Vini, Vidi, Bloggi in Nomini Dei - GBC 2K5

I Came, I Saw, I Blogged in the Name of God

As I failed to mention adequately in my previous GBC2K5 post, I met a whole host of engaging and godly people. While I had previously read some of their work, there were many who I should have been reading the whole time. Those I had read included: Evangelical Outpost, Blogotional, Hugh Hewitt, and Skyepuppy (see my Blogroll in the sidebar).
Because there were so many great breakout groups to attend, I was forced to meet some terrific writer/thinkers like LaShawn Barber, left, next to me and Hugh Hewitt. [Insert sympathy here...]
LaShawn cut her teeth in journalism by writing OpEd pieces for her local paper, little knowing that it would turn into a career marked by TV and radio appearances, great acknowledgement and awards from her peers, and a ranking on the top end of the blogosphere not only in readership, but also substance. All that, and she's still a humble, approachable Blogstar... Impressive.

The otherwise nameless and mysterious "Skyepuppy"...

Now I Know...

Among those who I should have been reading all along were Mere-O's Matt Anderson, JMR, The A-Team, LaShawn Barber (all listed in my Blogroll in the sidebar), a curious fellow from "Another Think" who wrote a wise follow-up here.
Roger Overton (not pictured) and Amy Hall (pictured, right) were proof that Christian academics need not be boring. I will read the A-Team blog as often as I can carve out the time. Lores Rizkalla (center), blows the theory that an intelligent and opinionated woman who loves Christ is not much to look at, and vice versa. Humble, too, her blog is called "Just a Woman". First in the same photo, on the left, is DJ Chuang, a very cool, self aware, emergent thinker and graduate of Dallas Theological's Masters program. (One more reason we like him!)

He and I see quite eye to eye on some matters of "Christian Blogging". Read all of these folks often.

I travelled three time zones away to meet BRelevant, who works a literal 3/4 mile from where I live, and was given a book in my welcome kit by one of the most clever men I know and also attends/"enhances" my church. Small world? Nah, big God. The Harps were a pleasure to meet. Stacy and her "Isn't He Cute" husband, Randall, who blogs at Wrap Music. We got to hang out after GBC2K5 and really enjoyed each others' company. She's in my blogroll... twice!

Also...

I met Alex Jordan and Charlie Lehardy, from Sword and Spirit, but more importantly, Another Think, which all ought to be read by more people. Here they are at a Mexican restaurant (Mexican food, in L.A.? Really?!), after the conference was over. It was great to hang out and get to know everyone - makes it more personal when you read their stuff, doesn't it?

My host

My best friend Peyton, a.k.a. Solomon Jabby, graciously hosted me for the weekend while at GBC2K5, at his home in Lomita. But there were conditions: “You have to go surfing with me on my extra longboard, you have to come to church with me Sunday night [which rocked], and you have to attend my baptism - in the Pacific-frickin-Ocean!!!”

Before and after...
BeforeAfter

As you can tell from the photos I took, I was happy to attend his baptism. But, on the way from surfing to baptism, we met a really nice lady...by 'accident'. She was trying to get into my lane, but I hadn't left the lane yet, so she met with significant resistance from the rear wheel of my rental car [Thrifty rocks for the PT Cruiser upgrade!]. I thought, "I bet she wouldn't feel so bad if we at least took a commemorative picture." We posed for a post accident photo-op that, I think, may have lifted her spirits - see, she's smiling! Besides, it was but a fleshwound... Did I mention that later that day we got a flat tire on the way back from the beach?! Blogging, not just an addiction, an adventure!

