By Christy Barritt

New Bible Translation Omits “Jesus Christ”

The Voice, a new English translation of the Bible released from Thomas Nelson Publishers earlier this year, is meeting with some opposition.

The translation omits words like Jesus Christ, angel, and apostle. Instead, Jesus Christ has been replaced with “Jesus the Anointed One” and apostle is now “emissary.”

The translation’s purpose was to make the gospel message easier to understand for modern audiences. The scholars, poets, musicians, and storytellers who collaborated together on the translation said they hope readers will find a connection with God through this new version, which presents Scripture as a story instead of an academic document.

Opponents say The Voice offers a distorted version of the Bible, and it blurs the line between inspired Word and human opinion. Others say it supports a theological, emergent church agenda.

Bible Classes Allowed in Arizona Public Schools

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed into law a bill that allows public schools to establish elective classes that focus on the Bible and its influence on Western culture for pupils in grades nine through 12.

The Bible elective would teach students about the Old and New Testaments—their content, history, and influence over laws, government, literature, art, music, history, customs, morals, and values.

The bill passed the state senate by a 21 to nine vote, despite opposition from Americans United for the Separation of Church and State.

Arizona is the sixth state to allow school districts to create elective classes studying the Bible. Other states are: Georgia, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and South Carolina.

Posted Calories in Restaurants Making a Small Impact

A new study by the Stanford Graduate School of Business showed that having restaurants posting calorie counts on their menus is making a small—and insignificant—impact on consumers

The study examined consumer behavior before and after calorie counts were posted.

They determined that when restaurants posted calories on menu boards, only a small percentage of consumers made better choices.

Researchers found that calorie-posting in New York City in 2008 led to a six percent reduction in calories per transaction.

This difference is related only to food purchases. Beverage calories per transaction did not change substantially.

The research team acknowledged that a six percent reduction in calories was too small to have a major effect on American’s health.

Church Membership Both Increases and Declines

The National Council of Churches’ 2012 Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches reported that church membership is both increasing and declining.

This means churches that have been increasing in membership continue to grow and, likewise, churches declining in membership continue to shrink.

The Catholic Church remains the nation’s largest. It reported a membership decline of 0.44 percent. The Southern Baptist Convention, the nation’s second-largest denomination, reported a decline for the fourth year in a row, down 0.15 percent.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints grew 1.62 percent and the Assemblies of God grew 3.99 percent.

Other churches posting membership gains were Jehovah’s Witnesses, up 1.85 percent, and the Seventh-day Adventist Church, up 1.61 percent.

The sharpest membership decline occurred in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, which was down 5.90 percent.

 Christy Barritt is an award-winning author, freelance writer, and speaker living in Chesapeake, Virginia. She and her husband Scott have two sons. 
www.christybarritt.com