Archive for the ‘BibleFresh’ Category

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Grab on to the Bible

Tuesday, January 24th, 2012

Many churches in the UK focused on getting back to Bible basics last year, as part of the celebrations for the anniversary of the Authorised Version. But in all the excitement, it’s easy to overlook the parts that made it hard to stay in the Bible in the first place.

There are all those genealogies, laws and prophets to get your head around. But that’s just difficult to read because we don’t understand them — sometimes the bits that we do understand are even harder to take in. How do we deal with issues like evolution, or the genocide that God appears to condone?

Last year, Biblefresh ran a series of classes and published a book called Get a Grip, made to tackle these kind of questions. The book is still available from Biblefresh here, and half of the profits go towards Bible translation.

If you missed the classes, you can still experience a bit of that too – videos from some sessions held at Kings College London are available, with experienced scholars and pastors answering some of the hard or ‘I-never-thought-of-that’ questions about the Bible.

Catch the videos here.

You know those parts of the Bible you don’t understand? There are Christians around the world longing to read them who can’t because the Bible isn’t in their language. Help translate the Bible.

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Biblefresh: a year in review

Wednesday, December 28th, 2011

So how has all this celebrating impacted you?

In the UK this year many churches, organisations, colleges and gatherings of Christians have been recognising the impact of the King James Bible for the last 400 years, under the collective banner of Biblefresh.

Biblefresh set out to address the seeming lack of enthusiasm that exists in the church for the Bible. As the official website says…

“For many in our churches the Bible has become tedious and toxic rather treasured, trusted and true. The aim of the Biblefresh initiative is to encourage a greater confidence and passion for Scripture across the Church.” Find out more about Biblefresh here.

And so we’ve had a year of events, special programmes, talks, seminars, book launches, films productions and competitions, using the excuse of this anniversary to encourage the church to once again get excited about the Bible. But what has the result of all this hard work been? Are you more inspired and encouraged to read the Bible for yourself?

Wycliffe Bible Translators became involved with Biblefresh for two reasons. First, it was a great excuse to talk to more people about the need for Bible translation around the world. We are really pleased that Bible translation was one of the four key messages of Biblefresh, and that translation projects in Burkina Faso — which you can still give to – are going to benefit from the prayers and donations of churches in this country.

But, second, we were also keen to play a part in encouraging Christians in this country to value and love the Bible for themselves. After all, who would really want to put all the time, effort and money required into translating the Bible into other languages if the message of Scripture hasn’t first of all made a difference here at home?

biblefresh logoSo, I ask again, how has all this celebrating impacted you? Has the Bible made a difference in your life?

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Understanding the Scriptures resources

Thursday, December 22nd, 2011

Over the past year, Wycliffe Bible Translators have been involved in the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible. Among the celebrations has been a series of evening classes called Understanding the Scriptures.

The classes covered an array of topics about the nature, content and application of the Bible. We’ve addressed big questions, like whether we can rely on the biblical texts, or whether the Bible always means what it says. We’ve scurried into challenging thoughts about how other cultures can open our eyes to the Bible and what we do with scriptural dualities.

But now it’s the end of the year, and also the end of the Understanding the Scriptures classes. Before you get out your hanky and start bawling, hang on! While they may be gone from the schedule, the content is still around.

The most recent evening class, on applying the Bible to all of life, is online now. You can download it as a podcast from iTunes or watch it as a presentation on our website. Or, if you just want to sit back and listen now, click the play button at the bottom of this post.

And there’s more! All the classes from the last year are still available on our website and will continue being so. If you want to review, think a friend might benefit, or think it might make a valuable 45 minutes for your small group, you’ll be able to find all the classes at wycliffe.org.uk/eveningclasses.

We hope you continue to enjoy them.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Resources with a seasonal reason

Monday, December 5th, 2011

It’s almost clichéd how easily we can slip away from the real meaning of Christmas, as much as we may hate to confess it. A new spin on the Christmas story can catch our attention back to the real reason. Here are some of our resource suggestions to keep you focused and having fun this advent.

