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Practically Speaking – Artificial intelligence

On April 11, 2019 the ERLC (Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission) of the Southern Baptist Convention released its “Artificial Intelligence: An Evangelical Statement of Principles” The statement’s preamble began with these words:

As followers of Christ, we are called to engage the world around us with the unchanging gospel message of hope and reconciliation. Tools like technology are able to aid us in this pursuit. We know they can also be designed and used in ways that dishonor God and devalue our fellow image-bearers. Evangelical Christians hold fast to the inerrant and infallible Word of God, which states that every human being is made in God’s image and thus has infinite value and worth in the eyes of their Creator. This message dictates how we view God, ourselves, and the tools that God has given us the ability to create.

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The Advent of Oral Bible Translation

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A man uses Render during an Oral Bible Translation project in Mexico.

‍The mission of Faith Comes By Hearing revolves around making God’s Word accessible to everyone. This commitment drives them to tirelessly expand the reach of Scripture’s life-saving message. They achieve this by producing Audio Bibles in various languages and making them freely available.

Research shows that seventy percent of the global population primarily learns through listening. This majority, particularly in oral cultures without written systems, grasps the essence of the Bible most effectively when they hear it spoken aloud. As a result, in these oral communities, faith is nurtured and propagated through the act of hearing.

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Choosing Relevant Scriptures

Different people, in different circumstances, will be able to identify more with certain characters and passages of the Bible than others. In this article, Rick Brown suggests that the first portions of Scripture to be translated should be chosen according to their relevance, appeal and challenge to the expected audience. He outlines different audiences (women, pastoral people, traditional settled people, and people residing in the 10/40 window) and appropriate Scriptures for them, and lists some biblical themes that challenge the worldview of many audiences today.

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Exploring the Intersection of Faith and Technology : Bible in Digital Media Online Event

As any EMDC’er knows, the problem of bringing the Bible to the multimedia digital cultures where we now spend more and more of our time is increasingly critical for the Church.

Bible Society is excited to announce an upcoming online event, scheduled for Thursday, September 7 at 7:00 pm UK time, that promises to be a convergence of minds and ideas – a platform for digital theologians, church leaders and pioneers to come together and discuss the vital endeavour of culturally translating the Bible for every digital culture.

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Sunday School Curriculum by Good News Media

Good News Media developed this Sunday School curriculum based on GRN’s Look, Listen & Live series. This is a series of eight Sunday School leaders’ guide books, with 24 complete Sunday School lessons for children between the ages of 7-12. The leader’s guide books complement the Look, Listen & Live picture books. To order, contact GRN Southern Africa. Or you can download the books in PDF format for free.

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Outcome Harvesting research in Tanzania

Using ‘Outcome Harvesting’ methodology, SIL Tanzania is researching how communities have been impacted by Bible translation (in particular the publication of the New Testament in print and audio form) and related materials and activities (in particular Scripture engagement materials and activities), in local languages.

The research began this year in the Malila language area, in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania. We spent time visiting the community and listening to stories of change (whether that be a pastor starting to use the Malila Scriptures in church or someone being saved through hearing the audio Scriptures or people valuing their language more and having the courage to use it in public, etc.). We then spent time looking at these ‘Outcome Statements’, both as a research team and with representatives from the local community, to see what we could learn from them for ongoing ministry in the area and beyond.

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The Story of Proclaimer

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An Answer to Prayer: The Proclaimer

‍From dial-up to high-speed internet, the world around us constantly transforms as innovations arise. At Faith Comes By Hearing (FCBH), this need for constant innovation is ever present. More than twenty years ago, Faith Comes By Hearing dedicated the ministry to share Audio Bibles on cassette tapes. But the world began to change, and new ideas were needed.

In 2000, FCBH found that cassette tapes were not practical for the millions of people around the world without electricity. Faith Comes By Hearing saw a need for a new, solar-powered player restricting no one from God’s Word in audio. This new machine would have to be a dedicated playback unit—it would play God’s Word and nothing else. But while this new gadget seemed incredible on paper, the ministry struggled with how to produce such a complex device.

