In the first article of this series we examined some of the basic issues in Bible translation. We saw the difference between paraphrase, dynamic equivalence and formal equivalence and identified some rules of translations. Of utmost importance was the necessity of translating words, not meaning. Today we continue with the introduction to translating and translations.…
The Ken Jennings Show – It is the last day of November. Just where has the month gone to? Time seems to be accelerating for some reason. Time could be slowing for Ken Jennings, the man who has won 74 consecutive shows of Jeopardy. According to the rumor mill (ie two people who attended the…
This is the first in a series of articles which will examine the various Bible translations available today in the English language. With such a multitude of translations available, Christians are often puzzled as they attempt to discern which one most accurately represents the words of God. In past years many have been told that…
Bad Timing, Good Morality – In retrospect, releasing a movie which glorifies bisexuality less than a month after an election where traditional values was so important was probably quite a mistake. I’m not sure that Oliver Stone and the folks at the studio are ready to admit it, though. It seems that a movie praised…
We would consider it a peculiarity if I claimed to love someone yet refused to spend time with him. I love my son dearly, more than life itself, and one of the most sincere expressions of my love is my desire to spend time with him, be it in reading books, playing a game, watching…
I spent a good chunk of time yesterday reading the introductions to Bible translations. Sounds fascinating, doesn’t it? I am hoping to do a series on this site about translating and translations, examining the differences in translations and trying to identify the superior ones. I dug up all the translations I could find around the…
Christianity Today has released their list of the Top 12 Albums of 2004. Generally in the past I have listened to almost all of the albums on their lists, but this year is an exception as I bought only four of them. Fortunately they made sure to give Derek Webb some love, awarding him the…
In recent days I have had a few people take the time to challenge me about their perception that this Web site, and the content of it, are largely negative in tone. As one might expect, I take offense to such comments and would largely disagree with them. I do certainly broach topics that are…
As Christians we have generally grown accustomed to the use of mainstream music in our faith and in our worship. Christian rock, once a fringe movement, has become widely-known and I suspect most Christians now listen to some form of contemporary Christian music. If you’ve ever spoken to unbelievers about this music, you know that…
In Canada we celebrated Thanksgiving long ago, on October 11. At that time I wondered on this site just who it is that people offer their thanks to if they do not believe in God. The verb “thanks” without an appropriate number of prepositions makes little sense. While everyone likes to give thanks for things…
James White was on Issues, Etc (a radio show) last Sunday talking about his book Scripture Alone. The first hour he mostly talked with the host about various issues and the second hour he answered calls from listeners. If you have questions or concerns about the doctrine of sola scriptura I’m sure you would find…
Last weekend Billy Graham preached at what may be his final crusade, preaching before up to 82,000 people at a time. A headline at Pastors.com proclaimed the crusade a great success, indicating that some 12,000 people made decisions for Christ. In a previous article I expressed concerns with Graham’s ecumenism and the fact that Roman…
The owner of a grilled cheese sandwich that bears the image of the Virgin Mary sold it at auction yesterday, bringing in £15,000 (I had to work hard to find that £ symbol). The sandwich is ten years old but the former owner insists it has never produced even a single pore of mold. Apparently…
I just received a letter from Sola Scriptura Publishing that contained joyous news. The Reformation Study Bible, previously known as The New Geneva Study Bible is back in print and will be available in English Standard Version as of March 2005. It was edited by R.C. Sproul and contributors included J.I. Packer, Wayne Grudem and…
Every now and then it’s fun to look through my site stats and see how people found this site through search engines. In the past couple of months 3258 different keyphrases led to this site. Here are the top five with the percentage they constitute of searches leading to this site: Here are some random…
Almost a year ago I created a phrase to describe something I was going through. Being unable to come up with any new and exciting site designs, I found that the words Creativity Cramp described how I was feeling. It is a general inability to be creative. And that’s where I am today. I have…
Banner of Truth features many excellent articles, but one that grabbed my attention recently is entitled simply Apostasy. The author makes a distinction between two terms that I had never stopped to differentiate – apostasy and heresy. Apostasy he defines as a rejection of truth that one once believed. So I would be apostate if…
I don’t often advertise here, but I’ve found a really good deal I’d like to pass along. The company that hosts my Web site, along with the sites of many of my clients, is offering a deal for this week. They are doubling many of their services, so instead of getting 1 GB of storage…
Our church has been in existence for three years now and is at the point where it needs to formalize many things, including its incorporation. This morning I, along with many other people at the church, was handed a 37 page document and asked to review it. Generally I flee from such legalese-filled documents but…
God uses the most basic building blocks to construct his kingdom. He primarily extends his Kingdom through the family. Second only to the family is the local church. It is no wonder then, that we see both family and church under constant attack from Satan. We see all around us the level of success Satan…