Podcast appearances and mentions of bill mounce

Bishop Nathan Wilson pt.1 Welcome back to Gnostic Insights and to the Gnostic Reformation on Substack. Hey, this week I interviewed Bishop Nathan Wilson of the Gnostic Union, and it was a good long interview, so I’ll be breaking it up probably into three segments for the next three weeks here. Bishop Wilson earned a diploma of ministry from the Gnostic Catholic Union, and then he later went on to create The Gnostic Union, and he’ll tell you about that in this week’s episode. Here I’ll read you the intro from their website. “The Gnostic Union is an independent sacramental assembly of Gnostic Christian communities and individuals. It exists to uphold the Gnostic Christian traditions and to encourage and promote the work of Christ and the Holy Sophia in the world.As an international, independent, autonomous, non-political organization, the Gnostic Union is in no way dependent upon any other authority outside of its own administration. We are neither Roman Catholic, Orthodox, nor Protestant. We are Gnostic Christians that encourage self-development and connecting with the spirit within to build a personal relationship with God, the Monad, the Father. Our bishops, priests, and deacons are merely guides to help you on your spiritual journey. The Gnostic Union aligns itself with the history and teachings of the first Christians of early first century Christianity and the teachings of Jesus Christ as found in the Gospel of Thomas. We encourage new members to read from the Nag Hammadi and to understand how different early Christianity is from modern mainstream Christianity. We welcome all people, regardless of past religious backgrounds or faiths. Gnosis means knowledge, not just simple intellectual knowledge, but deep spiritual knowledge within you. Knowledge from the Spirit, from the Holy Spirit, and from and of God.” You see, I felt that that really went along with what we talk about here at Gnostic Insights, and so when Bishop Wilson reached out to me via our Substack Gnostic Reformation site, I was more than happy to engage in conversation with him, and I thought that having a talk with him along with you and then broadcasting it would be helpful to all of us. Here’s the last little bit that it says on their Gnostic Union homepage, which is only one page long. It’s still in development. It says, “Gnostic Christian theology differs greatly from Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. Gnostic Christianity does not depend upon the authority of a Pope or the Church. Instead, it emphasizes being reborn in Spirit, building a personal spiritual relationship with God, and becoming Christ-like by enacting the teachings of Jesus Christ in our lives. Gnostic Christianity began from earlier Gnostic traditions, such as Hermeticism and Mysticism, which arose from Jewish mystics. Gnosticism itself is much older than Judaism, and traces back to the Hermetics of ancient Egypt, the Druids, and the ancient Greeks. Although many Gnostic Christian theologies differed, they shared a common theme of a trapped spiritual essence within the material body, the divine spark, the soul, or the spark of Sophia. The ultimate goal for Gnostic Christians was to become like Jesus, to be reborn in Spirit, through the baptism of the Holy Spirit, Sophia, and to know thyself, reflecting the divine essence within.” As you know, here at Gnostic Insights and the Gnostic Reformation, I stay away from the histories, because it seems to me that what is important is the here-and-now relationship we have with the Christ and with the Fullness of God. And so, I’m just not all that interested in history, but as you’ll hear from these ongoing interviews with Bishop Wilson, he’s all about history. So, for those of you who have been missing that strain of thought in our Gnostic Insights here, you’ll get an earful for the next three weeks. So without further ado, here's part one of my interview with Bishop Nathan Wilson of The Gnostic Union. Cyd: Well, such a pleasure to see you. You have such a nice smile. Bishop Nathan Wilson:Thank you. Thank you. Thanks for having me. It’s a pleasure. It’s always lovely to meet other Gnostics, other spiritual people, all those with open hearts and open minds. It’s always lovely to see. Cyd:Yes. Yes. Yes, it’s true. I wish I had more of these people close around me. Do you have neighbors who are Gnostic? Do you have people you can actually face-to-face with? Bishop Nathan Wilson:I’ve met a priest that I can now speak face-to-face, which was really good. So, it was the first real Gnostic I got to speak to face-to-face. Mostly, I was speaking to many online in other parts of the world, and I kind of felt like I was the only one here in Adelaide, Australia. So, I kind of felt like the one odd villager out. So, it was lovely to meet some other people. I’ve trained people, and other people have done what they wanted. Other people carried on as undercover Gnostics in this world. So, yeah. Cyd:Let me get a formal introduction to you here going. This is Bishop Nathan Wilson of the Gnostic Union, and we have connected through Substack, although you don’t have a Substack presence, do you? You don’t have a site? Bishop Nathan Wilson:No, no. We have got a website in the works, but it’s still in development. I’m not too tech-savvy, but we’ve got other people that are. So, we’re mostly on Facebook and YouTube at the moment. Cyd:Well, wonderful. Now, tell me the difference between the Gnostic Catholic Union and just the Gnostic Union. Bishop Nathan Wilson:Well, we used to be the Gnostic Catholic Union as well until I basically got in charge, and then I removed the Catholic part, which they only had for the Latin reasons, meaning universal, but not everyone knows that Latin subject. They’re just going to see Catholic, and usually today’s world, when you have a Catholic Union, it’s mostly those who have been brought up with a Catholic background that have now found Gnosis, and in turn, carry on those old traditions, which I don’t find anything wrong with. I think there’s many different ways to experience Gnosis. Gnosis doesn’t belong to any religion. It’s something you find within. It’s what you experience, spiritual knowledge gifted to you by what’s divine, by God, by the Father, by the Mother-Father, whichever term you like. The Source. It could even be referenced to, given you to by divine beings, by angels, angelic forces. So, Gnosis is something that you experience. So, it’s yours. It’s personal. It’s intimate. So, it’s a beautiful thing. So, with the Gnostic Union, we are more open to different Gnostic schools of thoughts. So, you could be a Sethian, a Valentinian. You could be a Carpucratian Gnostic, whichever. It doesn’t matter. You could be a Jewish Christian. Whichever the path is—we’re not really dogmatic. So, we appreciate all those who come into this spiritual life, seeking answers, and respecting each other’s beliefs, which is also rare. We have to remember, when we looked at the ancient schools of thought regarding Gnosticism, the ancient Gnostics got along. They didn’t kill each other. They didn’t fight. They had some disagreements, but they shared each other’s writings, which is fantastic. So, that’s very rare when you see that in a religious or even a spiritual school of thought. Many people can be my way only. So, that’s where Gnosis comes in, that inner spiritual experience. So, one’s own personal relationship with what’s divine. The Gnostic Union wants to encourage that, not to be bound by traditions. That’s mostly the difference between the Gnostic Union and the Gnostic Catholics, where they will be more bound by tradition, more bound by a dogmatic experience. We’re not really about that, not dissing any of that. We don’t mind, but we’re more open. Cyd:So, the Gnostic Catholics are still going on? That church is still active, but you have stepped away from them then, in that sense? Bishop Nathan Wilson:Yes, pretty much. So, we’ve done our own independent thing. So, that way we can have more schools of thought. I prefer it like that, so we can all grow from each other, which is something that I’m more about. So, that’s why I went into more of the Gnostic Union sense of things and removing the Catholic part. Some people didn’t like Catholic. Some people liked it and others were stoked that I removed that term from the group. I much prefer it. It’s less of a mouthful as well. I like things nice and simple as well. Cyd:Yes. So, it’s union—it's unity. That’s what the union means in the name, not like a labor union, but the union of Gnostics. That’s lovely. That’s very lovely. So, how many people are associating with the Gnostic Union at this point? Bishop Nathan Wilson:Well, we have a couple of other different groups from different parts of the world. We have a Gnostic Catholic group. I think they’re Gnostic Catholic Unitarians located in the Philippines. Then, we have other groups as well that associate with us. Within the Union itself, we have a couple of different ones. We have also side branches as well that used to be a part of the Gnostic Catholic Union, but there was some theological difference. So, some splitting went on. So, there’s other groups. We still recognize each other. Within the Gnostic Union at the moment. There is Bishop Jason, me, Bishop Nathan Wilson, Bishop Lorenzo, David and Michael, Randall over in South Africa. There’s also Priest Jeremy and Edgar and Rus. So, there’s quite a few. At the moment, it’s mostly men. We’re hoping to have some females join as well. We did have a couple of female members back in the Gnostic Catholic Union, but they ultimately retired. So, we’re hoping to expand. So, the Gnostic Union is kind of fresh on the scene. So, everything’s still building. Cyd:How fresh is it? How long have you been in existence here? Bishop Nathan Wilson:Well, in the Union itself, probably about almost two years now. It’s still maybe a year, year and a half, something like that there. So, it’s still growing in a sense. So, we’re doing okay, which is not too bad. We’re mostly on Facebook and YouTube. So, we do our online masses and group gatherings and stuff like that online as well. And mostly, just support each other’s individual works as well as promote each other’s work. And sometimes, I might edit a couple of videos of all of us together, give it to other people with their own channels, their own independent use, and then I’ll put it onto, say, the Union sites. Other people can go check it out as well. Cyd:I’ll be putting this up on my site. I’m going to post this to YouTube and make it for my audio podcast. But I’ll also give you the recording so that you can use it at your site if you’d like. Bishop Nathan Wilson:Oh, lovely. Lovely. I’d enjoy that as well. And again, thanks for reaching out to me. I very much enjoy speaking to like-minded individuals as well. And regarding even my translations that you brought me on to discuss as well, that’s relatively new as well. It took me about two years to fully actually translate. So, to get it all together, I use encyclopedias, I used Greek, Koine Greek dictionaries, as well as I used Bill Mounce, which is one of the top Koine Greek-speaking people in the world. I have a few friends that can speak Koine Greek as well as modern Greek as well. So, that also came in handy. So, it took me a while. I started doing that while I was still with the Gnostic Catholic Union and I didn’t finish it until the Gnostic Union. Cyd:So, tell us about, you’re speaking of your translation, tell us about that. It’s your New Testament, is it? Bishop Nathan Wilson:Yeah, I did the New Testament Gospels. I used Codex Sinaiticus because that was the oldest complete text, but then I wanted to do non-canonical. I didn’t know any Coptic at all, so I didn’t want to use any other people’s work. I just went to the Koine Greek, used what knowledge I did know, and I also used experts as well. So, I was able to look at every definition of the word and term and use. I did the Gospel of Thomas, which I actually first messed up on because I found out that the version I was looking at first was actually inspired by the Coptic version put into Koine Greek, and I realized it’s not the text. So, I went to