Archive for category NLT
What Rodney gets wrong about me and the NLT
- Image via Wikipedia
I wonder if I could make that into a song ‘Me and the NLT’ – maybe sung to the tune of ‘Me and Bobby McGee’
Rodney has been wrong a lot lately, but I suspect that it has more to do with having the blinders of dissent on (which I plan on getting to later), than actual facts. He, and I am sure this is just an attempt at trying to be funny, insists that the NLT reader is,
Indicates that you have been a part of the Bible Wars for years and you are looking for a way to escape the King James Version only crowd. It means you still hold on to your embedded conservative theology but are desiring to engage other Christians outside of the KJVO faith.
What Your Bible Translation Tells Me about You | Political Jesus.
Several things are wrong with that statement, as it is usually is with what Rodney writes. First, I haven’t been a part of the ‘bible wars’ for years, and really, from what I can see from other NLT users, they haven’t either. I left the bible wars years ago when I first picked up the NKJV then the RSV then the, well, you get the picture. I really have no need to engage in bible wars, except to defend the right of the reader to choose a bible which suits them.
I have no ‘embedded conservative theology.’ I classify myself as theological conservative because I believe that all things pertaining to the life of a Christian, especially in the matters of theology and Christian growth, must be based on Scripture. There is simply no ‘well, it was a different time then’ with me. I believe that we take Scripture and find the right interpretative measures for it, such as what the original audience might have heard, the etymology of the passages, and as always, the original languages.
I might get to that last bit in a later post, since people have a difficult time constructing what makes one a liberal or a conservative, either politically or theologically, because they insist on being subjective. Subjectivity leads only to incomplete decisions and irrational statements. But, alas, I digress…
Do I use other translations? Sure. I use the RSV and will use the NRSV if I must. I prefer the NASB for more academic study if I cannot use the original Greek, and the NETS for reading/studying/citing the Septuagint. I like the NLT for reading, studying, devotionals, and conversational preaching. By far and away, the NLT is my bible of choice. It is also my family’s. Not because I have chosen it because others didn’t (think Rodney and the NRSV or his aversion to anything which seems liked), or that it is conservative (just ask the ESV-Only crowd), or that is a fashion statement (think Message, then forget about the Message and get yourself a real bible, like the NLT). I chose the NLT because it saved my bible reading, and I was able to share with others, in their language-speak, what the Gospel means.
On Adding to and/or Interpreting the text
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Mark Taylor, current chief at Tyndale House Publishers and son of the founder of the company, has a post up about the style of the NLT, sort of. Many simply assume that the Dynamic approach (of course, I use that word in several ways!) to translating (yes, translating, not paraphrasing an earlier edition of the Scriptures) the NLT is adding to the text.
In the comments section, a commentator points to Acts 2.38, from the 2004, edition, which was changed to reflect a certain view on baptism. This was an interpretation, which was repealed in the 2007 version. This is one of the strengths, in my opinion, of Tyndale and the NLT, that they are trying to improve their translation, and not build a cult following around a set-in-stone edition.
You can read the post here:
NLT Blog.
Also, you may note the fact that the NLT Blog will be renewing itself as a new edition (like the Mosaic, not a fourth revision) is prepared.
And, one more thing. Helen Adam Sabados is interviewed for the Tyndale Blog. Adam is a great guy, at least on Twitter, and sets a fine example of the employees at Tyndale, on Twitter. Although he is from Ohio, is not that bad of a guy, on Twitter.
Related articles
- Who in the World is Christy Wong and why should you care? (thechurchofjesuschrist.us)
- Perhaps the only Android App you will ever need (thechurchofjesuschrist.us)
- For the last time, the NLT is NOT a paraphrase (thechurchofjesuschrist.us)
- What will 2012 herald? A New Bible From Tyndale, not the end of the world (thechurchofjesuschrist.us)
Perhaps the only Android App you will ever need
Posted by Joel in NLT, Technology on October 20, 2010
For those of you with an Android phone, I have created a first generation, 1.0, app for the NLT community. It contains links to the NLT Online, Interlinear, NLT Blog, Facebook Community (to the mobile site), and to the Tyndale House Blog. It is not in the market yet, but once I move to the 2.0, it should be. It is free and will be so, and locked to point to only official Tyndale/NLT pages. I hope to include, at some point, a link to the verse of the day via Twitter, as well as NLT/Tyndale House news. That will require me learning java source code, but sure, why not.
You will need a barcode scanner and a gmail account, or an email associated with Google.com. Scan the above and away you go. The app will be listed as NLT with the Android icon in your phone.
It is a labor of love as many of you know, I happen to like the NLT and Tyndale. I’ll update this whenever I get to the 2.0 level.
What will 2012 herald? A New Bible From Tyndale, not the end of the world
On Friday, during a highly confidential conversation on Twitter which was just between Keith Williams, General Editor at Tyndale House Publishers; Christian, world renown blogger, New Monastic, and quite possibly the world’s most interesting man; and myself, a humble, humble, and I mean, just really humble guy… this bit of information was dropped for all the world to see:
Seriously, I am the most humblest guy I know. It’s not easy, but I manage somehow. I guess, if I had to answer the question of my most enduring trait, it would humility, because I am humble. I am more humble than you, trust me.
