In a lecture on the book of Ephesians, one of my seminary professors described Artemis of the Ephesians as a goddess of fertility. Except she wasn’t. Artemis, whose temple was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was “nobody’s mother.”
Today’s Bible readers mostly read English translations, rather than Greek and Hebrew texts. Though we don’t have the original writings, we do have thousands of ancient biblical manuscripts from which translations have been written. The Bible, in its original form, is the inspired word of God. Translations are just that: translations. And, Bible translations are vital to helping us understand who God is, to see the grand narrative of the Bible’s story, to learn the essentials for living a Christ-honoring life, and for sharing the gospel. Dan Wallace, an esteemed Greek professor reminded me, “All translation is interpretation.” Necessarily then, translations contain many interpretative decisions including word choices and the addition of punctuation, chapter headings, and chapter and paragraph divisions. In addition, translators must discern the author’s intended meaning—a challenging task considering that the Bible writers lived and ministered in a historical time and cultural context vastly different from a modern-day readers’ time and cultural context. Have you ever, as I have pondered, “Who gets lost in Bible translation?”
Misunderstood No More. It reminds me of the long-standing admonition, “Begin with the end in mind.” The last chapter of Mary DeMuth’s new book, The Most Misunderstood Women of the Bible is aptly titled, “Misunderstood No More.” Through the Bible stories of ten women, DeMuth illustrates the value of enduring the tension and hostility of being blatantly maligned, dismissed, and misunderstood. She writes, “I believe we can grow in our understanding of misunderstanding and, through that learning process, begin to act as Jesus did—with perseverance.” To learn more, read my new book review on The Most Misunderstood Women of the Bible.
For forty years, Beth Allison Barr (Ph.D.), associate professor of history and associate dean of the Graduate School at Baylor University, agreed with the complementarian theology of women, often described as “biblical womanhood.” Complementarians believe God divinely ordained men as leaders; therefore, men lead, and women follow (or help) men. The majority prescribe a husband’s “headship” over his wife and restrict women from serving in the church as an elder or lead pastor. But, they draw different lines in the sand on what context and to whom women may teach or lead. They hold a wide range of views on whether a woman may baptize, serve communion, hold the position of deacon or pastor, or be ordained. Read a concise description of evangelical views here.