Featured The 1952 Revised Standard Bible

How much has Crossway for Esv, and Zondervan the Niv, spent for their per translations?

 

The thing is, there are plenty of good sources on the Internet without resorting to questionable sources. For example, I am now teaching a two week block on Dispensational Theology. As part of the bibliography I gave them, I included two different websites with online scholarly journals about the subject. For almost any subject you want to research, there are plenty of valid sources on the Internet that are not anonymous and crowd sourced. It just takes work to find them. Unfortunately, so many people use Wikipedia for their sources that it is the first thing to come up when they research. Use your fingers, take some time, and go beyond Wikipedia!

P. S. One thing I did not say in that post was that I tell students they can use Wiki to find a direction--and sometimes a Wiki article will have better sources listed that the author used, and that is helpful.

 

how good is Theopedia?

 

Much better than Wikipedia. It has entries from recognized theologians, and is not anonymous.

 

Do think that there is a lot of great material linked on that site!

 

You do know that the ESV actually touts that it "took as its starting point" the RSV.

In addition to $$$ spent on advertising, Crossway paid more than a half million dollars into the coffers of the ultra liberal National Council of Churches in 2002! That $$$ was a lump sum prepayment of ten years worth of royalties for adapting the NCC's RSV Bible. The NCC was on the verge of disbanding, and Crossway's $$$ (recouped when people bought ESV) helped it survive!



2001 - NCC in severe financial straits:

National Council of Churches in Crisis - UPI

"The National Council of Churches (NCC), which represents 36 Protestant and Orthodox denominations, is fighting for its survival. Its finances are in such shambles that insiders told United Press International on Monday they wondered if the NCC could survive"


2002 - Infusion of cash from Crossway keeps NCC solvent

New Funds Boost NCC. (News)" by Dart, John - The Christian Century, Vol. 119, Issue 17, August 14, 2002 | Online Research Library: Questia Reader

“[with] a $625,000 advance royalty check from a conservative Bible publisher, the National Council of Churches has balanced its books….The $625,000 check from Crossway Books received this summer carried with it a bit of irony….the council had sold special rights to its Revised Standard Version Bible to Crossway. That publisher edited 'a derivative' version for a theologically conservative market–the English Standard Version.”

 

I know I am being argumentative, but this is a subject that I started arguing back at college when our professors thought we had more access than we did. The other students would just shut down, and believed that they must be doing something wrong when they were not. And the more students were locked out, the less opportunity they had to practice finding sites. And research leads to research, and resources to resources. They were just locked out and silent: silent in the class, silent in their assignments, silent in the world, silent to their children and grandchildren. When they are were told they were lazy, they just looked down. And they didn't look up until the only white person with high grades took on the professor insisting that we were not any of those things, but just poor and locked out because of our poverty. Point for point, I proved that we did not have access to each and every thing the professor said that we had but that we did not have, until I got yelled at. If I lost my perfect 4.0 it was worth it. This topic made me that mad. As soon as I saw one of those men just look down, my grades meant NOTHING. Higher education is not meant to perpetuate the silence of marginalized people. The internet is not meant to increase the disparity in access to resources.

Secular mess about academic writing has leaked into churches. We need to reevaluate what parts of it belong in the body of Christ. If someone isn't using great sources, how about we provide a similar one that we think is better, and do it in such a way that steers people instead of shuts them down?

When I took this subject head on and asked for sources in the seminary forum, I was given some, but most looked more usable than they really were, and eventually, I found better ones on my own. I don't think those of you with easy access to what is behind the paywalls are all that familiar with the reality of what is not behind the paywalls, just like my college professors. And I think many professors do not want to know. With knowledge comes responsibility.

I don't like talking like this, and often won't to defend myself, but this is bigger than me. The church has a mission. Higher education and Christian forums have missions. Secular academic rules and customs need to evaluated before they are brought into the church. Some don't belong here at all, and some need some tweaking.

 

Wow. You know nothing about my college other than what I wrote here, yet you are accusing us of allowing secular standards into our church. Somehow, you are thinking that our policies match whatever schools you have attended.

FYI:

1. Our college is under the umbrella of a local, Bible-believing NT church.
2. We are not accredited and never will be, so secular organizations have no right to tell us what to do.
3. Our academic policies are based on a high standard of academics (ours, not the world's), and what is ethical, right and honest.
4. We consider our school to be preparing spiritual special forces, not mudsloggers. Therefore, we believe high standards are important and necessary.
5. No student has to come to our school (unless parents make them, but those either get right or quit). They come here voluntarily and embrace our standards.
6. I guide my students. I tell them where to find sources. I loan them books out of my own library freely. I give them feedback about their assignments. I give them a bibliography from my own library of books about the subject I am teaching from which they can borrow. As I Bible college professor, I am a mentor, and do my best to guide the students.
7, One more word about Wikipedia. It is anonymous, and I believe that is unethical in the academic world. A writer ought to stand up and take credit or blame for what is written. Most people here that I interact with know exactly who I am, and I interact with some outside of the BB. My name is John R. Himes, and I teach at Baptist College of Ministry. I don't hide it. (I do have one friend on here who is pretty anonymous, but he has very good reasons. I do not divulge his name here or his identity, yet I read all of his posts with interest.)

I could say a lot more, but I'll stop. God bless.

P. S. I never send a student to a paywall. The sources I help them with are free. On occasion I will send a student a PDF of an article that will be useful to him or her.

 

Folks, here is what is possible for a small Bible college with high standards:

Or try this one:

 

My apologies to rlvaughn for helping sidetrack this thread. I'm done now.

 

Yeah, not sure what the ice dancing has to do with anything.

 

I never singled out a college, except my own, because that is the base of my personal experiences. I am concerned with general practices, not specific colleges. I too will stop. I have zero desire to continue this discussion, here.

 

A college choir having winter fun while they sing a Christmas song.

 

Um, you were answering my post, so it was only logical to assume you were talking about me and the practices of my college. But I'm done with that, too.

 

Theopedia very good site to research with!

 

https://www.theopedia.com/about

(scroll down):

"Primary statement of faith
Editors/Users are required to personally affirm the entirety of the primary statement of faith....This statement contains basic things that we would expect any Christian to believe.

Secondary doctrinal statement
An editor is not required to agree with everything in the secondary doctrinal statement, but all of Theopedia's content is, in accordance with the writing guide, required to conform to it. This secondary statement affirms...the Calvinistic doctrines of grace."

 

That is why much better to source then Wikipedia!