Found in Translation

How and why I’m translating my own version of the Bible

As I mentioned on Twitter and Facebook yesterday, I started creating my own version of the Bible last week. I know! I’ve no idea how far I’ll go with it, but it’s been a really interesting journey already.

It all started when I sat down last week with my four year old daughter, Eloise, to read through a bit of the Bible with her before bed. Whilst I’ve read her specially written childrens Bible stories before, I’d never read any of the actual Bible with her. I wanted to start with the Bible’s account of God making the world, in Genesis 1. Finding a suitable translation proved much trickier than I’d imagined though. And despite looking through numerous of the many available translations, I couldn’t find any that I really liked.

Well, it wasn’t that I didn’t like them per se, it was that I didn’t like any of them from the perspective of reading them out loud to my young daughter. While some of the translations read really nicely when it came to reading them out loud, the language was overly complex. But then other translations, though using fairly simple language, lacked a smooth sense of flow when reading them out loud. It left me frustrated.

So I started to wonder. What if I translated some of the passages I wanted to read out loud to Eloise so that they had a great read-out-loud flow and were as easy as possible to understand?

And that’s what I’ve started to do! Using the combination of multiple English translations - with additional Hebrew and Greek word studies - I’ve started to write my own version, focussed on those two criteria: easy to understand, great to read out loud.

It won’t be a literal version. There are numerous great, word-for-word translations already out there. I have nothing to add to that type of version. Mine will be a thought-for-thought, or meaning-for-meaning version. I want to grasp the essense of what each passage is saying originally and then capture that using easy to understand languge that is structured to flow easily when spoken out loud. I want to communicate the meaning in everyday, 21st century language — not just translate words.

If taking the time to do this means that my two daughters, as they grow up, both find it easier to enage with - and enjoy! - the Bible, then I’ll consider it more than worth it. It is the two of them who are my motivation for this crazily ambitious project.

But whilst my girls are my source of motivation, I’m not really thinking of this as children’s version. I’m thinking of it simply as a version that will be really helpful for anyone who wants an easy to read, great for reading out loud version of the Bible. So, as I finish different sections of the Bible, I do plan to make them available for others too.

As to whether I end up creating my own version of the whole Bible, I have no idea. For now, I’m focussing on particular books, starting with Genesis and the gospel of John. Doing the whole Bible would probably take me up to ten years. So, we’ll see about that!

Even though I’m only very early into this project, I’ve already found it to be a fascinating process that has been richly rewarding. Having to delve so much into each section, grappling with what was really going on like never before, wrestling with the limitations of the English language — it’s actually pretty exhilarating! There’s definitely no end of gems I’m finding in the process of translating my own version.

UPDATE

I forget to mention that, as well as all the above, I also want this version to have personality. It’s great when ‘proper’ versions have hundreds of scholars all work on them, but it can result in very dry version devoid of any personality. And that’s exactly right for that sort of version. I just also think there’s space for Bible versions that ooze personality as well.

What your reaction to Rob Bell says about...YOU

Arrogance and fear behind many anti-reviews of Bell's new book

It’s that time again. Rob Bell has a new book out and, surprise, surprise, lots of people are in a tizz as a result. I’ve not read all the reviews out there by any stretch, but I’ve read enough to cause a few thoughts to form in my mind.

Before that though, as someone who is four chapters through the book, I thought I’d share a few reflections.

In short: I love it.

I think it’s shaping up to be my favourite book of Bell’s to date. I enjoy his writing style. He has a way of writing that ensures both my heart and mind are fully engaged. 

Do I agree with every single thing he says? Of course not. But I’m finding myself drawn closer to God, wanting to seek Him more closely, and longing to discover more of Him both in the Scriptures and in everything and everyone around me.

I know. Terrible, right? 

So, back to the reviews by others. Or, more specifically, the reviews by those determined to find fault or make issue with anything Bell writes.

One thing stood out to me in particular from the anti-reviews I’ve read, and that was a clear dislike for Bell himself. Finding things to disagree with just seemed like it provided the opportunity to bash something by someone they simply don’t like very much. I was pretty sad to discover that undertone from so many fellow Christians.

Also, it struck me how many of the reviewers clearly never set out to read the book. That’s to say, they never had any intention of reading it in order to learn from it. The only reason they read it at all was to critique it. Again, sad to see. (Note: I’m not suggesting we read books uncritically.)

For me, I don’t need to agree with everything someone says to find great reward and benefit in reading what they write. I am simply someone who wants to learn from the insights of others.

The more I think about it, the more I think that many people’s issues with Bell stem from arrogance and fear.

