outside is better

Bible and Liturgical Geekery

Yeah I confess...and most of you know it.  I am a Bible and Liturgy geek.  I will easily start talking about either topic.  One of my favorite combination of the two is using the Book of Common Prayer (or BCP).  It took me a few years to get used to how to actually use it, until I actually met some Anglicans.  The cycle of readings in the BCP won't get you through the Bible in a year, but it is nice to be reading scripture with people all over the world, and readings that have been done for ages.

The easiest way to jump in is to check out the ESV daily BCP.  You can subscribe to it in your RSS reader and have it pop up every day.  That way, when you forget what week of Ordinary Time you are on, the text is right there in front of  you.

Worship, Eschatology and Sacramental Imagination: Part 3

Thanks for sticking around.  This will be the final post in the series.

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Revelation 19:1-4 as applied text

19:1 After these things I heard a tremendous voice, like of a crowd of many people speaking;
        Hallelujah! Salvation has come and glory and power belong to God alone;
19:2-Because of his true and righteous judgment He has weighed the great idolatress, who destroyed the earth with her idolatry, He rescued the blood of the servants out of her hand.
19:3 And a second time they said;
        Hallelujah! The smoke from her city ascends into the eternity of eternity
19:4 And the twenty four elders and four living creatures fell and worshipped God who sits on the throne sing;
        Amen.  Hallelujah (6)

 Entering into the heavenly vision of St. Johns Apocalypse in chapter 19, we come into the story late.  The characters have already been long introduced and many of the cryptic elements have already taken place.  We see an interaction between the redeemed church and the creatures of heaven that speaks to the eternal placement of those who are found in Christ.  This is a great text for us to look at, because it allows us to think of heavenly worship, eschaton and an envisioned sacramental reality of participation in the throne of God.

 A brief description of the heavenly creatures is needed.  They are introduced in chapter 4 of Revelation and are woven throughout the narrative. Books have been written identifying these characters, but most agree that the four creatures represent the totality of creation wrapped inside the existence of the Father.  Their role that has been played out since the beginning of time is one that identifies and protects the holiness of the Father.  The twenty four elders have put themselves is a posture of constant submission towards who God is.  They represent those who have passed through the salvific efforts of God into a new reality.  These are heavenly creatures, full of the knowledge of the divine, but do not have an earthly home.

The interesting part of this reading is found in vs. 4, with the antiphonal response of the heavenly creatures; Amen, Hallelujah.  Glossed, this is con temporarily translated as "we agree, Praise the Lord".  These are two words that are heard in church often, and are part of the Christian  vocabulary that many people might take for granted.  But there is deep meaning in this response.  G.K. Beale notes this response as a “formal expression of ratification”(7) by the creatures.  These words are the endorsements of the truth spoken by Christ’s church.  The creatures of heaven and operating in agreement with the redeemed church.  The creatures, since they are holy beings, understand the function of the incarnation as rescue, and the activity of God recovering His world.  It is a “reckless indiscrimination”(8), salvation as the action and the very make-up of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 

God is also doing this with us, enlisting us in the saving action, by our entry into the kingdom through the sacraments.(9)  We understand our Eucharist as a “Transporting Feast”, as Charles Wesley wrote, bringing us into a timeless reality of action with God.(10)  The sacraments are the best vehicle of participation, a vehicle that God provided.

But what does this antiphon have to do with us today?  Does it hold some sort of secret regarding our salvation?  Gleaning contemporary meanings out of Revelation without diverting off into crackpot prophecy is a skill that is not practiced well by many church leaders.  I think that our answer lies in the liturgical and textual analysis of v.4.  Why are the heavenly creatures agreeing with the words of the redeemed?  To think that the church holds more understanding of God than the creatures that have surrounded him in heaven for eons is bold.  But to reference Dons Scotus again, the incarnation is a fundamental action that would have happened regardless of the fall.  Christ came not because of sin, but because God desired a complete union with humanity that could only be finally realized by grace.  This does not discount what Christ did regarding sin, or say that Adam and Eve were not truly perfect, but that the fundamental attribute of God is salvific.  The creatures that have been responsible for naming and protecting the holiness of God are agreeing because as a saved people, we understand the things of God better than they do.  The heavenly creatures can understand the idea of grace, but they can never understand it as an action because they haven’t received it.

