Fwd: Re: [Linux4christians] NIV Bible for Linux

[Ben Thorp]

I've been away for a week, but I wanted to reply to this thread.

Firstly - I am amazed that only one person mentioned the RSV / NRSV, and
that was just in passing. When I studied New Testament Greek it was the
translation that was recommended to me by my lecturer, and I personally
really like it, apart from the inclusive language that my particular NRSV
version has.

My inclination is to never trust any one translation, and to always ensure
that I read the background provided by the translator. One of my dislikes
for the KJV is that it has a particular bias because it was being produced
for a monarch - usage of the word 'King' is quite liberal for instance
(IIRC) - and also a leaning towards Anglican hierarchy. The NKJV did much
to address these issues too, and I believe that they may have also changed
some of the wording to make it more 'modern'.

The NIV is a Bible that I have never really got into, mainly because when I
was a teenager it seemed like everybody and anybody had a copy of it, and I
was concerned that it was gaining such a high status within the evangelical
churches that it was becoming much like the KJV in more traditional
churches. At this point I began reading the Jerusalem Bible a fair bit(I
know - shock horror, a Roman Catholic translation ;) ), and, although I
mostly now read the NRSV, the Jersusalem Bible is still one I like to read.

I also read The Message a fair bit these days - it quite often brings a new
slant onto familiar passages.

Just my £0.02 :)

Ben