“And the Lord said…
December 3, 2009Jon Brooks Comments Off…let there be light. But not generated by a public utility. It should be investor-owned and free of government regulation.”
Okay, that’s not an actual amendment in the Conservative Bible Project, which seeks to “render God’s word into modern English while removing liberal distortions.” The initiative, subject of an AP article today, is being hosted by Conservapedia, which claims to be an open-source conservative antidote to the “liberal bias” found in Wikipedia.
The Conservative Bible Project’s home page includes these guidelines:
-Framework against Liberal Bias: providing a strong framework that enables a thought-for-thought translation without corruption by liberal bias
-Using powerful new conservative terms to capture better the original intent; Defective translations use the word “comrade” three times as often as “volunteer”; similarly, updating words that have a change in meaning, such as “word”, “peace”, and “miracle”.
-Express Free Market Parables; explaining the numerous economic parables with their full free-market meaning
-Exclude the interpolated passages that liberals commonly put their own spin on, such as the adulteress story
-Prefer conciseness to the liberal style of high word-to-substance ratio.
Some Conservative Bible Project analysis from the Books of Matthew and Mark:
Matthew 20:15
“Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? ”
Conservative Bible Project Analysis
At issue is not the principle of “equal pay for comparable worth,” but that an employer has the absolute right to pay whatever wage he wishes to pay, so long as he honors his agreements without discrimination. In the same way, God has the absolute right to reward those of us who serve Him exactly as He wishes, and He will always reliably honor the agreements He makes.
Matthew 21:13
And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.
Conservative Bible Project Analysis
Jesus does not mean to say that all commerce is inherently evil. He does make the point that commercial activity in the Temple can never be proper. It was also the worst example of hypocrisy that He had yet encountered: the Pharisees, with all their regulations, had allowed this crass commercialism to go on in the Temple itself, and had done nothing about it.
Mark 10:23
And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
Conservative Bible Project Analysis
The “having” of money isn’t the problem, so much as coming to depend on that money as a God-substitute. But anyone who has money, might come to trust in it. God wants us to trust Him, money or no.
Mark 10:25
It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
Conservative Bible Project Analysis
The “needle” was the very narrow pedestrian portal in the larger city gate. In order to pass, the camel must lower itself. Similarly, in order to pass the gates of heaven, a man must bow.
Mark 10:27
And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.
Conservative Bible Project Analysis
God stands ready to save any man, rich, poor, or in-between, who will trust Him ahead of anything else.
Mark 14:25
Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God.
Conservative Bible Project Analysis
The “wine” of those days was not fermented.
