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Impact

Why Translate the Bible (again)

I love these quotes on twitter from Brian:

“The Early Fathers translated the Gospel to make it accessible not acceptable”

Reading the Scripture is not a means of self-actualization, rather it is a means of personal conversion to God.

Nice and short, as demanded by twitter, but full of meaning and significance. We translate the Scriptures so that they are accessible to people – so that people can read and understand them. And the pont of reading them is not to feel good or to be confirmed in our pre-existing views. The Bible confronts our society, our morals and our political views head on and calls us to repent and conform to God’s pattern from human life.

There is a place for academic discussion of translation issues and the the precise meaning of the Scriptures – it’s something I spend a lot of time doing myself. But we must never lose sight of the fact that the Bible is there to bring us close to God, so that we can be realigned with his purposes in time and eternity.

If you like Brian’s tweets, you should read his blog.