Way back in September of 2010 I had posted a lecture I gave at church where I attempted to explain the real issue involved in translating Genesis 1:1-3. Rather than meanings of words like bara', the real issue is the relationship of the clauses (and the nature of...
translation
Hallowing God's Name
That's a take on the title of a recent post by John Hobbins over on Ancient Hebrew Poetry. The context is a discussion about what constitutes a good Bible translation. I have to agree with John. The parts must be contextualized to produce a contextualized whole....
Which Bible Translation? A Few Thoughts
I frequently get asked about what Bible translation I recommend. In fact, I get asked so frequently that I thought I'd briefly post on it. The first thing I usually say is that the best Bible translation is the one you'll read faithfully. I am far more concerned with...
Crucifixion in Antiquity Update
The ETC blog posted this recent update on the "controversy" surrounding the recent dissertation that archeoporn-peddling journalists touted as saying Jesus didn't die on a cross. I had blogged a bit on that.
Why Learn Akkadian?
I know. You're thinking I'll say "because it is there." Here is a more practical answer from a review of an important recent lexical resource. Editor's note: above link is annoying and hard to read on a screen with pop-ups, ads, and images, so reproducing the content...
For “KJV Only” Wrangling
The Evangelical Textual Criticism blog posted a link to this article by Dan Wallace today. It's a nice short piece where Dan takes on the "KJV only" position. If you're not familiar with this, please don't read it. I'd feel guilty about putting it into your brain. I...
Interesting Post(s) on Red Letter Bibles
From the Evangelical Textual Criticism blog. Editor's note: content from link above is reproduced below, with broken links removed,From Evangelical Textual Criticism: Chaplin on Red Letter Bibles, originally posted on Sept. 10, 2009. Chaplin on Red Letter Bibles...
Another Great Moment in Pulpit PaleoBabble
Just when you think preaching can't get any more insipid, you find yet another logic-defying sermon out there on the web. "Thanks" to the person who sent this to me. Some surface observations on the problems with this "Bible lesson": 1. Since the NIV *printed* the...
Nimrod Mythology
Spend any time on the internet (especially Christian sites) and you're bound to run into a pile of PaleoBabble about Nimrod, a character mentioned only in Genesis 10:8-9; 1 Chron. 1:10 (repeats Genesis 10:8); and Micah 5:6 (reference to the "land of Nimrod"). Here are...
How Did the Early Church Fathers Cite Scripture?
Is this cool or what? Click here for a free searchable database of "Biblical Quotations and Allusions in Early Christian Literature." The project is now in financial limbo, but as it is, you can still search the corpus for its database of 400,000 biblical references....
Book Recommendation Related to the Inspiration Discussion
Some of the posts on this topic have dealt with the looseness of how NT authors quote / use the OT. I've given a couple of examples, but if you want to see how thorny the issues are, I recommend a recent book on the subject--nay, an entire commentary on this...
Peter Williams (New Testament Textual Critic) Debates Bart Ehrman On British Radio
In case you thought otherwise, Bart Ehrman's idea have not gone un-protested in the field of textual criticism. You just never hear that in the popular media. Bart Ehrman of the University of North Carolina and Peter J. Williams of Tyndale House, Cambridge...
The Point of My Exodus 21/ Deuteronomy 15 Illustration
A little while back a commenter to the discussion of inspiration and inerrancy wanted me to put forth examples where something written in Scripture was later changed in Scripture. I provided two examples off the top of my head since I've thought about both again...
Zecharia Sitchin and the Meaning of Sumerian and Akkadian Words
On my old website devoted to exposing the phony scholarship of Zecharia Sitchin's ancient astronaut nonsense, I had occasion to note how the meanings of certain Sumero-Akkadian words or glyphs supplied by by Sitchin were not only nonsense, but the Sumerians themselves...
One Last Illustrative Problem for Inerrancy and its Literary-Critical Solution
One more item to throw out for illustrative purposes. After this, I'm going back to inspiration and begin to produce my own statement (I'm calling it "The Bellingham Statement" since I work in Bellingham, WA). Posts will be much shorter, as my goal is to produce...