the actual fragments themselves, and so I translated from there. It’s not very long. I didn’t use any AI recovery, so anything that wasn’t visible to our naked eye, I did not touch. So, I didn’t want to have any guessing involved. So, I just put what it was, and I did the Greek Gospel of Mary, as well as the Gospel of James, the Gospel of Peter, and I did three unknown Gospels, and they are little fragments, and they are Papyrus Oxyrhynchus. I have the names here. Actually, I better put that in—5072, and the other one was Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 840 and the other one is Egerton Gospel. So, they’re little fragments. The titles are missing. We don’t know who wrote them, so they’re unknown, but they could and likely do predate the Gospels that we do have. So, they predate the fragments we have. So, that’s interesting. So, all the fragments we have are second century. It’s likely they predate the fragments that we have. So, I chose to do them, but the interesting side was the Egerton gospel, which was actually a two-sided text, and Bart D. Ehrman actually did side two, and I did side one. So, he didn’t realize that there was a side on one. So, that means he was only looking at digital copy only, just like me. So, he didn’t actually look at the actual Papyrus itself, and so when I did one-sided, I didn’t realize there was a double side to that text, and so otherwise I wouldn’t have done it. So, the interesting thing is side one has not been publicly released for public domain, where side two has been released, which is very suspect, if you ask me, and I didn’t like that. So, I thought I’d introduce some texts that are very little looked at that were very Gnostic, such as Jesus insulting the Pharisees for dipping in waters that pigs jumped into and making themselves look like prostitutes to attract men. Cyd:They’re highly offensive, yes. Bishop Nathan Wilson:Yes, and that’s why they really want to release that publicly. So, you have to pay a scholar for their works, and that’s not really fair. All this knowledge should be for free, especially when you’re looking at our own religious or spirituality or the text involved in that. Otherwise, we’re limiting ourselves, and that’s definitely not fair. So, I think we should be more open, and the text should be up for public display, public domain for everyone to have access to. So, that’s what I ultimately believe in. It’s one reason I chose to share my translations and make accessible for free digital copies. I didn’t want people to just buy my work rather than download the digital text and just read it for themselves. Go to the library, print it out. It might be cheaper. So, when I do sell my texts, I donate it, like some of it’s a charity anyway, to Make-A-Wish Foundation. So, that’s something I do on my end. So, everything I do, I try not to make money just for myself. I try to do other things with it because I’m not really materialistic. I live very much a monk lifestyle, so I read a lot. Cyd:Yeah. Yeah, I do too. I live like a nun, I say. I’ve got a little cloister where I sleep. I live in a one-room place, so it’s very interesting. Would you explain to us the difference between the Koine Greek and the Coptic Greek and which was written and why are there two different versions? Bishop Nathan Wilson:Okay, well the Coptic, when you see Coptic Greek, that’s devolving into Coptic. So, very early proto-Coptic is what scholars term, is the developing into it. You see it with Greeks in the very language. Otherwise, Coptic language very much is a mixture of Greek and Egyptian. So, Egyptian hieroglyph turned into writing basically, but mixed in with Greek. So, Greek was like the English of the past back then. Hebrew also borrowed from the Greek during the second temple period of Jesus’ time. So, the word Judaism and synagogue are Greek words, for instance. So, a lot of borrowing, but the Greeks also borrowed from the Canaanites, such as the Phoenician language or the alphabet. So, that’s also fascinating. So, the ancient past, it was all about borrowing and making it your own, you know. But yeah, with Greek as well, that would be also evolving as well. So, you have, within the gospel itself, you might have one word being spelt slightly different, but ultimately meaning the same thing. And all that is, is one dialect from another speaking from one coastal region to a different coastal region. Obviously, saying the same thing, it just might be the accent. So, that’s played different in the language. So, it’s like we see hilios or hilion, but it’s the same root message. It’s just one person’s pronouncing it in the market different from this region, because he’s closer to the shore and other ones closer to the inner cities. And that’s basically all. So, Greek’s very advanced. You can have one word that can mean ultimately different meanings. And some words you come across can have hundreds of meanings, and that can make things difficult when translating. So, with the Koine Greek, we only know 70% to 90% of the language. We know the 100% of the alphabetical, but we don’t know every context of use. So, because of that difficulty, I had to add alternative English translations. So, I realized then that every translation we’re reading is just based on someone else’s interpretation of that translation. And it’s like, oh, that kind of sucks, so I put them all in there. So, when you come across the word aftos, for he, she, it, they, them, this one, I leave it as all of that, so, you can choose what that means. Because Jesus is speaking to diverse audiences. He’s speaking to males and females, not just men. And that’s what people forget. It’s like the word for spirit is also very feminine in Hebrew. In Greek, it’s masculine and feminine. So, it’s used as both, which is fascinating as well for the spirit within us, you know. So, but again, that’s going back to that root meaning of feminine, because when you add in the word hagion pneuma you now have the Holy Spirit, but that’s a feminine word of it. Otherwise, the root word of masculine is hagios, but the female name or the feminine version of that concept is hagion. Cyd:Ah, that’s fascinating. Yeah. You run into the same problem when translating Chinese, because Chinese pictograms can just mean many, many things. So, I’ve studied the Tao Te Ching quite a bit, and everybody’s book that’s famous of the Tao Te Ching, it’s their translation out of a hundred choices for every word. So, it’s, I understand quite a bit what you’re saying there. Well, tell me this, what makes you a bishop? How is it that you’re calling yourself bishop? Bishop Nathan Wilson:Well, I was ordained by, well, back when it was the Gnostic Catholic Union, I was ordained by Bishop Bill Thomas, and he was the bishop of a church in Florida. He was running a church. He was an older man, so he’s kind of, he retired for a bit, and now he’s more of a wandering bishop, because he had trouble with the funds of running a church. It’d be quite expensive. So, he was part of an organization that was the Gnostic Catholic Union. A lot of members retired as well, then he took over, and then it kind of went on for a few years, and then they started retiring, and then I joined from there, and I was ordained, and I took up a course with them, started off as a deacon, then became a priest, and then as they were retiring, I was made bishop, basically, and so then I was left with a little bit of the reins. So, it was from there, it was a lot more—more churches were involved. So, some of that has also, a lot of them have also retired or ultimately changed theologies. One of the original members of the Gnostic Catholic Union, I believe, is now either an Orthodox priest or joined the Orthodox Church, and he renounces all his old Gnostic past, which is kind of a shame. So, sometimes that does happen. So, people become wanderers because of, people basically rely solely on one priest, oftentimes, which is also sad, and when one priest moves, people lose passion, and sometimes that’s how it is. So, I prefer to have people more independently on their own, not just say rely on me, I make other people bishops so they can carry on with their own, and from there, expand it. So, someone might have, say, the coin enough to start their own church, and from there, maybe, from there, do whatever they need. So, it inspires, and still something to bring a bit of community in, and have a little bit of recognition from other people, basically. So, I kept that term. I was almost considering to remove the title, bishops and priests, but a lot of the old members wanted to keep it as well, and some of the young ones did as well. So, I thought, well, I’ll keep the term for them in their sake. Otherwise, I was going to keep it as teachers, or brothers and sisters, but I still encourage our members to, when dealing with each other, not just sit there and call each other bishops, or bishopettes, or priests, or priestess, whichever term they prefer. I prefer to call us brothers and sisters, which is more stressed. Even with the outfit some people are talking about, I would tell them, remember that Jesus wouldn’t be wandering around with fancy robes, or wearing collared shirts, or wearing gold jewelry, and say, I’m doing now, in a sense. He was out in the wilderness, gathering with community. So, as blessed as those who are poor, you know, so, which was rare. So, a lot of people wanted money back then. So, he was very much for the poor, which is beautiful to see. There were rich Christians. It doesn’t mean that was strictly only for poor people only. There were ones who were shipfarers, and in turn, would carry their message throughout the ports, or from region to region. Cyd:I was just wondering–you are obviously a Christian Gnostic, as am I. I know that you’re open to all Gnosticism, but Gnostics who reject the notion of the Christ, or the need for the Christ, doesn’t that create some kind of difficulty, let’s say? Bishop Nathan Wilson:It would conflict a little bit, yes. I haven’t really come across ones that more reject the Christ. I wouldn’t mind. I have come across ones who have debated me over it in a sense, which I don’t mind in a sense, but I would also encourage them to say, look at the message. Ultimately, it’s about finding the Christ within, being Christ-like for yourself. It goes back to that root word of the first Christians for Christanos, being little Christs, little anointed ones. So, those who were taken on their masters teaching to be Christ-like. But say we have ones that don’t believe Jesus existed. I don’t mind that, because ultimately it is the message, but I will tell them I do believe because I have reasons. I would say for them to look up, say, Judas Kriakos, which is a grandson of Jesus, which is recorded in history. We have church father writings that actually whinged about Jesus’ family being Jewish Christians and not Catholic. So, that’s interesting. So, why would you whinge about a family if the man did not exist? For instance like that. But ultimately, there were some Gnostics that didn’t believe that Jesus existed, but was rather a spirit or was the myth that you took on yourself. So, I’m okay with that, as long as we don’t conflict with each other, with our hearts, as long as we’re not hating each other. So, we can have separate beliefs, as long as we respect those beliefs. Ultimately, that’s what would stop the disheartening and also the conflictions. end part one of interview Okay, we’re going to stop for this week. This is a good place to stop because next, Bishop Wilson goes on to discuss his translation of the New Testament and also some other Gnostic texts. So, we’ll spend next week talking about his translation that he calls the Gnostic Christian Truth Bible, and we’ll get into that. Also, I did record this entire interview as a Zoom video, and as soon as I get that edited, I’ll be posting it to YouTube so you will be able to find it and watch the interview as Bishop Nathan Wilson and I discuss these things. So, I hope to see you there, and thank you for listening this week, and we’ll pick it up again next week. Until then, God bless us all, and onward and upward. The Gnostic Union Facebook The Gnostic Union YouTube Channel

