One of this site's main purposes is to help people not get comfortable with Christianity, to not be so used to it that we regard it as a nice, warm, cultural security blanket rather than the jar of nitroglycerin that it is. To that end, I am all for translations like the CEB that refuse to say things the way we've gotten familiar with. Even renderings I don't particularly like, such as "the Human One" in place of "Son of Man," have the virtue of pulling readers up short and making us think.
And, just by the by, Authentic Light readers can win a free softcover CEB each week that I post something using it. So I'm planning to use it in everything, just to make it easy. I've given away several copies during the 2 previous blog tours I've participated in. Quite aside from the fact that they got a free Bible, people have really been impressed when they read it. The comment that comes up most is, "Does the Bible really say that?" And because the CEB is fairly close in its scholarship I can almost always say, "Yes, yes it does."
Even "God's DNA"!
2 comments:
I haven't had a chance to read the CEB yet (my copy is still in the mail), but I like the idea. Language is constantly shifting and changing - just look at the King James Bible! - and I think that the Bible should be accessible to people of every age. Jesus spoke to the people of his day in words and stories that they would understand, and I think that He still wants to do that today. So it's cool that this team of translators and Christians has gotten together to ensure that today's readers hear Jesus in words that they can understand easily.
I agree and I'm looking forward to giving a few copies away during this Blog Tour. It's a great translation.
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