The field of Bible translation is filled with theories, principles, frames and frameworks. When it comes to the relevance of the Scriptures themselves for the task of translation, little is heard beyond references to the Great Commission. I present here ten affirmations about Bible translation drawn in large part from the Scriptures with the conviction …
5 Reasons to Read John Calvin’s First Theological Work
In 1535, John Calvin arrived in Basel, Switzerland, having fled his homeland because of rising persecution. While in Basel, Calvin wrote two theological works, one in French and the second in Latin. The first work was a preface to the New Testament in French. This preface was appreciated at the time but has been largely forgotten, overshadowed by his …
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What Happens to Christians Without a Bible?
High in the Finisterre Mountains of Papua New Guinea, Luke Ketenu wrote a letter requesting a wokman ‘worker’ come to his community, referring to a missionary who could translate God's Word and then teach his people. Luke wrote his letter on May 28, 2004; he had written before, and he will no doubt continue writing. Far too often people groups receive …
John Calvin on Suffering for the Gospel
In 1535, John Calvin was hiding in Basel, Switzerland, yet he was very aware that his fellow reformers were suffering for the gospel in France. The young, 25-year-old John Calvin had fled to Basel after fully embracing the Reformation and committing his life to Christ. While there, he wrote a preface for the French New Testament, a translation of his …
Toward a Theology of Translation, Part 3
In this series on a theology of Bible translation, we are setting forth foundational propositions about God, the Scriptures, and the languages of the world. In the first and second blog posts, we discussed four propositions derived from Scripture. We will briefly summarize these propositions below and then turn to the fifth and final proposition. As we …