Reactions to this term's teaching

This term my main focus in teaching was a course called Vernacular Scriptures, which looked at the Bible in people’s own languages (translations generally!) throughout history and today, and why this is an important thing.

So we looked at some history (the picture is an Old Nubian manuscript from Sudan), some theology, some translation techniques and at things like the link between Bible translation and church growth. Most of the students in the class (around 25) are not here for translation; they will be pastors, Bible college teachers, missionaries etc. But their attitudes to language and Bible translation will make a difference to the people where they will work.

I’ve collected some comments from them (in each case the student has given permission for their comments to be shared), and I thought I’d share them with you.

“Thanking you for a good and highly stimulating time. It has given me a paradigm shift on all the ramifications of mother tongue and mission.”

“The historical evidence on the contribution of Bible translations to the spread and growth of the church is a new discovery to the author.”

“In Khartoum we have five congregations in one building (chapel), they using different services in their vernaculars languages. I was feeling that we are supporting tribalism in the church because people can come together in one service and use Arabic a language for preaching in Sunday service… To be honest God rebuke my pride through this course, I understood why God allow the languages and Bible to be preached in the people language… I started thinking in how I can contribute in correction of some small mistake we have in our Bible in [my language]… Another thing change my vision, since I came to NEGST we change our Bible Study into English to approve our English language as a family but after this course we return our Bible Study to our … language.”

“The course has seriously changed my attitude towards translation. In fact I am left asking myself whether there is any effective missionary who does not involve himself in the work of translation.”

"I have learnt that if I become a missionary in any place I will require learning the community’s language and applying it."

“This has motivated me to not only think of motivating people in my church to read the Bible, but to read it in Kikamba, for it is not just a matter of reading but a matter of reading, understanding, sharing it to others and living it out. I have had to rethink why I have esteemed to preach in English and or Kiswahili while the people I preach to are semi- illiterate and cannot understand these lingua-francas well. As a Kamba, I have been challenged for the reason as to why I do not own a Kikamba Bible, one that cost so much to translate and whose translation took so long to actualize. This is so much so that I have budgeted to buy one. With the understanding of what translators have to go through, to get a Bible, I plan to be reading it and using it to reach people in my community.”

This is the first time I've heard such a massive positive reaction; the course went much better than when I taught it last year.