Hello Fellow Tansley Bloggers,
I hope you will find this both a useful resource for your reading the New Testament (NT), and also a fun way to talk to one another about how your are doing and to be of encouragement. I commend you greatly for taking on this assignment. 14 have signed up!!! I believe that this will be a great blessing to you. I also acknowledge that reading the Bible can sometimes be a challenging task!
I personally have not read the NT in a disciplined way for many years. I have used as an excuse (we all have them, right!) that I am regularly reading pieces of the NT as sermon prep, but that is different. How we approach the NT will differ from one to another based on our past experiences.
The first thing I have noticed as I begin this journey is one of process. Doing a regular reading program is a discipline and takes discipline. I am setting aside time early in the morning. I find it a great way to start the day; to have the Word present from the outset of each day. This is a great spiritual practice in that disciplines are critical for a healthy spiritual life. (That’s why they called them disciples!!)
The other thing I have found is the dichotomy between just reading and trying to understand, and referencing my years of reading biblical commentary. While reading what others think is very important and helpful, it can sometimes get in the way of our own understanding, and perhaps in the way of what the Holy Spirit, the original author of the Bible, is trying to say. While these two are not mutually exclusive, I am finding it refreshing to just open up the NT and read. What have you found so far? What has the experience been like to date for you? Don’t hesitate to ask questions using this blog. This helps us all to learn. Looking forward to hearing from you.
Blessings in Christ,
Rev. Steve
Hi Steve,
I was just looking up your phone number on the Tansley site, thought I’d check out recent news, and found this blog. Great idea!
Comment by Greg Smith-Young — January 14, 2010 @ 9:34 am |
I am so glad to have the opportunity to take on this challenge along with others, because on my own I would probably not have the discipline to stick with it. I am looking forward to seeing growth in myself, as I get to know Jesus better, & become closer to Him.
I’m not sure why we are starting with Luke, instead of Matthew. But I am enjoying the story so far!
Comment by Cheryl Giardina — January 14, 2010 @ 10:15 pm |
Cheryl, Congratulations! You’re the first to respond from Tansley to this blog. (The first gets a free coffee at Tim’s!) I’m glad your excited about being part of this project. I am excited to be able to do this with you and others, 19 and counting! The comments you made are exactly why I started this blog – an opportunity to grow in your faith and understanding of the NT through dialogue. You are indeed correct to believe that in reading scripture you will get to know Jesus better and experience growth. This is God’s promise to us. Yes, discipline can be difficult and doing it with others is Christian community at it’s best. We support and encourage one another in good times and bad, to both the glory of God and the church.
You noted, why start at Luke instead of Matthew? (assume you mean because Matthew is the first gospel in the NT) Not well known to many, is that the order the gospels appear is not based on chronology. If it were, Mark’s gospel would be first. (Not sure why we have the order we have, perhaps someone out there can answer) So we start with Luke, which fortunately also happens to be the gospel in the use for Year C in the Lectionary we use in the United Church. (We will be following Luke in church each Sunday for a while.) Scholars tell us that both Luke and Matthew were aware of Mark’s gospel as they wrote theirs. The Gospel of John is another matter and written some 50 to 75 years after the first three. Any other comments or questions just keep them coming! All the best, See you on Sunday
Comment by Rev Steve — January 15, 2010 @ 10:06 am |
In early collections of the books of the New Testament, the four “canonical” gospels were put in just about every order possible. However, as I recall, it was Jerome (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Jerome), translator of the original Greek and Hebrew texts into Latin–the “Vulgate” Bible–who placed the gospels in their present order according to what he believed was the correct chronological order. (Common belief at the end of the 4th century was that Matthew was the oldest gospel, and John the youngest.) As the Vulgate version became widely accepted in the Roman Catholic church, most subsequent versions of the New Testament subsequently followed Jerome’s lead.
Comment by Alan Brown — January 15, 2010 @ 11:33 am
Thanks for your response (it is both supportive & enlightening), and for your commitment to being there alongside all of us on this special adventure!
