We love because he first loved us.” (1 Jn. 4:19)

Where does your love come from?

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VersePack is now available!

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

After a year of intending to build this iPhone App, VersePack has finally been completed. It’s my first App (hopefully not my last) and so far has been well-received. Given its nature (and my love for Scripture memory), I’m praying this App does a lot more than just get installed on a few iPhones (or iTouches). Essentially it’s a “verse pack” (card holder) similar to what The Navigators® recommend for use with their Topical Memory System. Ditch your vinyl verse wallet today!

If you’re not familiar with the TMS, I highly recommend you check it out! (And then, obviously, get the app…)

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The dangers of Sarcasm

Saturday, December 5th, 2009

It has often been noted that Sarcasm is the refuge of the weak. Why? Because it’s a way of tearing down others for a laugh, but in a way that is indirect enough that the insulted feels shamed rather than directly attacked. I used to be highly sarcastic, but have been convinced that sarcastic remarks are completely unloving and thus inappropriate for Christians.

Unfortunately, before letting loose a sarcastic remark we often consider the “comedic” (if I dare call it that) aspects of what we are saying, rather than the derogatory side. Sarcasm is most often employed when someone is too lazy of making a reasonable argument or complaint, or not smart enough to do so.

Here are some definitions of sarcasm that might make you reconsider your own use of sarcasm. Do you want these descriptions to define the way others see you?

American Heritage Dictionary:
1) A cutting, often ironic remark intended to wound.
2) A form of wit that is marked by the use of sarcastic language and is intended to make its victim the butt of contempt or ridicule.

Collins English Dictionary:
1) mocking, contemptuous, or ironic language intended to convey scorn or insult

Sarcasm is used to wound, to insult, to show contempt. Contrast this with Colossians 4:6, which exhorts us to “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” Sarcasm is not language appropriate for a Christian, period!

Thomas Carlyle went so far as to say “Sarcasm I now see to be, in general, the language of the devil; for which reason I have long since as good as renounced it.” (link) Is it time you reconsidered what your words are doing to others, or saying about your own character? Those skilled at Sarcasm are those who appreciate getting a laugh at the expense of cutting someone down–no better than a bully in grade school who makes fun of others.

Christ died to make a holy nation for himself, a people marked by love and grace. “He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” (1 Thess 5:10-11) I urge you, brothers and sisters, to strike sarcasm from your rhetorical toolbox!

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Ridiculous claims for neutral reporting

Wednesday, October 14th, 2009

Every once in a while, I read something that’s so ridiculous that I can’t help but blog about it. Today, that happened to be a “FaithWorld” article from the Reuters Blog. Despite the fact that FaithWorld tends to regard faith as a foolish thing, this particular post was supposed to explain how they remain neutral when reporting on faith matters, specifically when talking about evolution.

In that very article, they drop a statement like this one, “All serious scientists accept evolution as a fact because of the overwhelming and verifiable evidence that supports it.” If you haven’t noticed, this is question-begging. 1) We’re neutral (even when we talk about evolution) because we differentiate between faith and scientific fact. 2) Evolution is scientific fact, thus 3) we’re neutral if we always paint evolution as truth.

The very assertion that all “serious” scientists regard evolution as fact is ludicrous. Absolutely ludicrous, and about as biased as you can get–their support of this statement is a book written by an evolutionist. And yet, here it is, in an article intended to explain how journalistically neutral they are.

It doesn’t help their case when a few posts later they’re writing about the so-called “God particle,” and they write the following:

“We usually report about scientists who say there is no God and ridicule those who believe in Him.”

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Where's your heart?

Tuesday, August 25th, 2009

It’s a question that I really should ask myself more: where is my heart today? Jesus tells us in Luke 12:34 that “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

If I treasure my bank account, I’ll spend a lot of time and energy worrying about it, dwelling on it, and striving to improve it. If my treasure is Disc Golf, I’ll spend a lot of time on the frolf course. If my treasure is my computer, my job, or my electronic toys, they will consume my days and always maintain a position in the front of my mind.

It’s not that you can’t enjoy a retirement fund, disc golf, or technology: far from it! The matter at hand is what you treasure. If at the end of the day I can’t live without some time spent in prayer and a taste of God’s word, I’m in a good place, because it will underscore and effect everything else I do, making even my disc golf outing a great place to testify to God’s grace and goodness. If I can’t sleep well at night without knowing how my stock portfolio did that day, I certainly have trouble.

What’s the easiest way to know where your treasure is? What do you talk about/think about/dwell on/worry about most in life? What’s the paradigm against which you make comparisons and evaluations?

The context of Luke 12:34 involves worrying about material well-being, and waiting for the return of the Lord. Does your treasure distract you from what’s really important? If so, how can that change?

By daily making regular time spent with God a priority. It may begin difficult, but soon can become something you look forward to every day. Eventually, as you truly experience the glory of God, it becomes easier to let all the other blessings and pleasures God provides take a back seat to his Divine Person.

