Holman Offers New Bible to Build Readers' Faith, Reaffirm Scripture's Authority
by Allie Martin
April 8, 2004
(AgapePress) - The first major English translation of the Bible in this generation will soon be available. The Holman Christian Standard Bible, the first major rendition of God's Word in English in 30 years, will be released April 15.Officials with Broadman & Holman Publishers say the translation combines a precise rendering of the biblical text with a reader-friendly style geared to contemporary English language.
Dr. Jimmy Draper is president of LifeWay Christian Resources, which owns Broadman & Holman. He explained the reason behind the new Bible during its dedication ceremonies in Nashville, Tennessee, saying, "the goal of the translation was to create the most accurate and readable Bible translation possible."
Draper also emphasized the fact that the scholars who developed the Holman CSB were not all Baptists, but came from many different denominational and interfaith backgrounds. Although LifeWay began as a Southern Baptist agency in 1891, several years ago it adopted a name change to reflect its broadening mission to the entire Christian Church as well as to the world.
"We didn't want anybody to say this is a Baptist Bible," Draper says, adding, "People ask me if it's a Baptist Bible, and I do tell them: 'There is no such thing.'"
But the head of LifeWay feels one of the most important reasons for creating the new Bible version was the need for an accurate translation that affirms the authority of scripture. "We know that the Bible should reflect God's intention for our culture, and not our culture's intention for God. The Bible is not our understanding of God, it is God's revelation to us," he says.
And unfortunately, Draper adds, with the way rampant relativism has influenced biblical scholarship, it was important to create a translation that would restore reader confidence in the sacred text. "We wanted the readers of the Holman Christian Standard Bible to know that great pains were taken to accurately represent the unchanging God who established moral absolutes in His infallible, inerrant Word," he says.
Notably, the Holman CSB used computer technology and telecommunications in its creation more than any other Bible translation in history. An international team of 100 worked on the project, including translators, editors, and biblical scholars from the United States, the United Kingdom, Scotland, Singapore, Kenya, and Israel.