This makes salvation not about perfection, but a deep holy love and desire for relationship.  Sacrifice for the sake of salvation is in the very being of God.  The twenty four elders and living creatures were saying to the redeemed, “This is now your song to sing, because of grace and that you now know God in a way we cannot.  While me may understand the complexities of his holiness, you understand him through the radical, sacramental power of grace.”  This provides a very Wesleyan way to look at the eschaton, as fulfillment that is couched in the marriage supper of the lamb.  As humans we look towards this privilege with expectation.

Sacramental Vision today
At the heart of our sacramental vision is memory, the anamnesis, the constant active memory of the Church.  We use our memory to locate ourselves not in the plight of postmodernity, but in the story of God.  It orients us towards a narrative that is built out of rescue, renaming, and bringing the lowly to places of Holy prestige. It gives us coherence, meaning and a frame of reference that is built in the creator of the world.  Because of this we “are not trapped and confined in the present moment but can locate it as the invention of temporal processes and actions, which gives us the wherewithal to transcend the limitations to which the here and now restrict us”.(11)  We do know what has happened before us and we know the design of the world.  In participation with anamnesis is prolepsis, the active engaging of the future.  We know that our world is on a timeline, and that it is originated with the divine.  Placing our worship in the language of eschaton allows us to give service to this idea that is able to stay away from the language of revenge and judgement.  We know that these things will happen, but that more is written regarding how humanity will be eternally positioned in relation to God.  The liturgical Sanctus of the church is a recognition of how creation and end are in relation towards one another, and that end does not mean a final point, but a reconfiguration.  Schmemann says “This is the ultimate purpose of all that exists, the end, the goal and the fulfillment,because this is the beginning, the principle of Creation.”(12)

When we worship, we place ourselves on this timeline.  We shift back towards renewal, and again think that our sacramental actions are a reality and sign of our communion with God. The baptismal waters and the Lords table re-members us back into humanities proper place with God.  But unlike Adam and Eve, we live knowing the radical sacramental powers of grace.  Worship ceases to become a spiritual filling station and returns to the chief story of the Church.  An ancient-future practice both grounds us and thrusts us towards the Trinity.

The Church’s mission as an eschatological oriented people is one that understands we do have a storyteller.  We tell of what happens when we will all know more about the story than ever imagined.  Our Eucharist is the time in which we taste an appetizer of the anticipated heavenly reality.  We are in between memory and hope, and we look forward to the time in which we will be able to do the things of heaven best; because we have a savior standing like a slain lamb that has brought us a redemption steeped with the grace that God gives his restored people.

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6 Authors own translation
7 G.K.Beale The Book of Revelation (Eerdmans,1999) pg 929
8 Eugene Peterson Reversed Thunder (Harper & Row, 1988) pg 153
9 Ibid 166
10 Daniel B Stevick The Altar’s Fire (Epworth, 2004) pg 129
11 Barry Harvey Can These Bones Live? (Brazos Press, 2008) pg. 47
12 Alexander Schmemann For the Life of the World (St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1973) pg.40

Book Review: Oxford Bible Atlas edited by Adrian Curtis

A Bible atlas is not what you would imagine to be an exciting addition to your library.  After using the Oxford Bible Atlas; edited by Adrian Curtis, I think that I may keep this one on my short shelf for good.  This atlas is in its 4th edition, and is a good 200+ pages thick.  It is about the size of a decent magazine, so the maps are able to be detailed enough to be useful.  The book is also chock full of content that you wouldn’t imagine to be in an atlas.

It is ordered chapterwise to follow the general narrative structure of the scriptures, along with a good deal of archeological information at the back of the book.  There are also plenty of great charts, diagrams, and color pictures of items related to the content.

The bulk of the content is the narrative paraphrase that accompanies the maps and charts.  It really condenses historical information into the necessities to still understand the wider movement of scripture.  The author also gives content regarding the wider area of influence, especially related to other countries that are a part of the narrative.

The part of the book that I do need to warn my more conservative readers is that this is an academic text.  What this means is that (especially in the early parts of the Old Testament) it deals with issues of textual criticism, and takes a more “non-inerrant” position regarding the exodus narrative (pg. 80 and the conquest in Joshua).  I hope that if this is your specific view, you would be able to look past and appreciate this text for the wealth of information that it brings.

