Scripture Engagement

There are some shocking aspects to this story - see below. Zacchaeus was a tax collector and was considered to be a 'notorious sinner' (v7 - see yesterday's blog) because he was betraying his own people, the Jews, by collecting taxes for the occupying state, the Romans. Judea was part of the Roman empire and was ruled by a puppet leader. Not only that, the tax collectors were mostly corrupt, collecting more than necessary and keeping the difference to feather their own nest (3:12-13). This did not go down well with Jewish nationalists who had quite an influence on the ordinary person on the street.  The other slightly shocking statement is by Jesus. He calls Zacchaeus 'a true son of Abraham' in other words a true Israelite or Semite. One who follows God in the way the ancestor Abraham did. Surely a true Israelite would be a nationalist, not a repentant sinner? Not so, says Jesus. It's not those who try and build a political kingdom who get his approval, b...

It used to be 'sin'. Preachers regularly preached against it. You've probably heard the story of the American President known as silent Cal. After church he was once asked to explain the topic of a minister's sermon. 'Sin' he replied, lapsing back into silence. 'What did he say?' asked the enquirer. 'He said he was agin it,' said the President. These days preachers don't preach much against sin. This may partly be to a change in theology. Some churches have gone down the self fulfilment avenue. The Holy Spirit is there to help you realise your wildest dreams. Whatever you have on your top list of things you've always wanted to achieve, He is there to help you. Alternatively (and more encouragingly), some speakers avoid the word because it has dropped out of the ordinary vocabulary of most folk. If you eat a large piece of chocolate cake your best friends might call you a 'sinner'. Otherwise people have little idea what it m...

There has been a lot of discussion recently as to what constitutes a scripture product and what constitutes a scripture-based product. In one sense it doesn't really matter. But what needs checking by a TC (translation consultant) and what can be checked by someone else? A scripture-product is one that stays fairly close to scripture. For instance a multi-voice audio recording of scripture could be considered a scripture-product. A Bible app would be in this category too. These would need checking by a TC prior to publication. Scripture engagement products that are more loosely scripture-based are called scripture-based products and wouldn't necessarily need checking by a TC. It really depends how loose or tight to scripture they are. If they are fairly loose then a Christian materials checker could check it rather than a TC. If the product contains scripture quotes that are from books not yet translated by the translation team (if there is one), then those quotes wo...

I was at a meeting recently where one of my colleagues was supposed to be chairing a discussion on, 'How we can integrate Scripture Engagement into language projects.' He said it was the wrong question, because all projects are scripture engagement projects. The impact we are looking for is changed lives! In some regions of Asia the above cycle shows how we work in practice. Language development and study of the culture leads to making films and publications in the language and about the culture. This helps us learn enough about the culture to do scripture engagement research. The goal of this research is to find out what activities and products might be appropriate. We then get stuck into these scripture engagement activities and distribute the products which hopefully leads to impact in peoples' lives. Once lives begin to be changed there will be a greater need for the translation of scripture portions, which will lead to a need for further research and further...

You want to reach the entire world with one product? Dream on! Yet there are many who advertise their ministry in exactly that way. 'This app/web-site/DVD is the answer. With this we will reach the world for Jesus!' Go to a meeting about digital media and just about all the missions represented will have a product that is the one product that will reach the entire planet. Would that it were so. Of course in the real world no one product works in every situation, and at a typical meeting where a representative presents their product to potential users the first question will often be, 'Can I adapt what you have done for such-and-such an audience?' At first the inventor of the product will decline, but eventually they will realise the pressure is too much and they will cave in, reluctantly perhaps, or in some cases willingly once they have heard the barriers put up by certain terms, illustrations or images. Lord teach us humility, teach us adaptability, teach us to ...

It seems that we are all making the Scripture Engagement the be all and end all of our work. It's right that all Bible translation activity should lead towards SE outcomes (?) and impact (definitely). We still need language development, anthropology and a whole bunch of other disciplines, however. If you read the article I recommended last time called the 'Eight Conditions' you will see that various of the conditions mention language, including 'Appropriate Language, Dialect and Orthography'. It's no accident that this is condition one, as if people can't understand what you're saying what's the point in saying it? This leads me onto one of my hobby-horses. Pastors in many countries spend much of their time translating a LWC (language of wider communication) Bible instead of preaching. If a mother-tongue Bible comes out, or portions of it, they may feel redundant. Why? Because instead of learning to preach mainly exhortation and application they s...

It's amazing the difference it makes to work with indigenous believers to work on Scripture Products. They have read the Bible and understood the gospel as it applies to their culture. When they explain it they do so in ways that are relevant and powerful to the people they know and love. Our ideas and products are always going to be second-rate compared to theirs, not in terms of production, maybe, but in terms of content. And as for production, why not have a professional film-maker work with a local team to train them as they make their own videos, or a professional musician as they record their music? But the idea is to work in partnership, see what God is doing, and join in with that. Foreign films are often going to have scenes that jar, that don't fit with the local culture. This is because foreign film makers often don't know the things you have to do in a certain context, such as taking off shoes at the door or shaking hands or using only your right hand. An...