Updated NIV 2010 Completed

The highly anticipated update to the NIV is now completed. While the print edition is not expected to be released until 2011, the online version has now been made available for viewing at BibleGateway (please click here) and Biblica (please click here).

Prof Doug Moo, Chair of the Committee on Bible Translation, provides us with the introductory video of the updated NIV. A condensed version of the video can be found at YouTube.




Please also refer to the translators' notes for the corrections made to the updated version of the NIV by clicking here.

From the translators' notes, I am pleased to note that several significant corrections and changes have been made, taking into account recent scholarship. But I would still like to take a look at several more passages and study them before I make further comments.

Enjoy reading the updated NIV online.

Reading the Earliest Sacred Texts in the UK and Ireland - Codex Sinaiticus

I still remember during my first trip to London many years ago, I decided to give the Changing the Guards Ceremony at Buckingham Palace a miss (and until today, after numerous trips to London, I still have yet to witness this Ceremony, and friends have been telling me I don't know what I miss).


But for me, there was something else that was far more important to see. I would rather exchange the Changing the Guard Ceremony for a visit to the British Library. The reason was simple - I wanted to have a look at the Codex Sinaiticus and other sacred texts that are on display at the Sir John Ritblat Gallery that showcases the treasures of British Library. As an NT scholar, I would not give a visit to have a peek at this very important Codex a miss.

Over the years, I still make return visits to the British Library. This current trip to England is no exception. I was at the British Library recently, and I remained speechless and overwhelmed with a sense of awe when I stood before the display of the Codex Sinaiticus. This important Codex, discovered at St Catherine Monastery at the foot of Mt Sinai (hence the name, Codex Sinaiticus), contains the earliest copy of the complete New Testament dated back to the 4th century. On display is the final section of John 21, including John 21:25. Also on display are the portions of the Old Testament in Greek as well, and one can view portions of Psalms. It is interesting that the layout format for the NT text and OT text is slightly different. The NT was written in four columns format (see the image above) while the Psalms were written in two column format.

Displayed next to the Codex Sinaiticus is another important manuscript dated to the 5th century known as the Codex Alexandrinus. Numerous important Bibles such as the Lindisfarne Gospels dated back to the 7th century, the Wycliffe Bible dated late 14th century and Parc Abbey Bible dated 12th century are also on display.

I have always told my friends that we need to know the heritage and tradition of our faith and our scripture. If you are planning for a visit to London, make a tour to the British Library a priority. Perhaps like me, the Changing the Guards Ceremony and visit to Buckingham Palace can wait. And the best is, a visit to the gallery that houses the treasures of our sacred texts does not charge any admission fees!

By the way, as an evidence for my love for scripture, I even bought a poster of the Codex Sinaitucus that is now nicely framed and proudly on display in my office.

Cambridge University to digitalise faith and science library collections | Christian News on Christian Today

Cambridge University to digitalise faith and science library collections | Christian News on Christian Today

Cambridge University Library has announced plans to become a digital library for the world.

The library is home to more than seven million books and some of the greatest collections in existence, including those of Newton and Darwin.

The first collections to be digitised will be entitled The Foundations of Faith and The Foundations of Science. The goal for both is that they become ‘living libraries’ with the capacity to grow and evolve.

The library’s faith collections include some of the oldest and most significant Qur’ans ever to be uncovered, as well an eighth century copy of Surat al-Anfal.

The library also holds the world’s largest and most important collection of Jewish Genizah materials, including the Taylor-Schechter Genizah Collection – 193,000 fragments of manuscripts as significant as the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Its Christian holdings include the Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis, one of the most important Greek New Testament manuscripts, the Book of Deer and the Book of Cerne.

Read the rest of the report here.

The Bible Society Library in the Cambridge University Library also houses copies of the oldest Malay bibles. Let's hope that some of these bible that contain the word "Allah" will be made available too.

Glo Bible: A New Way of Experiencing the Bible

GLO bible - to be launced on October 15, 2009.