Comment by Cheryl Giardina — January 16, 2010 @ 9:02 pm |
For those of you who are late starters, do not give up hope. I haven’t been able to start reading anything until today but I’ve managed to catch up now.
Comment by Jane Hunter — January 17, 2010 @ 2:02 pm |
Jane and Others, Glad to hear that starting late has not been a problem. For anyone else, you can start by receiving the most recent weeks readings and tacking earlier weeks on the end of the year. Steve
Comment by Rev Steve — January 19, 2010 @ 10:24 am |
I am noticing a great side effect of these daily New Testament readings: thought-provoking discussions with my 21 year old son, based on a comment or question I have about something I have just read. Another side effect that I hope to have at the end of this year of study: that regular reading of the Bible will have become such a habit, that I will have the discipline it takes to continue on!
Comment by Cheryl Giardina — January 20, 2010 @ 11:07 am |
Hi Rev. Steve (and friends): I’m taking up the NT challenge too!.
My reading started off as a bit of a frustrating experience for me. I read Luke 1 using the King James Version that was given to me on my confirmation. I found this a slow and frustrating read, and barely made it to the end! I quickly switched to an alternative version (New International Version) which was an easier read. At church today, I noticed a “Good News Bible” in the office, and borrowed it, and breezed through Luke 7. The text is easy to read (uses modern language), and provides brief captions that frames the text which follows. Still, I wish it explains more about the passages than just a short sentence.
Question – Why are there different versions? Has the United Church formally endorsed any particular version? Do you have any suggestions around what version of the Bible might work me (someone who has never read the Bible before)?
Comment by Bill Nicholson — January 24, 2010 @ 4:16 pm |
Bill, Great to start reading. Never too late! There are many versions of the Bible today. The 20th century saw an explosion in scholarship and in new bibles. Previously, The King James, written in the 16th century was the main version.
There is no best Bible, but rather preference. The Good News Bible, written in the 1970′s, is one I usually recommend. Scholarship is sound and written in a modern idiom. NIV is good, as well as RSV and NRSV. It can also be interesting to read some paraphrases such as JB Phillips and The Way, but not as a general rule.
Comment by Rev Steve — January 26, 2010 @ 10:58 am |
Just to add a bit to Rev. Steve’s comment, there are two main branches of Bible translations: “word-for-word” and “paraphrase”.
With the word-for-word Bibles, scholars examine the oldest available Hebrew (Old Testament) and Greek (New Testament) sources and attempt to translate them as accurately as possible. As with any translation exercise, the final result will vary from person to person. For instance, in the King James Version, Song of Solomon 6:10 is translated “Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners?” The Douay-Rheims version, which is also quite old, says “Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in array?” In the modern New English Version, it is “Who is this who looks down like the dawn, beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun, awesome as an army with banners?” And the New International Version gives it as “Who is this that appears like the dawn, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, majestic as the stars in procession?”
In paraphrase versions, rather than going for a word-for-word translation, the editors use present-day idioms and phrases to make the passages more readable–so less accurate in a word-for-word sense, but looking to capture the original spirit. Using the above example, the Good News Bible has “Who is this whose glance is like the dawn? She is beautiful and bright, as dazzling as the sun or the moon”, and The Source says “Has anyone ever seen anything like this – dawn-fresh, moon-lovely, sun-radiant, ravishing as the night sky with its galaxies of stars?”
So, as you can see, a there can be a fair bit of diversity in the various translations. My advice would be to read the Gospel of Luke on-line at http://www.biblestudytools.com, reading the same passage using several of the 40 versions that are available there. Find one that speaks to you, and either purchase a copy of that version, or continue your readings on-line using the version you have chosen.
If you are looking for a starting place, the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) is a very popular word-for-word translation, and The Source is a very readable paraphrase version.
Comment by Alan Brown — February 1, 2010 @ 11:13 am |