By Ian Westmark Several more or less likely reasons for which the apostles employed a transliteration of the Messiah’s...
Bible Translation Articles
The Journal of Biblical Missiology is committed to building a strong, Bible-centered foundation for Bible translators worldwide. You’ll find articles on Bible translation methodology, reviews on the latest translation releases, and discussions on the everyday, practical elements of translation.
Honoring the authority of the Bible … down to every single verse.
Why Biblical Missiology Signed the Arlington Statement on Bible Translation
The Arlington Statement on Bible Translation, a new statement on faithful principles of Bible translation, has been...
Making the Bible More Islamic Than the Qur’an Through the First Half of the Islamic Creed (the Shahada)
Muslims have long claimed that Jews and Christians changed the Bible so that neither of them would accept Muhammad as...
5 Reasons “Muslim Friendly” Bible Translations are Counterproductive
By Pierre Houssney, Click here to read this article in Arabic. “Muslim friendly” Bible translations, technically...
More Articles
A Concern about the Recent Trends in Contextualization Discussions Pt. 2/5
A LACK OR ABSENCE OF A BIBLICAL-THEOLOGICAL EMPHASIS (CRITICAL EVALUATION: INSIDER MOVEMENT) Part 1 (5/14/18): Introduction Part 2 (5/21/18): A Critical Evaluation of Three Contextualization Proposals: The Insider Movement Part 3 (5/28/18): A Critical Evaluation of...
A Concern about the Recent Trends in Contextualization Discussions: Pt. 1/5
A Lack or Absence of A Biblical-Theological Emphasis (A 5-Part Series) Part 1 (5/14/18): Introduction Part 2 (5/21/18): A Critical Evaluation of Three Contextualization Proposals: The Insider Movement Part 3 (5/28/18): A Critical Evaluation of Three Contextualization...
Open Letter from Arab Pastors Regarding Mistranslations of the Words “Father” & “Son” in the Bible
عريضة بخصوص الترجمات الخاطئة Open letter from Arab pastors, Arabic PDF Version To the Church of Jesus Christ around the world, We write to you about an urgent and important situation with which we need your help: About us: We are Arabic-speaking evangelical pastors...
Heartbroken over what is happening in Bible Translation Part 2: Wycliffe and the WEA
This is Part II of a two-part series. Part I can be found here. Over the last couple of decades there has been a growing divide among missiologists related to questions about how we can best share the Gospel of Christ with those in other religious contexts, and what...
Heartbroken over what is happening in Bible Translation Part 1: Al Kalima and the WEA
This is Part I of a two-part series. Part II can be found here. Muslim Idiom Translations (MIT’s) and WEA approval Al-Kalima, in collaboration with Wycliffe/SIL, published a new Arabic translation of the Gospels and Acts in 2008 called The True Meaning of the Gospel...
[VIDEO] Muslim Idiom Translations
Mike Tisdell, Mark Durie, Georges Houssney, Adam Simnowitz and David Harriman have a discussion on Muslim idiom translations of the Bible. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpfLX_lgVLI
The ‘Mother of the Books’: A Case Study of the Consequences of a Seminal Muslim Idiom Translation – Owen Sirat Synopsis
Introductory Video [embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auLMwqOZbKI[/embedyt] Introduction This case study surveys the factors that influenced the development of a Muslim-friendly Arabic rendition of ‘The Life of the Messiah,’ as well as how it has...
[VIDEO] “Muslim Friendly” Bible Translations
A personal perspective from Georges Houssney on Muslim Idiom Translation (MIT) or "Muslim Friendly" translation of the Bible. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34_F7Vzr34o
Saluting Fresh Research on Muslim-idiom Translations
Adam Simnowitz makes an important contribution to missiology with his recent thesis regarding Eugene Nida’s influence on Muslim Idiom Bible Translations (MITs). I believe that in future decades people will look back on Simnowitz’ research as a turning point—a hinge in...
“Why Should I as a Missionary Care About This Thesis?”
Introduction Back in the early 60s, when I was in seminary, the name of Eugene Nida was honored as a pioneer in the area of Bible translation. At that time, no one seemed to identify the weaknesses in Nida's theories and in their implementation in the field of...
Muslim Idiom Translation: Assessing So-Called Scripture Translation For Muslim Audiences With A Look Into Its Origins In Eugene A. Nida’s Theories Of Dynamic Equivalence and Cultural Anthropology: Thesis Abstract
ASSESSING SO-CALLED SCRIPTURE TRANSLATION FOR MUSLIM AUDIENCES WITH A LOOK INTO ITS ORIGINS IN EUGENE A. NIDA’S THEORIES OF DYNAMIC EQUIVALENCE AND CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY: THESIS ABSTRACT Muslim Idiom Translation (MIT) refers to an increasingly common "approach" to...
Nine Reasons Why I Named Jeff Hayes as the Main Translator and Responsible Party for Al-Injil
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is an addendum article from an original article written by Adam Simnowitz entitled, "Jeff Hayes and Al-Injil: Another Mistranslation of the New Testament in Arabic Intended for “Insider Movements of Muslims” or C5 (C5/IM)" Summary The following...
Jeff Hayes and Al-Injil: Another Mistranslation of the New Testament in Arabic Intended for “Insider Movements of Muslims” or C5 (C5/IM)
AUTHOR’S NOTE – OCTOBER 5, 2018: Al-Injil can be downloaded here An English "backtranslation" of Matthew-Acts can be found at https://alkotob.org/, then click on "The Honored Injil." The English may NOT always be an accurate reflection of the Arabic. For instance, in...
Occurrences of Father, Son, and Son of God, or Familial Language Terminology in the New Testament
Word studies, or looking at the use(s) of a word in Scripture is one of the best ways to study the Bible. Such an overview provides us with as comprehensive a picture as possible regarding what God wants us to know about a given topic or subject. With regard to...
Meaning Discrepancy in Terminology between Christians and Muslims: Pt. V
See other parts: Part One: The Historical Development of the Arabic Bible Part Two: My Personal Journey in Bible Translation Part Three: Translation Philosophy Part Four: The Need for a Paradigm Shift in Bible Translation Part Five: (See Below) Translating Son and...
Bible Translation, WEA Report and Wycliffe Bible Translators
The World Evangelical Alliance has come out with their report on the translation practices of Wycliffe Bible Translator's Muslims Idiom Translations that remove and change the terms 'Son of God' and 'Father' in the Bible. This has been a heated, yet important topic...
Biblical Missiology’s Statement On The WEA’s Review Of Wycliffe/SIL
chinese version Biblical Missiology wishes to acknowledge the work of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) in their recent review of Wycliffe/SIL’s translation practices. We appreciate that translation is a challenging task, and writing guidelines is almost as...
Translation Chart for Muslim Idiom Translations of the Bible
In May 2012 two important documents over Muslim Idiom Translations (MITs) of the Bible were released. The first one was released by the Presbyterian Church of America (PCA) and the second was Assemblies of God (AOG) USA. The details of these reports are vital to the...
Son of God in the Old Testament
According to the New Testament, the key identity of Jesus Christ is that He is the Son of God. This is seen in the importance of the need to understand, confess, and believe this about Jesus in the following verses: Matt 16:13-17 13 Now when Jesus came into the...
Biblical Missiology’s Statement of Practice
The What I remember saying to my kids in response to their "Why?" questions, "Because. Just because." End of story. End of discussion. "Because" is not a satisfactory answer for anyone. When it comes to answering the question, "Why does Biblical Missiology do what we...