Scripture Engagement

Last week Rocco recorded this podcast, which is an interview with me about Bible translation and Bible impact. It includes the question, "Is Christianity geographically dependent?" If you want to find out the answer, please watch the video! Please watch it on YouTube and like and subscribe to his channel! #thetruthovertrendpodcast

I recently watched an online lecture at Wheaton College by Lamin Sanneh on the Translatability of Scripture. This is a fascinating topic. He himself is from an Islamic background. His brother told him not to become a Christian, because, if he did, he would be limited to one wife! Islam is based on the idea of supersessionism - the idea that one religion replaces another, so the newest monotheistic religion is best. In addition, he points out that Islam uses Arabic, the language of Muhammad, whereas Christianity does not use Aramaic, the language of Jesus the Messiah. Pickthall, in his introduction to his, 'The meaning of the Glorious Quran', which is in English, says that the Quran cannot be translated, it has to be read in Arabic. Wherever Muslims go, they begin Quranic schools to teach young boys (mainly) Arabic, so they can memorise the Quran. Whether or not they understand what they are reciting from memory is, in some parts of the world at least, a moot point. In contrast...

I was recently asked what the main translation theories are at the moment. These are the ones mainly discussed in departments of translation studies in universities around the world: The Code Model. This is the first modern theory of translation, developed by Eugene Nida in the 1960s. It focuses on the meaning of the translation, and suggests translations should have 'dynamic equivalence', that is, the same meaning as the source text. It wants translations to be accurate, clear and natural, often with a focus on naturalness. Skopos Theory. This was developed Hans J. Vermeer and Christine Nord has written a lot on this. This emphasises the purpose of the translation, putting the audience more in the driving seat than the Code Model. With Skopos Theory, the expected change in the audience is more important than fidelity to the source text. Translations do something, they have an affect, and not only on the translator, but on the target audience. An obvious example would be the tr...

What do translation advisors need to know about Scripture engagement (SE), and why? Let's look at the 'why' first: Translation advisors (TAs) are often involved in day-to-day exegesis. They help mother-tongue translators (MTTs) prepare drafts. The MTTs they work with might not know Hebrew or Greek. The TAs then take part in the team check of that draft, which involves other MTTs in the project as well as the TA. Sometimes they are also involved in the coordination of the translation programme. They are very busy people. So why do they need to know about SE? Because: The translation is ultimately for an audience that has felt needs that are not being addressed by the translation programme. Analysing and meeting (or helping to meet) the felt needs of the audience should be the first priority of any mission worker, including TAs. Only about 30% of completed translations are well used. The initial set up of the programme needs to take SE into consideration (it's no good wai...

At a forthcoming workshop, I have the privilege of offering a face-to-face three-day training track about Scripture Engagement (SE), teaching some principles and working together on real life issues you may face in your project or region. There will also be a mini SE training track on SE research. In some Bible translation circles it has been taken for granted that Bible translation on its own, or Bible translation plus literacy, will solve all of a community's Scripture access problems. Unfortunately, this has not always been the case. There are many factors, including illiteracy, multilingualism, fear of persecution by the majority group, lack of knowledge of the background to the Bible, and problems with distribution (or the Bible being distributed in an unhelpful media or format). Specialists in Scripture Engagement help those involved in the wider Bible translation movement such as exegetes and programme managers explore some of the different things that help or hinder people...

I was in an interesting discussion full of anthropologists the other day. They were discussing syncretism. Most of them were of the view that outsiders cannot decide which practices are syncretistic and which are not. It has to be a decision made by local believers. This is because only local people can create indigenous theologies, that is, interpret Scripture according to the local worldview(s).  Not only that, some practices need to be tolerated in the short term, as we trust that new believers will gradually mature, and realise that those practices need to be weaned out of their lives. This can take time, perhaps years. Outsiders can, however, help local believers through the process of deciding for themselves which practices need to be rejected, which can be accepted, and which need to be modified according to (local formed) principles from Scripture. For example, ancestor practices, which my PhD thesis was on, are often continued by people after they have come to faith. They...