If you are a student and taking any introduction courses on the Bible, this book is a must by.  If you are interested in Biblical studies, you might find this to be a useful tool.  Where I think this book would shine is in a church library, due to its size and quality of pictures.  This is the kind of book I loved as a boy.  If you are in the market for a Bible Atlas, I would check this one out.

7ish bowls of.....

The last week has been really busy, but I wanted to share some links and new sites with you.

1.  This guy makes every 7 bowls post, but you need to check out Michael Spencers series on The Evangelical Liturgy.  He is three posts in and it has been great.

2. Revelation Resources.  You know me for being the apocalyptic geek, and I try to gather good blogs regarding the subject.  Spend some time poking around there if you are interested.

3. JD Walt.  This is an older post, but worth it.  It is in the realm of worship and is titled Worship Design Thought: Are we choosing novelty or innovation

These are only three, but I think that they should keep you occupied.  I am in the middle of a preaching series at church in the gospels and I am speaking this week in the last Asbury Chapel of the summer.  Have a great week.

Daniel and an Ultimate Question

I have been reading and studying through the Book of Daniel over the last couple of weeks for a youth Bible Study.  I am really enjoying the book, but I am coming to an intense point of confusion/frustration.  For those that don't really keep up with textual criticism and related subjects, the wikipedia articles below will get you up to speed.  They all pretty much seem to be wacko free.

Daniel (the person)
Daniel (the book)
Ezekiel's Daniel

I grew up never questioning any ideas of OT authorship, but I did assume a certain mythical quality to much of what I grew up with in church.  A few years ago I really started to question the validity of some of the traditional, conservative claims regarding who wrote these books.  My OT prof at asbury, the infamous Lawson Stone, did a good job explaining how a later date for many of these books would work, and that the Jewish people in exile complied many sacred writings for the sake of continuing their distinction as a people.  I never really got into it past there, because that seemed to be a valid idea, but not one that really mattered to me at the time. 

Enter Daniel.  I got a last minute call to preach this weekend (my pastor has some family business to attend to), and I jumped into Daniel, because I had plenty of resources at my fingertips.  I am finding out that Daniel probably has the best argument regarding an extreme later dating than any other major book of the OT.  It doesn't bother me (and I don't what to hijack the post and say why), so I can deal with it.  I am respectful of my conservative congregation, so it won't get mentioned, but I do wonder what impact it would have.  I don't want this to turn into a historical criticism blog post, but instead think about the relationship of scripture to the local church.

This seems to be an issue to some because denying the "classical conservative" (mainly evangelical) approach to authorship takes pot-shots at Gods sovereignty and existence.  To others it may be denying the existence of God.  It doesn't go that way for me, because I think looking at this sociologically proves even more because of traditions (the Bible, and the idea of a Judeo/Christian religious system) continuation.  If people are willing to not only practice, but  to sacrifice and even be killed for something the believe, it has to be pretty valid.  This isn't religion as "opiate for the masses" but as an expression of life and an alternate reality of looking at the world.

So here are a few questions.
1.  Would you feel your religious worldview to be shattered if the VBS perspective of these books weren't the case?
2.  How do you feel this reality could either enhance or detract from a congregational perspective?
3.  Is the point of scripture inside  these "facts" or is it the wider narrative of Gods people that is the most important?
4.  How do you feel the local church would/could operate if it weren't bogged down in a "propositional" mentality?

I guess the ultimate question is this:  Do you feel that this (the authorship issue) threatens your entire belief system?

Think about it or post some answers in the comments.  Thanks guys.

They don't know the Bible...and it doesn't matter to me.

By the time most people get to the age where they can take control of their faith, many ministers and lay leaders assume that people will have a basic knowledge of Bible stories, characters and the general time-line of biblical activity.  But what does assuming do?….Yep thats right, you would just make an ass of yourself.

More and more, in my careers of youth and college ministry (as well as meeting adults who are coming to church for the first time) I am encountering people that have no idea of anything remotely resembling a biblical world-view, and it doesn’t bother me.

How many times have you heard a belief come out of someone's mouth that absolutely blew you away?  I remember being taught “where black people come from” as a child, with the teacher using the story of Noah and his sons seeing him naked and drunk.  You have to admit, the more conservative side of evangelicalism has a knack for teaching people some pretty wild stuff and claiming it is in the bible, or interpretations that lack any amount of substance.

