Historian of Religion, Science, and Biblical Interpretation
Yes, everyone’s favorite book is upon us. I’m not sure there’s any sarcasm there; I know lots of Latter-day Saints who love Isaiah. One of my uncles has actually memorized the entire book, in the KJV version. The next several weeks cover Isaiah, so I wanted to plug a few things. Continue reading
I recently saw someone comment, “Well, I’m off to explain to a bunch of twelve-year olds why Abraham proposed sleeping with another woman as a cure for infertility.” Presumably a bit tongue in cheek, but it illustrated the problems of an approach to scripture which doesn’t emphasize seeking understanding through context.
(Part 1 here)
Just in time for Old Testament, the Church has reshaped its policy around Bible translations. While the KJV remains the official Bible of the English-speaking Church, Latter-day Saints are now strongly encouraged, it seems, to use other translations as well. This has the effect of making scripture more accessible and understandable, and increases the joy and enthusiasm of scripture study. It helps us communicate better with our Christian neighbors, who are unlikely to use the KJV, and helps us avoid the problems that come from only reading the KJV. (See this article in Religious Educator.)
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re aware of an announcement of changes to the Church Handbook about use of (and attitudes towards) non-KJV translations. I’m thrilled about this; I’ve also been on planes and deprived of sleep for the last two days, but finally had a good night’s sleep, so let’s try this while it’s still timely. Caveat: written quickly, unrevised, and under sleep deprivation.
And for anyone new here, I read daily in Greek and Hebrew, and have published on Bible translation.
Much of the conversation around translations can be sidestepped by making sure we’re all operating with the conceptual understanding, which is this:
There’s no such thing as THE Bible.
Logos has two sets of study Bible notes I recommend on sale. I don’t know how long these will last: the Jewish Study Bible notes, and the Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible notes, both of which I highly recommend. Per the demo video on this post, you can link these (or others) together to whatever translation(s) you want for your daily reading.
As it turns out, you can legitimately download the former for free in PDF now, though the price is offset by the format. Go here and click on PDF.
Well, it’s going to be a heck of a semester. Continue reading
First, I’ve added a new section to the menu at left on Travel/Speaking plans.
Second, our book is now available to order from BYU Bookstore for $9.50, or a free pdf from the Life Sciences webpage.
For several years, I have been one of several co-editors nursing a book on Latter-day Saints, faith, and evolution through the production stage. I’m pleased to announce it’s now available. Free. Continue reading
(Post with minor updates from four years ago.)
I do not intend to write a weekly post on the Come Follow Me section. D&C is the book I have taught the least, read the least, know the least about, and have the most limited mental bibliography. While I do American religious history, 1820-1850 is not my time period or specialty at all. Second, I am up to my eyeballs in writing projects: turning my dissertation into a book, some spin-off articles, and some other things. I will continue to write posts, some about D&C and Church history, but approximately… whenever the muse strikes and I have time.
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