Teaching

A review of the HCSB

Leave a comment

Someone recently asked me what I thought of the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB). This translation was published in 2003 and is doing quite well. In fact, it ranked #7 in Bible translation sales in February, beating out The Message and my own personal preference, the New American Standard Bible (you can see the full report on the CBMW Gender blog). In the introduction to the HCSB, the editors list four goals:

  • to provide English-speaking people across the world with an accurate, readable Bible in contemporary English
  • to equip serious Bible students with an accurate translation for personal study, private devotions, and memorization
  • to give those who love God’s word a text that is easy to read, visually attractive on the page, and appealing when heard
  • to affirm the authority of the Scriptures as God’s inerrant word and to champion its absolutes against social or cultural agendas that would compromise its accuracy

In his book How to Choose a Bible Version, Robert Thomas gives a mixed review of the Holman Bible. (The parenthetical numbers represent his five main criteria for choosing a Bible.) He says,

The HCSB has the same goal as many other versions of the Bible: to obtain the ideal balance between faithfulness to the original text and readability. It has probably sacrificed too much of the former in order to achieve the latter, however. For example, it has omitted many conjunctions of the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek originals, and has rarely if ever translated into English the original’s basis for the familiar ‘and it came to pass’ (KJV) or ‘and it came about’ (NASB) that occurs so frequently in the text. That and similar factors reduce the effectiveness of this version as a study tool (#3). The presence of two English stylists on the eight-member editorial committee overseeing the project probably accounts for the diminishing of literal renderings, but also increases the readability value for the casual reader (#5). Also, the version’s decision to render the Greek word Christos as ‘Christ’ in some context (426 times) and ‘Messiah’ (125 times) in others introduces interpretation of the translators into the text and thereby weakens its value as a study tool (#3). As a rule, the HCSB has allowed an Alexandrian text-type, but has clouded the issue by not clarifying instances where the reader must choose between the Alexandrian and Byzantine text-types. The version has created this confusion by including ancient uninspired texts from Christian tradition and interpretation alongside the inspired text without alerting the lay reader in each place which text is inspired and which is not. This is a weakness in the area of textual basis (#2) as it is also in the area of theological bias (#4) because it implies a weak view of biblical inspiration. One would hasten to say, however, that this impression does not reflect the translators’ view on the inerrancy of Scripture. As a whole, the version is theologically conservative, including its determination to avoid gender neutral inclinations (#4). Of course, the HCSB falls outside the Tyndale tradition of translations and thus possesses no historical lineage (#1). (quoted from pp. 156-57).

Picture a line with word ‘readable’ on the far left, and ‘literal’ on the far right. Every Bible translation falls somewhere on this continuum. Versions on the left side are what scholars call ‘dynamic equivalence,’ while versions on the right side are ‘formal equivalence.’ The goal is to find a translation that finds a balance of both, but there is always going to be a trade-off. In general, the more readable or conversational your translation is in English, the less faithful it will be to the original Hebrew or Greek.

I think it’s good for many people to start with a more readable translation, like the NIV or HCSB, and then gradually work toward a more literal translation like the NASB, NKJV, or ESV once they become more skilled at reading and more familiar with the flow of Scripture. The more literal versions are not as enjoyable from a literary standpoint, but they are more conducive for deep Bible study.

Perhaps the best solution is to keep 3-4 translations at your fingertips and to compare between them regularly. But I think we all eventually fall in love with one particular translation. And as long as we are regularly reading and applying it, that can be a very good thing.


December 2010 Update: I’m becoming more and more impressed with this translation, and have been giving it a “test drive” from the pulpit this month. With the Apologetics Study Bible, HCSB Study Bible, and a 2009 revision, I believe this translation has really matured and gone more mainstream. Here’s a paper by Dr. Bill Barrick showing the exegetical accuracy of the HCSB. 

October 2011 Update: After a year of testing, I finally decided to go with the ESV translation. Click here to find out why.

Shepherding

7 trends for the modern american church

2 Comments

Last Saturday, I attended the “Equipped for Excellence” conference in Riverside. This annual event is organized by the Inland Empire Southern Baptist Association and hosted at Cal Baptist University. The conference began 17 years ago as a Sunday School Teacher Training workshop, and has evolved into quite a large-scale teaching conference. This year, attendance surpassed 1500 – what I believe is a new record for “E for E.”

There were three things I really enjoyed about this year’s conference. First, the fellowship with other church members. A total of seven members from our church attended. It was so good to spend the whole day with them, traveling together, singing together, eating together, and learning together. It made the day not only a time of personal enrichment, but of mutual edification and team building.

