There has been much talk this year about 2017 being the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, as the event that most would say sparked the Reformation (Martin Luther’s nailing of his 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg Germany) happened on October 31, 1517. I thought it would be good to look at some issues related to the Reformation over the next couple of weeks as we approach the 500th anniversary of this event. There are some key doctrines that the Reformers helped Christians better understand and articulate, many of which are called the “solas” (a Latin term meaning “alone”) — especially sola Scriptura (our authority is Scripture alone), sola gratia (we are saved by grace alone, not by works), sola fide (we are saved through faith alone, not by works) but also solus Christus (we are saved through faith in Christ alone), and soli deo gloria (we live for the glory of God alone). There also are other significant legacies to know that affect our daily and weekly lives as Christians.
As Faith Church’s Director of Worship and Arts noted in this video to kick off our series on worship from the Book of Psalms, Luther and the Reformers after him helped reclaim congregational singing by having songs sung by the congregation (and not just choirs) and in the language of the people. In addition to putting song back into the mouth of God’s people, the Reformation is also known for putting the Bible back into God’s people, as Martin Luther translated the Bible from its original languages into German, the common language (a fancy word for common language that you will hear theologians use is vernacular) of the people. Prior to this time, the Bible had essentially been in Latin and unable to be read or understood by the common person. With the help of the printing press, the Bible moved from being something only used in the church to being something that people had in the home. Therefore, another legacy of the Reformation is this idea that we can and should read the Bible in the language that we speak. In fact, Martin Luther had an influence on William Tyndale, a man who was largely responsible for translating the Bible into English (though he was not the first); many of the cherished passages and sayings among English-speaking Christians actually come from the pen of Tyndale and his early translation.
Today, we have too many translations of the Bible in English to discuss each of them in a blog post like this. Sometimes people will complain that we have too many Bible translations, or they will debate and discuss what is the best Bible translation to use. Since that is a question that I often get asked as the “resident theologian” and a Bible scholar, I wanted to offer four thoughts as we think about this legacy of the Reformation and Martin Luther.
First, whenever we talk about the number of Bible translations we have available, one thing that I always want to emphasize is that we are extremely fortunate – there are many cultures in which there is not yet a translation of the Bible (but organizations like Wycliffe Bible translators and missionaries like Ed and Jane Kotynski are seeking to end that!). This truly is a first-world problem.
Second, I would also highlight that this phenomenon of many English Bible translations is a recent one. There were a number of translations between Tyndale’s and the King James Version, but after the King James Version was translated in 1611, influential new translations did not really emerge until the late 1800’s and early 1900’s; the past 50 years has seen a great number of translations emerge. Therefore, even 100 years ago, many English speakers had the Bible in a form of English that they did not readily speak or potentially understand. Once again, the number of translations is a first-world problem!
Third, there are many reasons why there are so many translations, and it is not because the previous translations were necessarily bad or inaccurate. The newer translations do seek to utilize new insights we have in terms of manuscripts and the meaning of words as we have discovered more material from the ancient world, but I wouldn’t say that is the major reason. Part of the issue is to try to be as faithful to the original languages while also trying to communicate the truths in today’s language. The English language keeps on changing, so there is a continual need to update the language, so it makes sense to make new translations. In addition, anyone who has ever learned a foreign language knows that it can be difficult to translate certain phrases and ideas. For examples, idioms do not usually translate well — should you translate it literally or try to find an equivalent in the translated language? Different translations take different approaches to this question in terms of whether we should stick to “literal translations” or use “equivalent translations.” Also, to whom you are speaking makes a difference in terms of how you speak; how you speak to a 6th grader or a 10th grader or a college-educated adult is different. Some translations are for a lower reading level while others aim for a higher level and thus use bigger words. Therefore, there are so many translations because translators are trying to figure out how to best communicate the biblical text to today’s diverse and ever changing world. New translations emerge and updates come to existing translations to try to make things more clear in the English language. A great illustration of this is that it took 300 years to “update” the King James Version (the New King James Version came out in 1982, but the Revised Version of 1885 was also a revision of the King James), but the New International Version, first translated in the late 1970’s, had many early revisions before its 1984 form and recently (2011) had a major revision; the Holman Christian Standard Bible came out in 2004 but a revised version called the Christian Standard Bible just came out this year (2017). Because language changes and we continue to learn more, these will not be the last ones.
Fourth, we need to think of translations as a gift, and I say that for multiple reasons. They are a gift in that we can read the Bible in our language – we don’t have to learn the original language to know the Word of God! But the different translations can also help us to see things that we might otherwise miss if we only had one translation. Sometimes, when you read a different translation, a new idea or even a new question emerges because of the way the translators chose to render it. In some ways, this has always been true of God’s people, as the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible that was used by many early Christians as well as Jews of the time helped the readers see and draw connections and meanings that they might not have otherwise known.
You still might have the question, “Which translation is the best?” Dwight L. Moody was once in a debate with someone who was criticizing his approach to evangelism, and he responded by saying something to the effect of “I prefer my way of doing evangelism to your way of not doing evangelism.” Similarly, when it comes to the issue of what translation is the best Bible translation, I would say, “I prefer the version of the Bible that you read to the one that you don’t read.” That being said, you still need to pick one to read and use. Faith Church uses the English Standard Version (ESV) in services so that there is consistency and because we think this translation does a great job of being faithful to the original text while also conveying it in language that has a certain majesty to it but is still understandable. I know some people have trouble reading this translation of the Bible — if that is the case, find one that helps you understand as you read on your own, or even mix things up. The New International Version and Christian Standard Bible are good translations as well; some people prefer to use the New American Standard Bible to study the Bible on their own because it has a “literal” approach, and if this works well for you, use it. I know some people like to read the New Living Translation, as it tries to be readable but was also produced by some great scholars (some of whom were my professors!). Again, the best Bible is the one that you are reading!
May the 500th anniversary of the “dawn of the Reformation” cause us to read our Bibles even more, as it is the place where we hear God speak and we can hear Him in our own language and even in a style that makes sense to us.
Questions about the Bible or theology? Email them to Pastor Brian at Theology@wearefaith.org. You can also request to receive weekly emails with our blog posts by filling out the information on the right side.
