Christ Church Moving to ESV Bible
Posted: July 28, 2010
We are a Bible believing, Bible preaching, Bible living church. It is in our DNA. At Christ Church you hear the Bible read and taught every Sunday even as it is lived out by faithful believers throughout the week. It is at the core of all we are and do, so we take very seriously which Bible translation we use. In a Bible, we are looking for at least three things:
- We want a very readable translation. We need a version of the Bible that can be easily followed when it is being read aloud because that is an important element in Anglican worship.
- We want a very accurate translation. It is vital that whatever translation we use, it represents the original Greek and Hebrew well.
- We want a very usable translation. We need a version of the Bible that everyone can use for their own personal Bible study.
Where do we find all of this? The English Standard Version of the Bible hits every criterion like no other Bible on the market today. Some translations are very readable but they take liberties with the original text and are therefore not as accurate. Some translations are very accurate but are clumsy. They are not translations one would want to listen to read aloud in a congregation. The beauty of the ESV is that it is very readable, even elegant at times, very accurate, truly reflecting the original Greek and Hebrew, and there is a version that comes with amazing study notes to make the Scripture more accessible to everyone in our congregation.
If you are wondering why now…the answer is simple. In addition to all the advantages of the ESV, the NIV translation will be completely redone in 2011. Rather than waiting around to find out whether or not the new version might be a better translation than the current NIV, we are being proactive and making a choice for a proven translation.
This is a great opportunity for Christ Church during our 25th anniversary celebration to change to a new translation that is beautiful in its language and faithful to the original, a fresh translation to breathe new life into our Bible reading. This is the translation for a Bible-reading, Bible-preaching, Bible-living church. This translation is for us.
Within the next few weeks, we will trade out the NIV Bibles in our pew racks with new ESV Bibles. Also, The Bookstore will carry a great selection of ESV Bibles for your personal study.