Dr Paul Allen

Modesty. Fewer words in Biblical theology have greater potential of moving large groups of professing Christian women to hate you. Fewer words in Biblical theology have more diverse associations.  Fewer words in Biblical theology have more associated confusion.  Fewer words get serious exploration, since  everyone  already knows that it means, right? Not so fast.  So what does the word “ modesty ” actually mean, like  in the Bible ?   If you look up “modesty”in your ESV , you’ll strangely come across only two occurrences:  1 Cor. 12:23  and  1 Tim. 2:9  (there’s zero occurrences of “modest”). Now that doesn’t mean that the  concept  doesn’t occur more frequently, but rather that the English Bible translates a Greek term as “modesty” only twice. In case you’re wondering if I’ve stacked the deck because of my chosen Bible version , that’s hardly the case.  The  NIV  only has those two occurrences of “modesty” as well.  The  New Living Translation  has  1 Tim. 2:9  and 

Having a quick look around my house, I was rather surprised at the number of Bibles I have access to. Within a couple of minutes I can physically lay my hands on an NIV , an NCV, an NLT , a KJV , a GNB and various Bible dictionaries, Bible Atlases, Bible “How’s whos” and concordances/commentaries ( Mathew Henry ftw!). Then there’s the  YouVersion app (or site)  on my iPhone , Android tablet and Laptop; as well as other sites like  BibleGateway ,  eBible ; Bible verse shorteners like  bib.ly  and many sites/feeds for online daily devotionals (I use the  Chuck Swindoll Daily Devotional  and the  Daily Bible Study from Spring Harvest  – a UK Christian Event) and podcasts. Having all this access it made me think just how much I take being able to grab a Bible for granted. Image via CrunchBase It’s truly humbling what easy access I have and has made me re-evaluate how I use (or actually don’t) the resources. I want to use all the resources I have more effectively; to help my

Image via Wikipedia It’s daunting to walk into a bookstore and figure out which Bible is best from among the multitudes available.  It’s especially confusing for new believers – so many translations, formats, study features, and even colors! However, it’s worth spending extra time to consider this issue because the Bible is the God-breathed and inspired Word for us to grow in righteousness ( 2 Timothy 3:16-17 ) and an active source of power to the living God ( Hebrews 4:12 ).  Psalm 119  is a triumphant devotional to the beauty, power, and majesty of reading, meditating upon, and memorizing God’s word. There are a number of excellent Bibles to choose from. Personally, I consult several Bible versions in my writing, speaking, devotions, and Bible study. This is especially helpful to get the meaning of a passage when an isolated text in another version may not be clear. Logically, it’s best to first choose a Bible translation that is sound and that you are comfortable re