ESV Translation

[Croooz]

Okay...I've got another one:

-If the ESV is a literal translation then it seems to completely validate Calvinism....so why is it I have not found the ESV in any bookstore, whether Christian or secular? Actually that's not the question just an observation.

I've been reading in the other forums and the arguments made go on & on & on. The basic concepts of Calvinism are never understood so the anti-calv groups continue to get into circular arguments or throw up these immense strawmen. Why not just read a literal translation like the ESV and begin to see the truth? Is truth too harsh a word to use? Is there some middle ground in soteriology which doesn't compromise the Word of G-d? I'm not looking to appease anyone but it seems there is too much right vs left...

I guess I'll end my ramblings here. I apologize but there are a few questions in there...I think.

 

[CoffeeSwirls]

At the local Christain bookstore, the ESV bibles are lumped in with a bunch of other translations that don't sell as well. The NIV has a whole row, and you can tell which versions have better sales histories based on how much shelf space they have and how much the publisher leans on the seller. The ESV is a newer translation than many others and is not written in a thought for thought philosophy, so it doesn't yet get the shelf space.

For the record, it was the NIV I was using when I embraced Calvinist doctrine. The King James Version came out in 1611 and the Canons of Dordt which are called Calvinism preceded that. Many translations and paraphrases have come out since then and Calvinism has done quite well.

If a translation came out that changed the words of God into something I agreed with it would be a heresy. I like the ESV because it is easy to read and maintains its integrity.

 

[Gamecock]

Okay...I've got another one:

-If the ESV is a literal translation then it seems to completely validate Calvinism....so why is it I have not found the ESV in any bookstore, whether Christian or secular? Actually that's not the question just an observation.

I am seeing more and more of the ESV in bookstores. As an increasing number of churches adopt the ESV, I think we'll see more of it.

 

[Elderone]

As an increasing number of churches adopt the ESV, I think we'll see more of it.

It is to be hoped, as the NIV in my opinion is a poor choice.

 

[Knight]

-If the ESV is a literal translation then it seems to completely validate Calvinism....

This is an argument that I have never heard made....

The tenents of calvinism were around long before the ESV and can be seen in any reasonable translation of the Scriptures.

 

[Croooz]

This is an argument that I have never heard made....

The tenents of calvinism were around long before the ESV and can be seen in any reasonable translation of the Scriptures.

New to the whole reformed thinking...

I made the statement based on the use of "predestined" in the ESV. While it appears also in the NKJV & remarkably the NIV, I was amazed at this word because quite frankly it was the first time I noticed it.. My point at the time was a more literal translation presented the 5 points "better". Now I see that the translation doesn't matter as much as the truth itself.

I enjoy the ESV. It's amazing how many KJV-Only elders I've meant at my church recently. It's almost heresy to them to use anything else. The most interesting thing is when I hear them read aloud it's no wonder they fail to understand. Their reading is very choppy and labored and they have trouble understanding what they have just read...yet when I read from my ESV it now makes sense to them but they still refuse to make the change to any other translation.

BTW, elder in my church, or at least with the group of 3 I'm talking about is the grand old age of 50-55...?! Not really all that eld, at elast not to me, but that''s who I'm talking about.

 

[reformedfan]

If someone with limited experience just reads the Bible, not some paraphrased/ Arminian 'niche'/ study Bible (Study Bible for Busy Women who Like Gardening, Croquet & Eating in Bed While Reading Today's Modern English Mega Praise Edition, Revised Original Version for Modern Readers ) they tend to end up disposed or at least favaorably inclined to Calvinism, which is Biblical Christianity, after all. This is based on my informal research on the thousands of inmates at the jail over the years. Because of this, I'm starting to really like it when I get blank stares in response to, "You guys ever hear of Cain & Abel?".