Article categories:

Why I use Six Translations
Translations, Preaching, BibleReference Hope Hilton Translations, Preaching, BibleReference Hope Hilton

Why I use Six Translations

This Is Why I
-Preach from the NRSV,
-Study from the Tanakh,
-Reference the ESV,
-Give Out the CEB,
-Compose from The Message,
and Still Follow King James

There's a silly church camp song that goes, "Mr. Postman, bring to me, a copy of the NIV — can't stand to wait any longer, I need the Bible to grow stronger."

That's about as much translation education as most of us got.

No complaints from me though. 

Here's the New International Version (NIV) ’s rendering of Romans 8:28:

Read More
What Does the Bible Really Say About Gay People?

What Does the Bible Really Say About Gay People?

Let me tell you a little story.

One day, I saw a man with a megaphone, chasing children around in my neighborhood, condemning the children to hell, because the man thought they were dressed a little weird.

From his megaphone he yelled, “you’re going to hell!” To children. For dressing different.

A few feet away, somebody with a “God Hates Gays” sign was livestreaming the harrasment,

and the police observed.

So I stood in between the man and the kids. I’m tall, I’m used to bullies, better me than them.

And I blasted “A Whole New World” to contain the situation (and demonetize the man’s footage).

Then, the man, no longer able to attack the children, looked at me and said,

“They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.”

A perfectly accurate recitation of Romans 1, except that he completely inverted the meaning of the passage by cutting it short.

So I said to the man, “Finish the sentence. If you quote Romans 1, you need to quote Romans 2 to finish the sentence. Therefore you have no excuse when you condemn others, for in doing so, you condemn yourself.

Read More
The Bible Tells the Same Stories More Than Once. On Purpose. And It's Weirder Than You Think.
BibleStudy, Gospels, Torah Hope Hilton BibleStudy, Gospels, Torah Hope Hilton

The Bible Tells the Same Stories More Than Once. On Purpose. And It's Weirder Than You Think.

Growing up on the Bible, I never really noticed a lot of these little moments where a similar story is told twice. I just assumed that I got a little confused along the way, or maybe it was like how Deuteronomy seems to echo a lot of Leviticus.

However, now that I’m a little bit older, and able to notice those little moments more clearly,

there’s like, a whole second Bible there, just waiting to be discovered!

Ok, let’s look at it:

If you read the Bible carefully — not devotionally, not defensively, just carefully — you will notice something strange. The same stories appear more than once. Sometimes they are placed side by side. Sometimes they are woven together into a single narrative. Sometimes they are printed in separate books entirely. The differences between the versions are not mistakes. They are not evidence that the Bible is broken. They are evidence that the Bible is doing something far more interesting than most people have been taught. And once you see the pattern, you cannot unsee it.

Read More
Genesis and the Big Bang Completely Agree. Here’s how.
BibleStudy, Supersessionism, Torah Hope Hilton BibleStudy, Supersessionism, Torah Hope Hilton

Genesis and the Big Bang Completely Agree. Here’s how.

As ministers, we all have those questions that catch us off guard, and for some of us, it’s “The Big Bang.” If you grew up being told that the Bible is the word of God — and it is — and then someone tells you that the universe is 13.8 billion years old and started with a singularity instead of a speaking voice, it can feel like you have to choose. Bible or science. Faith or evidence. God or physics.

You don't have to choose between reason and faith.

Let’s look closer…

Read More