Seeing Red
Yesterday I went to a Christian bookstore to pick out a new Bible for Christmas. Just something nice in terms of binding, reasonable size to preach from, NIV as that's what most churches I go to seem to use.
There were plenty on offer, but why have we succumbed to the trend (I'm guessing from the USA) of "words of Jesus in red"? I don't get it. Visually it makes the text harder to read. Theologically it makes no sense to me, and if the point is an accurate translation surely this is a distraction? (and before anyone suggests the NIV is not accurate, I also have a small ESV, with you guessed, words in red).
I know this is a privileged Western English speaking problem. Many people are desperate for any scriptures in a language they understand, so I applaud the work of organisations such as Bible Society and Wycliffe.
But come on - how about we ditch the red print stuff and get on with focusing on what Jesus did, as much as what he said?
Yesterday I went to a Christian bookstore to pick out a new Bible for Christmas. Just something nice in terms of binding, reasonable size to preach from, NIV as that's what most churches I go to seem to use.
There were plenty on offer, but why have we succumbed to the trend (I'm guessing from the USA) of "words of Jesus in red"? I don't get it. Visually it makes the text harder to read. Theologically it makes no sense to me, and if the point is an accurate translation surely this is a distraction? (and before anyone suggests the NIV is not accurate, I also have a small ESV, with you guessed, words in red).
I know this is a privileged Western English speaking problem. Many people are desperate for any scriptures in a language they understand, so I applaud the work of organisations such as Bible Society and Wycliffe.
But come on - how about we ditch the red print stuff and get on with focusing on what Jesus did, as much as what he said?
Labels: Bible, Bible Translations, Shopping
1 Comments:
I have an NLT with the red words thing. I'd rather it didn't, but put up with it.
In similar vein, I don't write stuff in my Bibles, not out of piety, but because I want a passage to be able to speak to me afresh when I read it again, not forever remind me of what it said to me last week / month / year.
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