Second, I appreciated the organization. From publicity, to registration, to meals, to speakers, to handouts, the whole event was executed almost flawlessly. It’s obvious that Marty Leech and his staff put a tremendous amount of time into planning and praying for this event. I applaud them for modeling good organization, communication, and spirit of excellence to all of the Sunday School teachers who were present.

The third highlight was the parables class. After an opening general session, all the attendees split up into different electives. Several from our church chose to attend a class on the parables, taught by Richard Mobley, New Testament professor at Cal Baptist. Mobley did an outstanding job giving an overview, interpretive framework, and specific examples in the parables. His passion and knowledge held our attention all morning and afternoon. Perhaps I’ll share some of these principles in a future post.

For now, let me summarize what was said during the general session. We were privileged this year to have Thom Rainer as the keynote speaker. Rainer is the president of Lifeway Christian Resources and has written many books including The Unchurched Next Door and Simple Church. The title of his message was “7 Trends for the Modern American Church.” Rainer is a statistics guru. So it came as no surprise when he said most of these observations came from statistical or anecdotal evidence. Here are the seven trends, with some brief reflections:

  1. More and more churches are de-emphasizing evangelism. As Rainer said, evangelism must be taught and modeled by leadership. But even more importantly, the gospel must become more central to all we say and do as a church. We must “guard what has been entrusted to us, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called ‘knowledge'” (1 Tim. 6:20). As our people develop a higher view of God, a more accurate view of man, an appreciation for the work of Christ, and an understanding of human responsibility, we will naturally begin to share the gospel with greater compassion, frequency, and effectiveness.
  2. The increasing receptivity of lost people to the gospel. While lost people are probably becoming more receptive to spiritual things, this does not necessarily mean they are receptive to “the gospel.” Our postmodern society is driven by feelings, opinions, and experiences, but many resist any claim to absolute truth. We must offer them biblical truth and certainty in a spirit of grace and humility. We must proclaim with confidence that Jesus Christ is exclusively “the way, the truth, and the life” (Jn. 14:6).
  3. The closing of 100,000 churches in the next 10 years (though many others will be started in this same time period). This statistic is too broad to mean much. Does this include all religions? Only Protestant Christianity? The mere existence of a church does not guarantee spiritual health. A little town with 30 churches may be better off with only 10 churches a decade from now, if those 10 churches are more faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ. So, our goal is not simply more churches, but healthier churches.
  4. Sermons and Bible studies based on the same text. If synchronized sermons and Bible studies are helping more churches get into the Word, then praise the Lord! But if more preachers would just be faithful to exposit the Word of God, this would not be a problem. There is a spiritual famine in modern evangelicalism, and many of God’s people are starving for biblical truth. Those of us called by God to be pastors have a responsibility to feed the sheep (Jn. 21:17).
  5. Churches implementing a process of discipleship (often tied to a purpose statement). I’m thankful that more churches are becoming clear in their goals and proactive in discipling new believers. We must make sure that these goals and priorities align with the Word of God.
  6. Churches are moving toward four major emphases: right structure, right content, right attitude, and right action. Rainer was moving pretty fast by this point, and didn’t have a chance to develop his last two points very much.
  7. Great disparity between the churches that do survive. Rainer didn’t explain what he meant by this, but I can attest that churches seem to be growing more diverse rather than more alike. In fact, this seems to be part of the NAMB church-planting strategy. They want to plant a church to reach every sub-culture. So, you end up with a hip-hop church, a biker church, a yuppie church, an emergent church, etc. The problem with this is that the church should be a “melting-pot” of all ages, races, and cultures. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28). We must balance our zeal to reach different sub-cultures with our zeal to promote Christian unity. I believe churches should have ministries that cater to these different sub-cultures, but we should ultimately be able to put aside our differences and serve and worship together. Otherwise, we will lack diversity and become dangerously self-centered. One of the hallmarks of the local church should be our ability to co-exist through our common bond in Christ. It may be difficult at times, but I believe it’s worth the effort.

At the end of his message, Rainer encouraged us to stop majoring on the minors, keep our priorities straight, and remember that “It is a sin to be good when God has called us to be great.” God has chosen to do His kingdom work through the church, and we must learn to appreciate and support it. Very true!

Uncategorized

Time saving trick

Leave a comment

I think “hidden text” is one of the most under-appreciated features in Microsoft Word. It’s become an invaluable tool in my weekly lesson planning and Bible teaching. First, let me explain how to create hidden text, and then I’ll demonstrate how to use it.

To create “hidden text,” you first need to select the text you want to hide. Then go to Format > Font. A little window will pop up, and one of your “Effects” options is to create “hidden text.” Once this button is checked, your highlighted text will be hidden both on your screen and in your printed documents. However, you can easily view hidden text on the screen by clicking the “Show/Hide paragraph” button on the Standard toolbar.