When I first started teaching multiple bible studies a week for my church, I was pulling my hair out, because I was finding it impossible to teach anything without having to do at least 30min of back story.  The solution was close at hand, because I spent over a year working in a ministry that practices a more narrative form of communication in bible study.  These methods worked to a point, but I was still dealing with 14 year olds whose main scriptural influence was specials on the History Channel.  The only frustrating part was that I was worried that my non-orthodox methods of bible study were going to get me in trouble.

Fast-forwarding almost 2 years later and I have settled into a pretty good groove.  One night a week is a more low-key study, with as much back and forth dialogue as I can muster.  The last few months we have been talking about Israel and their desire for a king.  This way we are doing some serious back story regarding King David, which always factored in whenever I didn’t have the time to explain it.  We just finished a year going through the gospel of Mark on Sunday mornings.  This was more in-depth and slower, and allowed me to hit key points regarding gospel, the kingdom of God and the person of Christ.  We just started looking at the entire NT, going through the basic points of a book each week.
So why do I enjoy this?  I think it is allowing me to teach these kids (and adults at times) a way of reading the bible and interacting with it that goes far beyond the traditional evangelical view of the “quiet time”.  Another small group is going through Daniel chapter by chapter this summer, and I am teaching them some really basic methods of inductive Bible study. 

The Biblical Story is one that shapes the church to its very core, and is so much more than an instructional manual.  Teaching in this way, I end up with folks that know how to read and think more than them just hearing bible stories and learning moral lessons.

More and more the church is going to have to learn to operate in this manner, and dealing with people that don’t know or understand the Bible.  For to long we have taken for granted the idea that everyone knows Bible stories and heard them as a child and then when they grow up we teach them about what to do and not to do.  I think that we have lost our story to a point, and it is inside the classic actions of the church that we will recover the characteristics of the Church.  I am not one that believes good doctrine will fix everything, but I do believe that a group of people that are steeped in the teachings of Christ and in the traditions of His Church will dramatically impact anyone they come into contact with.

Bible Review: NRSV Notetakers Bible

NRSV Notetakers Bible
Originally uploaded by chadbrooks

I have mentioned it before that I really wish the NRSV had better editions. 2009 seems to be the year that this is being remedied. I received a copy of the NRSV Notetaker’s Bible (hardback) from the publisher about a month ago and have been using it since then. Here is my review.

Many Bible geeks have the same complaints about Bibles, and I have lodged them before in previous reviews here on the site. Oxford must have been listening to what seems to be a cumulative list among the snobby Bible community. What the Notetaker’s Bible offers is a generous (2 inch) margin on each page that gives plenty of space to write whatever you feel like. The print is in single column, so it doesn’t tax the eyes as much as a double column tends too. The paper is nice, and doesn’t allow to much bleed through (I use a pilot G2 .05). These three things would satisfy many people that are picky about what features a Bible offers.

The Bible is in a handy size. It has a little bit larger of a footprint than a traditional thin-line bible, but is more square. It is a pretty thick Bible (it contains the apocryphal/dueterocanonical books), but it is in good relation to the length/width.  Here is a shot between a standard thin-line and a Life Application Study Bible.

If you are sensitive to small print, you need to be prepared to wear some reading glasses. I have pretty bad eyesight and I need to have a little bit of help. But this is a willing concession to make to get the things mentioned above. Another concession is the fact that this Bible has a hard time laying flat once you get to the end of the NT. Even in the gospels, you are pretty far back, and it takes some “encouragement” to lay flat at times. Since the majority of my Biblical Studies work is in Revelation and the general epistles, this is something I have to deal with using most Bibles. The edition doesn’t feel “cheap”, but it did arrive to me with some battle scars. I went and checked the local Cokesbury store and saw that my copy wasn’t a plumbline for quality, the ones in the store where better. I would say that it feels to be bound about as well as a nice textbook, and since it is an Oxford, I feel assured as to it’s quality. I also wish that the margins didn’t have line markers already, but thats not a big deal.

This would be a great Bible for a seminary student that is starting his or her studies and wants an academic Bible that will hold up for years to come. The size is right for a bookbag,and the margins will come in handy. The NRSV is the standard for theological wriitng so any student needs at least one. The inclusion of the Apocryphal texts is nice, because you don’t have to search around the internet or your library when a reference comes up.

Out of 10 I would rate this an 8.

Sermon Prep

Sermon Prep
Originally uploaded by chadbrooks

My good friend David Norman blogged about how he prepares for sermons this week.  I thought I would put my addition in a post instead of a comment. 

