An Idiot’s Guide to Hope

An Idiot’s Guide to Hope – Part 1

What Did the Hebrews Hope For?

Abraham hoped for a son. And for many descendants. And for the land. Did he ever see the land he hoped for? Only one field of it, with a cave to bury his wife in (and for him to be buried in, when that time came). His hope was a future hope.

The Israelites hope for a king like David to come. Kings were chosen by anointing them with oil. A mashiyakh was an anointed, or chosen person. A king who would act as a just servant (Isa 42:1-9) and yet be the one in the apocalyptic vision Daniel had about the son of man (Dan 7:9-28).

The Jews in exile hoped for restoration – not just to be able to return to Jerusalem and Judah, but restoration of the covenant, that they would once again be able to live in peace as God’s chosen people, who were called to be a kingdom of priests, and light to the nations.

What Did Jesus’ Followers Hope For?

The deliverance and restoration of the kingdom of Israel (Luk 24:21; Act 1:6).

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A Flow Chart for Bible Translation (a Relevance Theory Approach)

One of the current theories behind modern translation work is Relevance Theory. [1] Here is a flow chart that explains the process often used to produce a draft when using such an approach: *Make sure your translation committee makes the decision as to what kind of translation they want. A domesticated translation is one that submits to dominant values in the target language [2] whereas a foreignized translation is one that is happy to import foreign terms and ideas from Hebrew, Greek, or the language of wider communication such as the Greek term baptizo . The chart looks something like this: Text Communicated Ideas Context A sower went out to sow A farmer went out to sow grain People scattered/threw seed etc. The text has very little information, but behind i...

The Problems and Pitfalls of Proof-Texting

Why is it wrong to proof-text when making an argument? Proof-texting is when someone simply quotes a verse from the Bible, out of context, to make a point. This can be in a book, a conversation, an essay, or a sermon, to give some examples. I just did a quick read of some other blogs on this topic, and none of them wowed me, so I thought I'd write my own. Then I had an even better idea: why not get you to tell me why proof-texting is problematic? In other words, I want to crowd-source the problem, and get lots of input. Since it is my suggestion, and I already did some research, let me get the ball rolling. Proof-texting is problematic because: It ignores the original context of the verse. There are actually two types of context: The literary context of the verse, that is, the verse is situated in a passage (that might be making an entirely different point) of Scripture that has a certain genre. For instance, the book of Acts is narrative, which means it is descriptive of what hap...

Asset Based Bible Translation (ABBT)

Many of you will have heard of asset-based community development (ABCD). How can Bible translation programmes be asset based, rather than deficit based? The best way to look at this is a comparison table: Deficit based Asset based Driven by outsiders Driven by the community Outside funding Community funded Done to meet a need Done to help the community grow Quality control done by a consultant Community checked and approved Control from outside-in Lead by stepping back Products not accepted? Products are accepted Little engagement Engagement with products Scientific Organic Not sustainable Sustainable Of course many translation programmes these days are neither one nor t'other, they are somewhere between these two extremes. Nevertheless, this illustrates a point, and shows that the current ...

Scripture Engagement

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