Why the Common English Bible Sounds Very, Very Scary

Alright. Hold on.

The Common English Bible is about to be released, and you can sign up to receive your free copy of the New Testament here, when it's published in the upcoming months. Take a second and look at this video concerning the need for the translation:

Common English Bible from Common English Bible on Vimeo.

I've spent some time reading through the CEB's website, and from the looks of it, their prepared to release a brand-new translation of the Holy Word of God without including, anywhere on their website, even a synopsis view of the authority of Scripture. I say that with great concern, because throughout their website they lambaste the readability of Scripture, but this criticism seems devoid of any notion of what Scripture is.

Their video portrays some of these weaknesses:

• The initial "exit interview with Carol" introduces us to a women who, because she is elderly, cannot attend service weekly, and so is left to study Scripture on her own. For her, the novels by her bed are more entertaining than Scripture.
  
  Carol has not only been abandoned and failed by her church - she seems to be a widow or single lady - but she also has a poor, underdeveloped and immature view of Scripture as something to entertain, not to inform, instruct, discipline and guide. Yes, ease in reading is certainly an aspect of gaining insight into the Word of God, but Carol's desire to read Scripture must be first informed by a notion of what Scripture is, not how readable it is.
  
  
• Next, we're introduced to a pretty trendy high school kid comparing Scripture to the Shakespeare he reads at school. "You don't speak like that. I don't speak like that." The implication is, "Why should I read Scripture that speaks like that?"
  
  Please. This is a straw man argument. There are so few KJV-only churches, and chances are by his hip, modern, trendy outfit, he might have already found one of the more readable translations - say, the ESV, NIV, or even the oft-maligned NLT. These translations are based on a very high view of Scripture.
  
  
• A middle-aged women shares her struggles in leading a Bible study; because of the diverse faith backgrounds, not everyone can, "get what I just read." "We need a Bible that talks like we talk, y'know, everyday language."
  
  Are we at the point where we now need a Bible which easily says what we want to say, how we want to say it? It seems as if the Bible is simply there to back up our own rhetoric - and it would be so much easier if it would just 'say it how we would say it!'
  
  
• We have a few children struggling over words as they read from Romans.
  
  Apparently, these kids have been completely abandoned by their families, and their parents have no notion of Deuteronomic law, instructing families to bring up the children to know and love Scripture. We don't need a translation that a 5 year old and a 40 year old can both easily read. We will necessarily sacrifice truth.
  

I hope I'm being too hard-hitting for these people - too cynical and too biting. But one of the introductory sentences, describing the need for the CEB is, "To keep scripture relevant, and integrated into worship." Perhaps they mean, "The language of the translation," but to view Scripture as un-relevant, or to imagine worship which isn't integrated with Scripture to begin with throws up huge red flags for me.

The basic feeling through this whole site is that the CEB is based on very, very American and modern notions of Scripture. 'It's a great book - it's classy, trendy, and you'll feel better if you read it. So we'll make it easier to read it.' But we seem to have missed the point that Scripture is the inerrant, revealed revelation of God, fully sufficient and containing the complete means by which you can either remain in damnation, or to be forgiven of sin and guaranteed salvation through Jesus' atoning death. It's the story of God involvement with human history - given by God to point to God and to be about God. Every pen stroke on the page, because divinely inspired, is able to deeply impact our souls.

And I just don't see those concepts in the CEB.