I prefer to spend time preaching through an extended piece of text, but I have only once had the opportunity to spend several weeks in the same book.  When I teach my youth I take my time, but that is a whole different monster, since most of the are biblically illiterate (thats another post).

Once I have my text down, and I usually shoot for at least for a few related verses, if not an entire literary segment, I gather my resources.  I am a huge fan of Oak Tree's softwares Accordance, and I use it throughout the process.  I translate the passage from the original languages first.  I don't do this because I want to have my own translation, but instead to see subtle word play and to hopefully spark some good ideas.  Some of my best sermons came from things I found once I translated the text.  I have a few lexicons inside accordance that I use too, and I bring them out when anything seems interesting or different from the usual english translations (NRSV, NIV and the NLT are my usuals).

Once I have my translation I spend a few hours thinking about the text structurally and theologically.  I do some basic level IBS, but I do not go as far as I would for a school assignment.  It is in this stage that I often find what I want to focus on.  I try to be honest and not take the text outside of it's greater scriptural family or to present it in a way that wouldn't make sense to its contemporary readers/hearers. 

Two of the places that I having been going to lately are, "Theological Interpretation of the Old Testament" and its partner "Theological Interpretation of the New Testament", edited by Kevin J. Vanhoozer and published by Baker.  I recieved both of these free at SBL last year and I find myself going to them often.  Theological Interpretation is a movement that seeks to rejoin the academic families of Biblical Interpretation and Theological studies.  It may seem surprising to you that they are separated, but inside the academy, this is a new and innovative movement.  It seeks to read the scripture theologically.  These books do a great job at showing a wide breadth of theological thought regarding the Bible. 

By this time I try to have some themes worked out.  I now go to The Essential IVP Reference Collection software that I have for Accordance.  I like this set of dictionaries (which can also be found in paper copies) because in Accordance I can surf around the different dictionaries.  Its almost like going to Wikipedia, but you can trust (and cite) the information found.  It is a quick way to get around alot of information, and I never do any work without it.  It is a pretty important tool to me.  I really like the Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, The New Dictionary of Biblical Theology and the Dictionary of the Latter New Testament and its Developments the best.  I would buy Accordance just for this set. 

When I have a couple of things that have really jumped out at me, I look for some academic articles surrounding the topic.  I rarely actually use anything from them, but they are a great way to see how others have put together the information.  I also have a couple of commentary sets I go to every time (the Sacra Pagina and the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture), and then I start pulling things off the library shelf.

By now I have my sermon pretty much outlined and I start trying to put it all together.  My pastor usually tells me I need more illustrations, but I strive for a more narrative approach so I have a hard time with stories that are outside of my life.  I never speak more than 25-30 minutes so I have alot of triming to do, but I like having the information in front of me.  I speak from a manuscript that I am really familar with.  I outline my sermon and then annotate the manuscript with the outline.  I would say that I don't need it 65 to 75% of the time, but it is nice to keep me grounded. 

Well, thats how I prepare a sermon.  You need to tell us now as well.

Bible Review: The Chronological Study Bible

I remember hearing about chronological study bibles a few years ago.  I thought it was a really good idea.  I also remembering reading a chronological biography of Paul with his writings around the same time.  When writings Bible Reviews, what I have to do is review the design/editing and publication instead of the actual “writing” of the Biblical Text.  This may stray from a normal review a little bit, but stay with me.  Thomas Nelson's entry into this market is the Chronological Study Bible in the New King James translation.

Chronological means that the books are ordered in a chronological manner...no duh?...but actually...yeah….duh?  Is the ordering representative of an assumed Historical ordered time or a timeline of authorship time?  Meaning-do we order the book on when the editors assume something happened historically or when the author wrote it.  For the most part, this doesn’t affect the New Testament (except for the General Epistles and Revelation), but I think it matters alot in the Old Testament.  So just take a minute and decide which you think would be proper.

The pluses of this edition are nice.  It looks really good without the dust jacket, which matters to me.  Their is a great amount of information in this bible.  It isn’t a study bible in the classic sense (with 1/3rd of the page being commentary), but it is full of really interesting drawings, bits of information and charts.  The pages are also pretty, and the publishers found a way to just make it look interesting.  The translation (NKJV) is a relatively accessible translation, and the information is as well.  This bible could be understood by most people.  I normally take dust jackets off books that I know I am going to keep, and this bible looks attractive with a maroon and gold gilded lettering sans-jacket.