Retailed at US$79.99, and with pre-order sale price at US$59.99, would anyone be able to resist this new digital bible?

Bart Ehrman Debates with Pete Williams

NT scholar Bart Ehrman was in the UK over Christmas 2008 to visit family and promote his book "Whose word is it?", the UK edition of "Misquoting Jesus". In it he calls into question the authority of the New Testament, claiming that scribes have deliberately changed the documents over time.

Premier Christian Radio interviewed him on January 3, 2009 on its programme, 'Unbelievable', and invited Peter Williams, Warden of Tyndale House, Cambridge, to an hour-long debate with him.

The debate focused on the question ‘Do we have the original writings of the New Testament?’ Peter Williams argued that Bart's prognosis about the reliability of the New Testament is far too pessimistic. He agreed that scribal errors have occurred, but they are accidental changes and the original reading is almost always obvious and confirmed by large numbers of manuscripts.

The debate can be heard online by clicking here.

It is also worthwhile to check out Sze Zeng's blog where he highlighted the debate between Bart Ehrman and Dan Wallace.

"Authors" of Dead Sea Scrolls Never Existed?

I am a bit late in posting up this piece of news, reported in Times Online on March 16, 2009

TIME: Scholar Claims Dead Sea Scrolls 'Authors' Never Existed
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1885421,00.html

By Tim McGirk / Jerusalem

Biblical scholars have long argued that the Dead Sea Scrolls were the work of an ascetic and celibate Jewish community known as the Essenes, which flourished in the 1st century A.D. in the scorching desert canyons near the Dead Sea. Now a prominent Israeli scholar, Rachel Elior, disputes that the Essenes ever existed at all — a claim that has shaken the bedrock of biblical scholarship.

Elior, who teaches Jewish mysticism at Jerusalem's Hebrew University, claims that the Essenes were a fabrication by the 1st century A.D. Jewish-Roman historian Flavius Josephus and that his faulty reporting was passed on as fact throughout the centuries. As Elior explains, the Essenes make no mention of themselves in the 900 scrolls found by a Bedouin shepherd in 1947 in the caves of Qumran, near the Dead Sea. "Sixty years of research have been wasted trying to find the Essenes in the scrolls," Elior tells TIME. "But they didn't exist. This is legend on a legend." (See pictures of 60 years of Israel.)

Elior contends that Josephus, a former Jewish priest who wrote his history while being held captive in Rome, "wanted to explain to the Romans that the Jews weren't all losers and traitors, that there were many exceptional Jews of religious devotion and heroism. You might say it was the first rebuttal to anti-Semitic literature." She adds, "He was probably inspired by the Spartans. For the Romans, the Spartans were the highest ideal of human behavior, and Josephus wanted to portray Jews who were like the Spartans in their ideals and high virtue." (See pictures of disputed artifiacts.)

Early descriptions of the Essenes by Greek and Roman historians has them numbering in the thousands, living communally ("The first kibbutz," jokes Elior) and forsaking sex — which goes against the Judaic exhortation to "go forth and multiply." Says Elior: "It doesn't make sense that you have thousands of people living against the Jewish law and there's no mention of them in any of the Jewish texts and sources of that period." (Read "Is This Jesus's Tomb?")

So who were the real authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls? Elior theorizes that the Essenes were really the renegade sons of Zadok, a priestly caste banished from the Temple of Jerusalem by intriguing Greek rulers in 2nd century B.C. When they left, they took the source of their wisdom — their scrolls — with them. "In Qumran, the remnants of a huge library were found," Elior says, with some of the early Hebrew texts dating back to the 2nd century B.C. Until the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the earliest known version of the Old Testament dated back to the 9th century A.D. "The scrolls attest to a biblical priestly heritage," says Elior, who speculates that the scrolls were hidden in Qumran for safekeeping. (See pictures of Jews and Muslims in the Holy Land.)

