Obama at Ebenezer Baptist
The entire text is available on Levellers, and it’s a good one. Head over there and read it. I have the same reservations that Michael Westmoreland-White indicates, but that doesn’t detract from the quality of the speech.
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The Bible, Christianity, and Me (Briefly)
I have seen a few comments lately from both sides of the spectrum about just where the Bible should stand in relation to Christianity and to a person’s personal beliefs. It seems that not only are Christians willing to define the role of the Bible for other Christians, but non-Christians try to explain to Christians,…
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Isaiah 49:5 – An Insignificant Variant
So why do I want to talk about an insignificant variant? The answer is simple. In many cases the reliability of Biblical texts is stated simply in terms of the number of variants that exist in the manuscripts. This number is quite high, but most of these variants are not significant. They may involve identical…
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Thinking about Hell
. . . in fictional form on my Jevlir blog.
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Isaiah 49:2 – Mouths and Sharp Swords
One basis I use for comparing Bible translations is the way in which idioms are handled. It’s difficult to measure this precisely, because you have to consider several things: Is the idiom as used comprehensible to modern readers? Does it mean the same thing to modern as to ancient readers? Is there a reasonable English…
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And Why Shouldn’t They?
A Canadian training manual for diplomats includes the United States on a list of countries where prisoners are at risk of being tortured.
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Of Cowboy Hats and Graduations
Well, I am fully aware of the irony of my posting this right after I write a post about getting more substantive, but I really can’t resist. Besides, the tip of my (floppy) hat goes to Eddie Arthur, so it’s really all his fault. It seems that Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary wants to wear different…
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Belarus Jails Cartoon Publisher
MSNBC has the story of a 3 year sentence in Belarus for publishing the Mohammed cartoons. There seems to be a lot of support for the notion that people have the right not to be offended. I’d suggest they grow up instead.
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Quoting the Old Testament in the New – Psalm 40:6
Note: I will be using the English verse numbering throughout. Hebrew verse numbers are one greater in this chapter, thus this is Psalm 40:7 in Hebrew. In reading Psalm 40 several times, since it’s the lectionary passage for this week, I noticed a few things that I would have missed in just one pass. One…
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Translating Psalm 40:7-8
Aside from numbering problems, Psalm 40:7-8 appears to be quite straightforward on first reading in Hebrew (where it is verse 8-9). The numbering problems include chapter numbering (39 in the LXX), and verse numbering (8-9 in Hebrew, 7-8 in English). Of course, we all know that verse numbering is not inspired; it is often positively…