The negatives of this bible (related to the actual edition) are few.  The bible is in a dual column formula, which is a real drag.  I just find it hard to read.  The pages are a little to thin, so you can see the other site and I imagine writing in it would tear the page.  I wish that Bible publishers would start leaving more margin room as well, because there is hardly any space to write notes.

Remember when I asked you to decide whether or not you liked the idea of assumed historical time vs. authorship time in a study bible?  While this specific chronological bible at least references the idea of multiple authorship in OT books, I wish it would have handled the Pentateuch this way, or at least referenced the J.E.D.P.  I am not an adherent to the J.E.D.P, but it at least paints an interesting picture when it comes to a pre-ancient text such as the first five books of the the Old Testament. This article article in USA Today gives some answers regarding this type of concern.  I will leave this subject now because I don’t want my views to hijack the review.

The second concern is that as good as an edition as it is, the NKJV is really only read by people that have to keep a connection to the King James.  Just it being published in NKJV aligns it with a certain segment of Christianity that has some pretty rigid views regarding authorship and dating in the Bible.  Thomas Nelson generally focuses on the NKJV, although they have a few bible in New American Standard.  I think that would have been a better choice for this edition.

Overall, this would be a decent Bible to have on your shelf if you really like Bibles.  Its worth as a reference tool for the narrative timeline of the Bible is worthwhile, and some of the additional information is good.  But I wouldn’t buy it as my 2nd, 3rd or 4th Bible.  If you teach Sunday School it would be handy.  My advice?  By it as a reference tool and not a Bible for primary study.

Review: The Voice New Testament

It was several years ago that I first heard of The Voice translation project.  It was actually through my interests in Christian art and the release of The Last Eyewitness, a contemporary retelling of John 13-21.  I remember being interested with the work and made a mental note to keep up with it.  Meredith and I also visited Chris Seay’s church Ecclesia when we were at her parents in Houston.  The actual project of the Ecclesia Bible Society is interesting enough to warrant its own blog post.  Buts that’s not the point here.

The Voice New Testament is the first “long form” offering in the project.  While multiple smaller books have been put out, this is the entire New Testament.  I find that this translation actually answers many of the issues that I have in regard to a Bible that is stimulating enough to make people want to actually read it.  I know that is a statement that may make some uncomfortable, but its true.

What The Voice does offer is an accurate translation that is transmitted in un-orthodox manner.  What this means is that in sections of dialog sections, the text is broken up into script format, allowing the reader to follow along easier.  I also noted that in certain places in Revelation time based words have been rendered as in the Greek, and not inserted as part of the narrative. For example;

Rev 14
NIV
Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads.

NASB
Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads.

The Voice
The scene changed. I looked and saw the lamb standing on top of Mount. Zion, and with Him were the 144,000 who had His name and His Father’s name inscribed on their foreheads.

This sounds like it really doesn’t matter, but the translators of the voice have paid attention to the difference between written prose language and the idea of narrative community story-telling.  This is just one of the features about the voice that I enjoy. The writers identify this italic type as "words not directly tied to a dynamic translation of the Bible."  These are pieces of information that would be obvious to the original hearer (or reader), but in English don't carry the original meaning.  Solving this is the answer to one of my largest pet peeves in regard to English translation and how people read the Bible.

Another feature is the addition of devotional content that is placed amongst the text.  It is written by several writers who are well known in the more “emerging” contexts that The Voice is unofficially associated with.  The Voice also steers clear of some of the more recent issues in evangelical textual criticism dealing with authorship and dating.  It does this my simply staying away from the subject and not veering of into an inherancy/infallibility discussion.

My only problem with The Voice is the dual column format.  I know that this is a standard, and that not doing this could potentially disrupt the flow regarding the devotional section, but for a Bible that is really trying to get out of the mindsets of Bible publishing it was a surprise. 

Overall though, The Voice is a wonderful Bible and translation.  For those who minister to non or de-churched people it is a great Bible to use because it is able to communicate without assuming a Biblical worldview, which is hard these days.  Many Christian publishers understand it as a problem but don’t offer a good solution. The Voice has a high level of readability that gets out of the "a verse here.....and a chapter here" mentality of scripture reading. 

To download a free copy of the Gospel of John click here.