Bishop Nathan Wilson pt.1 Welcome back to Gnostic Insights and to the Gnostic Reformation on Substack. Hey, this week I interviewed Bishop Nathan Wilson of the Gnostic Union, and it was a good long interview, so I’ll be breaking it up probably into three segments for the next three weeks here. Bishop Wilson earned a diploma of ministry from the Gnostic Catholic Union, and then he later went on to create The Gnostic Union, and he’ll tell you about that in this week’s episode. Here I’ll read you the intro from their website. “The Gnostic Union is an independent sacramental assembly of Gnostic Christian communities and individuals. It exists to uphold the Gnostic Christian traditions and to encourage and promote the work of Christ and the Holy Sophia in the world.As an international, independent, autonomous, non-political organization, the Gnostic Union is in no way dependent upon any other authority outside of its own administration. We are neither Roman Catholic, Orthodox, nor Protestant. We are Gnostic Christians that encourage self-development and connecting with the spirit within to build a personal relationship with God, the Monad, the Father. Our bishops, priests, and deacons are merely guides to help you on your spiritual journey. The Gnostic Union aligns itself with the history and teachings of the first Christians of early first century Christianity and the teachings of Jesus Christ as found in the Gospel of Thomas. We encourage new members to read from the Nag Hammadi and to understand how different early Christianity is from modern mainstream Christianity. We welcome all people, regardless of past religious backgrounds or faiths. Gnosis means knowledge, not just simple intellectual knowledge, but deep spiritual knowledge within you. Knowledge from the Spirit, from the Holy Spirit, and from and of God.” You see, I felt that that really went along with what we talk about here at Gnostic Insights, and so when Bishop Wilson reached out to me via our Substack Gnostic Reformation site, I was more than happy to engage in conversation with him, and I thought that having a talk with him along with you and then broadcasting it would be helpful to all of us. Here’s the last little bit that it says on their Gnostic Union homepage, which is only one page long. It’s still in development. It says, “Gnostic Christian theology differs greatly from Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. Gnostic Christianity does not depend upon the authority of a Pope or the Church. Instead, it emphasizes being reborn in Spirit, building a personal spiritual relationship with God, and becoming Christ-like by enacting the teachings of Jesus Christ in our lives. Gnostic Christianity began from earlier Gnostic traditions, such as Hermeticism and Mysticism, which arose from Jewish mystics. Gnosticism itself is much older than Judaism, and traces back to the Hermetics of ancient Egypt, the Druids, and the ancient Greeks. Although many Gnostic Christian theologies differed, they shared a common theme of a trapped spiritual essence within the material body, the divine spark, the soul, or the spark of Sophia. The ultimate goal for Gnostic Christians was to become like Jesus, to be reborn in Spirit, through the baptism of the Holy Spirit, Sophia, and to know thyself, reflecting the divine essence within.” As you know, here at Gnostic Insights and the Gnostic Reformation, I stay away from the histories, because it seems to me that what is important is the here-and-now relationship we have with the Christ and with the Fullness of God. And so, I’m just not all that interested in history, but as you’ll hear from these ongoing interviews with Bishop Wilson, he’s all about history. So, for those of you who have been missing that strain of thought in our Gnostic Insights here, you’ll get an earful for the next three weeks. So without further ado, here's part one of my interview with Bishop Nathan Wilson of The Gnostic Union. Cyd: Well, such a pleasure to see you. You have such a nice smile. Bishop Nathan Wilson:Thank you. Thank you. Thanks for having me. It’s a pleasure. It’s always lovely to meet other Gnostics, other spiritual people, all those with open hearts and open minds. It’s always lovely to see. Cyd:Yes. Yes. Yes, it’s true. I wish I had more of these people close around me. Do you have neighbors who are Gnostic? Do you have people you can actually face-to-face with? Bishop Nathan Wilson:I’ve met a priest that I can now speak face-to-face, which was really good. So, it was the first real Gnostic I got to speak to face-to-face. Mostly, I was speaking to many online in other parts of the world, and I kind of felt like I was the only one here in Adelaide, Australia. So, I kind of felt like the one odd villager out. So, it was lovely to meet some other people. I’ve trained people, and other people have done what they wanted. Other people carried on as undercover Gnostics in this world. So, yeah. Cyd:Let me get a formal introduction to you here going. This is Bishop Nathan Wilson of the Gnostic Union, and we have connected through Substack, although you don’t have a Substack presence, do you? You don’t have a site? Bishop Nathan Wilson:No, no. We have got a website in the works, but it’s still in development. I’m not too tech-savvy, but we’ve got other people that are. So, we’re mostly on Facebook and YouTube at the moment. Cyd:Well, wonderful. Now, tell me the difference between the Gnostic Catholic Union and just the Gnostic Union. Bishop Nathan Wilson:Well, we used to be the Gnostic Catholic Union as well until I basically got in charge, and then I removed the Catholic part, which they only had for the Latin reasons, meaning universal, but not everyone knows that Latin subject. They’re just going to see Catholic, and usually today’s world, when you have a Catholic Union, it’s mostly those who have been brought up with a Catholic background that have now found Gnosis, and in turn, carry on those old traditions, which I don’t find anything wrong with. I think there’s many different ways to experience Gnosis. Gnosis doesn’t belong to any religion. It’s something you find within. It’s what you experience, spiritual knowledge gifted to you by what’s divine, by God, by the Father, by the Mother-Father, whichever term you like. The Source. It could even be referenced to, given you to by divine beings, by angels, angelic forces. So, Gnosis is something that you experience. So, it’s yours. It’s personal. It’s intimate. So, it’s a beautiful thing. So, with the Gnostic Union, we are more open to different Gnostic schools of thoughts. So, you could be a Sethian, a Valentinian. You could be a Carpucratian Gnostic, whichever. It doesn’t matter. You could be a Jewish Christian. Whichever the path is—we’re not really dogmatic. So, we appreciate all those who come into this spiritual life, seeking answers, and respecting each other’s beliefs, which is also rare. We have to remember, when we looked at the ancient schools of thought regarding Gnosticism, the ancient Gnostics got along. They didn’t kill each other. They didn’t fight. They had some disagreements, but they shared each other’s writings, which is fantastic. So, that’s very rare when you see that in a religious or even a spiritual school of thought. Many people can be my way only. So, that’s where Gnosis comes in, that inner spiritual experience. So, one’s own personal relationship with what’s divine. The Gnostic Union wants to encourage that, not to be bound by traditions. That’s mostly the difference between the Gnostic Union and the Gnostic Catholics, where they will be more bound by tradition, more bound by a dogmatic experience. We’re not really about that, not dissing any of that. We don’t mind, but we’re more open. Cyd:So, the Gnostic Catholics are still going on? That church is still active, but you have stepped away from them then, in that sense? Bishop Nathan Wilson:Yes, pretty much. So, we’ve done our own independent thing. So, that way we can have more schools of thought. I prefer it like that, so we can all grow from each other, which is something that I’m more about. So, that’s why I went into more of the Gnostic Union sense of things and removing the Catholic part. Some people didn’t like Catholic. Some people liked it and others were stoked that I removed that term from the group. I much prefer it. It’s less of a mouthful as well. I like things nice and simple as well. Cyd:Yes. So, it’s union—it's unity. That’s what the union means in the name, not like a labor union, but the union of Gnostics. That’s lovely. That’s very lovely. So, how many people are associating with the Gnostic Union at this point? Bishop Nathan Wilson:Well, we have a couple of other different groups from different parts of the world. We have a Gnostic Catholic group. I think they’re Gnostic Catholic Unitarians located in the Philippines. Then, we have other groups as well that associate with us. Within the Union itself, we have a couple of different ones. We have also side branches as well that used to be a part of the Gnostic Catholic Union, but there was some theological difference. So, some splitting went on. So, there’s other groups. We still recognize each other. Within the Gnostic Union at the moment. There is Bishop Jason, me, Bishop Nathan Wilson, Bishop Lorenzo, David and Michael, Randall over in South Africa. There’s also Priest Jeremy and Edgar and Rus. So, there’s quite a few. At the moment, it’s mostly men. We’re hoping to have some females join as well. We did have a couple of female members back in the Gnostic Catholic Union, but they ultimately retired. So, we’re hoping to expand. So, the Gnostic Union is kind of fresh on the scene. So, everything’s still building. Cyd:How fresh is it? How long have you been in existence here? Bishop Nathan Wilson:Well, in the Union itself, probably about almost two years now. It’s still maybe a year, year and a half, something like that there. So, it’s still growing in a sense. So, we’re doing okay, which is not too bad. We’re mostly on Facebook and YouTube. So, we do our online masses and group gatherings and stuff like that online as well. And mostly, just support each other’s individual works as well as promote each other’s work. And sometimes, I might edit a couple of videos of all of us together, give it to other people with their own channels, their own independent use, and then I’ll put it onto, say, the Union sites. Other people can go check it out as well. Cyd:I’ll be putting this up on my site. I’m going to post this to YouTube and make it for my audio podcast. But I’ll also give you the recording so that you can use it at your site if you’d like. Bishop Nathan Wilson:Oh, lovely. Lovely. I’d enjoy that as well. And again, thanks for reaching out to me. I very much enjoy speaking to like-minded individuals as well. And regarding even my translations that you brought me on to discuss as well, that’s relatively new as well. It took me about two years to fully actually translate. So, to get it all together, I use encyclopedias, I used Greek, Koine Greek dictionaries, as well as I used Bill Mounce, which is one of the top Koine Greek-speaking people in the world. I have a few friends that can speak Koine Greek as well as modern Greek as well. So, that also came in handy. So, it took me a while. I started doing that while I was still with the Gnostic Catholic Union and I didn’t finish it until the Gnostic Union. Cyd:So, tell us about, you’re speaking of your translation, tell us about that. It’s your New Testament, is it? Bishop Nathan Wilson:Yeah, I did the New Testament Gospels. I used Codex Sinaiticus because that was the oldest complete text, but then I wanted to do non-canonical. I didn’t know any Coptic at all, so I didn’t want to use any other people’s work. I just went to the Koine Greek, used what knowledge I did know, and I also used experts as well. So, I was able to look at every definition of the word and term and use. I did the Gospel of Thomas, which I actually first messed up on because I found out that the version I was looking at first was actually inspired by the Coptic version put into Koine Greek, and I realized it’s not the text. So, I went to the actual fragments themselves, and so I translated from there. It’s not very long. I didn’t use any AI recovery, so anything that wasn’t visible to our naked eye, I did not touch. So, I didn’t want to have any guessing involved. So, I just put what it was, and I did the Greek Gospel of Mary, as well as the Gospel of James, the Gospel of Peter, and I did three unknown Gospels, and they are little fragments, and they are Papyrus Oxyrhynchus. I have the names here. Actually, I better put that in—5072, and the other one was Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 840 and the other one is Egerton Gospel. So, they’re little fragments. The titles are missing. We don’t know who wrote them, so they’re unknown, but they could and likely do predate the Gospels that we do have. So, they predate the fragments we have. So, that’s interesting. So, all the fragments we have are second century. It’s likely they predate the fragments that we have. So, I chose to do them, but the interesting side was the Egerton gospel, which was actually a two-sided text, and Bart D. Ehrman actually did side two, and I did side one. So, he didn’t realize that there was a side on one. So, that means he was only looking at digital copy only, just like me. So, he didn’t actually look at the actual Papyrus itself, and so when I did one-sided, I didn’t realize there was a double side to that text, and so otherwise I wouldn’t have done it. So, the interesting thing is side one has not been publicly released for public domain, where side two has been released, which is very suspect, if you ask me, and I didn’t like that. So, I thought I’d introduce some texts that are very little looked at that were very Gnostic, such as Jesus insulting the Pharisees for dipping in waters that pigs jumped into and making themselves look like prostitutes to attract men. Cyd:They’re highly offensive, yes. Bishop Nathan Wilson:Yes, and that’s why they really want to release that publicly. So, you have to pay a scholar for their works, and that’s not really fair. All this knowledge should be for free, especially when you’re looking at our own religious or spirituality or the text involved in that. Otherwise, we’re limiting ourselves, and that’s definitely not fair. So, I think we should be more open, and the text should be up for public display, public domain for everyone to have access to. So, that’s what I ultimately believe in. It’s one reason I chose to share my translations and make accessible for free digital copies. I didn’t want people to just buy my work rather than download the digital text and just read it for themselves. Go to the library, print it out. It might be cheaper. So, when I do sell my texts, I donate it, like some of it’s a charity anyway, to Make-A-Wish Foundation. So, that’s something I do on my end. So, everything I do, I try not to make money just for myself. I try to do other things with it because I’m not really materialistic. I live very much a monk lifestyle, so I read a lot. Cyd:Yeah. Yeah, I do too. I live like a nun, I say. I’ve got a little cloister where I sleep. I live in a one-room place, so it’s very interesting. Would you explain to us the difference between the Koine Greek and the Coptic Greek and which was written and why are there two different versions? Bishop Nathan Wilson:Okay, well the Coptic, when you see Coptic Greek, that’s devolving into Coptic. So, very early proto-Coptic is what scholars term, is the developing into it. You see it with Greeks in the very language. Otherwise, Coptic language very much is a mixture of Greek and Egyptian. So, Egyptian hieroglyph turned into writing basically, but mixed in with Greek. So, Greek was like the English of the past back then. Hebrew also borrowed from the Greek during the second temple period of Jesus’ time. So, the word Judaism and synagogue are Greek words, for instance. So, a lot of borrowing, but the Greeks also borrowed from the Canaanites, such as the Phoenician language or the alphabet. So, that’s also fascinating. So, the ancient past, it was all about borrowing and making it your own, you know. But yeah, with Greek as well, that would be also evolving as well. So, you have, within the gospel itself, you might have one word being spelt slightly different, but ultimately meaning the same thing. And all that is, is one dialect from another speaking from one coastal region to a different coastal region. Obviously, saying the same thing, it just might be the accent. So, that’s played different in the language. So, it’s like we see hilios or hilion, but it’s the same root message. It’s just one person’s pronouncing it in the market different from this region, because he’s closer to the shore and other ones closer to the inner cities. And that’s basically all. So, Greek’s very advanced. You can have one word that can mean ultimately different meanings. And some words you come across can have hundreds of meanings, and that can make things difficult when translating. So, with the Koine Greek, we only know 70% to 90% of the language. We know the 100% of the alphabetical, but we don’t know every context of use. So, because of that difficulty, I had to add alternative English translations. So, I realized then that every translation we’re reading is just based on someone else’s interpretation of that translation. And it’s like, oh, that kind of sucks, so I put them all in there. So, when you come across the word aftos, for he, she, it, they, them, this one, I leave it as all of that, so, you can choose what that means. Because Jesus is speaking to diverse audiences. He’s speaking to males and females, not just men. And that’s what people forget. It’s like the word for spirit is also very feminine in Hebrew. In Greek, it’s masculine and feminine. So, it’s used as both, which is fascinating as well for the spirit within us, you know. So, but again, that’s going back to that root meaning of feminine, because when you add in the word hagion pneuma you now have the Holy Spirit, but that’s a feminine word of it. Otherwise, the root word of masculine is hagios, but the female name or the feminine version of that concept is hagion. Cyd:Ah, that’s fascinating. Yeah. You run into the same problem when translating Chinese, because Chinese pictograms can just mean many, many things. So, I’ve studied the Tao Te Ching quite a bit, and everybody’s book that’s famous of the Tao Te Ching, it’s their translation out of a hundred choices for every word. So, it’s, I understand quite a bit what you’re saying there. Well, tell me this, what makes you a bishop? How is it that you’re calling yourself bishop? Bishop Nathan Wilson:Well, I was ordained by, well, back when it was the Gnostic Catholic Union, I was ordained by Bishop Bill Thomas, and he was the bishop of a church in Florida. He was running a church. He was an older man, so he’s kind of, he retired for a bit, and now he’s more of a wandering bishop, because he had trouble with the funds of running a church. It’d be quite expensive. So, he was part of an organization that was the Gnostic Catholic Union. A lot of members retired as well, then he took over, and then it kind of went on for a few years, and then they started retiring, and then I joined from there, and I was ordained, and I took up a course with them, started off as a deacon, then became a priest, and then as they were retiring, I was made bishop, basically, and so then I was left with a little bit of the reins. So, it was from there, it was a lot more—more churches were involved. So, some of that has also, a lot of them have also retired or ultimately changed theologies. One of the original members of the Gnostic Catholic Union, I believe, is now either an Orthodox priest or joined the Orthodox Church, and he renounces all his old Gnostic past, which is kind of a shame. So, sometimes that does happen. So, people become wanderers because of, people basically rely solely on one priest, oftentimes, which is also sad, and when one priest moves, people lose passion, and sometimes that’s how it is. So, I prefer to have people more independently on their own, not just say rely on me, I make other people bishops so they can carry on with their own, and from there, expand it. So, someone might have, say, the coin enough to start their own church, and from there, maybe, from there, do whatever they need. So, it inspires, and still something to bring a bit of community in, and have a little bit of recognition from other people, basically. So, I kept that term. I was almost considering to remove the title, bishops and priests, but a lot of the old members wanted to keep it as well, and some of the young ones did as well. So, I thought, well, I’ll keep the term for them in their sake. Otherwise, I was going to keep it as teachers, or brothers and sisters, but I still encourage our members to, when dealing with each other, not just sit there and call each other bishops, or bishopettes, or priests, or priestess, whichever term they prefer. I prefer to call us brothers and sisters, which is more stressed. Even with the outfit some people are talking about, I would tell them, remember that Jesus wouldn’t be wandering around with fancy robes, or wearing collared shirts, or wearing gold jewelry, and say, I’m doing now, in a sense. He was out in the wilderness, gathering with community. So, as blessed as those who are poor, you know, so, which was rare. So, a lot of people wanted money back then. So, he was very much for the poor, which is beautiful to see. There were rich Christians. It doesn’t mean that was strictly only for poor people only. There were ones who were shipfarers, and in turn, would carry their message throughout the ports, or from region to region. Cyd:I was just wondering–you are obviously a Christian Gnostic, as am I. I know that you’re open to all Gnosticism, but Gnostics who reject the notion of the Christ, or the need for the Christ, doesn’t that create some kind of difficulty, let’s say? Bishop Nathan Wilson:It would conflict a little bit, yes. I haven’t really come across ones that more reject the Christ. I wouldn’t mind. I have come across ones who have debated me over it in a sense, which I don’t mind in a sense, but I would also encourage them to say, look at the message. Ultimately, it’s about finding the Christ within, being Christ-like for yourself. It goes back to that root word of the first Christians for Christanos, being little Christs, little anointed ones. So, those who were taken on their masters teaching to be Christ-like. But say we have ones that don’t believe Jesus existed. I don’t mind that, because ultimately it is the message, but I will tell them I do believe because I have reasons. I would say for them to look up, say, Judas Kriakos, which is a grandson of Jesus, which is recorded in history. We have church father writings that actually whinged about Jesus’ family being Jewish Christians and not Catholic. So, that’s interesting. So, why would you whinge about a family if the man did not exist? For instance like that. But ultimately, there were some Gnostics that didn’t believe that Jesus existed, but was rather a spirit or was the myth that you took on yourself. So, I’m okay with that, as long as we don’t conflict with each other, with our hearts, as long as we’re not hating each other. So, we can have separate beliefs, as long as we respect those beliefs. Ultimately, that’s what would stop the disheartening and also the conflictions. end part one of interview Okay, we’re going to stop for this week. This is a good place to stop because next, Bishop Wilson goes on to discuss his translation of the New Testament and also some other Gnostic texts. So, we’ll spend next week talking about his translation that he calls the Gnostic Christian Truth Bible, and we’ll get into that. Also, I did record this entire interview as a Zoom video, and as soon as I get that edited, I’ll be posting it to YouTube so you will be able to find it and watch the interview as Bishop Nathan Wilson and I discuss these things. So, I hope to see you there, and thank you for listening this week, and we’ll pick it up again next week. Until then, God bless us all, and onward and upward. The Gnostic Union Facebook The Gnostic Union YouTube Channel

