How to speak in “tongues”: lessons from 1st century Corinth and the Chinese diaspora church

When translators of the Chinese Union Mandarin Version of the Bible first published the New Testament in 1907, they chose 方言 (fāngyán) to render the word γλῶσσα (glōssa) throughout 1 Corinthians 12-14. What does the word mean exactly? How can we encourage each other to “speak in tongues” more fruitfully, particularly in bilingual and multilingual …

That old predestination question

Does God choose or elect some people to salvation? When it comes to the question of predestination, a locus classicus (well-known text) is Ephesians 1:3-5: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us …

Book review: Amyraut on Predestination

Amyraut on Predestination:  The First Published Translation from the French (Charenton Reformed Publishing, 2017). by Matthew Harding, with a biographical sketch by Alan Clifford Genre:  Church History, Theology Size:  190 pages – a 30 page biography, some translation notes, and then 100 pages of Amyraut’s own words from  Brief Traitté de la Predestination et de …

Book review: From Heaven He Came and Sought Her

From Heaven He Came and Sought Her:  Definite Atonement in Historical, Biblical, Theological, and Pastoral Perspective (Crossway, 2013). by David and Jonathan Gibson Genre:  Biblical Reference / Christian Theology Size:  704 pages What’s the big idea:  This is a well-researched resource on definite atonement (i.e. Christ’s death actually secured the salvation of those whom the …

Interview: Dr Janson Condren talks about bible translations and the original meaning of Genesis 3:16b

Why do Bible translations get updated? How and why might a translation change over history? What’s the best way to translate a difficult phrase? Given the plethora of English translations available today, the differences between them can be confusing and sometimes contested among Christians. In 2017, Dr Janson Condren, Senior Lecturer of OT at Sydney …