Those interested in the situation in [tag]Myanmar[/tag] (formerly Burma) will be interested in this story from ScienceNOW published by the AAAS.
Researchers used high resolution images from commercial satellites to confirm a substantial number of reports of atrocities by the Burmese military.
For those interested in taking action, see the U. S. Campaign for Burma.
I just read two excellent articles on Bible translation, one on a blog, and the other coming to me via e-mail. It seems to be very difficult for people to get an idea of just how language works. The notion that each word has a fixed, eternal, precise meaning just seems to hang on. Learning a foreign language will help, as will reading material from earlier in your own language’s history.
The first article is by fellow Moderate Christian Blogroll member Eddie Sue Arthur [I originally credited this article to Eddie, but it is really by Sue. I apologize deeply for miscrediting it] who asks Can you close the door?. It may seem simple enough, but as Sue will demonstrate, it can be somewhat more complicated than that for Bible translators. Not only do words mean different things at different times and in different places, but they also occur in idiomatic expressions in which the word isn’t unit of meaning at all.
Sue’s article is straightforward and simple, and I recommend it to anyone who is struggling to understand why Bible translation cannot be a more absolute and objective process.
The second article came via the Bible Translation Mailing List which presents an article by Kermit Titrud titled Critique of the English Standard Version and Are Only Some Words of Scripture Breathed Out By God by Wayne Grudem in Translating Truth: The Case for Essentially Literal Bible Translation. Wheaton, Il.: Crossway Books, 2005. (You have to say that title on one breath or it doesn’t count!)
Update: This article is now also available on the Better Bibles Blog.
This article examines translations in the [tag]ESV[/tag] and in [tag]dynamic equivalence[/tag] translations that are criticized by Wayne Grudem. The fundamental issue is the same. Languages are very different and finding equivalent expressions requires effort and often will not look very much like the form of the original at all.
I strongly recommend both of these articles, and for non-specialists especially the first.
The debate about labels is one of the most interesting aspects of the creation-evolution controversy to me, and at the same time one of the most frustrating. Since my primary training is in Biblical languages, and by my own efforts in linguistics, the way words are used simply fascinates me.
There is plenty of influence of the PR efforts, particularly those made on the intelligent design side, but also by those of folks in mainstream science. I’m not writing to complain about this. I think it is a natural thing for those who think they are advocating a true or valid position to try to label themselves and the issues in the most favorable fashion. Often this will seem to them as the most accurate labeling as well. After all, they are presenting a “true” position!
My attention was brought back to this topic a couple of days ago when I read this entry on the Panda’s Thumb which shows that [tag]Bill Dembski[/tag] rejects common descent. I then looked around for some evidence, because I thought I remembered that [tag]Michael Behe[/tag] accepts common descent. And sure enough I found it on Telic Thoughts in an article complaining about the use of terminology:
In reality, it is more accurate to label Behe a theistic evolutionist, as this label would accurately communicate that a) Behe is an evolutionist and b) believes God was involved in the process of evolution. And in fact, this is how most people interpret theistic evolution, as some sort of God-guided process. How most people interpret a label is the most important point.
Akismet has grabbed a few comments again, largely on the Jena 6 issue. If anyone did comment and thought you had been censored, it was inadvertent. Check for your comment now. If it still does not appear, enter it again. I would appreciate a comment on this post letting me know when you commented and on what post in that case.
My comments policy remains as open as I can possibly keep it. I reject obvious spam, and use the Akismet plug-in as my first filter. Otherwise, I only remove comments that I believe cross the line into questionable legality.
A few days ago I added Steve Martin’s blog An Evangelical Dialogue on Evolution to my blogroll and subscribed to it’s RSS feed. I have mentioned frequently that there are a number of evangelical Christians who accept evolution, and I’m glad to see more of them involved in the debate.
Today Steve posted a letter from Dr. Richard Colling, which was sent to the Olivet Nazarene University’s newspaper who, not surprisingly, did not publish it. The letter is good reading for those who believe Christian advocates of evolution are not also committed Christians.
