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Archive for February, 2011
New Jerusalem Bible Review
In my opinion, the New Jerusalem Bible is an incredible tool to bringing you closer to God. It translates directly from Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic texts rather than previously translated European texts. Additionally, the footnotes, indices, and parallel passages give great historical context and religious interpretation to the text.
Some may be wary of purchasing the New Jerusalem Bible because it has been touted as a Catholic text. As someone who is not a Catholic, I can assure you that I did not feel alienated from any part of the text. If anything, the editors strove to be inclusive. Some masculine language has been translated to be inclusive to females, such as “set your heart not on your neighbor’s woman [wife]” becomes “… neighbor’s spouse.”
400th Anniversary of King James Bible
2011 marks the 400th anniversary of the printing of the King James Bible. To celebrate, many rare copies of the King James Bible will be on display across the world. In Canada the University of Toronto’s Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library will exhibit 90 historic English Bibles, including a very rare copy of the 1611 King James Version. Though other modern texts have arisen over the years, the King James Bible remains a popular choice for individuals and congregations.
In fact, a press release from the Thomas Fisher Book Library notes that “within a generation, the KJV’s mellifluous prose and poetry became synonymous with scripture itself, so much so that, down to the present day, there are still some who would assert, without the least sense of irony, that God’s word is revealed in neither Hebrew nor Greek, but in late Elizabethan English.” The King James Bible and Shakespeare are considered the two greatest influences on English prose. The modern King James Bible is slightly different from its historic predecessor, in that “typos” and misplaced words have been revised. Still, the essence of the translation that 47 scholars slaved over in the 1600s is still the gold standard in Bibles.
Bringing Church into the Home
My elderly parents have always been active in our church. My mother was a Sunday school teacher and my father was always in charge of some church project or another. In the past few years their health has declined. Often it is difficult for them to attend Sunday services because they are feeling too poorly to get out of bed.
I know that my parents feel sad about missing church, so I found away to bring church to them. I bought my mom and dad Bible audio books to keep in their home. Each Sunday after church my family goes over to my parents’ home and we tell them what passages were read in church. My parents listen to the passages while my family prepares lunch. By the time we’re ready to eat, everyone has heard the day’s Scriptures and we can discuss it over the meal.