With so many Bible translations available today which should we choose? We should be aware of modern trends such as trying not to offend people, being politically correct, and making translations gender neutral. A good Bible translation needs to be accurate and readable. Of course accuracy in translation is most important. It needs to be transparent to the original New Testament Greek and the original Old Testament Hebrew.
There are three main groups of Bible translations. There is word for word or literal, thought for thought or dynamic equivalence, and paraphrase or free.
First the paraphrase is very readable but not necessarily all that accurate. The paraphrases tend to get far away from the original. Paraphrases should not be used as a main Bible version. At best they could be used a study help. Two examples of this translation philosophy are The Message and The Living Bible.
Next is the thought for thought or dynamic equivalence translations. These translations strive for a middle ground between the paraphrase and the literal translations. They are very readable but tend to lose some of the accuracy. With dynamic translations the translators interpretive opinions play a major role. They often tend to interpret through our modern culture and end up being politically correct. Thought for thought translations are better than the paraphrase but are not the best to use.
Examples include:
(New International Version) (NIV)-the 2011 edition is somewhat politically correct, not as good as the original NIV which is no longer published.
(New Living Translation) (NLT)-revision of The Living Bible, still not real close to original.
(New Revised Standard Version) (NRSV)-liberal translation, politically correct, avoid it.
Finally there is the word for word or literal translation. This philosophy tries to stay close to the original languages and emphasizes accuracy before readability. I believe the literal translation philosophy is the best one.
Examples include:
(English Standard Version) (ESV)-essentially literal, readable, traditional.
(Holman Christian Standard Bible) (HCSB)-somewhat literal, readable, less traditional than the ESV.
(New American Standard Bible) (NASB)-very literal, not as readable as ESV, HCSB.
(New King James Version) (NKJV)-update of the King James Version, not as readable as the ESV or HCSB.
I believe these are the four best English Bible translations:
(1) ESV
(2) HCSB
(3) NASB
(4) NKJV
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Obama's Progressive Ideas
President Obama and the Democrats are proposing more spending by the government. Because you see the U.S. government does not have a spending problem. The problem is simply that the government is not taking enough money from the American people. It is not called tax and spend but revenue and investment. It all sounds so good when you hear it.
Our country is spending over 1 trillion dollars more than it takes in annually but there is no spending problem. We just need to tax the rich more so we can pay for all these things. Democrats feel it is necessary to punish successful people. It is just not fair that some people have more than others. They continually practice class warfare and use Marxist rhetoric. But in reality the worker deserves his wages.
Another proposal by President Obama and leading Democrats is an increase in the minimum wage to $9. Why don't we raise it to $20 or $50? And why not allow the government to set a maximum wage as well. Raising the minimum wage sounds so good but it is not as wonderful as it seems. It will cause more unemployment and will raise costs for consumers. It distorts the market system and causes many problems.
The minimum wage idea actually comes from socialism. Government welfare, entitlements, income transfer, the progressive tax system, and the minimum wage are all socialist concepts. Yet all these things are seen as normal in modern America. It is sad how socialism has become accepted and normal in our country and the western world. Socialism is actually the government as god philosophy, and that is idolatry. Eventually this system will collapse.
Our country is spending over 1 trillion dollars more than it takes in annually but there is no spending problem. We just need to tax the rich more so we can pay for all these things. Democrats feel it is necessary to punish successful people. It is just not fair that some people have more than others. They continually practice class warfare and use Marxist rhetoric. But in reality the worker deserves his wages.
Another proposal by President Obama and leading Democrats is an increase in the minimum wage to $9. Why don't we raise it to $20 or $50? And why not allow the government to set a maximum wage as well. Raising the minimum wage sounds so good but it is not as wonderful as it seems. It will cause more unemployment and will raise costs for consumers. It distorts the market system and causes many problems.
The minimum wage idea actually comes from socialism. Government welfare, entitlements, income transfer, the progressive tax system, and the minimum wage are all socialist concepts. Yet all these things are seen as normal in modern America. It is sad how socialism has become accepted and normal in our country and the western world. Socialism is actually the government as god philosophy, and that is idolatry. Eventually this system will collapse.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Who's Afraid Of A Big Bad Calvinist?
In recent times there has been a resurgence of what is known as Calvinism or Reformed Theology. It has caused great controversy across evangelicalism including the Southern Baptist Convention. Some think it is a great threat and one of the worst things we have to fear. Some claim it was invented by John Calvin and of course Calvin was a monster. They also believe that Calvinism destroys evangelism and denies that man has responsibility for himself and his choices.
But is all this true? First of all it gets it's name from John Calvin but it was not invented by him. What is believed by Calvinists has been believed throughout church history by many Christians. And by the way John Calvin was not a monster, he was one of the greatest theologians in church history. Reformed theology does not destroy evangelism either. All mainstream Calvinists believe in evangelism. And while Calvinist hold to the absolute sovereignty of God, they also believe man is responsible for his actions.
So lets take a look at what Calvinism or Reformed theology actually is. We will look at what is called the five points of Calvinism or the "Doctrines of Grace". We will use the popular acrostic TULIP to do this.