Why is this helpful? I first heard of this feature a couple years ago while reading a discussion thread by some teachers. One of the teachers said they used “hidden text” when creating a True/False or multiple choice test. They would create the test with blanks, and then “hide” the answer key right in the document.

It then occurred to me – I could use the same trick to create a Bible lesson handout with blanks, then include all my answers and lecture notes in the same document as hidden text. This saves me the time of having to create two separate files: one for the teacher and one for the students. You can view a sample document here. Again, you can toggle the hidden text on/off by clicking the “Show/Hide paragraph” button. To print a document with hidden text visible, go to File > Print > Options > Include with document: hidden text.

I’d encourage you to experiment with “hidden text” a little bit. If you find yourself starting to use it regularly, you can create a simple keyboard macro to save time. First, go to Tools > Macro > Record New Macro. Name your macro something like “hiddentext”. Assign a keyboard shortcut (I use “ctrl + w”). Once the macro recording has started, click on Format > Font > Hidden text. Then click the red square to stop the macro recording. That’s it! You’ve created a new macro shortcut. You can now create hidden text at any time simply by clicking “ctrl + w”. One further tip: to distinguish hidden text from visible text, I like to put my hidden text in blue. You can add this step into your macro recording so that “ctrl + w” will hide the text and change color to blue all at the same time.

Note: Hidden text should not be used to store sensitive information, because it is easily made visible.

Feel free to leave a comment below if you have any questions.

Theology

The deity of Christ

1 Comment

No, this chart does not represent the number of foreclosures in California. It shows the number of active members in the group known as “Jehovah’s witnesses” across the United States. Jehovah’s witnesses have grown exponentially in the last few decades, but their denial of Christ’s deity has remained the same. Are they wrong?

We can’t afford to be wrong about Jesus Christ. In 1 John 2:23, we are warned that “whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.” If we deny or disregard the person and work of Jesus Christ as revealed in the Bible, we have denied the Son and called Him a liar. And tragically, those who deny the Son “do not have the Father.” God has no part with them. If on the other hand we accurately confess Christ, we have a wonderful promise that we “have the Father also.”

So, who is the Son, and how can we make sure we’re believing in the right one? Was Jesus merely a moral man? A great prophet? A wise teacher? The “highest” of all created beings? No, none of these phrases adequately describe Him. He is not merely a moral man; He is the holy fulfillment of God’s Law (Matt. 5:17). He is not just a teacher; He is the author of all wisdom (Col. 2:3). He is not only a prophet; He is the living Word of God (Jn. 1:14). He is not the “highest” of all created beings; He is the very one who created all things (Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2). Jesus Christ is God.

Although there are many verses in the Gospel of John that teach the Deity of Christ (e.g. John 1:1, 14; 8:59; 10:30; 20:28), one of my favorites is John 5:17. In this passage, Jesus has just healed a lame man and been accused of violating the Sabbath. In response, Jesus makes an incredibly bold statement: “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.” To our ears, it may sound harmless at first, but to a first century Jew, Jesus has just thrown down the gauntlet. Notice two claims to deity in this verse:

  • First, Jesus claims to work in the same way as God. Obviously, God does not stop His work on the Sabbath day. Even when humans rest, God continues to sustain life, cause crops to grow, keep stars on course, and sovereignly superintend over all events. Our powerful creator never ceases to work. (And we can be very thankful He never takes a day off or falls asleep on the job!) Even the Jewish leaders acknowledged this. But here’s the rub. Jesus claims equality with God when He says “My Father is working…and I Myself am working.” Two verses later, He adds, “whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner” (Jn. 5:19). That’s a pretty bold statement. Jesus has the same power and prerogative to work on the Sabbath as His Father does. In fact, Jesus is the “Lord of the Sabbath” (Lk. 6:5). Jesus is God because He does the work of God.
  • Second, Jesus claims to have a unique relationship with God. Notice that Jesus does not call Him “the Father” or even “our Father,” but “My Father.” Jesus has a unique and intimate union with His heavenly Father that has existed from eternity past; He knows and loves His Father to a degree that you and I will never fully appreciate. The Jews immediately sensed what Jesus was getting at here. They knew He “was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God” (Jn. 5:18). And because they rejected this claim to deity, they sought to kill Him. Nevertheless, Jesus is God because God is uniquely His Father, and Jesus is the only begotten (one-of-a-kind) Son of God (cf. Jn. 1:14, 18; 3:16, 18).

While never violating the monotheism of the Old Testament (Deut. 5:7; 6:4-5), Jesus expands our understanding by showing that God is actually three in one: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus claims to be equal with God in both the way He works and in the way He relates to His Father. And unless we accurately believe in Jesus as God the Son, we do not have God the Father.

Thoughts on Life and Leadership