Arrogance because we’re convinced we’re right and have nothing to learn from someone who doesn’t say things exactly as we want them to be said. And fear because, particuarly those of us who are pastors, we’re afraid our flock won’t be able to handle the questions he raises. 

So we instantly label him a heretic, placing ourselves over and above him, judging him. Instead of humbly looking to learn, we instead arrogantly look to find fault. Not that it’s either/or. We can humbly seek to learn AND humbly find areas where we disagree - and learn through that.

Ultimately, my take is this: if you’re a person of humility, open to learning from the insights of others (even through disagreement), there is much you’ll enjoy from Bell’s new book.

If you're the type of person who is simply going to pick up the book with the sole purpose of hunting down things you disagree with: get a life!

Put Yourself First...For The Sake Of Others

The importance of loving ourselves if we're going to love others well

If we are to become the type of people who make a difference in the lives of others, it’ll be because we have a healthy view of ourselves. Speaking in the first century, Jesus himself taught the crowds that followed him to ‘love your neighbour as yourself’ (emphasis mine). Loving, serving, and influencing others is directly connected to how we think about ourselves.

At first glance, this seems counterintuitive. If we want to serve others, shouldn’t we put them first? Isn’t it selfish to focus on ourselves?

Of course, it can be selfish to focus on ourselves—if that is all we focus on. But if we focus on ourselves for the benefit of both ourselves and others, it becomes something wonderfully healthy.

If I don’t invest in myself, what will I have to give to others? If I don’t see value in myself, what value will I be able to add to others? Having a positive impact on the lives of others flows out of ensuring we have something to give. We love ourselves in order to better love others.

There is a virtuous cycle to this loving of others as we love ourselves though that we mustn’t lose sight of. The more we love ourselves, the more we desire to love others. But the more we love others, the more we’ll love ourselves.

We mustn’t wait until we love ourselves perfectly before we start to love others. If we do, we’ll be waiting a long, long time. And choosing to focus on the needs of others has the effect of helping us maintain a healthy perspective on how we see ourselves.

It is so easy to become self-absorbed and self-centred as individuals. And this always leads to us having a distorted picture of ourselves. Serving the needs of others is a fabulous leveller. It keeps us grounded and humble. And the essence of humility is in having neither a inflated nor deflated opinion of ourselves; it is in having an accurate and truthful view of ourselves.

As we seek to be people who try to make the world a better, more human place, let us seek out this delicate balancing act of loving both ourselves and others. Let us love ourselves enough to continually invest in ourselves and to keep becoming all that we can be. And let us not keep what we have to ourselves. Let us always be on the look out for the needs of others around us, serving and loving them will all our hearts.

Growth Never Happens By Chance

If we want to keep growing as people, we must plan for it

I started reading John Maxwell's latest book The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth this morning, and I'm already inspired.

The first law that I read is ‘The Law of Intentionality’. This law is about the vital truth that growth doesn’t just happen.

I was reminded afresh of the need to plan if I want to keep growing and developing as a person. It won’t happen by itself. I must choose to grow and choose to do things that will help me grow.

The chapter also served up a challenge to avoid what might be called ‘tomorrow syndrome’. It’s so easy to plan to change ‘tomorrow’. But we have to start now. How many of us reach the end of our lives with potential and talent that was never unleashed, simply because we were always going to embark on something ‘tomorrow’?

My goal, inspired by this first chapter, is to seriously up my level of intentionality when it comes to investing in my personal growth. I don’t want to reach the end of my life with talent and potential still locked away inside of me. But, like everyone else, if that’s going to happen, I must be intentional about it.

Bold As Love

A few thoughts on ‘Bold as Love’ by Bob Roberts Jr

I've just finished reading a book called Bold as Love by Bob Roberts Jr. It's a bold, uncompromising, and yet refreshing look at how followers of Christ can and should relate to people of other faiths.

Whilst he steers well away from the watered down, compromise filled approach of inter-faith movements, he passionately promotes the idea of a multi-faith movement. The difference is that the inter-faith movement looks to find the areas of agreement between different religious positions, and turn a blind eye to anything else. Multi-faith is about embracing and recognising the - often huge - differences between religions (including wanting to convert the other!) and yet choosing to engage with and build friendships with people from other faiths.

His goal is not to try and suggest people shy away from telling the truth about what their religion teaches. His goal is to encourage people to build friends where the truth about the differences is acknowledged and discussed in friendly, relational ways.

I found the book deeply challenging. And whilst I do have some friends from other religions - and many who don't have a religion - I want to push the boat out and make interacting and building friendships with people of other religions something I do much more of.