Elior's theory has landed like a bombshell in the cloistered world of biblical scholarship. James Charlesworth, director of the Dead Sea Scrolls project at Princeton Theological Seminary and an expert on Josephus, says it is not unusual that the word Essenes does not appear in the scrolls. "It's a foreign label," he tells TIME. "When they refer to themselves, it's as 'men of holiness' or 'sons of light.' " Charlesworth contends that at least eight scholars in antiquity refer to the Essenes. One proof of Essene authorship of the Dead Sea Scrolls, he says, is the large number of inkpots found by archaeologists at Qumran.

But Elior claims says these ancient historians, namely Philo and Pliny the Elder, either borrowed from each other or retailed second-hand stories as fact. "Pliny the Elder describes the Essenes as 'choosing the company of date palms' beside the Dead Sea. We know Pliny was a great reader, but he probably never visited Israel," she says.

Elior is braced for more criticism of her theory. "Usually my opponents have only read Josephus and the other classical references to the Essenes," she says. "They should read the Dead Sea Scrolls — all 39 volumes. The proof is there."

Ancient Syriac Bible found in Cypurs??

Reuters reports on "ancient" Syriac Bible found from smugglers in Cyprus. The news article is reproduced below.

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NICOSIA (Reuters Life!) – Authorities in northern Cyprus believe they have found an ancient version of the Bible written in Syriac, a dialect of the native language of Jesus.

The manuscript was found in a police raid on suspected antiquity smugglers. Turkish Cypriot police testified in a court hearing they believe the manuscript could be about 2,000 years old.

The manuscript carries excerpts of the Bible written in gold lettering on vellum and loosely strung together, photos provided to Reuters showed. One page carries a drawing of a tree, and another eight lines of Syriac script.

Experts were however divided over the provenance of the manuscript, and whether it was an original, which would render it priceless, or a fake.

Experts said the use of gold lettering on the manuscript was likely to date it later than 2,000 years.

"I'd suspect that it is most likely to be less than 1,000 years old," leading expert Peter Williams, Warden of Tyndale House, University of Cambridge told Reuters.

Turkish Cypriot authorities seized the relic last week and nine individuals are in custody pending further investigations. More individuals are being sought in connection with the find, they said.

Further investigations turned up a prayer statue and a stone carving of Jesus believed to be from a church in the Turkish held north, as well as dynamite.

The police have charged the detainees with smuggling antiquities, illegal excavations and the possession of explosives.

Syriac is a dialect of Aramaic - the native language of Jesus - once spoken across much of the Middle East and Central Asia. It is used wherever there are Syrian Christians and still survives in the Syrian Orthodox Church in India.

Aramaic is still used in religious rituals of Maronite Christians in Cyprus.

"One very likely source (of the manuscript) could be the Tur-Abdin area of Turkey, where there is still a Syriac speaking community," Charlotte Roueche, Professor of Late Antique and Byzantine Studies at King's College London told Reuters.

Stories regarding the antiquity of manuscripts is commonplace. One case would be the Yonan Codex, carbon dated to the 12th century which people tried to pass off as earlier.

After further scrutiny of photographs of the book, manuscripts specialist at the University of Cambridge library and Fellow of Wolfson College JF Coakley suggested that the book could have been written a good deal later.

"The Syriac writing seems to be in the East Syriac script with vowel points, and you do not find such manuscripts before about the 15th century.

"On the basis of the one photo...if I'm not mistaken some words at least seem to be in modern Syriac, a language that was not written down until the mid-19th century," he told Reuters.

(Editing by Michele Kambas and Paul Casciato)

Nida School for Translation Studies: Call for Applications

The Nida School for Translation Studies (NSTS) is calling for application for its Nida 2009 School to be held at Misano adriatico (Rimini), Italy, from September 7-19, 2009. The theme of the 2009 session is “Translation and Culture.”

The NSTS is a program of the E.A.Nida Institute for Biblical Scholarship at the American Bible Society. Its mission is "to support advanced training and research into translation studies (understood as inclusive of the history and practice of Bible translation)."

Supporting institutions for the NSTS include the Translation Center at UMass-Amherst, Istituto San Pellegrino, the Society of Biblical Literature, The United Bible Societies (UBS), and SIL International.

