A Dash of Salt

Hard Sayings of Jesus (7)

The last hard saying of Jesus we need to look at is not obscure in its meaning, but it is difficult to do.   It has to do with how we listen to Jesus and is found in Luke 8:4-18, the Parable of the Seed and the Soils.  With this simple story from agriculture, Jesus warns us to listen to HIm not only with our ears but also with our faith.  As He explains the meaning of the parable to his disciples, Jesus indicates that there are three basic wrong ways to hear his Word, one right way. 

Spiritual Deafness comes when we are indifferent to Him, or are only enthusiastic but not believing, or are distracted by the good things of life when we should be putting his Word into practice.  The cure for spiritual deafness is to believe what Jesus says and persist in your obedience.  Faith in God's Word + endurance makes your life fruitful. 

You can hear me give a talk on Luke 8:4-18 called "How to Avoid Spiritual Deafness" by clicking on this link: Download sermon04.22.2007.mp3.  Here's a link for the printed handout notes: Download HardSayings7hearing.doc.  The bottom line: Those who hear the Word must believe the Word.

Weekend Wonderings

I have not been able to be out and about on the Web much this week (I've been hiding under a huge rock called "Greek 4"), but here's a smattering of a things I thought were interesting...

Ten Things You Probably Didn't Know by Joe Carter.

Tomorrow (April 1st) is National Atheist Day, according to James Wilson.  (If you're not sure why that particular day was chosen, read Psalm 14:1.)

More information about The Secret from Al Mohler. (HT: Justin Taylor)

A humorous and necessary post on Cell Phone Manners by Jessica Robinson.

Wise words from Waco.  Jim Martin's thoughtful post on bad thinking, "Have You Ever Been Stuck?"

What do you think about having the Bible taught in the public schools?  TIME Magazine's David van Biema has put together a balanced article, "The Case for Teaching the Bible."

Grave Concerns about "The Lost Tomb of Jesus"

Just last evening I heard about James Cameron (director of the movie Titanic) and Simcha Jacobovici's upcoming documentary on the Discovery Channel about the unearthing of the so-called "Lost Tomb of Jesus" in Jerusalem.  Before school this morning Luke saw a blurb about it on the Today Show and came upstairs wondering about it.  Maybe you have some questions, too.

Here's the story In a nutshell: Excavators digging a foundation for an apartment building in Jerusalem 27 years ago accidentally uncovered an ancient tomb containing ossuaries (limestone bone boxes) apparently containing remains of a family.  The ossuaries were marked with the names "Jesus ben Joseph," "Mary," "Mary" (presumably Mary Magdalene), and others who are assumed to be Jesus and Mary Magdalene's children.  According to Cameron and Jacobovici, DNA testing has proved that the these bones are the remains of Jesus of Nazareth and the members of his family.  TIME has this summary of Cameron and Jacobovici's claims: "Jesus: Tales from the Crypt".  (HT: Justin Taylor. 2/27/07 -- Justin has posted a brief yet clear response by Dr. Paul Maier, "A Skelton in God's Closet?")  Once again we are confronted with supposed new evidence that Jesus was married, fathered a child, and did not really rise from the dead.

My question when Luke told me what he saw: How in the world could anyone use DNA matching to conclusively prove that those are Jesus of Nazareth's bones?  Where could we get a sample of Jesus' DNA that we could compare the DNA found in the bones? 

While I have not had any time to study this issue in detail, I recommend that you visit Dr. Ben Witherington's post on "The Jesus Tomb? 'Titanic' Talpiot Tomb Theory Sunk from the Start" to understand how absurd and flimsy the documentary makers' arguments are.  (HT: Scot McKnight.  Be sure to check out his brief comments.)  Dr. Witherington has done extensive research on the Talpiot Tomb and the speculative claims made by Cameron and Jacobovici.  You can tell by the title of his post what his conclusion is concerning their theory.

This is all starting to sound like "The Bride of Da Vinci Code" to me.

Washington Adventure

Today our family traveled to Washington, D.C., on one those "educational" adventures that parents make their kids endure while on vacation.  I love visiting D.C., and I guess it's the fond memories I have of going there when out-of-town friends came to see our family while I was growing up in the Maryland suburbs.  Riding the Metro (subway) to me is enjoyable and easy, so I get a kick out of going downtown, being there for the sights and sounds, and coming back.