Now, as the Self-Appointed NLT-O Missionary, and humble guy, I am waiting to hear about this…
And frankly, having a new NLT (or edition of the NLT) out in 2012 makes having Sarah Palin as the next President of the United States almost bearable.
For the last time, the NLT is NOT a paraphrase
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In several of my church class books which are published by Abingdon (note to Tyndale, please connect Abingdon and set the record straight. Or. Else.), I noticed that they recommend several translations for use, but single out the Living Bible and The Message as paraphrases. True, those two are, but by not listing the New Living Translation as a translation, they seem to leave it categorized with the Living Bible. This quickly gets on my nerve, and the NLT-Hulk comes out in me and I want to smash…
This is a post by Keith Williams, General Editor of the NLT, and while it is from 2008, the problems persist…
One of the most common misconceptions about the NLT is that it is a paraphrase. It is not. The NLT is, in fact, a translation from Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic; it represents the work of nearly 100 scholars, specialists in the book(s) of Scripture to which they contributed…..
Read the rest here:
NLT Blog.
What is interesting is that unlike the KJV, the RSV, and even the NRSV or the ESV (eerily similar version), the NLT is an actual translation. The others are actually nothing more than revisions.
Is Dr. James McGrath a heretic?
Now I don’t ask this question lightly… but here is the evidence
Doug Mangum has begun a contest to see who can find the most boring book title. I am not sure if I’ve thought of the best contender yet, but at the moment I’m inclined to go with this one: The Book
. But I may yet come up with something better still, and so had better wait until I check whether we can enter more than once.
Now, the particular ‘book’ he is describing as, um, ‘boring’ (Tyndale be praised, Tyndale forgive) is the New Living Translation 1996 edition.
Boring?
Boring!!!!
Boring!!!!!!!!!!!
The Book is not ‘boring’… it is, and will forever be, a national treasure, and it was, until 2004 which lasted until 2007, the ONLY inspired word of God.
So, is Dr. James McGrath a heretic? Until he offers public penance in the way for proclaiming that The Book was from 1996 to 2004, the eternally ONLY inspired word of God and that currently, the ONLY inspired word of God which we will ever have is the New Living Translation… oh, and withdraw his entry from Doug’s contest, and demand that I win, well then… the issue is unresolved.
Oh… and buy his book:
The Only True God: Early Christian Monotheism in Its Jewish Context
Review: The Red Letters Project, the Gospel of Matthew (NLT)
Posted by Joel in Media Review, NLT on September 13, 2010
For over a hundred years now, most American bibles have been printed with the words of Christ in red. Lately, this has given rise to ‘Red Letter Christians’ either as a self-description or a pejorative by others. But, regardless if the words are in red or black or any other color, the words of Christ stand out in the Gospels and have helped Christians across the centuries, giving them direction, comfort, and acting in many ways as the Psalms does for both Jews and Christians. Now, The Red Letters Project takes the words in red as found in the NLT’s Gospel of Matthew, setting them to music, and in the process, creating a radical way to hear and to spread those blood-red words.
From the website,
The Red Letters Project is a musical experience like no other. The red letters of Jesus from the Book of Matthew (NLT) take on new life as they are set to rock music. Word for word, songs are formed without concern of rhyme or adding any definition. The result is a new way of hearing and experiencing the Gospel. This is The Red Letters Project.
Ranging in styles from ballads to pop rock to more of the heavy side of the genre, the Project takes the NLT’s translation of the Gospel of Matthew and sets it to contemporary rock music. It reminds me, for the most part, more of the alternative scale, but doesn’t focus on music. Instead, the words come across, powerfully, reminding us of the precious words of Christ. Each ‘red word’ is featured in the project which covers the entire Gospel according to Matthew. Simply, these powerful songs appeal in style to a younger generation, and indeed, those of an older generation who might like something harder than choral music in the morning. While for me, I prefer something more with twang, I couldn’t find too many of the songs that I had to skip through. Perhaps this is due to the subject matter, but I enjoyed the range of styles – some more than others – and the way that the arrangements didn’t take away from the preaching, er, singing of the Word of God.
This is not only a testament to the beauty of the blood-red words, but so to the translation style of the New Living Translation. The Red Letters Project shows that unlike other translation styles, the NLT can not only be read clearly, but transformed into a conversational song. There are few,if any, clips, stops, and sudden starts in transferring the words to song. If anything, hearing the words of Christ translated in the NLT and sung in a generational voice heightens the intensity of the NLT’s translation.
For those seeking to share the Gospel of Matthew with those who listen to nothing but what comes out of iPods, this is a great witnessing tool. For those who mind that modern ‘Christian’ music is lacking a certain message – there is nothing more powerful than hearing the words of Christ sung.
