To give some specific examples of the differences between the ESV and NIV, let’s take a careful look at John 17.
Is this the English Bible we’ve been waiting for?
Thought, Sola Panel
The English Standard Version (ESV) is about to hit Australia. Among the multitude of English translations, is this just one more attempt by publishers to cash in? Or might this one be different?
Dear Briefing: Bible translations
Life
In your Bible Brief notes, you recommend some unusual Bible translations. Why is this?
In an age of so many choices, what recommends one translation over another? And how do I work out whether the additional material offered by publishers (study notes, cross-references, maps, concordances, CD-ROMs, and so on) is a help or a hindrance to my understanding of God’s word?
Whatever happened to sacrifice?
Life
Not within cloistered walls,
Not in the peaceful glade,
Not in the sheltered home
‘Neath the trees’ spreading shade.
But on the mountain side,
Wind swept;
Crossing the desert bare,
Sun scorched;
Braving the torrent stream.
Flooded;
Out on the battlefield,
Bloody;
Unsheathed His sword.
Here I find my Lord.
Our hunger for freedom: Where to find true liberty
Thought
Peter Jensen is the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney. This is the second of two articles on human nature. Read the first article in the Briefing archives.
An interview with Mark Strom
Tony Payne speaks with Mark Strom about his new book, Reframing Paul, and the issues that it raises.
You highlighted two particular problems for modern evangelicalism in your book: the influence of Greek thought on our systematic theology, and the social influence of rank and status and such ideas on church life. On the first, you seem very down on systematic theology generally. Can you explain why?
Ten tips for frustrated servants
Life
One of the most common experiences in the life of Christian service is not love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, or any other fruit of the Spirit; it’s frustration. Sometimes this arises from ungodliness in the servant; sometimes it is a genuine response to a situation that makes you feel like crying out, “God, what are you doing here?”
The Travel Bug
Interchange, Life
Emma Thornett’s short piece on the pleasures and pitfalls of travel generated much discussion about how, whether and why Christians travel. Read responses from
The Travel Bug
Interchange
Look for fellowship
I must say I found Emma Thornett’s article (‘The trouble with travel’, June 2001) very revealing. The highlight of her trip was meeting up with link missionaries and being encouraged to be more faithful in her Bible reading and praying. Maybe that was what God led her halfway across the world to discover: that no matter where you are, the basics are still the same.
More than animals: what kind of creature are we?
Thought
What is man? Throughout history great minds have tried to define us as a species, but the essence of humanity has proved hard to pin down. “Man is a featherless biped”, Plato concluded, although he was somewhat dissatisfied with this as a definition. “Man is a reasoning animal”, wrote Seneca, echoing Aristotle. “Man is a tool using animal”, said Carlyle, anticipating modern anthropology. Man is “a poor, bare, forked animal”, wrote Shakespeare in his habitual pessimism about humanity.
Trouble with Tim
Couldn't Help Noticing
Some Briefing readers may have seen some of the Rev. Tim Costello’s recent public criti- cisms of The Briefing and of our publisher Phillip Jensen. I won’t go into the details of Tim’s gripes here, but one aspect might be worth clarifying for our readers. One of Tim’s accusations has been that we denied him any right of reply to the review of his book (that appeared in Briefing #265/6). Just to set the record straight, here’s what happened.
Dear Briefing: Should Christians have children?
Life
Twenty years ago, many people got married and had kids, if not, got married to have kids, but these days people seem to shack up and have dogs. Should a Christian couple’s plans include children?
Another church on Mayfair
Pastoral Ministry
Name: Richard Coekin
Family: Married to Siân; four children, Charlotte (9), Rupert (7), Rhian (5), Johnny (3).
Ministry background: Trained at Moore College, Sydney, and Wycliffe Hall, Oxford; four years at St Mary’s, Manchester; appointed pastor of Dundonald Church, Wimbledon, in 1995, and has served as that church’s first full-time minister since it was planted in 1990.
Revelation and recovery: A wife’s story
Everyday Ministry
I knew practically nothing about homosexuality when my husband of 10 years told me the shocking truth that he would prefer tobe in a relationship with a man. He hadn’t ‘acted out’ or been unfaithful to me in practice but I wasn’t what he wanted. I felt like the poor consolation prize. Due to his Christian values he knew he wasn’t permitted what he really wanted, a gay relationship, so I was better than nothing. Prior to this, I had believed we were happily married. However, my husband was just acting the role of the devoted husband. It was a façade to hide the truth. His Christian life was also almost a sham. He went through the motions of being a committed Christian but in reality he was practically spiritually dead.
Why I hate pornography
Life
I hate pornography!
I hate it for all the sorts of reasons that you might have guessed. I hate the exploitation of women and the cheapening of sexuality. I hate the cheap label it places on love. I hate it because I love women—I have a mum and a sister; I have dear female friends and sisters in Christ; and if I can one day convince someone to marry an old sinner like me (25, single, good-looking, likes walking and romantic dinners), I will have a wife.