My Home is in Heaven

   There is an old joke which goes something like this: Did you hear about the optimist who fell off the roof of a tall building? As he passed the eighth story he called out: ‘I’m all right so far!’ As he passed the fifth story he cried out again: ‘I’m all right so far!’ and as he flew past the second story the same cheerful cry was heard. Then he landed headfirst and hadn’t a word more to say.  How’s Wycliffe Associates’ Bible translation experiment going? So far, so goooooood. Wycliffe Associates seems to believe that faster is better, no matter the cost, when it comes to Bible translation. But this is the Word of God we’re talking about here, not the Harry Potter books. This is the Bible , the love letter from the Lord, the scriptures that were given to us over a period of centuries . Jesus Himself, God incarnate, walked the Earth for three full years, taking the time to make sure he got it right. If God’s reason for giving us the Bible was simply to...

When Wycliffe Associates became a Bible translation organization in 2016, there were already 103 other translation organizations in existence. [i] Did the world really need Bible translation organization number 104, especially when the price to be paid was losing the invaluable support WA had given to Bible translators for half a century? No, that price is simply too high. Wycliffe Associates obviously has a good heart and has many employees and volunteers who care for the Bibleless people of the world. What could Wycliffe Associates do instead of the difficult detail-oriented work of translating the whole Bible. Let’s look at the resources that are already out there that Wycliffe Associates could support, promote, or translate. In 2002 Katy Barnwell published an amazing book for use with local translators called An Introductory Course in Translation Principles. [ii] She is an experienced translator and this is a description of what is happening with her amazing course in ...