(T) (Total Depravity) This refers to man being utterly sinful in his entire being. Man is not as bad as he could possible be, but his entire being is effected by sin. He is not righteous, his will is enslaved by sin, he is spiritually dead and unable to respond to God.
(Psalm 51:5, Is. 64:6, Jer. 17:9, Rom. 3:9-12, Eph. 2:1-5)
(U) (Unconditional Election) This one refers to God choosing or electing some to salvation while passing over others. It seems unfair to us but fairness would mean everyone would go to hell. No one deserves salvation and if God did not choose some to be saved no one would ever choose to turn to God for salvation. Salvation is totally by God's grace.
(Jn.15:16, Acts 13:48, Rom. 8:28-30, Rom. 9:11-16, Eph. 1:4-5,11-12)
(L) (Limited Atonement) This one means that Jesus paid the penalty for the sins of his people, the elect, but not all people. If Jesus paid the penalty for the sins of all people then no one could still face the penalty for their sins, all people would be saved. Calvinists believe Jesus actually saves his people, he does not just make salvation possible.
(Mt. 1:21, Mt. 20:28, Jn. 10:11,14-15,24-26, Eph. 5:25-27, 1 Tim. 1:15)
(I) (Irresistible Grace) This one teaches that all who God chooses will come to him. God changes the will of man and he willing turns to God. Man is changed from being spiritually dead to being spiritually alive. No one is dragged kicking and screaming against their will.
(Is. 65:1, Jn. 1:12-13, Jn. 6:29,37,44,63-66, Rom. 9:15-16, Eph. 2:1-9)
(P) (Perseverance Of The Saints) This one teaches that all true Christians are preserved by God and will not fall away. They do not fall away because salvation is totally the work of God. God is in total control and will not let them fall away.
(Jn. 3:16, Jn. 6:37,39, Jn. 10:27-29, Rom. 8:29-39, 1 Jn. 2;19,25)
Calvinists believe that Scripture alone is authoritative and that to God alone belongs the glory. Salvation is by God's grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone.
Here are some notable modern day Calvinists:
Albert Mohler Timothy Keller
John MacArthur David Platt
John Piper Matt Chandler
Wayne Grudem Mark Driscoll
R.C. Sproul
Michael Horton
But is all this true? First of all it gets it's name from John Calvin but it was not invented by him. What is believed by Calvinists has been believed throughout church history by many Christians. And by the way John Calvin was not a monster, he was one of the greatest theologians in church history. Reformed theology does not destroy evangelism either. All mainstream Calvinists believe in evangelism. And while Calvinist hold to the absolute sovereignty of God, they also believe man is responsible for his actions.
So lets take a look at what Calvinism or Reformed theology actually is. We will look at what is called the five points of Calvinism or the "Doctrines of Grace". We will use the popular acrostic TULIP to do this.
(T) (Total Depravity) This refers to man being utterly sinful in his entire being. Man is not as bad as he could possible be, but his entire being is effected by sin. He is not righteous, his will is enslaved by sin, he is spiritually dead and unable to respond to God.
(Psalm 51:5, Is. 64:6, Jer. 17:9, Rom. 3:9-12, Eph. 2:1-5)
(U) (Unconditional Election) This one refers to God choosing or electing some to salvation while passing over others. It seems unfair to us but fairness would mean everyone would go to hell. No one deserves salvation and if God did not choose some to be saved no one would ever choose to turn to God for salvation. Salvation is totally by God's grace.
(Jn.15:16, Acts 13:48, Rom. 8:28-30, Rom. 9:11-16, Eph. 1:4-5,11-12)
(L) (Limited Atonement) This one means that Jesus paid the penalty for the sins of his people, the elect, but not all people. If Jesus paid the penalty for the sins of all people then no one could still face the penalty for their sins, all people would be saved. Calvinists believe Jesus actually saves his people, he does not just make salvation possible.
(Mt. 1:21, Mt. 20:28, Jn. 10:11,14-15,24-26, Eph. 5:25-27, 1 Tim. 1:15)
(I) (Irresistible Grace) This one teaches that all who God chooses will come to him. God changes the will of man and he willing turns to God. Man is changed from being spiritually dead to being spiritually alive. No one is dragged kicking and screaming against their will.
(Is. 65:1, Jn. 1:12-13, Jn. 6:29,37,44,63-66, Rom. 9:15-16, Eph. 2:1-9)
(P) (Perseverance Of The Saints) This one teaches that all true Christians are preserved by God and will not fall away. They do not fall away because salvation is totally the work of God. God is in total control and will not let them fall away.
(Jn. 3:16, Jn. 6:37,39, Jn. 10:27-29, Rom. 8:29-39, 1 Jn. 2;19,25)
Calvinists believe that Scripture alone is authoritative and that to God alone belongs the glory. Salvation is by God's grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone.
Here are some notable modern day Calvinists:
Albert Mohler Timothy Keller
John MacArthur David Platt
John Piper Matt Chandler
Wayne Grudem Mark Driscoll
R.C. Sproul
Michael Horton
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