Listen as Dan interviews Bible & Greek scholar Dr. Bill Mounce on his thoughts on the Pastoral Epistles and what it means to be a Christian. Here is Dr. Mounce's commentary: https://a.co/d/gmuqpUE

Join David and Tyler on this special edition of Faith Unaltered as well as their special guest: author, teacher, and Greek NT scholar Dr. Bill Mounce! Join us as we discuss the importance of laymen and laywomen learning Biblical Greek! We hit on the pro's of that life altering journey, discuss Dr. Mounce's book "The Basics of Biblical Greek" (BBG) and explain to you why, as a follower's of Jesus Christ, we SHOULD learn to read the New Testament in the language it originally was penned in! FOR MORE DR. BILL MOUNCE AND FREE GREEK RESOURCES: billmounce.com BUY DR. MOUNCE'S BOOKS HERE: https://www.amazon.com/stores/William-D.-Mounce/author/B000AQ4QZY?ref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true To engage some, to equip some. Faith Unaltered is an apologetics based show that reaches out to believers and unbelievers to discuss and debate the big questions. We exist to engage not only, unbelievers but believers of various faiths and worldviews. We also aim to equip believers with sound arguments that demonstrate the truth of Christianity. At the end of the day, you choose! ***GlossaHouse resources are available at our website! - https://glossahouse.com/ ✏️ ***Sign up for classes with GlossaHouse U - https://glossahouse.com/pages/classes

This is part 17 of the Read the Bible For Yourself. After reviewing the resources you can use to learn Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, we delve into the sources that translators use for their work. Next, we'll look at translation philosophies, including formal and dynamic equivalence. Lastly we'll cover the controversial issues of gender accuracy and translation bias. Over all, this episode should give you a nice introduction to a deep answer for what translations you should use and why. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsxuNfkTt-U&list=PLN9jFDsS3QV2TrdUEDtAipF3jy4qYspM_&index=18 —— Links —— See other episodes in Read the Bible For Yourself Other classes are available here, including How We Got the Bible, which explores the manuscript transmission and translation of the Bible Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan?  Read his bio here —— Notes —— 17 How to Choose a Bible Translation Translation basics Fee & Stuart: “Your Bible, whatever translation you use, which is your beginning point, is in fact the end result of much scholarly work. Translators are regularly called upon to make choices regarding meanings, and their choices are going to affect how you”[1] “Every translation is a commentary” -Lee Brice The Bible is in three languages. Hebrew: Old Testament except the Aramaic part Nearly 99% of the OT (22,945 of 23,213 verses) Aramaic: half of Daniel and two passages in Ezra Daniel 2.4b-7.28; Ezra 4.8-6.18; 7.12-26 About 1% of the OT (268 of 23,213 verses) Greek: New Testament (all 7,968 verses) How to begin learning Hebrew or Greek Immersion program in Israel or Greece Whole Word Institute offers a 9-month program. In-person college class (usually 2 semesters) Local colleges, RTS offers an 8-week summer program. In-person classes at a Jewish synagogue or Greek church or community center Online program with live instructor Biblical Language Center, Liberty University, etc. Digital program with pre-recordings Aleph with Beth (YouTube), Bill Mounce's DVD course, etc. How to improve your existing knowledge of Hebrew or Greek Reading group in-person or online Read a portion each week together. Daily dose of Hebrew/Greek/Aramaic Daily YouTube videos of one verse each (email list) Read every day. Read the Bible; read devotionals; read comic books (Glossa House produces great resources) Watch modern Hebrew and Greek shows. Izzy is like Netflix for Israel/Hebrew Greece has lots of channels streaming online. Translation process (1 Timothy 2:5 example) Greek New Testament (NA28)Εἷς γὰρ θεός, εἷς καὶ μεσίτης θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων, ἄνθρωπος Χριστὸς Ἰησοῦς Literal translationOne for god, one and mediator of god and men,man Christ Jesus Finished translationFor (there is) one God, and (there is) one mediator between God and mankind, (the) man Christ Jesus. New Testament critical editions Nestle Aland 28th Edition (NA28) based on the Editio Critica Maior (ECM), which employs the coherence based genealogical method (CBGM) Tyndale House Greek New Testament (THGNT) prioritizes trusted physical manuscripts over the CBGM. Old Testament critical editions Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS) and the partially completed Biblia Hebraica Quinta (BHQ) print the Leningrad Codex in the main text, but include alternative readings in the footnotes. Hebrew Bible Critical Edition (HBCE) by Ronald Mendel is a project of the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) to develop a critical edition. Resources to see decisions about alternative readings NET Bible (accessible here) New Testament Text and Commentary by Philip Comfort A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament by Bruce Metzger Formal equivalence translation philosophy Fee & Strauss: “If the Greek or Hebrew text uses an infinitive, the English translation will use an infinitive. When the Greek or Hebrew has a prepositional phrase, so will the English…The goal of this translational theory is formal correspondence as much as possible.”[2] Ron Rhodes: “Formal equivalence translations can also be trusted not to mix too much commentary in with the text derived from the original Hebrew and Greek manuscripts. To clarify, while all translation entails some interpretation, formal equivalence translations keep to a minimum in intermingling interpretive additives into the text.  As one scholar put it, ‘An essentially literal translation operates on the premise that a translator is a steward of what someone else has written, not an editor and exegete who needs to explain or correct what someone else has written.'”[3] Dynamic equivalence translation philosophy Ron Rhodes: “Dynamic equivalence translations generally use shorter words, shorter sentences, and shorter paragraphs. They use easy vocabulary and use simple substitutes for theological and cultural terminology.  They often convert culturally dependent figures of speech into easy, direct statements.  They seek to avoid ambiguity as well as biblical jargon in favor of a natural English style. Translators concentrate on transferring meaning rather than mere words from one language to another.”[4] Formal vs. dynamic comparison Formal Equivalence Dynamic Equivalence Formal Correspondence Functional Equivalence Word for Word Thought for Thought Literal Readable Transparent to Originals Replicates Experience Transfer Interpretation Interpretation Built In Accurate Easy to Understand Formal equivalence Bibles ESV: English Standard Version NASB: New American Standard Bible LSB: Legacy Standard Bible NRSV: New Revised Standard Version HCSB: Holman Christian Standard Bible Gender Accuracy[5] “Man” used to mean “men and women” “Men” used to mean “men and women” “he” used to mean “he or she” Translations are changing with the changes in the English language so that female readers recognize the relevance of scripture to them See Eph 4:28; Mat 11:15; etc. Combatting bias To combat bias, look at translations from different thought camps. Evangelical: NIV, NLT, ESV, NASB, NET, CSB, HCSB, LEB MSG, Passion, Amplified, LSB, CEV, TEV/GNT, NCV, NIrV Jewish: JPS, KJB, Stone, Robert Altar, Shocken Catholic: NABRE, NAB, RNJB, NJB, JB, Douay-Rheims Mainline: NRSV, NEB, RSV, ASV, KJV Unitarian: REV, NWT, Diaglott, KGV, Buzzard, NEV Review If you can, learn the biblical languages so you can read the actual words of scripture rather than depending on a translation. Translations of the New Testament depend on the Greek critical text known as the Nestle Aland 28th edition (NA28). Translations of the Old Testament depend on the Leningrad Codex, which is printed in the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS) and the partially complete Biblia Hebraica Quinta (BHQ). In addition, translators of the Old Testament are expected to look through the footnotes and commentary in these resources to judge readings from other sources. Over generations, textual critics have developed strategies and computer tools to more closely approximate the original text. As a result, newer critical texts contain reconstructions of an older stage of the text. Translation is the art of rendering a source text into a receptor language accurately. Formal equivalence translations focus on transparency to the source text and a minimum of added interpretation. Dynamic equivalence translations focus on readability in the receptor language. They seek clarity over ambiguity. Formal equivalence translations are safer, because they leave it up to the reader to figure out what a text means. However, they can contain awkward English and be difficult to read. Gender accuracy refers to the translation practice of including the feminine when a hypothetical singular masculine pronoun can refer to either sex or when masculine plurals include both genders. Bias is intrinsic to translation, especially with reference to doctrines that are widely held by committee members. The best way to expose and combat bias is to check translations from different thought camps. Although evangelical translations are better known, checking Jewish, mainline, Catholic, and unitarian translations provides a helpful corrective. [1] Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2014), 23. [2] Gordon Fee and Mark Strauss, How to Choose a Translation for All Its Worth (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007), p. 26. [3] Ron Rhodes, The Complete Guide to Bible Translations (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2009), p. 30.  Quotation from Leland Ryken, Choosing a Bible (Wheaton: Crossway, 2005), p. 27. [4] Ron Rhodes, The Complete Guide to Bible Translations (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2009), pp. 32-33. [5] For a much deeper dive into this interesting topic, see session 15 from How We Got the Bible: Gender in Bible Translation, available on lhim.org or on YouTube.

