In case anyone is actually interested, a few of us have been having an interesting discussion on the TNIV Bible and related translation issues. You can go here to follow the thread.
I’m sure it’s just me, but I feel kinda weird now, in retrospect, since I brought up the fact that I kinda like the TNIV as a translation. I feel as if I had said a bad or curse word.
For example, I don’t remember the exact context, but I once said the word “wussy” to a friend. Maybe I called her a wussy or maybe I was defending myself and said I wasn’t a wussy? In any case, I’ll never forget her reaction: she immediately froze, and her mouth was wide open in shock. She thought I had said a swear word, because she thought “wussy” was a swear word. In turn, by the look of shock on her face, I thought maybe I truly had said something I shouldn’t have. I was quite embarrassed. I think I sorta feel similarly, although to a far lesser degree, by bringing up the fact that I like the TNIV.
Or it’s as if I walked into a nice, cozy room full of sweet elderly British women playing cards, and being ignorant of the connotation of certain words to them, introduced myself by saying, “Hi, I’m Randy.” (”Randy” has a sexual connotation in Britspeak.) The silence would be palpable — and so, too, my embarrassment.
But there’s no reason for me to feel this way. After all, everyone involved in the discussion has been very cool. And I think I have good reasons to say what I’ve said about the TNIV, too.
Anyway, the real reason I bring all this up is simply to say, “If you thought my liking the TNIV was bad, wait till you see my next act! For my next act, I’ll biblically support Christians using marijuana for medicinal purposes!”
(I hope you all know I’m not at all serious? I don’t actually have an informed opinion on the matter. Plus, even if I did, c’mon, would you seriously listen to someone who calls his friend a “wussy,” gives elderly ladies a fake name like Randy, and — gasp! — worst of all — likes the TNIV?)
3 Comments
Lighten up, Francis. Easy target = many words. And you are talking about something that is near and dear to us, i.e., the Word of God and how we hear, read, and understand it. There’s a lot at stake.
I think the NET Bible is probably a worse translation than the TNIV in many respects, but it’s still the second or third one I reach for (and I gained something a few months back when I undertook to reread the NT in the NET Bible; the new perspective I gained on familiar passages was really something that spiked my studies for a while). I’d probably have gained more and done better had I tried that with the TNIV.
And your point about the non-Biblish-speaking world was quite valid.
So, don’t stop with the good discussion-provoking blogging if you can help it! And remember what Proverbs says about the blows of a friend. *smiles*
Well, if you think the blows are warranted, then I guess it’s cool. Otherwise, you just made the list, buddy!
I think that should read many words = easy target. But it’s still a good point.
Ok - I’m waiting for your response(es) to this.
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