Paperless Christmas and Natwivity are back by popular demand. Paperless Christmas is an innovative series of nine videos, dramatizing the nativity story as you’ve never seen it before (unless you caught up with the Wise Bikers and angelic postal workers last year!). Another new spin on the old story is Natwivity: follow Mary, Joseph, Herod and more as they tweet their thoughts in the days leading up to Jesus’ birth.

There are also resources for your church services. Scripture Union have developed a free all-age service plan, complete with videos and Bible talks. Another family interaction for services is the latest music video from Friends and Heroes, ‘He chose the shepherds’.

Or maybe you’re feeling creative and want to put your own spin on the Christmas story this year. With The Nativity Factor, you can contribute your own short-film interpretation. Prizes of up to £5,000 are up for grabs.

Find these and many more Christmas resources on our website.

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400 years on…

Thursday, November 17th, 2011

Yesterday, the Queen and others gathered at Westminster Abbey for a service to mark the anniversary of the King James Bible. The service marked the end of a year of celebratory events to observe the date.

Talking about the translation, Archbishop Rowan Williams said that, while no perfect translation could ever be completed, the majesty of the language in the KJB can focus our minds back on God and grace:

Photo: Chris Jackson/AP

“The temptation is always there for the modern translator to look for strategies that make the text more accessible.

“When that temptation comes, it doesn’t hurt to turn for a moment—for some long moments indeed—to this extraordinary text, with its continuing capacity to surprise us into seriousness, to acquaint us again with the weight of glory – and, we hope and pray, to send us back to the unending work of letting ourselves be changed so that we can bear just a little more of the light of the new world, full of grace and truth.”*

Also at the celebration was the People’s Bible, a collection of handwritten verses from all around the country. Read more about it in this earlier blog.

As we draw to the end of a year commending this influential and beautiful Bible translation, we continue to look to those who still don’t have the Bible in their own language. They number more than 300 million. Celebrations of the KJB this year have played a part in sharing the Bible, through Biblefresh support of translation in Burkina Faso. Find out more about translation in Burkina Faso and about Biblefresh.

*Read the source article from The Telegraph.

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A (figurative) hiccup: evening class resources

Thursday, November 17th, 2011

We have all experienced that awkward communication hiccup when writing to a friend; an ironic comment or figure of speech goes completely over someone’s head (figuratively speaking). Normally easily rectified, but what if the text was written millennia ago? You’d be waiting a while for the reply… What do we do with irony and metaphor in the Bible?

Earlier this month, we hosted the ninth of ten Understanding the Scriptures evening classes. Margaret Sim spoke on ‘Does the Bible mean what it says?’ focusing on the use of metaphor and irony in the Bible.

It was a class that obviously prompted lots of thoughts, demonstrated by the free flow of questions that followed. The discussion ranged from the extent to which we see ‘redemption’ as a metaphor to how we should approach ideas like millennialism with considerations of figurative language.

If you weren’t there, you can listen to the talk online – here, by downloading the podcast on iTunes or with the presentation on our website. See what questions it prompts in your mind.

The next (and last) evening class of this year will be on 7th December. The topic: ‘Applying the Bible to all of life.’ Join us if you can.

Understanding the Scriptures evening classes are Biblefresh events. Biblefresh is a movement of organizations, churches and individuals seeking to encourage and inspire the UK to a greater confidence and appetite for the word of God.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Isn’t it ironic? Biblefresh evening class 9 November

Thursday, November 3rd, 2011

On November 9th, our Understanding the Scriptures evening class will address the question, ‘Does the Bible mean what it says?’ We will consider the role of irony and metaphor in the Scriptures.

This is the ninth in our series of Understanding the Scriptures  classes. The classes have been seeking to equip people from local churches to read and understand the Bible more. Classes have looked at Bible overviews, the history of the Bible, different ways the Bible is read around the world, and how to get to grips with different parts of the Bible.