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Participatory Bible Study Methods, One Door to More Engagement

By the Participatory Approach Support Team, LEAD Asia-Pacific 

When Bible Study Practices Don’t Produce What We’re Hoping They Will Produce

While our specific areas of ministry may differ, we all want to create environments for those we serve that help make studying the Bible active, engaging, creative, meaningful, and accessible! We long for spiritual transformation and empowerment in their lives, but this sometimes requires taking a closer look at the way things have always been done and what may truly help others to know God more intimately.

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Translation Technology: Accelerating the Spread of God’s Word

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Technology can be a polarizing word. The idea of artificial intelligence or robots can seem exciting to some of us but scary to others. But did you know that technology is playing a critical role in building God’s Kingdom?

Andrew Flemming, vice president of global partnerships engagement for Wycliffe said,

These tools include things like: Starlink satellites, which provide stable internet; Render, which records oral Bible translations; and Chameleon, which enables the Bible to be translated into sign language in persecuted areas.

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The Dramatized Audio Bible

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‍The Audio Bible: Multi-voice, dramatized, high-quality, pure Word of God. It’s a standard of Faith Comes By Hearing and the typical model employed by our recording teams worldwide. But who came up with such a ground-breaking methodology?‍

It all started on a bus. Anet Jackson, co-founder of Hosanna (the original name of Faith Comes By Hearing), found great joy in sharing the Gospel with children via puppet shows in the various towns her family would visit during their itinerant ministry days. At Vacation Bible Schools around the western United States, Anet and her four children brought Scripture to life via dramatized portrayals of biblical stories.Read More »The Dramatized Audio Bible

How can ChatGPT help in Bible Translation and Scripture Engagement? #2

Artificial Intelligence is not a replacement for Actual Interaction …in other words we still need to talk to real people!
One of the current challenges of ChatGPT and other AI chatbots is that they use their existing experience to create plausible sounding answers that aren’t always accurate. Real people tend to do the same, they may tell you what they think you want to hear or tell you what they think based on their interpretation of your question and upon their existing knowledge and experience. (I’ll comment further in a moment but the next three paragraphs are generated by ChatGPT)
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How can ChatGPT help in Bible Translation and Scripture Engagement? #1

Should you let chatGPT translate the bible into languages that it hasn’t been available in before?
No, it can help in various ways but AI is a tool that helps rather than replaces humans. Don’t take my word for it. Here’s how ChatGPT answered the question:

“As an AI language model, I am capable of translating text into different languages, including the Bible. However, it is important to note that the translation of the Bible is a sensitive and complex task that requires a deep understanding of the source text, as well as the culture and linguistic nuances of the target language.

While I can accurately translate words and phrases, I am not equipped to provide the necessary contextual and cultural understanding needed for an accurate and meaningful translation of the Bible. Therefore, it is recommended that any translations of the Bible be done by trained human translators who are well-versed in both the source and target languages, as well as the cultural and historical contexts of the Bible.Read More »How can ChatGPT help in Bible Translation and Scripture Engagement? #1

God on the Move: Changing the Landscape of Deaf Bible Translation

In 2020 an exciting milestone was reached in the world of Bible translation when the American Sign Language Version (ASLV) of the Bible was completed! After nearly 20 years of work, Deaf Missions and partner organizations finished the complete translation — making ASL the first sign language to have the whole Bible.*

Today there are more than 350 sign languages known around the world representing 70 million signers. Of this population, less than 2% have encountered Jesus in a language and format they clearly understand.

With only one full sign language Bible complete, the Deaf represent the largest unreached people group in the world. But God is on the move, and technology is being developed that could change the landscape of Deaf Bible translation for sign languages around the world.

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My Meatpacking Home

“In the last days the mountain of the LORD’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.” (Isaiah 2:2)

Hometown Diversity

“Miss, I forgot my house key. And my sister won’t be home from work until after midnight.” We scrambled to figure out a plan to get this Somali teen home safely from tutoring. My husband, Steve, decided to swing by the meatpacking plant on his way to taking kids home, to see if our young friend could acquire a house key from her sister on her work break. 

Steve and three teens from three distinct ethnolinguistic groups sat together in the parking lot of our local meatpacking plant and waited. Each of those kids had a family member in the plant. Their families had relocated to Greeley, Colorado because the meatpacking plant would offer them employment–ASAP. They didn’t need to speak English or be literate to start supporting their families as they resettled after various long and difficult refugee journeys.

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