International (MNN) — How should theology impact Bible translation? unfoldingWord partners with Bible translation movements in some of the hardest to reach places of the world. They believe that local Bible translators need to be equipped as biblical theologians in their own right to reach their own cultures.
“When I first started talking with unfoldingWord and trying to understand this church-centric Bible translation approach, where we’re handing over these really amazing translation tools and technology and content to these folks,” Dane with unfoldingWord says, “my first concern was, ‘You have to be careful with this, or else you’re going to create heresy factories.’”
Prior to joining unfoldingWord, Dane served as a pastor for 32 years. He knew church history and how easy it’s been across the centuries for people to seize a fragment of biblical truth and unknowingly fall into serious doctrinal error.
But the more Dane understood the process unfoldingWord employs, the more confident he became in its wisdom.
Although the team does not dictate a certain theology (such as Armenian or Reformed), there is genuine teaching and equipping for theology going on.
(Photo courtesy of unfoldingWord)
“We’re giving them the exegetical and the hermeneutical tools to become their own Calvins, their own Luthers, their own John Wesleys,” said Dane, “so that they can lead their own movements with integrity, having wrestled with God and with the text [in such a way] that the theology they write for their own people is authentic to them.”
This is part of the church-centric Bible translation model, where local believers own the translation process.
“We are intentionally trying to break the ‘Western missionary knows best’ paradigm that still lingers in parts of the world. It even lingers in the mindset of our brothers and sisters, for instance, in the Global South, who are intelligent people, well-educated people,” Dane says.
“These leaders oversee the process in these various church-planting situations, and we have a core belief at unfoldingWord that God has called them to lead the churches they plant.”
You can pray and partner with unfoldingWord to advance Bible translation and church growth around the world.
“We are on a mission literally to transfer all of the West’s Bible translation knowledge and skill and wisdom and technology developed over 100 years to our global brothers and sisters, because they’re the only ones who can really finish this work,” says Dane.
Subscribe to unfoldingWord’s monthly prayer calendar here and connect with their giving opportunities at unfoldingword.org/donate.
*Name withheld for security purposes.
Header photo courtesy of unfoldingWord.
