Ancient Hebrew Poetry

In Memoriam Jan Alberto Soggin (1926-2010)

There are not too many biblical scholars who

(1) converse in Italian, Dutch, German, French, Spanish, and English;
(2) are as at home in Latin and Greek as they are in Hebrew and Aramaic:
(3) participate in interconfessional and interfaith initiatives, all the while wearing their own confessional identity without apology and without hypocrisy.

Jan Alberto Soggin, a beloved professor of mine, was all of these things. He died yesterday, October 28^th. His funeral took place today in the Waldensian church where he has been a faithful member for decades, la chiesa di via IV Novembre in the very heart of Rome, Italy.

The Common English Bible: A Critical Review

The New Testament of the “Common English Bible” has appeared in print. I am grateful for the copy I received.

CEB is the latest example of a translation that breaks with the Tyndale-Geneva-King James translation tradition. It seeks, like NIV and NLT, to render the Bible in fresh, easy-to-understand language. Below the jump, I offer evidence for the thesis that NIV accomplishes these goals with greater prudence and caution than CEB, whereas, if prudence and caution are to be thrown to the wind, one might as well go with NLT.

Gideons International: why it’s time for deep change

Two men in dark suits showed up in the hallways of my congregation the other day, hoping to connect with the men of my church and get them involved in the work of Gideons International. They were courteous and forthright at the same time. Businesslike. We prayed together briefly. I think the Gideons do marvelous work, but I also think the organization needs to be reinvented from the ground up.  

Why atheists do not get religion and Pew does not get atheists

Jacques Berlinerblau blasts the method and hidden agenda behind Pew’s famous “US Religious Knowledge Survey” in today's Washington Post. It’s a brilliant critique. I side with Prothero and not Berlinerblau on the question of teaching the Bible as literature at the high school and college levels and integrating religious studies programs into the public school curriculum, from elementary to graduate school. That is, I am in favor of both. But a case can be made that the Pew survey is indirect proof that the proponents of these things tend to dumb religious literacy down to completely unacceptable levels.

The fun I’ve been having

I haven’t been blogging lately because, in my new digs, I feel as if the church I pastor might be compared to a tomboy with long silky hair overflowing with snarls and burrs. No one has put a comb to her hair for a long time. It’s time to remove the knots.

Messaging in a Nasty Political Environment

Our political system is broken in so many ways, it makes universities and churches and synagogues seem healthy by comparison, which is saying a lot. On top of that brokenness within and without, we are in full campaign season, with the usual mud slinging among candidates and ugly political ads. My question to friends and colleagues: how are you messaging in such a nasty political environment?