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I see there has not been much discussion at this forum of the NT translation that appeared in 2017 by David Bentley Hart (Yale University Press). Bro. Rando mentioned Hart's translation last year when he quoted his rendering of John 1:1c, "the Logos was god" here: https://www.theworldnewsmedia.org/topic/55859-the-trinity-and-it’s-false-theology/?page=4&tab=comments#comment-91897 There is much more of value to be learned from Hart's work. First, just who is is important. He is a research scholar (= no teaching, just research and publication, what all good scholars dream of) at Notre Dame. He has several books out on theism, believing in God, and defending the faith before critics and philosophers. Although he himself is Eastern Orthodox, his books are highly valued by Evangelicals because Hart is quite intelligent and is well-read in the more difficult aspects of philosophy. Thus he can dialogue with the best from the latter group and hold his own against them. He is famous for doing so. Hart's translation contains multiple insights. Gehenna is "Hinnom's Vale of fire." He transliterates Hades, and his taking κόλασις at Matt. 25:46 as "chastening" is noteworthy. He sometimes has substantial footnotes that are informative, as he does in this passage. They cut through the controversies and get to the point, but interestingly, without citing scholarship by anyone's name. His take on the ἐφ᾽ ᾧ at Rom. 5:12 is fascinating. Instead of understanding this as "because" he takes it more literally, as "upon the basis of which fact," though I wish he'd been more literal in his rendering in this instance. His notes, pp. 533ff., are also loaded with interesting info, including the admission that the oft-hated "a" at John 1:1c is legit. One of the things I found fascinating is Hart's description of what the earliest Christians were like. This is on pp. xxiv-xxv of his introduction. It sounds very much like the brothers! That alone is worth a read, so when I can get to a scanner, I'll included a scan later in this thread for readers' pleasure. Here too are some online reviews and comments, including an interview/note from Hart himself on his work. First, some D. B. Hart NT reviews: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/01/the-new-testament-a-translation-david-bentley-hart/546551/ http://www.patheos.com/blogs/hippieheretic/2017/12/new-testament-translation-david-bentley-hart-review.html https://www.firstthings.com/article/2017/11/the-gospel-according-to-david-bentley http://thecresset.org/2017/Advent/Beasley_A17.html Conservative (?) reaction to Hart: the translation: http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2017/10/23/4754124.htm the man: https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/public-theology-in-retreat/#! bio & interviews: https://www.closertotruth.com/contributor/david-bentley-hart/profile?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6fq_se3y2AIVCI1pCh2iDAJmEAMYASAAEgKn8PD_BwE Hart's own account https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/christs-rabble Enjoy!

*** w74 6/15 p. 376 par. 8 Serve with Eternity in View *** 8 This kingdom, the means by which eternal life is possible for us, is a heavenly government. Jesus himself is the chief Ruler, and he is to have 144,000 corulers who have been chosen from mankind and called by God to heavenly life. (Rom. 8:16, 17; Luke 22:29; Rev. 5:9, 10; 14:1) The paramount importance of this kingdom is seen in the emphasis that God put on it in the Bible. It was the chief subject of Jesus’ preaching. (Matt. 4:23) Also, it is to the spirit-anointed Christians who will rule in that kingdom that most of the Christian Greek Scriptures is directed, including the promises of everlasting life. *** w06 6/1 p. 24 par. 12 Jehovah Tells “From the Beginning the Finale” *** 12 The foreordination of the 144,000 does not mean that certain individuals were predestined to serve God faithfully in this way. Indeed, the admonition in the Christian Greek Scriptures was written primarily to guide and strengthen anointed ones to maintain integrity and keep themselves worthy of their heavenly calling. (Philippians 2:12; 2 Thessalonians 1:5, 11; 2 Peter 1:10, 11) Jehovah knows in advance that 144,000 individuals will qualify to serve his purpose. Who they prove to be depends on how those invited individually choose to live their life, a decision that each one of them must make personally.—Matthew 24:13.

I have a question I was hoping someone here could answer. I know JW's say that Jewish scribes removed the name of God from the Greek New Testament manuscripts, but I have not seen any documented evidence from reputable scholars to substantiate that claim. In fact, today I was reading through the Watchtower edition #4 under the section titled "The Bible Survived Attempts to Alter Its Message" and I found an interesting quote there. Basically, it makes the argument that due to the strict standard involved in copying the manuscripts, the sheer volume of Greek manuscripts available, and the availability of early manuscripts as early as the second century, we can be confident that the Greek manuscripts read nearly exactly as the originals. So, if that is true, and I agree it is, how can the claim be made on one hand that the Bible has been accurately transmitted through the centuries, and on the other hand say that Jewish scholars took the name of God out of all 27 books of the New Testament? Either one believes the integrity of the Bible has been preserved through the centuries, or one doesn't. If the name of God has truly been omitted, how can we trust many other things haven't been omitted or changed? Below is the quote from the Watchtower article.i would be interested to see the sources from credible scholars that show evidence that the name of God has been omitted. ______ A member of the editorial team of the Dead Sea Scrolls concluded that one scroll “provides irrefutable proof that the transmission of the biblical text through a period of more than one thousand years by the hands of Jewish copyists has been extremely faithful and careful.” The Chester Beatty Library in Dublin, Ireland, features a collection of papyri that represents nearly every book of the Christian Greek Scriptures, including manuscripts dating from the second century C.E.—only about 100 years after the Bible was completed. “Although the Papyri supply a wealth of new information on textual detail,” The Anchor Bible Dictionary observes, “they also demonstrate remarkable stability in the transmission history of the biblical text.” “It may be safely said that no other work of antiquity has been so accurately transmitted” THE RESULT: Rather than corrupting the Bible text, the age and multitude of Bible manuscripts have actually improved it. “No other ancient book has anything like such early and plentiful testimony to its text,” wrote Sir Frederic Kenyon about the Christian Greek Scriptures, “and no unbiased scholar would deny that the text that has come down to us is substantially sound.” And regarding the Hebrew Scriptures, scholar William Henry Green stated: *****“It may be safely said that no other work of antiquity has been so accurately transmitted.”***** http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2016247 Originally asked in here