Craig Blomberg Stokes the Never-ending Fires…

… of the Bible Wars, that is.

In a post on the Denver Seminary website, Blomberg makes a number of good points many people will agree with. My translation:

1.  Most translators are sincere, their work trustworthy.

2. Bible Wars are a needless drain on believers’ time and emotion. Though, I add, a never ending source of discussion and blog posts, since, as Blomberg points out in his #1, no translation is perfect.

3. Is where Blomberg starts to get into trouble, because there are some people who will insist forever this side of the New Heaven and Earth that literal IS better. Period. Just as some will insist dynamic IS better. Period. Craig’s stated preference (literal as possible, dynamic as necessary) is a good middle ground if you must stick to only one translation. As Blomberg notes, these days it is very easy to buy software (or download free like e-Sword) or parallel bibles  to compare different translations done according to the different schools. One thing will strike you: bible translations are very often very similar, and seem to feed off each other.

4. The last lines here, “…the tradition of translating represented by the NIV-TNIV continues to achieve this balance most consistently. The next best options aren’t even close.” are inevitably what will keep Blomberg in hot water. Blomberg excludes the inclusive language debate in #4, but he’ll never get TNIV opponents to, and the “literal is always better” camp won’t go for it either.

“You may fire when ready, Gridley.”