Interview with Keith Williams on The Mosaic Bible
I’m delighted to have Keith Williams, General Editor of the Mosaic Bible, and Bible and Reference Editor at Tyndale House. This is part of The Mosaic Bible blog tour. You can find Keith regularly on the NLT Blog, or follow him on twitter, @keithwilliams. Don’t forget to look at the rules for my contest to give away a certificate for one free copy of The Mosaic Bible.
Q: In preparing this Bible was there any single experience that most touched you and the editorial team?
A: In almost every week, there was at least one quote, prayer, or reading that captured my spiritual imagination, but the one thing that sticks out most was seeing the final page proofs. To see how everything had come together in a way that fulfilled and even exceeded our vision for the Bible was quite gratifying. Our design team did an amazing job with the layout, and the final touch of varying the size and presentation of the art was captivating to me.
Q: I know that you chose quotations from writers of each century of Christian history and from every continent. What other criteria did you use in choosing the contributors?
A: It was important to me to present a wide diversity of perspectives throughout, not only historically and geographically, but also across the various strands of Christian traditions, etc. I was also careful to include women throughout. In every single week, the contributors gave me more content than I could actually fit in a given week, and often I found myself cutting excellent material simply because I already had half a dozen quotes from a particular author or others like him or her. Ultimately, however, even though the diversity was important, I was careful to make sure that everything included would point the reader to deeper reflection on God and his Word in the context of that week’s theme.
Q: Did you find any new writer that particularly touched you or interested you that you could recommend to my readers?
A: This was my first exposure to most of the contemporary authors who contributed to this project. By “contemporary authors,” I mean those people who were commissioned to write the central meditation for each week. I found many of them to be very interesting and engaging, and I am somewhat at a loss to pick and choose. I do remember quite clearly that Tamara Park’s meditation (“Marked with Khesed,” p. m312-313) was so good that I couldn’t bring myself to edit it down to just one page. It is the only one that spills over to a second page. I remember agonizing over the proof, seeing that I just couldn’t get it to fit on one page without losing something important, so we broke the rules and let it spill over.
Q: In my experience the NLT is much more commonly used for personal reading than for public reading or exegetical study. Is that an accurate characterization of normal use? Do you see the NLT text as well suited for public reading and preaching?
A: There are definitely churches that use the NLT as their primary Bible for preaching and reading, but there are also believers and pastors who encourage using the NLT for personal reading while using a more formal translation in worship and study. I think the NLT can be used in both contexts with profit; it is a serious translation, done by qualified scholars who are passionate about communicating the Word of God as clearly and accurately as possible in modern English. Of course, the preacher will sometimes have to explain why the sermon deviates from the NLT, but doesn’t that happen with every translation in an exegetical sermon? The honest answer is yes. The nature of translation is that decisions are made that will capture major aspects of the original text, but it is not possible to represent all of the nuance of the original in translation. It is a myth that formal translations are better at preserving more of the aspects of the original language than dynamic ones. Both strategies have their strengths, and anyone doing in-depth Bible study in English should definitely consult more than one translation in their studies. But the NLT is definitely an excellent choice as a primary translation for exegetical study, public reading and preaching. Often the clarity of the NLT will shine a bright light on the central point of the text that might be obscured by the familiarity or traditional language of a more formal translation.
Q: Could you expand on what it means for this Bible to be Christocentric and how you accomplish this through the choice of readings and the layout?
A: This is a great question! There are two primary ways that I hope believers will be able to “encounter Christ” through this Bible. First, they will most certainly encounter Christ through his Word, which is presented on its own without the distraction of other content sharing the page. All of the supplementary content in the front is intended to drive readers back to the Scripture readings, the revealed Word of God. Second, I believe people will be able to encounter Christ through the witness of a community of believers from various times, places, and traditions of the faith. The readings, hymns, prayers, and artwork are all representations of Christ’s work in his people. They are brought together in a way that highlights the fact that Christ is truly present among his people, despite (and perhaps even through) our obvious differences.