Our first stop was at the International Spy Museum, a new attraction which features an interactive, hands-on  format, like the National Holocaust Museum.  The exhibits did a good job explaining the necessity for a government to have intelligence information about the situation, capabilities, and intentions of other nations ("ground truth"), along with the history of espionage.  The basic skills of spy craft were also explained.  The Museum's collection features a lot of interesting gadgets and gizmos from the Cold War era.  My kids thought it would be more interesting if more high-tech stuff was showcased.  There was a heavy Cold War emphasis throughout the exhibits, though espionage during the American Revolutionary and Civil Wars were also detailed.  The place was crowded today, and that may have dampened our enthusiasm, but the International Spy Museum is definitely worth visiting.  There is an admission cost, and you'd be wise to purchase your tickets online ahead of time.

We then hopped back onto the Metro and rode to the Freer Gallery of Art to see "In the Beginning: The Bible Before the Year 1000."  We had actually stopped there first when when we arrived in D.C., but the huge line (1 hour+ wait) prompted us to go on over to the Spy Museum.  We just barely made it into the exhibit before it was closed for the day, and we (mostly Dawn and I) enjoyed the displays of ancient manuscripts of the Bible.  With the little bit of textual criticism I learned in Greek 3 this fall, I got excited seeing the  Chester Beatty Papyri (p45 and p46, some of the oldest  portions of the gospels and Paul's letters we have, which date from 200 to 300 AD [Common Era]) and p64, another fragment of papyrus which contains a portion of Matthew's gospel (dated from before 200 CE).  The exhibit also featured two very well preserved pages from Codex Sinaiticus, the oldest complete New Testament in existence (circa 400 CE).  Viewing that was quite moving to me.  This collection of manuscripts was on loan from the Bodleian Library at Oxford University.  I was also happy to see for the first time a page from Codex Washingtonensis, which contains portions of the four gospels, and is dated between 400-500 CE.  The picture on the right is detail from the cover of Codex Washingtonensis, which is housed at the Freer Gallery as part of its permanent collection (thus the local connection appeals to me).  Since the Freer is part of the Smithsonian Institution, admission is free.

The experience of seeing for myself these fragments of papyri containing God's Word was as stirring to me as when Dawn and I visited the Pergamum Museum in Berlin, Germany, back in 1987 and walked under the reconstructed arch from ancient Babylon housed there.  (I remember thinking, "Daniel stood under this arch!")  The exhibition also displays many other manuscripts with ornate lettering and illustrations.  The artwork and lettering was impressive.  We were able to spend only one hour touring "In the Beginning: The Bible Before the Year 1000,' but that was plenty of time.  Admittedly, the younger people in our entourage did not find this exhibit as fascinating as I did, but they tolerated Dad's enthusiasm as he poked his way from display to display.  We shared a lot of laughs as the day went on.

Three Handy Bible Study Helps

Many folks who start out reading the Bible begin in Genesis, but they soon become bogged down in the genealogies.  So what about all those "begets" in the Bible?  There's hope: the most boring part of the Bible has all of a sudden gotten interesting!  Michael Kruse talks about making sense of the Old Testament genealogies.  This is a fine post on an overlooked topic.

In my posts on translations earlier this week, I failed to mention a very helpful online translation with study notes called NETBible, which was developed by the Biblical Studies Foundation.  If I were you, I would definitely bookmark this site and visit it whenever I was studying a Scripture passage.  This new translation is readable and accurate, and the notes are thorough, practical, and beneficial.  Once you open NETBible's home page, just scroll down in the left-hand column along the margin and choose the book you want to study and click on it.  Then choose your chapter, and away you go.  When you click on a footnote number, the note opens up in a separate window at the bottom of the screen.  I also have NETBible on my Palm Pilot, and I use it all the time.

Here's a valuable tool to help you do word studies on various biblical terms:  Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words.  I recommend that you get a copy of this reference work and keep it close at hand, ready to be used to help you understand the meaning of Bible words.  I like what I see in it, and will be using it frequently.  This book is like the older Vine's Expository Dictionary, but much more detailed and usable.  Hot dog! You can still ask for it for Christmas.