This class will be taught by Margaret Sim. Margaret has been involved with Bible translation in Ethiopia and has taught translation topics. She is still involved in consulting for translations in Kenya and Ethiopia.

Join us, at 7.30 on November 9th at The Wycliffe Centre near High Wycombe, for this challenging and interesting class. You can find out more about the evening classes, book in advance for classes or listen to previous classes at wycliffe.org.uk/eveningclasses.

biblefresh logoUnderstanding the Scriptures classes are Biblefresh events. Biblefresh is a movement of churches, agencies, colleges and festivals seeking to encourage and inspire churches across the UK to a greater confidence and appetite for the word of God.

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The meaning of a Bible passage – resources online

Thursday, October 27th, 2011

As part of Biblefresh*, Wycliffe Bible Translators have been holding monthly evening classes to equip people in local churches to get more out of the Bible. But sometimes we have conflicting opinions on Bible passages: how do we know the ‘real’ meaning of a passage?

On October 12, Barrie Evans spoke about how we can understand the meaning of a text. Providing a brief and easy-to-understand introduction to ‘hermeneutics’, Barrie took us through examples – both historical and current – of getting into the heart of the meaning of a text.

You can listen to or download ‘How to understand the meaning of a passage’ as a podcast below. Or you can listen on our website, and watch the slideshow as you go.

More information on our Understanding the Scriptures Evening Class series can be found on our website.

biblefresh logo*Biblefresh: a movement of churches, agencies, colleges and festivals seeking to encourage and inspire churches across the UK to a greater confidence and appetite for the word of God.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Get a grip on the Bible

Saturday, October 22nd, 2011

Do you ever struggle with those seemingly slippery Bible questions? Do you ever find it hard to get your head around the ‘boring’ bits of the Bible? Help is at hand…

The end of this month sees the start of a series of Biblefresh teaching days running across the country. The ‘Get a Grip’ days each cover a series of subjects, concentrating on intellectual, practical and spiritual applications for getting into the Bible.

Classes tackle issues like genocide in the Bible, evolution and how we approach a difficult passage. You can get to the classes in any of four locations:

  • Glasgow, on 28th October
  • Cardiff, on the 3rd November
  • London, on the 7th November
  • Durham, on the 8th November

You can find more about classes, locations and booking your place on the Biblefresh website.

But even if you can’t get to one of these days, you can get insights on unconventional or troubling passages from a new Biblefresh book called Get a Grip. Buy it here.

Biblefresh has been a year-long celebration on the anniversary of the King James Bible to help people get back into the Bible. You can still get involved.

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Touching the World

Wednesday, October 12th, 2011

On Saturday, October 22nd, St Martin-in-the-Fields host a celebration of accessible Bibles, called Touching the Word. It highlights the variety of Bibles available that make access easier for people with sight loss – whether through large print and Braille Bibles, audio Bibles or e-reader and online versions.

As well as celebrating in conjunction with the 400th anniversary of the Authorised Version of the Bible, this years also marks 52 years of Torch Trust and 100 years of the Guild of Church Braillists. These two organisations are working with RNIB, Compass Braille and Premier Christian Radio* for this event.

The day starts off with readings from Braille Bibles for an hour ahead of a service in St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, at 11.30am. The celebration is free to attend and bookings are open at premier.co.uk/biblecelebrations.

As well as providing wonderful and suitable prompts to thank God and celebrate the Bible’s accessibility here, the centenaries of the Authorised Bible and the Guild of Church Braillists point us to the inaccessibility of the Bible for millions around the world. Through Bible translation and literacy, Wycliffe are helping to change that. You can help too.

Biblefresh: a movement of churches, agencies, colleges and festivals seeking to encourage and inspire churches across the UK to a greater confidence and appetite for the word of God.

*Find out more about these organisations on their websites: www.rnib.org.uk, www.compassbraille.org, and www.premier.org.uk.

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