When translating a text, is it better to translate word-for-word or thought-for-thought? The question is not so easily answered. When John Calvin translated his own book, Institutes of Christian Religion, from Latin to French, he did not translate it word-for-word. If anyone could have, it was he. But he found a literal approach did not convey the meaning of … [Read more...] about A Case for Dynamic Equivalence?
Prompt of Boredom
Cal Newport makes an interesting case for the usefulness of boredom. Newport suggests the discomfort of boredom is a good and necessary prompt, much the same way hunger is a good and necessary prompt to eat. To what is boredom prompting us? Productive work, he says. Newport frames this observation within the context of social media. He says engaging with social media … [Read more...] about Prompt of Boredom
John 4:44 Exegesis
In John chapter four, verses 43 to 45, there is a seemingly strange sequence of statements… “[43] After the two days he departed for Galilee. [44] (For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.) [45] So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast. For they too had gone to … [Read more...] about John 4:44 Exegesis
As Far As Scripture Goes
Should we be nuanced these days or bold and blunt? Should we pick a side, or should a third way be pursued? The discussion is ongoing (Link 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, ad infinitum). John Frame, writing years before the current debates (c. 2025), provides us with a helpful reminder that neither nuance nor a third way is the point. Being biblical is the point. At the beginning … [Read more...] about As Far As Scripture Goes
Beware Extrabiblical Whizbang
I was studying John 4:1-26. As usual, at some point in the process, I consulted a few commentaries. I was surprised to find two significant disagreements on two mundane details of the text. Disagreement One "And he had to pass through Samaria" (John 4:4, ESV). Disagreement Two "Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting … [Read more...] about Beware Extrabiblical Whizbang