17 How to Choose a Bible Translation – Notes Download Translation basics Fee & Stuart: “Your Bible, whatever translation you use, which is your beginning point, is in fact the end result of much scholarly work. Translators are regularly called upon to make choices regarding meanings, and their choices are going to affect how you”[[Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2014), 23.]] “Every translation is a commentary” -Lee Brice The Bible is in three languages. Hebrew: Old Testament except the Aramaic part Nearly 99% of the OT (22,945 of 23,213 verses) Aramaic: half of Daniel and two passages in Ezra Daniel 2.4b-7.28; Ezra 4.8-6.18; 7.12-26 About 1% of the OT (268 of 23,213 verses) Greek: New Testament (all 7,968 verses) How to begin learning Hebrew or Greek Immersion program in Israel or Greece Whole Word Institute offers a 9-month program. In-person college class (usually 2 semesters) Local colleges, RTS offers an 8-week summer program. In-person classes at a Jewish synagogue or Greek church or community center Online program with live instructor Biblical Language Center, Liberty University, etc. Digital program with pre-recordings Aleph with Beth (YouTube), Bill Mounce's DVD course, etc. How to improve your existing knowledge of Hebrew or Greek Reading group in-person or online Read a portion each week together. Daily dose of Hebrew/Greek/Aramaic Daily YouTube videos of one verse each (email list) Read every day. Read the Bible; read devotionals; read comic books (Glossa House produces great resources) Watch modern Hebrew and Greek shows. Izzy is like Netflix for Israel/Hebrew Greece has lots of channels streaming online. Translation process (1 Timothy 2:5 example) Greek New Testament (NA28) Εἷς γὰρ θεός, εἷς καὶ μεσίτης θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων, ἄνθρωπος Χριστὸς Ἰησοῦς Literal translation One for god, one and mediator of god and men, man Christ Jesus Finished translation For (there is) one God, and (there is) one mediator between God and mankind, (the) man Christ Jesus. New Testament critical editions Nestle Aland 28th Edition (NA28) based on the Editio Critica Maior (ECM), which employs the coherence based genealogical method (CBGM) Tyndale House Greek New Testament (THGNT) prioritizes trusted physical manuscripts over the CBGM. Old Testament critical editions Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS) and the partially completed Biblia Hebraica Quinta (BHQ) print the Leningrad Codex in the main text, but include alternative readings in the footnotes. Hebrew Bible Critical Edition (HBCE) by Ronald Mendel is a project of the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) to develop a critical edition. Resources to see decisions about alternative readings NET Bible (accessible at org) New Testament Text and Commentary by Philip Comfort A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament by Bruce Metzger Formal equivalence translation philosophy Fee & Strauss: “If the Greek or Hebrew text uses an infinitive, the English translation will use an infinitive. When the Greek or Hebrew has a prepositional phrase, so will the English…The goal of this translational theory is formal correspondence as much as possible.”[[Gordon Fee and Mark Strauss, How to Choose a Translation for All Its Worth (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007), p. 26.]] Ron Rhodes: “Formal equivalence translations can also be trusted not to mix too much commentary in with the text derived from the original Hebrew and Greek manuscripts. To clarify, while all translation entails some interpretation, formal equivalence translations keep to a minimum in intermingling interpretive additives into the text.  As one scholar put it, ‘An essentially literal translation operates on the premise that a translator is a steward of what someone else has written, not an editor and exegete who needs to explain or correct what someone else has written.'”[[Ron Rhodes, The Complete Guide to Bible Translations (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2009), p. 30.  Quotation from Leland Ryken, Choosing a Bible (Wheaton: Crossway, 2005), p. 27.]] Dynamic equivalence translation philosophy Ron Rhodes: “Dynamic equivalence translations generally use shorter words, shorter sentences, and shorter paragraphs. They use easy vocabulary and use simple substitutes for theological and cultural terminology.  They often convert culturally dependent figures of speech into easy, direct statements.  They seek to avoid ambiguity as well as biblical jargon in favor of a natural English style. Translators concentrate on transferring meaning rather than mere words from one language to another.”[[Ron Rhodes, The Complete Guide to Bible Translations (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2009), pp. 32-33.]] Formal vs. dynamic comparison Formal Equivalence Dynamic Equivalence Formal Correspondence Functional Equivalence Word for Word Thought for Thought Literal Readable Transparent to Originals Replicates Experience Transfer Interpretation Interpretation Built In Accurate Easy to Understand Formal equivalence Bibles ESV: English Standard Version NASB: New American Standard Bible LSB: Legacy Standard Bible NRSV: New Revised Standard Version HCSB: Holman Christian Standard Bible Gender Accuracy[[For a much deeper dive into this interesting topic, see session 15 from How We Got the Bible: Gender in Bible Translation, available on lhim.org or on YouTube.]] “Man” used to mean “men and women” “Men” used to mean “men and women” “he” used to mean “he or she” Translations are changing with the changes in the English language so that female readers recognize the relevance of scripture to them See Eph 4:28; Mat 11:15; etc. Combatting bias To combat bias, look at translations from different thought camps. Evangelical: NIV, NLT, ESV, NASB, NET, CSB, HCSB, LEB MSG, Passion, Amplified, LSB, CEV, TEV/GNT, NCV, NIrV Jewish: JPS, KJB, Stone, Robert Altar, Shocken Catholic: NABRE, NAB, RNJB, NJB, JB, Douay-Rheims Mainline: NRSV, NEB, NKJ, RSV, ASV, KJV Unitarian: REV, NWT, Diaglott, KGV, Buzzard, NEV Review If you can, learn the biblical languages so you can read the actual words of scripture rather than depending on a translation. Translations of the New Testament depend on the Greek critical text known as the Nestle Aland 28th edition (NA28). Translations of the Old Testament depend on the Leningrad Codex, which is printed in the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS) and the partially complete Biblia Hebraica Quinta (BHQ). In addition, translators of the Old Testament are expected to look through the footnotes and commentary in these resources to judge readings from other sources. Over generations, textual critics have developed strategies and computer tools to more closely approximate the original text. As a result, newer critical texts contain reconstructions of an older stage of the text. Translation is the art of rendering a source text into a receptor language accurately. Formal equivalence translations focus on transparency to the source text and a minimum of added interpretation. Dynamic equivalence translations focus on readability in the receptor language. They seek clarity over ambiguity. Formal equivalence translations are safer, because they leave it up to the reader to figure out what a text means. However, they can contain awkward English and be difficult to read. Gender accuracy refers to the translation practice of including the feminine when a hypothetical singular masculine pronoun can refer to either sex or when masculine plurals include both genders. Bias is intrinsic to translation, especially with reference to doctrines that are widely held by committee members. The best way to expose and combat bias is to check translations from different thought camps. Although evangelical translations are better known, checking Jewish, mainline, Catholic, and unitarian translations provides a helpful corrective. The post 17: How to Choose a Bible Translation first appeared on Living Hope.

Dr. Bill Mounce is a professor and best-selling author of the book Basics of Biblical Greek. He shares his journey as both scholar and entrepreneur, including the genesis of BiblicalTraining.org. Bill and Brian discuss Biblical foundations, interpreting Scripture, and how we can go deeper in the Bible to advance our faith. Links & Episode Notes Bill Mounce Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar Biblical Training “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10) Basics of Biblical Hebrew by Gary Pratico and Miles Van Pelt Why I Trust the Bible Darrell Bock Craig Blomberg Interpreting the Bible John Calvin John Wesley Essentials of Apologetics with Sean McDowell God in the Dark by Os Guinness Going deeper with the Bible Essentials of Church History with Dr. Gordon Isaac New Bible Commentary NIV Study Bible ESV Study Bible Evangelical Commentary on the Bible by Walter Elwell Evangelical Dictionary of Theology by Daniel Treier and Walter Elwell The Expositor's Bible Commentary by Tremper Longman III and David Garland A Theology of the New Testament by George Ladd Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem Biblical Training Getting Started Daniel Block John Oswalt Okanagan Bible College Made to Advance is a production of Engedi Church and is hosted by Brian Aulick.

Este sábado, bien tempranito, nos visitará nuestro profesor favorito aparte del Profesor Chiflado y el Profesor Protón: el Professor Longhair. Acompañado entre otras estrellas del espectáculo de Hank Penny, Bill Monroe, Cortijo, Henry "Red" Allen, Innocentay, Joe Daniels y Bill Mounce. A partir de las ocho de la mañana del sábado en la sintonía de Radio 3.Escuchar audio

Let's talk about four critical areas of evidence for the reliability of the Bible. We'll explore the wealth of evidence supporting the trustworthiness of Scripture, from thousands of biblical manuscripts and archaeological findings to the faithful preservation of original writings and the timely composition of the New Testament. 1 | Manuscript Evidence: Discover how the 6,000 New Testament manuscripts, far surpassing any other ancient document, provide a solid foundation for comparing and verifying the accuracy of Scripture. 2 | Archaeological Corroboration: Learn about the numerous archaeological discoveries that align with biblical accounts, further solidifying the historical validity of the Scriptures. 3 | Preservation of Original Texts: Understand the significance of the Dead Sea Scrolls and other ancient manuscripts in demonstrating the meticulous care scribes took in preserving the Bible's content over centuries. 4 | Historical Timing of New Testament Writings: Gain insight into how the proximity of New Testament writings to the actual events they describe adds an additional layer of credibility. For more resources on this topic, I recommend the following books: • Why I Trust the Bible by Bill Mounce https://amzn.to/2WpA0Wc • Evidence That Demands a Verdict: Life-Changing Truth for a Skeptical World by Josh and Sean McDowell https://amzn.to/2VSKxYc • The Historical Reliability of the New Testament: Countering the Challenges to Evangelical Christian Beliefs by Craig Blomberg https://amzn.to/2HuyKGZ • How We Got the Bible by Neil Gordon Lightfoot Get the newsletter at ReasonableTheology.org/Subscribe. The weekly email includes:the latest article or podcast episodea helpful theological definitiona painting depicting a scene from Scripture or church historya musical selection to enrich your daythe best book deal I've found that week to build your library.Support the showGET THE NEWSLETTEREach edition of the Reasonable Theology newsletter contains my latest article or podcast episode PLUS: A Theological Word or Phrase Explained Quickly and Clearly A Painting Depicting a Scene from Scripture or Church History Audio of a Hymn or other Musical Selection to Enjoy A Recommended Book or Resource to Expand Your Library SUBSCRIBE HERE

