Category

Language and Communication

Bible StudyCulture

“So the living interaction proceeds”

From the Willowbank Report: Consultation on Gospel and Culture, under the heading 'Understanding God's Word Today: The Contextual Approach': Today's readers cannot come to the text in a personal vacuum, and should not try to. Instead, they should come with…
Richard
September 27, 2012
Bible Translation

The Multilingual God

From the publisher's description: "Some decades ago the prospect of reaching the entire world with the gospel appeared very dim indeed. In a world population that was virtually exploding with growth, how could Christians begin to reach the billions of…
Richard
July 20, 2012
LiteracyOrality

Is Hearing Enough?

"Social activity is our responsibility in the discipling process. Once a person has responded to the love of Christ, we are to help them grow up in their faith. Setting them free from the chains of sin and yet not…
Richard
February 7, 2012
Language Issues

Mother Tongue Use in Multilingual Churches

Reflections on a research paper by Anicka Fast, relevant for those working on Bible translation in multilingual church contexts: Fast, Anicka 2009. Managing linguistic diversity in the church: language ideological contestation within a shared moral framework in south-western Burkina Faso.…
Richard
December 28, 2011
Bible Translation

Bible Translation Basics

Over the past thirty years, scholars have made significant advances in understanding how human communication functions. They have moved from looking for meaning in texts alone to seeing texts as providing clues that lead hearers to discover the speaker’s intended…
Richard
August 30, 2011
Bible StorytellingOrality

Truth That Sticks

"It thrills me to use Bible stories because I am actually telling people the Bible. I don't tell them some scholar's viewpoint or describe an ivory-tower argument. I let the Bible speak directly to them instead of depending on others'…
Richard
February 27, 2011