Language and Communication

Culture

Crisis meets Culture, Culture meets Scripture: a Workshop Report

Amy West, Jo Shetler (2010)

"Tensions naturally are high in a crisis, but when a person becomes a follower of Christ, some of those practices clash with Scripture, creating new and sometimes intense tensions." This workshop focused on equipping believers to resist those pressures toward…

RichardFebruary 9, 2010

Audio Digital Film and Video Literacy Orality Visual Arts

Scripture in an Accessible Form

The Most Common Avenue to Increased Scripture Engagement

T. Wayne Dye (2009)

The choice of medium can make a difference, and better artistic quality enhances any communication. However, the most important quality is how relevant the message seems to be to the lives of its hearers. If a hearer (or reader or…

RichardOctober 3, 2009

Bible Translation Culture Language Issues

The Vernacular Treasure: A Century of Mother-Tongue Bible Translation

Harriet Hill (2006)

Bible translators realized that translated Scriptures sitting in warehouses fell short of their goal. Their real goal was that receptors use these Scriptures to draw closer to God. UBS refers to this goal as Scripture engagement; SIL and Wycliffe refer…

RichardSeptember 25, 2009

Literacy

There’s More to Reading than Meets the Eye

Lyndal Webb (2009)

There is more to reading the words on the page than meets the eye. In order for the Bible to be read with comprehension and understanding, resulting in an appropriate response to God’s communication, the reader must be equipped with…

RichardSeptember 23, 2009

Audio Bible Translation Orality

Advancing Bible Translation for Non-Reading Audiences

Viggo Søgaard (2009)

The issue of non-readers is an issue for all countries, as we see reading declining even in countries with high literacy rates. It has been estimated that in some African countries printed scripture only reaches around ten percent of the…

RichardSeptember 21, 2009

Culture Leadership Training

African Traditional Religion and Christian Counseling

Karl Grebe, Wilfred Fon (2006)

We soon found that even the most experienced Christian leaders were not always sure how to relate the cultural phenomena to the biblical picture. On the whole, the church had bypassed the task of interpreting the cultural picture from the…

RichardSeptember 13, 2009

Literacy Orality

Dependence on Literacy Strategy

Taking a Hard Second Look

Herbert Klem (1995)

It is possible that the literacy based approach as applied in non-reading communities reaches best those who most want to escape from the traditional culture into the modern world of wealth and technology, but it may not be successful in…

RichardAugust 17, 2009

Audio Literacy Orality

The Crucial Role of Oral-Scripture: Focus Africa

Gilbert Ansre (1995)

Oral-Scripture in Africa is the highest potential medium of outreach for the salvation message on the continent today and into the 21st century. This is because it is capable of reaching both the literate and the teeming millions of non-literate…

RichardAugust 17, 2009

Language Issues

Like Bright Sunlight: The Benefit of Communicating in Heart Language

Rick Brown (2009)

Does God really want His Word presented in "sacred" language, as so many people seem to think? Does not the Bible itself demonstrate that God reveals His truth through humble people in humble tongues, rather than in prestigious or “sacred”…

RichardJuly 13, 2009

Literacy Orality

We can’t read the Bible!

Richard Margetts

Help! Hardly anyone can read the translated Scriptures. What can we do? This is a one-page poster or course handout. It reminds us that if a lack of literacy skills is cited as a barrier to Scripture use, then the…

RichardJune 12, 2009