For 2009 session,NSTS will admit a globally representative class of 20 qualified associates. Successful candidates will hold a completed or nearly completed doctorate in a discipline related to translation studies or biblical studies as well as field and/or professional experience in translation. The NSTS will comprise lectures and seminars, tutorials and directed readings. Prior to arriving at the School, associates will be expected to submit a draft research paper, engaging with the theme of the School. After revising this draft in light of the presentations, associates will present and defend a second draft during the course of the School. An abstract (250-300 words) of the paper must be submitted with the application.

Associates will be responsible for their own airfare and local transportation to and from Misano. The NSTS will waive fees and cover the cost of room and board. Associates requiring visas to enter Italy are encouraged to begin the visa application process immediately upon acceptance into the School.

To apply, candidates must fill out the online application form and submit it along with a current CV and an abstract of a research paper to: Ms Dulce Alvarado ( 212-408 8752 ).

The deadline for application is March 31, 2009.

For further information on NSTS, please click here.

Bible Confiscated - Update

Following the news from Malaysiakini (see also the news report from the Star) and my earlier post on English bibles that were seized by customs officers at the Kuala Lumpur Airport, both Christian Federation of Malaysia and Council of Churches Malaysia have acted immediately and issued press statements concerning this matter.

The press statements from both CFM and CCM are reproduced below:

Press Statement from Christian Federation of Malaysia

Hands Off our Bibles
The Christian Federation of Malaysia registers its protest in the strongest terms, at the action of a Custom Officer at LCCT, who confiscated 32 English Bibles belonging to a Christian, who was bringing it from Manila for use in her church.

The reason given by the Custom Officer is that since it is the Bible, it needs to be cleared by the Internal Security Ministry’s Control Division of Publications and Al-Quran Texts.

Since when has English Bibles become a "security issue" in our country?

Why is it, the said Control Division is amassing such rights to itself that allow Muslim civil bureaucrats to decide for Christians what religious material they can read, or bring into the country?

We have received many complaints from Christians being told to hand over religious books to custom officers at various checkpoints in the country. Now they even want our Bibles!

The Bible is our holy and sacred book. We will not comply with any directive from government or its agencies that infringe on our right to use our sacred book and other Christian literature.

We appreciate that the Deputy Minister of Internal Security, YB Dato’ Fu Ah Kiow has taken action to have the Bibles returned to the person concerned, explaining that the Customs officer had no such authority to seize the Bibles.

But in view of the fact that this is not an isolated case, we call upon YB Dato’ Fu to come up with a directive restraining all government agencies from future harassment especially by the internal security enforcement officers.

In the run-up to the National Elections, it is important for the churches to be convinced that the policy of the Barisan Nasional guarantees religious freedom and would not tolerate any actions that undermine the religious rights of all citizens of Malaysia.

(signed)
Bishop Dr. Paul Tan Chee Ing., SJ
Chairman, Executive Committee
Christian Federation of Malaysia
5th February 2008

----------------
Press Statement from Council of Churches Malaysia

It has been brought to our attention that a Malaysian Christian has suffered much spiritual anguish and indignation as she had her English Bibles confiscated by the Custom Officers at the airport (LCCT) recently, when she returned from a visit to Manila, Philippines.

The Custom Officer had insisted that the English Bibles had to be sent to the Internal Security Ministry’s Control Division of Publications and Al-Quran Texts (Bahagian Kawalan Penerbitan dan Teks Al-Quran), for clearance .

The Council of Churches is flabbergasted that such acts are happening in our country with such frequency and impunity.

We want to state categorically that the Bible is Holy Scripture for Christians. No authority on earth should deny Christians the right to possess, read and travel with their Bibles.

The Council of Churches calls for the immediate release of the Bibles with an official apology by the Custom Department of Malaysia.

We call upon the Prime Minister, who is also the Internal Security Minister to make a clear and unequivocal statement to assure Christians in the country that they will not be subject to such harassment and that their holy books will not be subject to the scrutiny of the Control Division of Publications and Al-Quran Texts of the Internal Security Ministry.

