September 2, 2009 | 1:30 pm

The NIV Bible getting an overhaul

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

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If God is infallible but God’s Word is translated and transliterated by fallible men ... well, then issues like this arise:

In announcing a major revision of the New International Version (NIV) of the Bible, Biblica (formerly the International Bible Society and Send The Light, or IBS-STL) CEO Keith Danby said decisions surrounding the release of the NIV inclusive language edition and the 2002 revision, Today’s New International Version (TNIV), were mistakes.

“In 1997, IBS announced that it was forgoing all plans to publish an updated NIV following criticism of the NIV inclusive language edition (NIVi) published in the United Kingdom. Quite frankly, some of the criticism was justified and we need to be brutally honest about the mistakes that were made,” Danby said. “We fell short of the trust that was placed in us. We failed to make the case for revisions and we made some important errors in the way we brought the translation to publication. We also underestimated the scale of the public affection for the NIV and failed to communicate the rationale for change in a manner that reflected that affection.”

Danby said it was also a mistake to stop revisions on the NIV. “We shackled the NIV to the language and scholarship of a quarter century ago, thus limiting its value as a tool for ongoing outreach throughout the world,” he said.

“Whatever its strengths were, the TNIV divided the evangelical Christian community,” said Zondervan president Moe Girkins. “So as we launch this new NIV, we will discontinue putting out new products with the TNIV.”

That’s from Ted Olsen of Christianity Today. Much more here:

“We are correcting the mistakes in the past,” Girkins said. “Being as transparent as possible is part of that. This decision was made by the board in the last 10 days.” She said the transparency is part of an effort to overhaul the NIV “in a way that unifies Christian evangelicalism.”

“The first mistake was the NIVi,” Danby said. “The second was freezing the NIV. The third was the process of handling the TNIV.”

Good night. At least IBS is admitting the mistakes it made and moving on appropriately. More from Cathy Grossman of USA Today, including a comparison of the NIV and English Standard Version translations of two passages.

September 2, 2009 | 3:02 am

Los Angeles inferno: Who by fire?

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

I’ve yet to blog about the massive—MONSTROUS—fire raging in north Los Angeles County. But in recent years I’ve had plenty to say about the fires that perennially threaten our existence here in overpopulated and wildfire-suppressed desert. (See this and that and the other.)

The LA Times has been all over this story and has an amazing photo gallery here. I’ve seen little in the paper’s coverage of the religious response to the fire, which has consumed more than 127,000 acres and 62 homes. There was this one about mourners and miracles, but that has to do with evacuees returning to their rubble.

There, however, are a multitude of religious stories under the ash. What about the Unetanah Tokef? That’s the Rosh Hashanah prayer, and the Morethodoxy blog offers it as a prayer for relief:

The terror of fire has arrived at the doorstep of thousands of homes, and may change forever the lives of thousands of families. The terror of fire has already claimed the lives of two heroes, who responded to the Torah’s call to not stand idly by at a time of danger.

We pray before you God, Creator and Master of all nature’s forces, that You grant strength and comfort to those who fear losing their homes and possessions, and courage and protection to the fearless souls who are doing Your work on the firelines. And please open my heart, and the heart of everyone who sees and knows of the crisis of fire that is upon us, to respond to the calls for help that will soon come. Calls from relief organizations, calls from firefighting fraternities who need to support the families of the fallen. May our hearts be sensitive and our souls generous.

The shofar has awakened us. And we will not disappoint.

Read the rest here.

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September 1, 2009 | 11:45 am

That’s between you and God and Facebook

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

"...but I digress"

Some would disagree with the accuracy of the description, but The Jewish Journal self-identifies as “pretty Jewish.” A friend of mine lists her religion as “Conservadoxishesque.” As for me? No surprise: “God-fearing Christian with devilishly good Jewish looks.”

These are, of course, the responses—irreverent, pithy, confused—of a just few Facebook users. You’ve likely encountered plenty more that offer a more revealing window into your friends than just “Christian” or “Muslim” or “Atheist.”

So why not explore the internal push and pull felt by people struggling to fill out the religious views box? Well, The Washington Post did just that with an interesting story over the weekend:

Amid the endless trivialities of social networking sites—the quotes from Monty Python, the Stephen Colbert for Prez groups, the goofy-but-calculatingly-attractive profile pics—the tiny box has become a surprisingly meaningful pit stop for philosophical inquiry.

Millions have plumbed their innermost thoughts, struggling to sum up their beliefs in roughly 10 words or less. For many, it has led to age-old questions about purpose, the existence of the divine and the meaning of life itself.

Some emerge from the experience with serious answers. George Mason University student Travis Hammill, 19, spent several days distilling his beliefs into this sentence: “Love God, Love Others, Change the World.”

Others try to deflect the question with humor.

“God knows,” wrote Hannah Green, 19, who attended Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville. “Pastafarian,” typed Maddy Gillis, 20, of Kensington, invoking a popular pseudo-religion that venerates a “Flying Spaghetti Monster.”

A good many, however, tread the fine line between wit and truth: “Agnostic, but accepting offers.” “I barely believe I exist.”

The Post’s writer than turns his attention to some anecdotes from people who agonized over just how to fill in the blank. Worth reading.

“Christian” is, not surprisingly, the most popular choice of the 150 million users who decide to list a religion. “Jedi” makes an appearance at No. 10.

Hat tip to Mollie. She’s a confessional Lutheran.”

Also on Facebook: The God Blog. Religious views? You bet.

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September 1, 2009 | 2:23 am

Former Miss California sues for religious discrimination

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

How naive I am. I thought the Miss California saga featuring Carrie Prejean had come to an end when she was stripped of her crown back in June. I was wrong. Oh so wrong. And entering law school I should have known better.

Today Prejean sued against pageant officials for “libel, slander and religious discrimination, accusing them of telling her to stop mentioning God even before her controversial remarks against gay marriage.” Those comments, of course, followed Perez Hilton’s asking of Prejean during the pageant what she thought about gay marriage. From E!:

Let the legal smiting begin.

In her lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court this morning, Prejean claims that winning the title of Miss California 2009, and being able to compete in the Miss USA pageant, was “fulfilling a personal dream.”

Which, to hear her side of it, quickly became a nightmare.

She claims Moakler, Lewis and PR guru Roger Neal engaged in a “conspiracy” against her, making a series of “false and defamatory statements…in order to injure her reputation and to justify their plan to wrongfully revoke her title.”

Guess she missed the day they taught forgiveness in Sunday school..

No, you shouldn’t really be surprised that E! seized the chance to be flip about Christianity and showcase it institutional ignorance.

The above video is from an appearance Prejean made at her hometown church, The Rock in San Diego.

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