Tuesday, September 23, 2008
One of the best ways to examine a study Bible is to see if it answers the questions you yourself are asking about the Bible. What questions do you have about the Bible? Go ahead, ask your questions, and then see what study Bible does the best job of answering them.
posted by Sean Harrison at 8:00 AM
Well here I go! I have been a faithful user of the NASB 95 for a decade. I have used it for preaching, teaching, personal study, and seminary classes. Recently, the NLT SB caught my eye, so I examined it further. What I have seen from this website and others has convinced me to buy a copy. I have decide to give the NLT a serious look as a replacement for the NASB for my personal study and possibly public preaching and teaching. I would like some suggestions on how to educate the masses on the benefits of using the NLT, as there are lots of misconceptions being tossed around. Most of the crowd I am in contact with are KJV, NKJV, very few NASB and NIV users. Would appreciate your feedback.
Hi, Stephen! Perhaps you could just suggest that folks treat the NLT Study Bible as a one-volume commentary on the Bible translation that they are already using. Read the NASB or KJV or NIV or whatever else, then read the NLT and the corresponding study materials. That way, you get the best of both worlds -- the familiarity of your favorite translation, plus clear readability and insight into the Bible text in its original historical, cultural, and theological context.
Sean, I think that's great advice. The people Stephan is dealing with will probably have varying degrees of resistance to the NLT, some strongly against it (as I used to be), and others very open to it.
No matter their preferences, they are bound to find the study notes, etc., in the NLTSB to be a valuable asset to their study time, and their exposure to the NLT will probably result in greater understanding, and some will even be looking to buy an NLT in the future.
Hi,
I like the NLT; but I'm confused because a lot of people say stick with KJV and I have been reading NKJV and I understand most of it; but some of it is confusing. ESV seems to
be popular now too.
What are the best reasons to get an NLT study bible?
Thanks,
Harriet
This post has been removed by a blog administrator.
Hi, Harriet,
People like to stick with the KJV for a variety of reasons, but the fact is that the KJV and even the NKJV are quite archaic, which means that even well-educated readers of modern English can have difficulty understanding it.
Regarding the NLT itself, I just published a post that answers the question, "Is the NLT good for study?"
Alongside the NLT Bible text, The NLT Study Bible provides a study system that enables you to get deeply into understanding the Bible text in its original historical context.
The result is a study tool that makes it very easy to understand Scripture initially, while giving you excellent tools to dive deeply into understanding the Bible accurately. So the NLT Study Bible provides a deeply rewarding study experience.
I've written more about some of these things in the following articles:
The Birth of the NLT Study Bible
How is the NLT Study Bible Different
N.B. Sorry, good readers, I had to remove a comment because it slandered a contemporary translation of God's word, in violation of our comment policy.
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