In the beginning there was the Word

I love the music of Aimee Mann.

It is a love that goes beyond the mere enjoyment of a good cd. Her lyrics not only speak to me, they speak about my life. And that is a rare and good thing.

Don't all go rushing out to buy her cds, now, as amazing as she is. I'm not a fan of bandwagons.

I bought myself a new bible yesterday. I felt funny doing so... a bible seems like something that should be presented to you as an occasion gift - birthdays, graduations, baptisms. It somehow felt odd to simply buy myself one with no particular occasion at hand. And yet it has been something I have wanted for quite awhile now. I really wish I had had it this past year at bible college, for the class lectures I copied out practically word for word in the margins of my old bible from my Pentateuch class. I loved the format of my old bible (single column is the way to go, baby!), but there comes a time where teen-angst-ridden anecdotes that take bible verses completely out of context no longer have any appeal whatsoever.

Why have bibles become symbols of life milestones rather than the most practical and valued life tool? Why has it become engrained in our mind that a bible is something to be horded and presented in a showy display, rather than a textbook we study more diligently than any school text we will ever buy? Why did I feel the need to justify to myself why it was alright to buy myself a bible for no occasion other than I feel a desire to study it?

I found the bible I have been wanting for quite some time, and when I brought it up to the cash register, the salesgirl warned me, "You know that that's the TNIV, not the NIV, right?" Today's New International Version versus the New International Version.
Uhhh... yes?
"Well, a lot of people have been returning them because they're offended by what has been changed."
Oh. What exactly is the difference?
"I think the main difference is that they've changed a lot of the hes and hises to theys."
Aha. Gender-neutral?
"Yeah, I guess. A lot of people have been offended."

And this is where I realized I may just deliberately try to shock people. Never to the extreme. I hardly think a case like this could be made into an extreme issue. But I made it quite clear that I wholeheartedly support and quite definately like the idea of some shifts in the gender notations of the bible (oh, wouldn't Louise Cornell be proud). Our language supports so many implied gender inequalities that I am beginning to recognize the importance of making a shift in the way we speak in order that we may be begin to shift the way we think and view the world around us.

What is more, beyond mere sociological issues of gender issues, are theological issues of the way in which I view the bible. I was upset at first to hear that there were some differences in the text. When I flipped to Psalm 23 and saw that the first line was slightly changed, I didn't know if it would mean as much to me anymore. And that's when I realized that I was holding the familiarity of the text over the significance of the words. When I read the bible, do I read it for the comfort of seeing words I've read dozens of times over? Or do I read it seeking new insights into my faith and my walk with Christ? A different translation shouldn't alarm me, shouldn't offend me (if it's done properly). Instead, I should be eager to encounter the words in a different way and from a different perspective.

Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. (John 1:3-5)