Hear The Voice: New Bible Project for Young Generation

From

Lighthouse Trails Research
at
http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com

 

Thomas Nelson Goes Forward with “The Voice” – A “Bible” Project by Emergents:
“According to a February 11th article in
Christianity Today, “New Bible Project for Young Generation Launched”,
Thomas Nelson’s 2006 ‘Bible’ project called The Voice is going
full speed ahead. …

“Unfortunately, the project turns out to be an

emerging church creation,
thus the foundation of it is marred from the beginning…. Some of the
emergent leaders involved in the project are Chris Seay (project
founder),
Brian
McLaren, Lauren
Winner, Leonard Sweet…. In last
year’s press release by Thomas Nelson, Erwin McManus was also listed….

“Chris Seay, the founder of The Voice, is pastor of Ecclesia Church in
Houston, Texas. A mission statement on the website illustrates the
theology of the emerging church:

“We

reject unfounded categories
that divide the world into uniquely
sacred or purely
secular.

God is redeeming all of creation
through Jesus.

 

“We believe that the

church exists for the world
and not for herself — she is to introduce
and usher in the Kingdom of God into every part of this world.”

“Saying that all of creation (e.g., all humanity) is redeemed is in
direct opposition of the teachings of Jesus who said ‘strait is the
gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be
that find it’ (Matthew 7:14). And the belief that the church will usher
in the Kingdom of God as opposed to Jesus Christ ushering it in with his
literal return to the earth is indicative of the contemplative/emerging
mindset. (It is also classic dominionism.)

“The contemplative affinities of the contributors of The Voice will
assure that mysticism will be an integral part of this project. This new
version of the Bible has the potential to lead thousands, and possibly
millions, of young people away from the words of Jesus Christ who said:

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into
the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a
robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the
sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he
calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth
forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for
they know his voice. (John 10: 1-4)”

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From Christianity Today
(by Kevin Donovan, 2-11-07)

 

New Bible Project for Young Generation Launched:
“US Christian book publishers, Thomas Nelson Inc/Nelson Bibles, has launched new project
The Voice after a recent found that younger, non-traditional Christians exploring their spirituality through modern means like technology and music.

The project is a first-of-its kind

re-telling of the Bible
that consists of creative voices from historians to poets,


storytellers
to songwriters. 20 million Americans are finding an alternative to the traditional church….

 

“The Voice line targets people who are searching for


new ways to explore the Bible, or who are seeking to read it for the first time.

 [Note: That
first time” will lay the foundation in their minds, and if they lay
a distorted foundation, later readings in other Bibles are likely to
build on that “alternative” foundation]

“The project, is comprised of a series of books, musical CD releases, original artwork and a unique, interactive website (www.hearthevoice.com)  featuring a special function for the reader to personalise the page view to meet their needs.…

 

“Featured writers, scholars, artists and musicians for The Voice include
established names in the emerging
church such as president of the Ecclesia Bible Society… Chris Seay (project founder); internationally
renowned speaker and author of over ten highly acclaimed books –
Brian
McLaren; New York Times best selling Blue Like Jazz
author, Donald Miller… theologian, author, and
futurist – Leonard Sweet…”
 

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From Hear the Voice

Hear the Voice: “I have
invited the most gifted writers, scholars, artists, musicians, and filmmakers
that I know to devote their talents to

re-telling the biblical narrative
in a way that

revives the drama, poetry, and humanity
that is unique to the Bible. I am convinced that ‘The Voice’ will
be a gift to the church and that you will

experience the scriptures in new ways.”

 

A New retelling:
“One way to describe this approach is to say that it is a ‘soul translation,’ not just a ‘mind translation.’ But ‘translation’ is not the right word. It is really the retelling of the story. The ‘retelling’ involves translation and paraphrase, but mostly entering into the story of the Scriptures and recreating the event for our culture and time. It celebrates the role of scholars, but it also values the role of writers, poets, songwriters, and artists. Instead of a translation born strictly of academia, teams of scholars partner with a writer to blend the mood and voice of the original author with an accurate rendering of words of the text in English.”

A Faithful team for a sacred project:
“We have taken care that The Voice is faithful and that it

avoids prejudice. [What does that mean in this
context?] …while we do not pretend to be purely objective, we asked our teams to seek to
be as faithful
as possible to the biblical message as
they understood it together. [Consensus
through dialogue?] In addition, as we partnered biblical scholars
[liberal or orthodox?] and
theologians with our writers, we intentionally built teams that did not share
any single theological tradition. Their diversity has helped each of them not to
be trapped within his or her own individual preconceptions, resulting in a
faithful [?] and fresh rendering of the Bible.”

A Final Word:
“…we now are grappling with the appearance of a new cultural ethos often called postmodern….
The Voice appears at the point of impact where
the modern church, with its tradition and
stability, collides with the
developing church of the future.
This is our effort to help work through these changes and to focus attention on
God’s word to us. … The Voice
is the product of a community of believers
seeking to bring alive the story of the Bible. … Together we all are weaving together
our talents to retell the story.”

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Note:

It is God’s Spirit, not our
talents and wisdom, that will reveal His Truth and make it alive in our hearts.
“Re-telling” His Word may make it more popular among believers and unbelievers,
but it opens the door to distortions.

“I, brethren, when I came to you, did not
come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the
testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you
except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in
fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not
with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the
Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men
but in the power of God.
       “However, we speak wisdom among those who
are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this
age, who are coming to nothing. But we speak the wisdom of God in a
mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for
our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they
known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is
written:
       
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
       
Nor have entered into the heart of man
       
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”  

“But God has revealed
them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes,
the deep things of God….  Now we have received, not the spirit
of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the
things that have been freely given to us by God. … But the natural
man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are
foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned.”
1 Corinthians 2:1-14

“…if
anyone preaches any

other gospel
to you than what you have
received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I
still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.”

Galatians
1:9-10

“For if he who comes
preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive
a different spirit which you have not received, or a different
gospel which you have not accepted,




you
may well put up with it!”


2 Corinthians 11:4

[I.e. don’t
tolerate heresy]

“Whatever I command
you, be careful to observe it;
you shall not add to it nor take away from it

.”

Deuteronomy 12:32

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