• 2010 pre-conference program
• Program description
• Who can attend pre-conference programs?
• How to register
• Pre-conference program schedule

• Cost: $50 (free for conference scholarship recipients)
• This program includes lunch on Thursday, Sept. 23, 2010.
  

Sacred Scriptures: The Challenges of Translating Culture, Gender and the Sacred

With a new version of a top selling Bible coming out in 2011, this program will help journalists better understand how scholars navigate issues of gender and culture in trying to make ancient scriptures fresh for 21st Century audiences. What does it mean to be a biblical literalist when faced with new translations? How much do we really know about what’s in the Bible and what does the Bible mean to today’s youth? How are politicians using—and misusing—scripture? What challenges exist when communicating the Bible to cultures with competing faith traditions and different views about the validity of translated sacred writings? Have new technologies made the job easier? Program includes top Bible scholars, translation specialists and marketers.

11 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.

Lunch. "For the Bible Tells Me So”: Or does it?

Recent surveys suggest we don’t know as much as we think we do, especially younger generations. The Barna Group is the nation’s leader in surveying Christians about their faith life practice and beliefs. Barna Group President David Kinnaman will share some of their latest research showing a growing religious illiteracy to which marketers and ministries are responding.

12:30 - 1:30 p.m.

Translation hot potatoes: Bible and Politics

The Bible gets quoted in political speeches used to justify political positions. Wayne Grudem of Phoenix Seminary, known for his advocacy of an inerrant and literal interpretation of the Bible, especially on issues of gender, looks to the uses and misuses of scripture as we prepare for fall election coverage.

1:30 – 3:30 p.m.

Sacred text translation 101

A team of experts from the Nida Institute for Biblical Scholarship at The American Bible Society will discuss what goes into Bible translation, from inception to publication, why it’s done, and ethical issues surrounding how stakeholders shape a translation project.

Translation and Power

Sacred texts, including the Bible, as translations involve more than a linguistic exchange of words or phrases. Cultural exchanges are a very important, but often seldom discussed, part of translation. Inherent in such exchanges are questions of ideologies, ethics, and power. Experts from the American Bible Society’s scholarly department of the Nida Institute will discuss these issues while providing examples from their considerable experience in the Americas, Africa, and Asia.

Panelists (pictured L to R)

• Steven Berneking, Senior Manager for Translations
• James Maxey, Translations and Biblical Scholar
• Kuo-Wei Peng, Translations Officer

3:30 – 4 p.m.

Sources Central Sneak Peek

Sneak Peek sponsored by the upcoming film "There Be Dragons," with a presentation at 3:45 PM in the Sources Central exhibit room. While you're there, enter the raffle for a chance to win an iPad! Winner will be announced at the Opening Reception. iPad donated by DeChant-Hughes & Associates, Inc. Public Relations.

4 – 5 p.m.

Why and How Bible Translations Are Updated

Craig Blomberg, professor of New Testament at Denver Seminary. For several hundred years the King James Version of the Bible was the only major English-language translation of the book held sacred by nearly one third of the world’s population. Why has there been such a proliferation of translations in the last 50 years or so? Why do new translations, once they are published, get updated? In what ways are they updated? How do they address the particularly sensitive issues of gender, culture, and particularly memorable texts? What can we expect in 2011, the four-hundredth anniversary of the publication of the KJV? Blomberg, who has participated in four different translation projects over the last two decades will address these and related topics.

Photo: Denver Seminary

5 – 6 p.m.

Bible on Steroids

New technologies enable people to access ancient wisdom through new gadgets, gizmos, and games. Does this change how we use or what we know about what's at the heart of the Bible? A seasoned Bible marketing team from Somersault (www.SomersaultGroup.com), a publishing services firm embracing Web 3.0 strategies for inspirational content, will clue us in with facts, figures, trends, and analysis. Consider this session a foundation for articles you’ll write for the 400th anniversary of the KJV Bible in 2011.

Panelists (pictured L to R)

• Jeannette Taylor, Somersault
• John Sawyer, Somersault