A discussion popped up this morning on Facebook. I believe it worthy of discussion here and so, I'm posting the comment thread as it exists right now.
Tom Weller via Mark
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This Bible will enrich your trust in God and give you powerful and compelling evidence, not only for the existence of God, but for the inspiration of Holy Scripture.
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The Message is ok for light reading, but I prefer the NKJV and NIV for daily study. The Message is too loose a translation for me.
ReplyDeleteAnd that is true sir! However, I would argue that opposed to the "heavy hand" of God, an occasional "light touch" will attract as well. Honey as we all know, draws more flies than vinegar! Many are now seeking the light hand of God; one with which they can "feel" the inspiring words of the Lord; not necessarily the one which talks of grave consequences should the listener not submit. I would proffer that God does not care by which road we travel to get to HIM; that we travel any road and arrive, may well be the defining definition of Christians future! And may further be the reason for a smile from the divine! Some would argue that the church "strays" away from our Lord and Savior in it's current missions and purpose. I would argue that it is the church languishing in the past and bound to the "anger" of God that strays from His holy word! Mine is a Lord and Savior of Love and inclusion; rather than a Lord of Anger; hence exclusion. At any rate, my thesis is as you well know, answer all that ask; guide those who want guidance; be there for those in need; and include all into His glory. And if putting the Bible in simple English makes it understandable for those who need this format, then I salute the author and support his effort! Yours in service to Christ, Tom
ReplyDeleteIlove the Message Bible for just reading, but have to use the NIV or KJV for heavy studies. I tried to use the Message for studies of the tabernalce and feasts of Israel, but it didn't give me what I needed.
ReplyDeletebsolutely agreed Anita. I have copies of all of them, including some old revised standard from the early 50's and a Holman addition from the 1920's. Patrick is correct as are you for the general reading and basic understanding, but the KJ is still the "place to go" to get the real idea. In my book I cite the language differences between the KJ, Holman, and the NIV bible in establishing my thesis
ReplyDeleteExactly....Until I started serious studying in the 80's I didn't realize how much we (as most Americans) miss because we do not have an understanding of Jewish customs and traditions. Have u found that to be true too?
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, and with that comment I'm transferring this discussion to the blog. Mark, I don't know you, but Patrick you apparently do. You will find this discussion in its entirety here: http://lacasastay.blogspot.com/ Give me a few minutes to get it transferred and up and running.
ReplyDeleteAs I stated earlier, those of us who are not of the Jewish faith miss a lot in the Scriptures because we don't have an understanding of Jewish customs and/or traditions. In my humble opinion if you're doing an indepth study, it would be to your advantage to incorporate other research material as well. What do you think?
ReplyDeleteand now to answer your question Anita; The theology of the Bible is not that of the Nicene Council or later; it is the very roots and history of the tribes of Israel, and the young struggling Christian movement! NO, not church yet; even before that! It is only in the meaning of the ancient Greek, Latin, Aramaic Hebrew and other peripheral languages that we understand the meaning and metaphor of the poetry, sociology, societal standards, psychology, law, psalms, prophecy, not to mention the life and times of the historical figure Jesus Christ, and in fact the backdrop to all of it. Simply addressing the Bible by recent historical track, does not expose why and what the original writers were saying and how it was meant to be read. For that, we need a whole different interpretation.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you here. Just to give an example: I was reading the passage in John 8:1-12. As I was reading, I thought..'ok that's a great story, but I want to know what You wrote in the dirt.' Don't mind me...that's just the way 'we' talk...lol. I searched and searched but didn't find the answer except for the fact that this event happened during the Feast of Tabernacles. A few months later as I was researching the 'feasts' and realized what ocurred during that feast. I won't elaborate on the whole finding but simply put...these scribes and Pharisees had taught all of the Old Testament scriptures pertaining to the 'living water'. Remember the day before, Jesus had stood in the synagogue and declared Himself to be the living water (John 7:37) which threw everybody into a tizzy! So I looked up all the Old Testament Scriptures that pertained to the 'living water' and guess what? In Jeremiah 17:13, which states:"Those who depart from Me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters." If I hadn't studied the other material, I never would've seen that.
ReplyDeleteExactly! This is why so many fail to understand the glory of the scripture. I deal with it in another way,however, as we work our way through the Bible, we take note of the fact that the entire text is 1290 pages (Revised Standard Version) more or less. Of that, 293 pages are New Testament, most of which are assorted letters and opinions from early church leaders. Take those away and you have the Gospels, which account for 132 pages. And out of all of that, are a mere 2026 words attributed to have been spoken by Jesus Christ, whom, I would argue is the driving force of the entire collection of books, and, the only Absolute Truth to be found within its pages! With that being said, all of the rest establishes history of the tribes of Israel and their tribulations over centuries; provides us with a fine collection of poetry and prophecy by men of the Jewish faith; and then relates the story of the birth, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and then offers several letters to various of the early churches by arguably, the leading theologian of the times, Paul. Without having any understanding of the Jewish faith, and the history of the area in which all of this happened, how can we make an intelligent interpretation of what the Bible has to offer. We take the easy way out, for the most part, and allow our clergy to do all the heavy lifting and we, in our best barnyard stroll, like sheep, just follow along. How are some of those televangelists working out for us now? It is for us to read, interpret, and follow what this collection of texts says to US! That I would argue leads us to a closer walk with Christ; not simply letting someone else tell us how we should live1
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