Rethinking Baptism and Bible Translations…

I’ve noticed for a long time that many objections (not all mind you) to the Bible which come from atheists or skeptics stem from their reading the Bible in English.

The Bible wasn’t written in English. Meanings get shaded or misunderstood when you don’t pay attention to the original definitions of the words and instead concentrate on the English definitions of the translation.

Not reading a verse in context will also get you flying around on some tangents, as many skeptics unwittingly find themselves doing as well. Personally, I believe this stems from their assumption that taking the Bible literally is so ridiculous and so obviously wrong. This assumption seems to make them careless from time to time when accusing it.

People would be surprised, in my opinion, if they realized how many of the “errors” in the Bible cited by a skeptic here or there were simply nothing more than superficial accusations which don’t hold an ounce of water. Often, these type of accusations often would not even have been made if not for a particular wording in an English translation.

The phrase “lost in translation” often applies. Translating from Greek to English isn’t so cut and dried. The meaning can be shaded one way or another depending on the English word used, or the way a sentence is structured in the English. As you can expect, some versions of the Bible are more accurate than others, generally due to the decision of the translators to make the text easier to read while sacrificing accuracy, or vice-versa, as well as the bias of the translators.

Yes, bias plays a role. A particular passage will often be worded in a way the translator believes is consistent with what the author is trying to say, and amazingly, the translator almost always has an opinion on this before even beginning. Why? Because most translators are Christians who grew up in Church being taught their doctrines and beliefs. It’s only natural to have a few assumptions affecting your perception. That’s just life.

That’s also why I’m glad there are many different translations, and thousands upon thousands of ancient manuscripts to verify and double check any version of the Bible.

If you study carefully, you’ll see these places from time to time that have been shaded one way by the New American Standard Bible, another way by the New Living Translation, and yet another by the New International Version.

Generally speaking, the more “readable” a version is, the more bias you’ll see in the wording. The more accurate to the original Greek or Hebrew, the less.

Bored yet? Sorry.

All this brings me to baptism.

Stuff You Wonder About Church But Wouldn’t Dare Ask

Why couldn’t a person decorate a church by putting a few animals and deer heads around the place?

Facing A Tragedy

Today was a sad day, but a day with hope as well. This morning I had the honor and privilege of officiating the funeral of a 3 year old boy. Even now, several days after he died, there are no results telling us why. He was a bounding, curious and cute kid nearly three years old, and the next thing you know, he was running a fever, throwing up a couple of times, taken to the hospital and passed away. Shock is too small a word. Autopsy results may give us a reason, but the bigger reason may remain unknown until we get to the other side.

Was there a purpose here? Why would God allow such a thing to happen?

If you were God and could see things from His perspective, I imagine it wouldn’t be nearly as hard. If we could see the look on someone’s face as they enter the place God has prepared for them… maybe we’d be a lot more jealous than sad? Truth is, all of us are going to spend much more time on the other side of eternity. Life simply isn’t very long –even if you live to old age. The Bible compares life to a mist that is here for a moment and then gone. And the Scriptures also compare life to grass that grows in the morning but by evening has withered away. However it is described, the word temporary always seems to apply. 1,000,000 years from now, the years the little three year old missed on this side won’t seem quite so large or important.

Or maybe it is vitally important? Maybe that’s the point.

You have to admit that if God exists as the Bible describes Him, then death here is not the end but merely a beginning of something even better. If God exists and the Bible is even remotely true, then the next life is so much more important than this one because this one is temporary, while the next is eternal.

Perhaps the important thing is to make it; to get to eternity because that’s where we will meet again. The little three year old boy has made it. He’s avoided the suffering and trials of life here on earth, and he’s made it into something we can only dream about.

Paul would write, “I desire to go and be with Christ which is better by far.”

If by this tragedy, God can reach others who otherwise would have missed out on eternity, then not only did this little boy give his family joy while he was with us, his life would also have been used for the highest purpose: So others would find eternal life because they know a little boy will be waiting for them. It’s very possible that by his death, he and many others will live, whereas if he had lived until very old, he and many others possibly would have died. Days like to today are certainly good at interrupting our busy lives full of a multitude of worries, and reminding us of the things that matter most.

What Jesus said is still true, and one could say especially true in this day and age: “Anyone who finds his life will lose it, but anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it.”

In other words, if you live for this life alone, you’ll wind up with nothing. If you live for Christ and the life to come, you’ll gain everything because this life is temporary but the life to come is eternal. And the only way to get there is through Christ.

Today may have been very important indeed.

Predestination

The question!

Hello Pastor Brain, Can you tell me your thoughts on predestination. My church believes it is God choosing the eternal destiny of human beings – our salvation is a choice God made before creation of the world. We still have free will to accept His calling but if we are not choose then we are unable to be saved Romans 9:19-24. This message confused me a bit and I just wanted your thoughts.

Thanks Becky

Great question! (I always love being called Brain…) Okay, here’s my take!

I Don’t Agree, but It’s an Important Question

I ran across an article here that brought to light a very tough question or three. I’m about to ask something that is so politically incorrect, the mere fact I pose the question will get some of you upset.

Let’s reason together anyway.

Hospitals and doctors these days help women get pregnant with several new and ever improving treatments. A few of these: pregnancy drugs, and implanting fetuses can result in pregnancies with quadtuplets, quintuplets, sextuplets, etc… Lots of babies, very tough pregnancies with many risks to the children and the mom as well.

The article referenced on the blog went as follows:

The Best Greensburg Tornado Pictures

Some incredible shots. It’s worth a look.

What Are We Standing Around For?

What is the biggest issue of the day? Paris Hilton? Mike Nifong resigning? Fred Thompson deciding to run for president? Hillary Clinton’s latest media blitz? Global Warming which is or is not real?

Our headlines are littered with these “important” topics. I’d like to say we are concerned with more important issues at church, but admittedly, we tend to get all worked up over the little things too.

Which… I don’t know about you…. bores me.

A lot of guys believe the same way, according to the book, “Why Men Hate Church.” (An interesting observation from this book is that the people who like action/adventure movies are far less likely to go to church than the people who would much rather watch a “chick-flick.”)

Is that a surprise, or just stereotyping?

Anyway, let’s pause from the Paris/Nifong/Hillary/Church Arguments for a second. Just for a second. And look around the world.

China is supplying arms to insurgents in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Iran is buying up anti-ship weapons and speed boats from China.
North Korea is still working feverishly to put a nuke on top of a missile.
Hamas just took over the Gaza strip.
Islam is growing faster than Christianity.
Secularism is growing faster than Christianity.
Violence is on the upswing again in America.
And oh yes, men aren’t really going to church all that much.

I realize most people who read the above sentences will either say, “so what?” or “there’s nothing I can do.”

But that’s just it. We can do something about it.

Moving To Another Church

Hanging sheetrock, texturing then painting walls, staining and hanging trim, loading boxes, hauling off stuff to the dump, and even finding homes for the dogs are just some of the things involved in moving a family -in this case my own- from one part of the world to another. We’re moving back to Missouri, a nine and a half hour drive when we aren’t driving a Uhaul.

New schools, new neighbors, new surroundings, and yes, a new church.

For most people, moving to a new area and getting involved with a new church is not an easy process. Simply finding a church that seems to fit what you are looking for can take weeks and usually months. There’s a real danger of putting the decision off and discovering six months later you still haven’t found that church and God’s role in your life is becoming less and less.