Despite what many secularists would try to have us believe, the vast majority of people in the world are religious. And, for a healthy, peaceful world to exist, it is vital that relationships between people of different religions is something we do well. 

Many Christians fear that they'll be compromised or that other faiths - particularly Islam - is the enemy and we should simply steer clear at all costs. Roberts’ challenges this view head on. We need to be building relationships with people of all faiths and none.

All in all, it Bold as Love was a thoroughly enjoyable read, filled with great stories - particularly of his relationships with Muslims, often leading government officials in Muslim nations. I'd highly recommend it to any Christian. But I'd also recommend it to anyone interested in the relationship between different religions.

What I'm Reading At The Moment

Earlier today, I posted the following on Twitter and Facebook:

One key skill we need to develop to be prepared for the future is adaptability. In order to be adaptable we have to remain open to the new.

To stay open to the new, we have to be teachable and never stop learning. Don’t wait to be taught; seek out new information and learning.

Choose to read books that broaden your horizons rather than those that merely reaffirm what you already know or believe. Stretch yourself.

My friend Shawna then asked if I had any book recommendations. It's a question I get asked a lot. Whilst I do periodically make book recommendations, I don't do it as much as I used to. People have such different tastes and interests and so what is a hit for me might be a complete flop for you.

With that said, I thought I'd simply share a list of some of the books that are on my virtual reading pile at the moment and let you explore away and see if you find anything the piques your interest.

  • Nelson Mandela: Portrait Of An Extraorindary Man — Richard Stengel
  • Bold as Love — Bob Roberts
  • Hearts on Fire — Jill Iscol
  • Hallucinations — Oliver Sacks
  • Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us — Daniel Pink
  • To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Persuading, Convincing, and Influencing — Daniel Pink
  • This Will Make You Smarter — John Brockman
  • The Idolatry of God — Peter Rollins
  • The Future — Al Gore
  • Adapt: Why Success Always Starts With Failrue — Tim Harford
  • The Incarus Deception — Seth Godin
  • The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth — John Maxwell

Feel free to add you own books that you're reading at the moment in the comments below, I'm always on the look out for a good read!

Critical Advice On Making New Years Resolutions

Welcome to 2013! I truly hope that this year is your best yet, filled with opportunities, growth, and prosperity in every aspect of life.

Having got that out of the way, I want to write about something much more important: New Years Resolutions.

It is that time of year where all of us feel compelled to make changes to our lives. For whatever reason, the start of a new year inspires us to consider a new us too. And so we think about all the ways in which we want to change our lives for the better, the things we’d like to do, the goals we’d like to achieve.

From these thoughts we build a list. We write down all the changes we want to make and the resolutions we aim to keep. But, inevitably, our ambitions all too quickly fade away as the busyness of life swallows our goals and we are left feeling very depressed by our own inability to change ourselves. (Who knows how direct a link there is between January being the month of New Years Resolutions and being the most depressing month of the year for people around the world.)

So what’s the solution? Well, I’m not suggesting we shouldn’t set any goals inspired by the New Year, but I am going to say we need to be much smarter in how we go about making them.

All too often, we end up making resolution lists like this:

  • I’m going read more
  • I’m going to write more
  • I’m going to go to exercise more
  • I’m going to eat healthier
  • I’m going to go on that dream holiday

All of these are noble ambitions. But they are both too vague and too many.

So my advice for those of us who are determined to make some kind of New Years Resolution this year is simple: Only make one, and make sure it is specific.

How might this look in practice? Let’s take a look are a goal of ‘reading more’.

First we need to realise that ‘reading more’ needs to be made into something much more specific, tangible, measurable, and achievable. Any New Years Resolution needs to stretch us beyond what we’re doing now, but it also has to be genuinely possible to make happen. Start easy. Don’t set a goal of reading three books a month if you only managed to read two books in the whole of 2012.

And start simply with January. Don’t think about the whole year. Set yourself a realistic goal for January, and then reassess at the end of the month. Maybe a realistic goal would be to start and finish one book in the month of January.

Having set a goal though, think about how that goal will happen. Typically, for us to take on anything new and additional, we will also have to lose something to make space for the new. What are we going to drop so we have time to do more reading, writing, exercising, et cetera?

Having made a single, simple, achievable short-term goal, we then need to tell at least one other person and keep them in the loop on progress. It’s amazing how motivating it is knowing that someone will ask how you’re getting on! Invite people into the process.

The most important thing really with any New Years Resolution is to set yourself up for success rather than failure. Small, incremental successes may feel much less dramatic than having big, life-changing goals, but only the former is sustainable and realistic. Only the former will lead to actual change.