For a country that has celebrated, cultivated and sustained fifty years of religious freedom and harmonious living between all faith communities, this latest episode is another example of how the unilateral actions of certain government agencies are undermining the government’s stated claims of protecting religious freedom in the country.

(signed)
Rev. Dr. Hermen Shastri,
General Secretary
Council of Churches of Malaysia
4th February 2008.

Bibles confiscated

Malaysia's online newspaper, Malaysiakini, runs a very disturbing news today. I am reposting the news here. Is this another clear and unmistakable indication that freedom of religion as enshirned in our Federal Constitution is now slowing but surely eroding away?

Bibles confiscated by Customs Dept
Fauwaz Abdul Aziz Feb 4, 08 7:19pm

A seizure of English bibles by Customs Department officials has left a bitter taste in the mouth of a Malaysian Christian and led the Council of Churches Malaysia to decry the increasing incidence of such acts by the authorities.

It comes on the heels of a spate of legal suits following similar seizures of Christian materials by the authorities earlier this year and late last year.

On Jan 28, missionary Juliana Nicholas returned from a trip to the Philippines carrying with her two boxes containing 32 bibles meant for her church group.

Upon arrival at the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) in Kuala Lumpur, she was told to declare and open the contents of the boxes.

Having done so - and despite showing them a letter from her parish priest stating the texts were for use by the church - Nicholas was shocked to be hear subsequently that the bibles would be “referred" to the Internal Security Ministry’s Publications and Al-Quran Texts Control Division.

Protestations that they could check the bibles there and then without the inconvenience of referring them to the ministry fell on deaf ears, said Nicholas.

“When I objected as these were English bibles, the ministry official I spoke to said, ‘Oh, we do this even with the Qurans that come through this way’. But these are not Qurans, these are English bibles!” Nicolas said when contacted.

As to when the bibles can be returned to her “would depend on those people at the division”, Nicholas said she was told further.

After a follow-up call today to the ministry, Nicholas said she was informed she could now pick up the bibles from the division office located near the airport.

Official apology needed

She insisted, however, that the ministry issue to her an official apology for the inconvenience caused and a letter of assurance that the incidence would not recur.

“They cannot allow such things to happen again. How can they do this to you?” asked an indignant Nicholas.

Echoing her demand today, Council of Churches Malaysia general secretary Dr Hermen Shastri said it should be known categorically that “the bible is Holy Scripture for Christians.”

“No authority on earth should deny Christians the right to possess, read and travel with their bibles,” he said in a statement.

“We call upon the prime minister, who is also the internal security minister, to make a clear and unequivocal statement to assure Christians in the country that they will not be subject to such harassment and that their holy books will not be subject to the scrutiny of the Control Division of Publications and Al-Quran Texts of the Internal Security Ministry.

“For a country that has celebrated, cultivated and sustained 50 years of religious freedom and harmonious living between all faith communities, this latest episode is another example of how the unilateral actions of certain government agencies are undermining the government’s stated claims of protecting religious freedom in the country,” said Shastri.

Legal suit

Earlier this year, the Internal Security Ministry confiscated English language Christian children’s books said to contain offensive caricatures of prophets from several bookshops in three states.

Last year, a Sabah church filed a suit against the government and Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in his capacity as internal security minister for not allowing the import of Christian literature from Indonesia containing the word ‘Allah’.

Sabah Sidang Injil Borneo (SIB) Church president Pastor Jerry Dusing filed the suit on behalf of the church at the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Dec 10 after six titles for their Sunday school education for children were banned from being imported.

In 2006, about 1,000 copies of bibles in Bahasa Indonesia were seized in Port Klang and had remained in Customs’ possession.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Aziz had earlier told Parliament that the government prohibited the distribution of bibles in Bahasa Malaysia.

The prime minister however stated that Bahasa Malaysia bibles are not banned but must be labeled with the words 'Not for Muslims’.