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Sacrifices – how to please God 101

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

The human tendency is to create religion as a framework for manipulating God and man. Historically, religious organizations (or even political organizations) have exploited their “close” association with the gods to provide them with financial riches, political strength, or social standing. When this is not the case, religion usually provides a framework by which men can do the right things to garner the blessing of a god/gods. Religion is really about man using gods for his own means.

Christianity is not that way.

From the days of walking in the Garden with Adam to the Incarnation of Christ, and right up to the present, God has always been interested in relating to mankind. Amos 4:13 describes him:

He who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals his thoughts to man, he who turns dawn to darkness, and treads the high places of the earth — the LORD God Almighty is his name.

Many look at the sacrificial system laid out in the Old Testament as a giant set of rules for making God happy, but really they were only intended as a temporary means by which the Israelites could obey God, see his character, become more like him, offer payment of blood to temporarily turn aside God’s wrath over their continually rebellious ways, and be reminded that they can never satisfy God’s requirements on their own. Hebrews 10 tells us that

The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves…but those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

Which brings me back to the place where this whole discourse came from: Psalm 51 beautifully demonstrates that David (or the Davidic character, long story!) already knew, long before Christ, that religion could never satisfy and manipulate God. He understood that what God wanted was a holistic relationship, the sacrifice of a life turned over fully to knowing and modeling God’s character. He writes:

You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
      you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
      a broken and contrite heart,
      O God, you will not despise.

If you are trying to obey and please God for your own gain (so he will answer your prayers and give you that new car!), if you repent merely to turn away his wrath, you’re engaged in religion. The actions may be different (prayer vs. sacrifice, volunteering vs. tithing) but the idea is the same: you’re in it for your own benefit. What God wants is you, He wants you to know and emulate Him. When you sin, he wants your heart to break over the violation of his character and love, not a ritualistic action to make it all better.

Israel had the sacrificial system when Psalm 51, but the author understands the God has never wanted religion. He has always desired an earnest, living, vibrant relationship with the people He was pleased to call his own.

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Stuck on Amos

Saturday, July 4th, 2009

I’m sitting here wishing that I’d gone to all those chapel services last year when they worked through the book of Amos. (Was that last year?) I’m supposed to be teaching on it tomorrow morning, and so far I’ve got about…nothing.

My notes from last spring’s class claim that “Amos is all about Justice, righteousness, and the House of David.” Here’s the bottom line though:

I will bring back my exiled people Israel, they will plant vineyards and drink their wine, they will make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them. (Amos 9:13)

Despite Israel’s injustice and infidelity, God was going to send them into exile. The Day of the Lord was going to be a rather unpleasant time for God’s chosen people–and yet, He is faithful and infinitely full of grace, and promises that he will restore them. Don’t we worship an amazing God?

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"He thus revealed his glory"

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009

The scene: a wedding party in Cana

The actors: Jesus, his mother, his disciples, and a lot of people partying

The situation: “after the guests have had too much to drink”

The act: turning 120+ gallons of water into good wine

The reaction: “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”

The result: “He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.”

So, tell me again why so many Christians vilify any and all forms of alcohol? Inappropriately used, alcohol can lead to all kinds of sin and depravity–but Christ speaks against the sin and depravity, not the alcohol. Judge for yourself: can you drink alcohol and maintain Christ-honoring behavior? Enjoy. Does alcohol lead to you violating his commands? Abstain.

However, please, please, PLEASE quit judging your brothers and those outside of the church who drink alcohol. If it was a good enough medium for Christ to use to reveal his glory, who are you to judge?!

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How to sleep in peace

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009

Recent economic trends have drastically restructured retirement plans, and caused a lot of uncertainty with millions who have been put out of a job. College grads are finding a much more competitive job market than they expected as they compete against the newly unemployed for jobs. Political turmoil in North Korea and Iran has disrupted the sense of peace that many had grown accustomed to.

How do we react? Psalm 4:7-8 says

You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound. I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.

If we find our worth and our peace in the abundance of our possessions, we build our lives around something that can be easily lost or taken from us. There are no guarantees that you will always be able to afford new cars and huge houses. These kinds of priorities by their very transitory nature leave us perpetually in uncertainty, and our seeming “control” over them always leaves us wanting to gain more (to attain to more “happiness”). When you go to sleep, everything you have been striving to control is out of your hands: there is always risk when your eyes close.

In contrast, if you place your trust in God, and make him your priority, there is great peace. He never changes, He can never be taken from you, and He is completely in control of all that goes on around you. If he is the provider of every good and perfect gift (see James 1), we can stop and enjoy the measure that he has given us, not worrying about working tirelessly for more. And when we lie down in sleep, God remains awake and in control. There is as much security for you in sleeping as in waking when you serve the LORD.

Where do you find your joy? Is your heart full of greater joy than when their iPods and BMW’s abound? When you lie down to sleep, is it in the peace that only reliance on God can provide? Seek after Him today! Make Him your joy and your peace!

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