October Snowstorm and Fall Foliage
A freak October snowstorm has left me with beautiful scenes of snow-covered fall foliage and no electricity. So I’m essentially off the grid until NYSEG can figure out how to restore my power.
One Hundred Great Jewish Books by Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman is now available!
I’m thrilled to announce that my father’s latest book, One Hundred Great Jewish Books: Three Millennia of Jewish Conversation, is now available. I may be biased, but it seems to me that if you buy only one book about Judaism this year, it should be this one. So take a look! Here’s more about the…
Read more
Changing the Son of God for Muslims
An article in World Magazine discusses Wycliffe‘s recent debate about how to translate “Son of God” and “God the Father” into Arabic for Muslim audiences, noting that “in Muslim contexts,” a literal translation “implies that God had sexual relations with Mary” — at least according to some translators. Therefore, Wycliffe’s translations have at times resorted…
Read more
Accuracy versus Personal Preference: a hidden choice in Bible translation
The latest round of reporting on the LifeWay Bible-preference poll addresses the theme of gender-neutral translations, with headlines like, “Study: Bible readers oppose gender-inclusive translations” (from the Associated Baptist Press). What I find interesting here is that the poll specifically explained that some Greek and Hebrew terms refer to “people in general,” and the question…
Read more
Ancient Wisdom, Modern Lives
Recent posts from my Ancient Wisdom, Modern Lives:
Democracy, Oligarchy, and Free Speech An oligarchy replaces a democracy and a public figure is put on trial for his words. History or current events? Or both?
Money and Happiness: A Tumultuous Love Affair Does money make us happy? Yes, except no, because, well, it's complicated...
Why do People Suffer? Five Ancient Answers Timeless and time-tested answers to frame suffering in a better light
Interest Rates Old and New: How High is Too High? A short history of ancient interest rates, in light of a 10% cap on credit-card interest rates proposed in the US Senate by Bernie Sanders and Josh Hawley