Seasoned with Salt:

The Bible tells Christians to be decent and kind in their conversations (Biblese: "full of grace, seasoned with salt" [Col. 4.6]). While we discussed over the weekend the many potentials Christians have via the blogosphere, we also talked about how to maintain appropriate tone - an issue with which I struggle often in our blog. As believers, we are commanded to be good ambassadors for Christ, "representing the brand" as we do in a commercial sense for the companies that employ us. As Christian Bloggers/Blogger Christians, we force ourselves into public accountability among believers and non-believers alike. What this does for our need to make wise choices and treat others well is what millions of years and megatons of pressure can do for simple carbon. Our hope and duty now is to shine with the brilliance and clarity of such a fiery diamond, bearing the best witness we can of the God we call "Savior".
While I also took away many great "nuggets" on blogging, the most important flowed from what I already knew - "less is more". Over time, I must cultivate my knowledge / expertise on a select handful of subjects in great depth, while increasing superficial knowledge of a vast many in breadth. Hugh Hewitt's words ring in my head: "peoples' attentions are up for grabs" and will go to those they trust as experts on the subjects they seek. I thank you for letting me share my little expertise for now and trusting me to grow wiser in the future. I encourage your questions and accountability when I am "off base". A blog is a living conversation over a long period of time magnified by the size of the internet. Let's converse.

All in all, it was a great trip, an enjoyable conference, and an overall encouragement. Thanks to Hugh Hewitt for broadcasting live at Biola during GBC2K5 and for being so approachable, regardless of his celebrity status. Thanks also to Mark Johnson from Walden media for sharing such great material from the upcoming "Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe", which opens a day early (December 8th), if you know the right people...

Translate this...

A commonly used fallacy regarding the Bible's inerrancy is "The Bible has been translated so many times over so many years, you can't trust it because it's changed." (This fallacy has changed so many times over so many years, I don't even think I've got it right.

One of the problems with debate using this as a starting point is that it neglects the fact that over the years, the Bible has been translated many times, but always from the same source documents. If you were to translate the Gettysburg Address into Japanese a hundred years ago, you would have an accurate translation for that time. But, if we look at the changes in meaning and context of the Japanese language over the past hundred years, we would find many words that are no longer in use or have different meanings. When a word no longer means what it was used to mean, translators must use a "substitute word", or different word/phrase that better befits the author's original intent.
Would it be wiser to translate the original Gettysburg into modern Japanese or translate the translation into more modern terms? The latter could lead to changes that would "warp" the original intent, a la our above fallacy, causing subsequent "warping" of future translations. In studying the origninal Gettysburg and late 19th century American English we could more wisely make intelligent contextual choices for the 21st century translation.

Are not these the steps taken to translate the Bible into KJV, New KJV, NIV, NAS, Message editions? Original text to 17th c language, original text to 20th century language, not the alleged translation to translation to translation transmogrification... Am I wrong?

The study of words and cultures is essential to understanding the orignal intent of the Bible. If all we had today were translations of translations of translations to serve as our holy book, the veracity of the Bible would be reduced to the reliability of the childhood game of "telephone" where a secret is whispered, person to person, around a circle until it becomes something entirely different from its original state. We are fortunate to have scholars who deliberately and fearfully copied our Text over hundreds of years and to have copies of manuscripts decades apart that demonstrate the otherwise surprising lack of change from copy to copy.

In short, the original text has not changed, only the cultures and languages have required new, more temporarily relevant representations of the originals. The word of God stands as it always has. We are the ones who have moved.

For an interesting look at some archaelogocal findings that are supported by Biblical text and support Biblical claims, check this out.. And I highly recommend checking out some of former punk rocker Rob Bell's work, especially his reading list and anything he has to say about Old Testament culture.

Coming this week...

If all goes as I have planned, this week I will finish my GBC post, complete with photos, and we will discuss the authority of scripture. For those out there who do not consider themselves "Christian", "authority" is used here to mean "Is the Bible true?" and "What makes you so sure?" Since this is a rather large category of discussion, it will require I narrow down this week's post(s) to something a bit more specific. Fair enough. Looking forward to this week. Life is getting back to "normal", which soon will be a new normal for me.

Perhaps I need to create a personal weblog to keep y'all up to date...

For now, check things out next door at A Life Unfettered.

Food for thought this week:
Chew on this in small bites - from a clearly Christian standpoint (read: non-Christians may find this a bit dull, though well written). Mark Daniels is a pretty smart fella. (Did I mention he's good looking, even though not voted Best Looking at God Blog Con?)

Grace and peace. A.