My Home is in Heaven

    Is it shrewd? Is it sneaky? Is it artful? Is it wily? I have written a lot so far talking about my objections to the MAST process of Bible translation recently adopted by Wycliffe Associates. But I also have other concerns beyond the questionable and highly error-prone translation process they use, and it seems I am not alone in worrying. I have spoken with many people familiar with Bible translation, and many of them have shared alarming things with me. I am not alone in the unrest that I feel about Wycliffe Associates.   Here is a list of 8 strikes against them as pertains to the inner workings of the organization. 1.                 Keeping the Name: The worst example of their poor behavior is their keeping the name Wycliffe Associates . They had 48 fruitful years of assisting Wycliffe Bible Transla...

    Living Translation: My Life is an autobiography by Bruce Smith, president of Wycliffe Associates until recently. He was also the President over the starting and growth years of MAST. It is the story of a man who sees everything before him as either unimportant, or on fire, and he is the only fireman around. In his own words he writes, “Ever since I can remember I’ve done things quickly . I didn’t walk to school, I ran… I treat email like instant messaging. This can drive people around me crazy, but it’s how I’m wired - instant on and default full speed .” [i]    In his review of this book Karl Franklin, Ph.D., Senior Anthropology Consultant and linguist for the esteemed Bible translation organization SIL, writes, “ Smith did not start out with Bible translation in mind and confesses that he has not done any Bible translation himself. Rather, he sees himself as a man of action, running the race and involving multitudes in his vision…And Smith is never short o...