Month: August,2019

GENDER ISSUES IN BIBLICAL TRANSLATIONS

August 13, 2019 By dwayman

 

Rev. Dr. Laura J. Hunt explains:

“If Greek and Hebrew are not where you like to spend your time, then what translation do you use? The Common English Bible, the 2011 NIV, and the New Revised Standard Version are all solid translations. And reading and studying the Bible from multiple versions lets you see which passages everyone generally translates in the same way and which require difficult decisions. The English Standard Version, though, despite its recent popularity and ready availability, has some significant issues for Free Methodists. Rather than argue the case myself, I have rounded up the best discussions I can find online (plus one on the New Living Translation). If you have other favorite blog posts, or your own comments or concerns, I’d love to see them in the comment section below!

“I had another question come up with the ESV today (English Standard Version), so I thought I would post a round-up of blogs that address these issues. As an ordained Free Methodist, I cannot put this too strongly. The ESV is not suitable for use in our denomination. (The NLT is similarly problematic. I recommend the CEB, the 2011 NIV, and the NRSV.)

The first link is to this endorsement of the ESV by a group opposed to the Free Methodist position on women. The Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood is dedicated to the promotion of what they believe to be God-ordained complementary roles for men and women including the unilateral submission of wives to husbands and the prohibition of women from leadership roles in the church.

MORALITY OF GENETIC ENGINEERING by Dr. David B. Schreiner

August 12, 2019 By dwayman

Dr. David B. Schreiner in the Summer of 2019 writes an opening volley as a Free Methodist interested in the moral aspects of the advancements in  “altering the genetic code with which people have been born or will be born.”  Both for the healing of disease and the enhancement of humanity, this science is in need of ethical guidance, especially for those of us who are Christians.

Stating his question clearly he asks: “How do the general moral imperatives to tend to the disenfranchised and vulnerable mentioned throughout Scripture implore us to pursue the betterment of life and deal with diseases that have a high mortality rate among the young and elderly? Do the Church Fathers, who used Scripture to comment on many experiences beyond the purview of the original authors, provide any insight on how to go beyond the plain sense of Scripture?”

Here is his work:

CRISPR/CAS9 and Editing the Human Genome: Moving Beyond the Text to Engage in Theological Discourse

On July 29, National Public Radio (NPR) published a story about Victoria Gray’s battle with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD).1 SCD refers to genetic blood disorders that affects a patient’s red-blood cells. Instead of the normal, squishy, round red-blood cells, which move effectively through the patient’s blood vessels, the red-blood cells are hard, sticky, and sometimes in the shape of a sickle. Most importantly, the mutated red-blood cells pool at certain junctures in the blood stream and cause an incredible amount of pain.