Translations and Bible Study

After writing yesterday's post I got to thinking about possible reasons why there's a market for for so many translations in the first place.  While the Bible publishers obviously recognize that there's a lot of money to be earned investing in the development and promotion of new translations, what's the motivation for the consumer?  The various "niche" study Bibles with footnotes by famous authors or that are targeted to special interest groups might have their place.  But why new translations?

Speaking from personal experience, I know I was attracted to newer, fresher translations because I thought that by using them I could understand God's Word better.  The King James Version was too familiar, too archaic-sounding.  Most of the time I had to keep a dictionary with me to define what some of the words meant.  But at issue was something more than the outdated, 400-year-old language.

At its heart, Bible study requires spiritual discernment.  We need the Holy Spirit of God to open our eyes to grasp what the words of Scripture mean and how they apply to us.  I didn't fully realize this as a young person.  I wanted the meaning of the Bible to jump off the pages with such an obviousness that I couldn't miss it, and I thought updated language would make the difference.  Just as the English language has evolved over the past few centuries, so should the language of our translations.  The newer translations definitely bring greater clarity to God's Word. 

But a fresh translation or paraphrase doesn't compensate for a lack of spiritual discernment.  We humans desperately need the Holy Spirit's illumination if we are going to get what his Word says (1 Corinthians 2:9-12).  The Spirit of God moved holy men of old to pen the words of Scripture (2 Peter 1:21), and He will guide our understanding of it if we let Him. 

God's Spirit gladly instructs those who yield to His control.  How can you and I prepare ourselves to be taught by the Holy Spirit as we read the Bible?  By confessing known sins, being willing to obey what He teaches, and lingering expectantly over the passage.  An attitude of honest, hopeful, and humble expectancy welcomes the Spirit's illumination.

One other reason I have been attracted to newer translations is that I didn't know the mechanics of Bible study: observation-interpretation-application.  I thought the message of God's Word would be obvious, and I was obviously wrong.  Proverbs 2:1-5 reminds us that understanding the Bible requires the same determination and diligence as a miner digging for gold or silver.  When I can't find something in the kitchen I usually holler and ask Dawn to show me where it is.  More often than not she'll waltz in, pull open a drawer, and voila! there's the lost item right on top in plain sight.  With a bit of a smirk she'll ask, "What's the matter?  It didn't jump out at you, did it?"  That reminds me of Bible study.  Naturally, I want the meaning to jump out at me without the necessary Spirit-dependence or the work of prayer, research, and meditation. 

Let me be as clear as I can be: I'm deeply grateful for the multitude of translations and paraphrases of the Bible we English-speakers have available to us.  Their variety helps bring out the different shades of meaning found in the original writings.  But it's important to remember that a more easily understood text cannot make up for neglecting the Holy Spirit's illuminating work or being lazy.

Bible of the Month Club

Every now and then I am asked why there are so many different translations of the Bible and what's the difference between them.  Here's an informative piece by New Yorker magazine on the the Bible publishing industry.  While the article is rather long (4000+ words in length), it is worth your time perusing it to get an idea of the differences in translations and the motivations behind publishing them.  (Thanks, Justin Taylor)

While I was growing up, my parents joked that I belonged to the "Bible of the Month Club" because I was always buying the latest translation to help me understand the Bible.  Our United Methodist church gave me a Revised Standard Version when I was in 3rd grade.  After we moved and began to attend a different church, I got a paperback Good News for Modern Man.  (I really liked that one, not for the wording but for its simple line drawings.)  For Christmas in 8th grade I received a Living Bible/The Way which I thought was pretty cool.  When I started attending a Christian school, we had to use the King James Version, though one of my teachers sometimes quoted other, newer translations.  While in high school, I bought a New American Standard Bible and an Amplified Bible and used them both a lot.  During college I discovered the New International Version and found that it read quickly when I needed to cover long sections of scripture in one sitting.  Somewhere along the way I came across other versions, like J. B. Phillip's paraphrase, Eugene Peterson's The Message, and the New King James Version.  Each one of these translations or paraphrases has value, though I have found some more beneficial than others.

I don't have one favorite English translation right now, but I use the NIV the most because that's what nearly all of the Christians around me carry and read.  The NASB is probably the closest thing to being my personal preference for studying the English Bible.  I haven't used the relatively new English Standard Version, although many Bible scholar big guns have lined up to endorse it.  I guess I'll just have to check it out sometime soon. 