Steve’s concluding comment is particularly on point:
This is the kind of testimony that exposes the evolution=atheism lie and the “evolution=compromise slander. It is the credibility of Colling and other deeply committed Christians who uphold the integrity of scripture and the integrity of science, which will ultimately stop Evangelicalisms self-damaging war on evolution. This personal credibility is a much more important factor than any argument from the scientific evidence. It was for me. So Richard, from all of us that have traveled this journey, thanks.
I will continue to watch the feeds and other sources for information on Dr. [tag]Richard Colling[/tag].
Since my step-son John Webb played for their AAA Iowa Cubs this year, I keep close watch on the cubs in general. I just love it when someone provides us with some information we couldn’t have figured out for ourselves:
Were still in the drivers seat, manager Lou Piniella said. Weve just got to start winning some games.
Source: MSNBC.com.
Wow! I’m impressed with his wisdom!
MSNBC.com reports that Mychal Bell has been released on bail. More importantly, the prosecutor is says he will no longer fight the ruling of the appeals court that requires Bell be tried as a juvenile.
This is good news. Now a juvenile court needs to deal with this in an even-handed manner, but one that nonetheless makes it clear beating people up is not acceptable behavior.
My estimate of the DA was not improved by this quote:
“The only way let me stress that the only way that I believe that me or this community has been able to endure the trauma that has been thrust upon us is through the prayers of the Christian people who have sent them up in this community,” Walters said.
“I firmly believe and am confident of the fact that had it not been for the direct intervention of the Lord Jesus Christ last Thursday, a disaster would have happened. You can quote me on that.”
Under the circumstances, that has racial overtones in itself.
In my Breaking Christian News e-mail today the headline story was Depictions of Noah, the “Wet One”, Discovered in Ancient Greek Art.
This sort of thing makes me crazy. The article will leave many Christians with the impression that somehow Greek archeology or [tag]Greek Mythology[/tag] has now produced some sort of proof for the stories in Genesis. But if one follows the links to images, which anyone with an acquaintance with the cultures involved and having a basic understanding of comparative mythology can recognize a contrived parallel.
Apparently this author, Robert Bowie Johnson, Jr., has written a number of things on this topic, all of which appear equally without merit. There’s a good review of a prior book here:
Athena and Kain is a silly book with a pernicious message. It seeks to rob the ancient Greeks of their uniqueness, to taint their contribution to the formation of western culture, and to replace both with a fundamentalist cant that does no service to Genesis. . . .
I’m so glad when competent people take the time to read trash, so that I don’t have to take the time. “Silly” was the first word that came to my mind as well.
Now what is it that prevents Breaking Christian News from recognizing the same thing? Either claiming this sort of thing in support of Christianity, or even presenting it in such a way that one can get that impression can only reflect badly on Christianity and Christians.
Senator [tag]Larry Craig[/tag] apparently lacks even the integrity to resign. He’s decided to hang on because a judge has taken his request to have his guilty plea withdrawn “under advisement” according to MSNBC’s First Read. This guy is an embarrassment to the nation and should resign now.
According to this story on MSNBC.com, Archbishop Francisco Chimoio claims that two European nations are trying to kill off Africans by providing condoms that are already infected with the virus:
I know of two countries in Europe who are making condoms with (the) virus on purpose, they want to finish with African people as part of their program to colonize the continent, Archbishop Francisco Chimoio told Reuters.
He refuses to name the countries and he also provides no evidence, thus there is nothing here that can actually be investigated, but it is not hard to discover what’s going on. Catholics are opposed to condoms and would prefer abstinence as the means of combatting [tag]HIV/AIDS[/tag]. In fact I would prefer abstinence as a means of fighting the disease because it’s absolutely sure–if you practice it. But the fact is that the human factor cannot be ignored, and thus in practical terms, condoms must be part of any strategy to combat AIDS.
The sort of claims made by this Bishop Chimoio are extremely irresponsible, and I believe represent a case of religious doctrine trumping science.