In recent years, more and more scholars and Christians have abandoned the belief that the Bible is without error, commonly known as "inerrant." Some of what scholars point to for such argumentation against the Bible being inerrant would be Christ's post-resurrection reports. How should Christians that believe in biblical inerrancy handle matters where the Bible records "false statements" made by ungodly persons? Or could the frailty of human memory cancel out the trustworthiness of the Bible? Dr. Bill Mounce joins our host, Trevy Trev, to talk about Dr. Mounce's latest book, "Why I Trust the Bible" where he discusses why the Bible is still "trustworthy."        For more on Dr. Bill Mounce: Learn Biblical Greek with Bill Mounce Why I Trust the Bible: Answers to Real Questions and Doubts People Have about the Bible: William D. Mounce: 9780310109945 - Christianbook.com     ***Use of the video clip audio is protected under the Fair Use Act. We do not own the rights to the video or audio used in this podcast.***             Please feel free to donate towards our efforts of expanding the podcast:   CashApp: $tbthosea46   PayPal: paypal.me/tbthosea46             Find us on social media at:   IG @tbthosea46   FB: facebook.com/tbthosea46   Twitter: @tbthosea46

Bill is the founder and President of BiblicalTraining.org, serves on the Committee for Bible Translation (which is responsible for the NIV translation of the Bible), and has written the best-selling biblical Greek textbook, Basics of Biblical Greek, and many other Greek resources. He was the New Testament chair for the English Standard Version, and speaks and blogs regularly on issues relating to trusting the Bible, the Pastoral Epistles (1 and 2 Timothy, and Titus), Greek, and issues of spiritual growth. Bill was also a preaching pastor, a professor of New Testament and director of the Greek Language Program at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and a professor at Azusa Pacific University. Bill is the author of a rather prestigious commentary on the Pastoral Epistles in the Word Biblical Commentary series, and he spent 14 years researching and writing the commentary. He's also a complimentarian, a position he arrived at partly through studying this passage, so I wanted to have him walk us through how a complimentarian scholar interprets this passage. biblicaltraining.org billmounce.com

Nuestros vetustos rotaplacas volverán a girar esta noche a velocidad absurda para que suenen a todo trapo: Bill Mounce and Sons Of The South, Chin's Calypso Sextet, Earl Johnson and His Clodhoppers, Frank Ferera Hawaiian Trio, The Hoosier Hot Shots, Julio Cueva Et Son Orquestre Du Casino National De La Havanne, Fletcher Henderson and His Orchestra... Escuchar audio

William D. "Bill" Mounce joins David Capes on "The Stone Chapel Podcasts" to talk about his new book. Bill wrote his book for 17 year olds and their parents, because they will face questions about the truthfulness of the Bible. The post Episode 094 Why I Trust the Bible with Bill Mounce first appeared on Lanier Theological Library and Learning Center.

William D. "Bill" Mounce joins David Capes on "The Stone Chapel Podcasts" to talk about his new book. Bill wrote his book for 17 year olds and their parents, because they will face questions about the truthfulness of the Bible. The post Episode 094 Why I Trust the Bible with Bill Mounce first appeared on Lanier Theological Library.

Synopsis Biblical Literacy Snapshots of Jesus 04/24/2022 Mark Interviews Bill Mounce and Dan Wallace Bill and Dan were childhood friends and lived and took very different paths In their careers, as Greek Scholars, and both were joined together as members of the NIV Translation Committee. They discussed that journey in some detail, which included how each of them were led to the Lord. Bill and Dan discussed why they wanted to learn Greek. Both have PHD's and are very well versed and very well known for their work in translating original manuscripts from Greek to English. Both discussed their reason for pursuing Greek translation as a life long career. Bill has written a book titled “Basics of Biblical Greek” which has sold over a half a million copies. They discussed in a very specific way how verses of the bible are translated and the difficulty of deciphering the meaning of Greek translations into English Bible Versions, NIV, ESV, and KJV for example. They discussed this with respect to John 1:1, Luke 2:14, Matthew 6:13 and others. The lesson was enlightening and motivated us to study the Bible and do our best to understand the meaning of the message therein.

Synopsis Biblical Literacy Snapshots of Jesus 04/24/2022 Mark Interviews Bill Mounce and Dan Wallace Bill and Dan were childhood friends and lived and took very different paths In their careers, as Greek Scholars, and both were joined together as members of the NIV Translation Committee. They discussed that journey in some detail, which included how each of them were led to the Lord. Bill and Dan discussed why they wanted to learn Greek. Both have PHD's and are very well versed and very well known for their work in translating original manuscripts from Greek to English. Both discussed their reason for pursuing Greek translation as a life long career. Bill has written a book titled “Basics of Biblical Greek” which has sold over a half a million copies. They discussed in a very specific way how verses of the bible are translated and the difficulty of deciphering the meaning of Greek translations into English Bible Versions, NIV, ESV, and KJV for example. They discussed this with respect to John 1:1, Luke 2:14, Matthew 6:13 and others. The lesson was enlightening and motivated us to study the Bible and do our best to understand the meaning of the message therein.

No wonder “complementarians” of the ilk of Dr. Mounce “can't think of a specific word that means ‘lord' that would still “convey respect without violating …love.” Dr. Mounce and his fellow complementarians have thrown in the towel on the Fatherhood of God and man. They're little men with little male perquisites they sometimes defend—bud oh so very timorously. Nothing any complementarian has ever written bears the slightest resemblance to the Apostolic witness of the New Testament.

How do we know the Bible is trustworthy? Are the Gospels really written by the people who they are attributed to? What about contradictions? In this interview, Sean and Scott talk with professor Bill Mounce about his latest book Why I Trust the Bible. [Show notes, including a full transcript, are available at www.biola.edu/thinkbiblically]

Attacks against the truth and reliability of Scripture are commonplace. Skeptical scholars have become mainstream, entertainment media mocks believers, and YouTube and podcasting have given a platform to just about anyone wanting to promote their arguments against Scripture and the Christian faith.Many of these attacks focus on a single assertion: the Bible is an ancient book written and assembled by flawed men with particular agendas.So can we trust that what is contained in the Bible is really God's Word? Listen as we speak with Bible scholar and translator Dr. Bill Mounce about why we can trust the Bible and the truth claims it makes.On this episode we'll discuss:Common questions believers and non-believers ask about the reliability of ScriptureWhy skepticism is increasing in today's cultureWhy believers should not shy away from having and asking sincere questionsHow we can be better equipped to answer tough questionsReasons we can trust the reliability of our BiblesWhy Dr. Mounce personally trusts his BibleSee the Show Notes at ReasonableTheology.org/Episode43Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to share it with a friend and hit the subscribe button so you don't miss what's coming up next.Also, if you've not already please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast player - it helps others find the podcast.Support the show (https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/reasonabletheology)

In your mind, simply put quotation marks around the three verses of 1 Corinthians 11:4-6. Or better still pencil in quotation marks around them on the page of your print Bible.If quotation marks are missing around these verses in the Bible version you are using, is that wrong? Yes, and no. In koiné Greek in which the New Testament was written there were no quotation marks added. You had to add them yourself because this kind of punctuation wasn't adopted yet. Translators have to decide whether or not to get the idea across in a modern language by doing nothing, by adding quotation marks or even by adding a few introductory words such as, “someone will say.”Dr. Bill Mounce brings up the example of 1 Corinthians 6:12. He writes, “Many translations put the phrase in quotation marks. “‘All things are lawful for me,' but not all things are helpful.” These include the ESV, and also the HCSB, NRSV and NET. Mounce continues that Paul “is quoting what his Corinthians opponents are saying. He doesn't agree with them, but he is citing them.”Placing punctuation. The New International Version placed quotation marks around Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 10:23-26. Not every word in these verses was put in quotes. The translators noted that Paul was dialoguing with his readers in a brisk give and take. They showed this by adding quotation marks, dashes, and a paragraph break to his comments. They added these even though no punctuation marks were used in Paul's original letter.Here is how the NIV punctuates 1 Corinthians 10:23. The words placed in quotation marks by the NIV I will highlight for you:23“I have the right to do anything”, you say – but not everything is beneficial.    “I have the right to do anything” – but not everything is constructive. The proposals from Corinth in 1 Corinthians 10 are set apart by the quotation marks and the punctuation added by the NIV. This passage immediately precedes the verses on women and angels in 1 Corinthians 11.Modern readers are confused if translations do not add punctuation marks. Nevertheless most translators and editors have not placed quotation marks around verses 4-6.The reader who does not realize that the three verses of 1 Corinthians 11:4-6 are a quotation tries to make it part of Paul's ideas. This makes the rest of the passage impossible to decipher. By omitting this punctuation translators make it look like Paul is advocating these legalistic ideas! Some scholars have even accused Paul of “reverting to his pre-Christian roots as a Pharisee in verses 4-6.”In order to continue the thought of verses 4-6, major modifications have been made in the translations, including in verse 10. Commentators go to great lengths to try to make sense of the passage as a whole. But none of this is necessary if one simply and reasonably places verses 4-6 in quotation marks.Why do people think the ideas in verses 4-6 could possibly be Paul's? I think it is because they have gotten Genesis 3:16 wrong. That's why we need a true 316.Go Deeper!Support the Tru316 Project for $3.16/month!

Dr. Bill Mounce is the the founder and President of BiblicalTraining.org, and the author of a major commentary on Paul’s letters to Timothy and Titus. In a separate podcast titled “BiblicalTraining.org” we heard more of his life and work. In this episode he joins Dr. Capes to talk about the interpretation, translation, implications, and preaching of Paul’s reference to the “naming of the Name of the Lord” in 2 Tim. 2:19.

The main points of disconcurrance were “whosover”, “world” and the lifting up of the bronze serpent. Regarding “whoever”, the disconcurrance was if it's indefinite and a general offer of salvation to everyone, or not. Here we touch on James White's rendering of “all the believing ones” compared to Bill Mounce's article on “indefinite construction”. The most important disconcurrance was over the meaning of “world”. Regarding “world”, the disconcurrance was how world relates to people and if world includes non-elect people, such as the “light rejectors” in John 3:19. Regarding the “lifting up of the bronze serpent and the Son of Man, the disconcurrance was if the lifting up has to be for everyone to explain the offer of salvation for everyone and the added guilt of those who reject. I hope you enjoy!

When it comes to the English language there are so many translations out there. Which one should we read? Are some more accurate than others? Does it even matter? This week we discuss different translation philosophies and techniques, and give guidance as to which translations are to be avoided when it comes to doing Bible Studies, and which fall within a safe range within which you can pick your own personal preference. Audio Message is from Dr. Bill Mounce, entitled "Can We Trust Our Translations?"