Be thankful for the multitude of English translations because they are a valuable tool for studying the Scriptures when you don't know the original languages.  Comparing the translations with one another will give you pretty good idea of what the biblical author was trying to say.

I prefer formal equivalence (a more literal, word-for-word) translations over dynamic equivalence (thought-for-thought) translations/paraphrases such as the NIV, New Living Translation, and The Message.  The Amplified Bible is like a commentary embedded in the verses because it brings out all the various shades of meaning and translation possibilities.  I think the Amp is very useful for studying, but not for reading out loud.  Paraphrases, like The Message and Living Bible, are also helpful in Bible study because they present the author's perspective on what the passage means in everyday language.  IMHO, paraphrases are supplements to more literal translations but not substitutes for them.  Still, Peterson knows how to turn a phrase and more often than not captures the essence of the scripture passage in powerful contemporary terms.

Bibles that have study notes are helpful, though I don't use one.  Mine has cross references and a concordance, but no footnotes.  I've never liked red letter Bibles because the red ink is too hard to see.  Besides, isn't all of it the Word of the Lord?  Cover-wise, genuine leather is better than bonded leather, but the bonded leather Bible I'm using right now is holding up okay, even though I did spill coffee on it earlier this year.

The goal of Bible reading and meditation is not scholarship but obedience, and the best Bible is the one you'll read and study so you can go and do. 

Weekend Wonderings

Interesting places I've been on the web this week...

Jim Martin had a lot of guts to write this post about children-controlled families.  Many of us know whereof he speaks.

Here are 63 Christmas gift ideas that are $10 or less.   Some are very creative and clever.

According to Scot McKnight, the public has spoken: it's officially okay to say "Merry Christmas" at the store.

This looks like an interesting exhibit right in our backyard (almost)..."In the Beginning: Bible Before the Year 1000" at the Smithsonian's Freer Gallery of Art/Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington, D.C.  I'll have to get down there and see it over the holidays and maybe drag along a few friends and family.  Here's the link to the Museum's official description of the exhibition.

If you're wondering about the movie, The Nativity Story, Mark Roberts has written extensively on it, and I think you'll enjoy his posts.  Stop by his blog and take a gander.  Dawn and I plan on seeing the film once the dust settles this next week.

(Photo by Gordon _IA)

Weekend Wonderings

A treasure trove of fascinating tidbits of Trekkies, truth, and trivia...

In honor of the Fortieth Anniversary of its first show, these die-hard fans in upstate New York show that Star Trek lives long and prospers.  (Hat Tip to Michael Kruse at Kruse Kronicle)

Justin Taylor at his Beyond Two Worlds blog alerted me to this very interesting article on the Top 15 Finds from Biblical Archeology by Dr. Walter Kaiser.  Whether you enjoy reading about history or not, you will find this article enjoyable and educational.

A "vigilant" vice-principal in Laurel, MD, thwarted a student's dangerous activity: quietly reading the Bible in the cafeteria during lunch.

Joel Belz of World Magazine observes that westerners have misunderstood the Pope's speech condemning violence in the name of religion as much as Muslims have.

Cool technology story of the week from Wired: a machine that can produce drinking water from thin air almost anywhere in the world using low levels of energy and without producing toxic byproducts at a cost of about 30 cents per gallon.

Weekend Wanderings and Wonderings

Ben Witherington gives an excellent summary of the history of the writing of the King James Version translation in his 8/22/06 post, "The Origin of the English Bible".  The KJV's history does not support the outlandish claims made by those who idolize it as the only inspired translation of the Bible.

Jim Martin writes in two posts on dry creek beds, an apt picture of many a Christian's walk with Christ.  His words have come at a good time for me.  Read Creek Bottom Faith #1 and Creek Bottom Faith #2.

Scot McKnight pens a stirring word of encouragement for a younger and newly-hired fellow professor at his university.  His warm and practical words of counsel will help anyone who teaches God's Word do it with greater impact on his or her students.  There is helpful advice for any teacher with students at any grade level.

Finally, a Bible for those with a deep faith and deeper pockets!  A monastery in Minnesota is selling 360 copies of the St. John Bible, a handwritten and illuminated edition, for only $115,000 per copy.