Many critics say the Bible cannot be trusted due to the 'overwhelming' amount of contradictions it contains. But is this true? This week we discuss whether contradictions exist, and if they exist, how do we handle or reconcile them? Vide audio taken from: Are there Contradictions in the Gospels? by Dr. Bill Mounce

It's always fascinating to me that so many want to suggest that Christianity borrows stories from other pagan religions when those ancient religions have next to no textual witnesses. The New Testament, on the other hand, has tens of thousands of copies in multiple languages, with only a few decades passing between the original and the copies we have. Unlike most manuscripts from antiquities that have hundreds of years between the few available copies found and when the story was originally told, God's Word has copies from when disciples of the Apostles were still alive. Not to mention the tens of thousands of manuscripts written by those same patristic fathers, all quoting from Scripture so much that the New Testament could be rewritten simply through the quotations. What a tremendous blessing!00:01:55 - Check out the newest episode of the Open Hearts Podcast over on Brooke's channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fTA_HJeOEs&t=7s 00:03:10 - Watch  @Polite Leader  's Halloween episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsJqO9gitDw 00:03:50 - Don't miss this important episode on Law & Liberty: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIBnwrxi5dI 20:00 - For more information check out the Church History episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lseeaurg-p8 00:24:50 - What is Cannon and how do we know it’s accurate? 00:32:00 - How did the early church fathers know what was Cannon? 00:35:00 - Are there contradictions in Scripture? Veritas Domain: https://veritasdomain.wordpress.com Our conversation together: https://afterthoughtbybiblicalbeginnings.podbean.com/e/episode16-pastor-jim-co-hosts-what-about-contradictions/ 00:42:30 - How do we know that the four Gospels in the Bible are the right ones? 00:49:40 - How do we know that the authors are correct? 00:51:25 - Did the NT writers know they were writing Scripture? 00:54:30 - Textural Variants 01:02:00 - The verses that shouldn’t be in Scripture 01:06:55 - Can we trust the translations? Dr. Michael Kruger’s lectures: https://www.michaeljkruger.com https://youtu.be/u2F0Kp-CjgM https://youtu.be/PaRahmFpdY4 https://youtu.be/GwgwGjxmjaE Dr. James White & Bart Ehrman debate https://youtu.be/moHInA9fAsI https://youtu.be/K2Mp4v8VQwQ Dr. White Cannon lecture: https://youtu.be/BqcwcxoxoUo https://youtu.be/LuiayuxWwuI Dr. Bill Mounce lectures: https://youtu.be/yyo7kbXtrkI https://youtu.be/i7anmem79DA The Masters Seminary lectures: https://youtu.be/kCECFrMZQRU https://youtu.be/0FMAdRWS1BY

This week we discuss two topics: 1. Who wrote the gospels? - The original gospels where anonymous, so how can we be certain of who wrote them, and that they were actually eyewitnesses? 2. Were the gospels written early enough? - There is a 20-35 year gap between when Jesus died and when the first gospel accounts were written. Is this gap too large? How do we know if the writers were able to remember accurately the events they were reporting? Video Audio taken from Do We Know Who Wrote The Gospels? and Oral Tradition: Was Memory of the Writer Accurate? by Bill Mounce, Ph.D

Dr. Bill Mounce delivers a guest sermon from Mark 12:29-30 at Compass Bible Church, entitled Love God With All Your Mind.

Dr. Bill Mounce (https://www.billmounce.com/about), is the the founder and President of BiblicalTraining.org. He also serves on the Committee for Bible Translation (responsible for the NIV translation of the Bible), is author of Basics of Biblical Greek and other works, and was formerly a professor at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and Azusa Pacific University. In this episode, he joins David Capes to talk about his own pilgrimage as a student of Greek and the vision and work of BiblicalTraining.org.

In Part 3 of Defend Your Faith we cover whether Jesus actually existed. Was He a fictional character? Do we have any historical documents verifying His existence? Are any of those documents by secular authors? How much can we trust them? The 2 videos played in this session are: Historical Sources for Jesus by Scott Sullivan, Ph.D Did Jesus Live by Bill Mounce, Ph.D

A former student of mine (Levi Moore) asked for my review and response to a video they found on YouTube. The video was produced by Brenda Marie Davies on her channel, "God is Grey." The video was an interview of Wm. Paul Young, the author of "The Shack," and Young makes some bold claims during this interview. This is my response. Show Notes and Links Introductions Why Does God Allow Evil - Author of The Shack - WM Paul Young | God Is Grey, YouTube, 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc_cvszIuC0. “Have You Heard of the Four Spiritual Laws,” Have You Heard of the Four Spiritual Laws (Orlando, FL: Bright Media Foundation, Inc., 2003), https://crustore.org/media/wysiwyg/pdf/FourSpiritualLaws_English.pdf On Biases Wm. Paul Young, “About,” Wm. Paul Young, September 8, 2016, http://wmpaulyoung.com/wm-paul-young-about/. “Quick Facts,” Warner Pacific University, 2019, https://www.warnerpacific.edu/about/quick-facts/. References to the term Scripture throughout this discussion are used with the understanding that I am referring to the Holy Bible of the Christian faith, to include the sixty-six books beginning with Genesis and ending with Revelation. Gavin Ortlund, “The God of William Paul Young,” The Gospel Coalition, April 28, 2017, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/reviews/lies-we-believe-god-william-paul-young/. “God is Grey.” Twitter, 2020. https://twitter.com/GodisGreyxo “Meet Brenda Marie Davies of God Is Grey - Voyage LA Magazine: LA City Guide,” Voyage LA Magazine | LA City Guide, March 12, 2019, http://voyagela.com/interview/meet-brenda-marie-davies-god-grey-east-la/. For more information about the beliefs and doctrines of the Southern Baptist Convention as a denomination, go to http://www.sbc.net/bfm2000/bfm2000.asp to read the Baptist Faith and Message (2000). On the Interview All Scripture quoted or referenced, unless otherwise noted, comes from the English Standard Version (ESV), 2016. Psalm 51:4 (ESV): “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.” Ecclesiastes 11:2 (ESV): “Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you know not what disaster may happen on earth.” Here I am referencing these assertions made by Young during the interview: “Wholeness is the same root as holiness in the Greek…. Holiness is a relational term, fundamentally, nothing to do with sin and all that kind of stuff that we grew up thinking…. Wholeness is when the way of your being matches the truth of your being. Wholeness is when how you live your life and the choices you make is an expression of the truth of your being.” Bill Mounce. ἅγιος. https://www.billmounce.com/greek-dictionary/hagios When Young quotes Luther, he neglects to provide any reference as to where Luther makes this statement, but I did find an article from a somewhat reputable source that discusses the alleged statement made by Luther. The article states that Luther never explicitly made this statement, but that it is in line with his teachings. Armstrong, Dave. “Luther's ‘Snow-Covered Dunghill’ (Myth?),” Last modified May 14, 2019. https://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2016/04/luthers-snow-covered-dunghill-myth.html. “Shame.” Merriam-Webster. Accessed July 14, 2020. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shame. See Genesis 11:27-12:9. Terah and his family (including Abram and Abram’s wife Sarai) leave Ur of the Chaldeans to go to what would become Israel. Halfway there he and his family decide to stop in a place called Haran. Terah dies there and then Abram, his wife Sarai, and Lot leave for the future Israel, but they find it occupied by the Canaanites. Fast-forward 450 years or so, and Abraham’s descendants have been enslaved in Egypt, rescued by God from slavery, and then have to fight to take the land which God had promised and planned to give them originally without a fight. Romans 8:28 (ESV): And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. John 3:19 (ESV): And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. On Truth Some might contend that Atheism is not a religion, but I submit to you that atheists exhibit the same faith in the lacking of a deity as those who cling to any deity. Concluding Remarks Acts 17:11 (ESV): Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. About Your Hosts Levi Moore (https://www.allthemoore.com/hosts/levi) is a husband, associate pastor @everettbaptist (https://www.everettbaptist.org), former science teacher, musician, aspiring theologian @SWBTS (https://www.swbts.edu), Linux advocate, and a child of the One True King. Aaron Moore (https://www.allthemoore.com/hosts/aaron) is a husband, pastor, farmer, research plant pathologist, musician, and a disciple of Jesus Christ @NOBTS (https://www.nobts.edu). Social Media Facebook: All the Moore (https://www.facebook.com/allthemoore) Twitter: All the Moore (https://twitter.com/allthemoore) Twitter: Levi Moore (https://twitter.com/levihmoore) Twitter: Aaron Moore (https://twitter.com/AaronTheM00RE) The Scripture Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture read in this podcast is read from the English Standard Version (ESV) of the Bible. If you would like more information about the ESV, you may read the FREE online version at esv.org (https://www.esv.org/Hebrews+11/). Seminaries Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (https://www.swbts.edu) One of the largest seminaries in the world, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary equips men and women with a strong theological foundation to fulfill God’s calling on their lives since 1908. Preach the Word. Reach the World New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (https://www.nobts.edu) Since 1917, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary has prepared students to Answer God's Call.

Weand're talking to globally renowned Bible Translator Bill Mounce from the US. Help Vision to keep 'Connecting Faith to Life': https://vision.org.au/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today's Question: What does John 3:16 REALLY MEAN? Are we wrong about the most famous verse in the Bible?.  John 3:16 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.- for most of my life it has been the most famous verse in the Bible.   It's only rival today is ‘Judge not that ye not be judged'. More on that soon.  Spurgeon: OF all the stars in the sky the pole-star is the most useful to the mariner. This text is a pole-star, for it has guided more souls to salvation than any other Scripture. It is among promises what the Great Bear is among constellations. C. H. Spurgeon, The Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith John 3:16 Guy:  Rollen Fredrick Stewart (born February 23, 1944), also known as Rock'n Rollen and Rainbow Man, is a man who was a fixture in American sports culture best known for wearing a rainbow-colored afro-style wig and, later, holding up signs reading "John 3:16" at stadium sporting events around the United States and overseas in the 1970s and 1980s.[1] He is serving three life sentences in a California prison after being convicted of multiple kidnapping charges after a 1992 incident. Stewart was arrested in 1992 after a standoff in a California hotel during which he entered a vacant room with two men whom he tried to recruit for a job, who later fled the scene after he attempted to kidnap a surprised maid who then locked herself in the bathroom. Reportedly, Stewart believed that the Rapture was due to arrive in six days.[8] During the standoff, he threatened to shoot at airplanes taking off from nearby Los Angeles International Airport, and covered the hotel room windows with "John 3:16" placards. Stewart was married four times, most notably to Margaret Hockridge. The two met at a church in Virginia in 1984. They began traveling across the country together in 1985. While on the road, they married in St. Louis in 1986. During the 1986 World Series, Hockridge said that Stewart tried to choke her for standing in the wrong spot with a John 3:16 sign. Mental Illness.   So - what does John 3:16 mean?? Most people would say that it has to do with  the AMOUNT of Love God has for us. That He loves us SOOOOOOO much, that He sent His son.  Now - that is a TRUE Statement. The Love of God was indeed SOOO deep for people, that He sent His son, but, shocker of shockers...That is NOT what John 3:16 is talking about.  Now, I realize I sound like one of those Fedora wearing, neck-bearded internet guys that go around correcting everybody - WELL, ACSHUALLY… But, two things: One, I don't own a fedora and 2- I actually do shave my neck.  Let's go to the expert:  Bill MOUNCE, AKA Captain Biblical Greek, : The problem, if you are unaware, is that when the KJV says “For God so loved the world,” everyone I have ever asked what “so” meant responded “so much.” If you check BDAG, you will see that this is a rare and not possible meaning of οὕτως in this context. But you'd better be careful if you change people's favorite Bible verse. Here are BDAG's first three definitions of HOUTOS οὕτως.   1. “referring to what precedes, in this manner, thus, so.” 2. “pert. to what follows in discourse material, in this way, as follows” (which is where BDAG places John 3:16) BDAG - Bauer's Lexicon. Bauer's Lexicon is among the most highly respected dictionaries of Biblical Greek.  Bauer–Arndt–Gingrich–Danker HOUTOS οὕτως in John 3:16 clearly has the meaning conveyed by the NLT (“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son”), the CSB (“For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son”), and the NET (“For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son,”). I am playing with this as an option: “For God loved the world so he gave.” What do you think? Holman/CSB: 16 For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. Did the King James Version Get it wrong? I don't think so - the fact is that the particle ‘So' in the English language is very flexible, and it is proper English, when explaining how somebody expressed their love, to say, “They so loved so and so, that they did this.” However, that language is imprecise, and open to misinterpretation in a way that the Greek original text of John  3:16 is not. That text, quite clearly, is speaking of the MANNER in which God loves His people, not the MAGNITUDE of how MUCH He loves His people.  This is a Scripture about  the specific WAY God loves us - not the MEASURE of His love. We don't lose anything here, though, because we have dozens, if not hundreds, of Scriptures on the vastness of God's Love:  1 John 3:1 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Ephesians 2:4-5 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. Romans 8:37-39 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Ephesians 3:17-19  I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God's love, 19 and to know the Messiah's love that surpasses knowledge, so you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Psalm 103:8  The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. So - Spurgeon explains it this way:  See clearly that you have to trust your soul with Christ by faith. Perceive that it is vast love which sets before you such a way of salvation in which the only thing required of you is that you be nothing, and trust Christ to be everything, and even that faith He gives you as a gift of his Spirit, so that the plan of salvation is all of love. If you want to repent, do not so much consider your sin as the love of Jesus in suffering for your sin. If you desire to believe, do not so much study the doctrine as study the person of Jesus Christ on the cross. If you desire to love, think over perpetually, until it breaks your heart, the great love of Jesus Christ in laying down His life for His worthless foes. The love of God is the birthplace of holy love. It is not there in your hearts where you are attempting an absurdly impossible feat, namely, to create love in the carnal mind that cannot be reconciled to God, but love must be born in the heart of Jesus and then it shall come down to you. Charles Spurgeon, Spurgeon Commentary: 1 John, ed. Elliot Ritzema, Spurgeon Commentary Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014). John 3:16 then, is a Gospel verse...much like: Romans 5:8 8 But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us!It is not a verse focused on the amount of God's love for us, but how He has expressed that love...and how He has expressed that love is the Gospel - the good news of the Bible, which is this:   God showed His love for people by sending His son to live the perfect life we couldn't live, to die the death we deserved for our sins, so that all who LOOK to Him in wholehearted faith, believing in His death and resurrection, will be saved. Not saved by our righteous acts, but saved by HIS SACRIFICE. 

Today's Question: What does John 3:16 REALLY MEAN? Are we wrong about the most famous verse in the Bible?.  John 3:16 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.- for most of my life it has been the most famous verse in the Bible.   It's only rival today is ‘Judge not that ye not be judged'. More on that soon.  Spurgeon: OF all the stars in the sky the pole-star is the most useful to the mariner. This text is a pole-star, for it has guided more souls to salvation than any other Scripture. It is among promises what the Great Bear is among constellations. C. H. Spurgeon, The Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith John 3:16 Guy:  Rollen Fredrick Stewart (born February 23, 1944), also known as Rock'n Rollen and Rainbow Man, is a man who was a fixture in American sports culture best known for wearing a rainbow-colored afro-style wig and, later, holding up signs reading "John 3:16" at stadium sporting events around the United States and overseas in the 1970s and 1980s.[1] He is serving three life sentences in a California prison after being convicted of multiple kidnapping charges after a 1992 incident. Stewart was arrested in 1992 after a standoff in a California hotel during which he entered a vacant room with two men whom he tried to recruit for a job, who later fled the scene after he attempted to kidnap a surprised maid who then locked herself in the bathroom. Reportedly, Stewart believed that the Rapture was due to arrive in six days.[8] During the standoff, he threatened to shoot at airplanes taking off from nearby Los Angeles International Airport, and covered the hotel room windows with "John 3:16" placards. Stewart was married four times, most notably to Margaret Hockridge. The two met at a church in Virginia in 1984. They began traveling across the country together in 1985. While on the road, they married in St. Louis in 1986. During the 1986 World Series, Hockridge said that Stewart tried to choke her for standing in the wrong spot with a John 3:16 sign. Mental Illness.   So - what does John 3:16 mean?? Most people would say that it has to do with  the AMOUNT of Love God has for us. That He loves us SOOOOOOO much, that He sent His son.  Now - that is a TRUE Statement. The Love of God was indeed SOOO deep for people, that He sent His son, but, shocker of shockers...That is NOT what John 3:16 is talking about.  Now, I realize I sound like one of those Fedora wearing, neck-bearded internet guys that go around correcting everybody - WELL, ACSHUALLY… But, two things: One, I don't own a fedora and 2- I actually do shave my neck.  Let's go to the expert:  Bill MOUNCE, AKA Captain Biblical Greek, : The problem, if you are unaware, is that when the KJV says “For God so loved the world,” everyone I have ever asked what “so” meant responded “so much.” If you check BDAG, you will see that this is a rare and not possible meaning of οὕτως in this context. But you'd better be careful if you change people's favorite Bible verse. Here are BDAG's first three definitions of HOUTOS οὕτως.   1. “referring to what precedes, in this manner, thus, so.” 2. “pert. to what follows in discourse material, in this way, as follows” (which is where BDAG places John 3:16) BDAG - Bauer's Lexicon. Bauer's Lexicon is among the most highly respected dictionaries of Biblical Greek.  Bauer–Arndt–Gingrich–Danker HOUTOS οὕτως in John 3:16 clearly has the meaning conveyed by the NLT (“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son”), the CSB (“For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son”), and the NET (“For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son,”). I am playing with this as an option: “For God loved the world so he gave.” What do you think? Holman/CSB: 16 For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. Did the King James Version Get it wrong? I don't think so - the fact is that the particle ‘So' in the English language is very flexible, and it is proper English, when explaining how somebody expressed their love, to say, “They so loved so and so, that they did this.” However, that language is imprecise, and open to misinterpretation in a way that the Greek original text of John  3:16 is not. That text, quite clearly, is speaking of the MANNER in which God loves His people, not the MAGNITUDE of how MUCH He loves His people.  This is a Scripture about  the specific WAY God loves us - not the MEASURE of His love. We don't lose anything here, though, because we have dozens, if not hundreds, of Scriptures on the vastness of God's Love:  1 John 3:1 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Ephesians 2:4-5 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. Romans 8:37-39 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Ephesians 3:17-19  I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God's love, 19 and to know the Messiah's love that surpasses knowledge, so you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Psalm 103:8  The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. So - Spurgeon explains it this way:  See clearly that you have to trust your soul with Christ by faith. Perceive that it is vast love which sets before you such a way of salvation in which the only thing required of you is that you be nothing, and trust Christ to be everything, and even that faith He gives you as a gift of his Spirit, so that the plan of salvation is all of love. If you want to repent, do not so much consider your sin as the love of Jesus in suffering for your sin. If you desire to believe, do not so much study the doctrine as study the person of Jesus Christ on the cross. If you desire to love, think over perpetually, until it breaks your heart, the great love of Jesus Christ in laying down His life for His worthless foes. The love of God is the birthplace of holy love. It is not there in your hearts where you are attempting an absurdly impossible feat, namely, to create love in the carnal mind that cannot be reconciled to God, but love must be born in the heart of Jesus and then it shall come down to you. Charles Spurgeon, Spurgeon Commentary: 1 John, ed. Elliot Ritzema, Spurgeon Commentary Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014). John 3:16 then, is a Gospel verse...much like: Romans 5:8 8 But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us!It is not a verse focused on the amount of God's love for us, but how He has expressed that love...and how He has expressed that love is the Gospel - the good news of the Bible, which is this:   God showed His love for people by sending His son to live the perfect life we couldn't live, to die the death we deserved for our sins, so that all who LOOK to Him in wholehearted faith, believing in His death and resurrection, will be saved. Not saved by our righteous acts, but saved by HIS SACRIFICE. 

Dr. Timothy George talks to Dr. Bill Mounce about his work in Bible translation with the ESV and NIV and his work with the organization called Biblical Training.

Dr. Timothy George talks to Dr. Bill Mounce about his work in Bible translation with the ESV and NIV and his work with the organization called Biblical Training.

On this special episode of The Walk we interrupt our regular interviews with faculty and scholars to share with you a little snippet of a recent lecture at OSU by New Testament scholar, Dr. William Mounce. Dr. Mounce came to Ohio State to share about why he finds the New Testament to be historically reliable. In a day and age where many in the Univerisity context assume that the New Testament is flawed and irrelevant, please listen in on what Dr. Mounce had to say on this important topic.Episode Notes:For More information on Dr. Bill Mounce, check out billmounce.com. Check back at https://thethompsoninstitute.org/events/ to stay tuned for details about the upcoming event on February 28th entitled: “Are You Free?: Christian and atheist scholars seek to make sense of our innate desire for personal freedom”-----The Walk is a production of The Thompson Institute, a program of Cru at Ohio StateProduced by Aaron Badenhop & Jordan BrowningEdited by Seth Costello & Lukas MorelandMusic by Jordan BrowningSpecial thanks to Dr. William Mounce

The Greek vocabulary for BBG by Bill Mounce

The Greek vocabulary for BBG by Bill Mounce

The Greek vocabulary for BBG by Bill Mounce

The Greek vocabulary for BBG by Bill Mounce

The Greek vocabulary for BBG by Bill Mounce

The Greek vocabulary for BBG by Bill Mounce

The Greek vocabulary for BBG by Bill Mounce

The Greek vocabulary for BBG by Bill Mounce

The Greek vocabulary for BBG by Bill Mounce

The Greek vocabulary for BBG by Bill Mounce

The Greek vocabulary for BBG by Bill Mounce

The Greek vocabulary for BBG by Bill Mounce

The Greek vocabulary for BBG by Bill Mounce

The Greek vocabulary for BBG by Bill Mounce

The Greek vocabulary for BBG by Bill Mounce

The Greek vocabulary for BBG by Bill Mounce

The Greek vocabulary for BBG by Bill Mounce

The Greek vocabulary for BBG by Bill Mounce

The Greek vocabulary for BBG by Bill Mounce

The Greek vocabulary for BBG by Bill Mounce

The Greek vocabulary for BBG by Bill Mounce

The Greek vocabulary for BBG by Bill Mounce

The Greek vocabulary for BBG by Bill Mounce

The Greek vocabulary for BBG by Bill Mounce

The Greek vocabulary for BBG by Bill Mounce

The Greek vocabulary for BBG by Bill Mounce

The Greek vocabulary for BBG by Bill Mounce

The Greek vocabulary for BBG by Bill Mounce

The Greek vocabulary for BBG by Bill Mounce

The Greek vocabulary for BBG by Bill Mounce

The Greek vocabulary for BBG by Bill Mounce

The Greek vocabulary for BBG by Bill Mounce

The Greek vocabulary for BBG by Bill Mounce

The Greek vocabulary for BBG by Bill Mounce

The Greek vocabulary for BBG by Bill Mounce

The Greek vocabulary for BBG by Bill Mounce

The Bible was originally written primarily in two languages, Hebrew and Greek, because these were the cultures that God worked through to covenant with his people. Though our modern Bible translations are very reliable and trustworthy, we must realize that there are instances where interpretive decisions were made about what the text means, making us dependent on the scholarship of other Bible translator-interpreters. This means that as you're using a translation, you're already one step away fr

Are the New Testament manuscripts reliable, or are they full of so many errors and discrepancies that they should not be trusted for the good news of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection? In today's Seven Minute Seminary, renowned Greek scholar Dr. Bill Mounce discusses the nature of biblical manuscripts, what errors we know do exist, and what bearing this has on the reliability of the Bible.

The English-speaking world has an abundance of Bible translations. Selecting a Bible from the Christian book store can be overwhelming. What's the difference between them all? Are they all equal in value? Are any of them even trustworthy? What is a "literal" translation, versus a "word for word" translation? On essential doctrines, translations agree. However, there are times when translations really do make a difference. Watch this Seven Minute Seminary with Dr. Bill Mounce to find out more.

In this Seven Minute Seminary, Dr. Bill Mounce shares insights from Mark 8 based on the difference that the Greek text makes.

Dr. Bill Mounce explains that books had to pass at least 3 tests to make it into the biblical canon - authorship, harmony of doctrine and tone, and church usage. The Gospel of Thomas and other New Testament Apocryphal texts were written later in the second century and were never considered to be authentic texts.

What is the Apocrypha? Why is the Protestant Bible shorter than the Catholic Bible? Should these books be considered inspired by God? Dr. Bill Mounce explains.

Dr. Bill Mounce responds to the notion, made popular in recent years by writers like Bart Ehrman, that the Greek manuscripts are too different to provide reliable testimony concerning its claims.

The Gate and Path

by Dr. Bill Mounce

The Gate and Path

The Gate and Path