Chinese Standard Bible New Testaments

Wow, a brand NEW translation of the New Testament in Mandarin - straight from the original Koine Greek! You can read the story here, and here.

Below is a sample reading:

罗3:23 因为世人都犯了罪，亏欠了上帝的荣耀，

罗3:24 但现在蒙了上帝的恩典，可以靠着基督耶稣的救赎无条件地被上帝称为
义人。

罗3:25 上帝使基督耶稣成为赎罪祭，以便人借着相信耶稣的宝血可以得到赦
免。这是了显明上帝的义，因为祂用忍耐的心宽容人过去的罪，

罗3:26 好在现今显明祂的义，使人知道祂是公义的，祂也称信耶稣的人为义人。

罗3:27 既然如此，我们哪里能夸口呢？当然没有什么可夸的了。上帝用什么方
法让人不能夸口呢？是用行善立功的方法吗？不是！是用信主得救的方法。

罗3:28 因为我们坚信人被称为义人是借着信，不是靠遵行律法。

Should you be interested, you may DOWNLOAD this new translation in PDF HERE.

我要向高山擧目

I will lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?

My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber.
(Psalm 121:1-3)

Is there a SAFER place to be than under the wings of my LORD?

Is there a BETTER place to be than under the covering of the Almighty God?

Is there a more RESTFUL place than to be sitting down at the feet of my Lord Jesus?

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,

Whose hope is in the LORD his God.
(Psalm 146:5)

There is NONE that can compare.

If you are weary, tired, hopeless, depressed - COME!

Come to Jesus! Call upon His NAME! Come!

Who are the shameful ones?

Is America under God's judgement? Well, even if we ignore all the sudden jump in calamities - natural ones, or man-made - over the past years, this is a sensitive topic.

I used to think NO. But lately I am not so sure anymore. Based on Romans 1, even if God is not judging America, I think God is GIVING UP America.

How do we know? Well, the evidence is everywhere. Yes, I am talking about the rapid increase of the homosexuals.

For this reason God gave them up to dishonourable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
(Romans 1:26-27)

But an even "scarier" question - Is there still hope?

If we are living in the season of the LORD's return, the warning of "Days of Noah, Days of Lot" will then be a most dire warning. There is no turning back. The days for repentance are closing fast - or worse - over!

May God answers to the cries of the thousands of His faithful elects according to His mercy.

Update @ March 5th:  Wooow! The video above was "taken down" by YouTube... Below is a "new" one. Enjoy.

Buying KJV?

Over the past months, KJV didn't just become my favourite Bible translation but I have also come to own some wonderful KJV Bibles by the grace of God. And since I don't foresee anymore KJV purchases in the near future, I thought it would be nice to share some thoughts on some of these Bibles that I dearly love.


* Feb 2009 CBA Best Seller list.

To me, it is a miracle that KJV, tracing its roots all the way back to 1611, is still in the print. With the archaic english & the wide availability of many other "better" modern translations, it is hard to believe KJV is STILL the number 2 best selling Bible TODAY! Amazing!


Throughout past months, I started to collect quality KJVs with the help of Mr Mark Bertrand's Blog. So below are some of my personal opinions/experiences that I hope you might find useful should you happen to desire to buy a premium quality KJV.

You are in luck if you are planning to buy a KJV Bible. There are plenty of choices out there with all kinds of feature-mix by various publishers. But should your objective be buying the very BEST PREMIUM QUALITY KJV Bible available, then the selection list quickly dwindles down to a selected few. 

One of which, I highly recommend, is Cambridge Bible, the OLDEST Bible publisher on the planet.


The photo above shows the 4 popular Cambridge KJV variants (top to bottom):
- Pitt Minion (photo above is NKJV...but included for size comparison)
- Cameo
- Concord
- Turquoise/Presentation

There are more options available, but since I only have the above, I will only talk about these 4 types.


* Turquoise top, Concord right, Pitt Minion bottom, Cameo left.

What differentiate these options? Size is the chief factor, obviously (for exact measurement pls check the publisher's website.)

If you are having issues with small prints, then Concord or Turquoise will be your choice. If you need a grab-n-go Bible, than Pitt Minion or Cameo would fit the bill best. Or if you need just one all-rounder, then either Cameo or Concord would be the best bet.

Within the individual variant, Cambridge often offers additional options - with various extra "goodies" to different binding materials. All these options will affect the price of the Bible. But generally the biggest price determining factor is the type of leather the Bible is bound in. And, as a general rule, for the best, go for Goatskin (or Calfskin if available.)

A side note: perhaps most important of all, one KEY feature for any Bible that is going to last long - the text-block must be smyth sewn. (There is an inferior, cheaper option - glue. A glued Bible will only last for a couple of years before falling apart.)

Of the 4 different types, Pitt-Minion & Concord are readily available in bookshops - that is, if you are living in USA or UK. For the rest of the world I guess either Amazon or Christianbook.com is your best bet.


* Turquoise Saddle Brown in Antique French Morocco Leather & Cameo Water Buffalo Calfskin Apple Red

Cameo & Turquoise are both out of print versions but can still be found in some bookshops (online or otherwise) or Ebay. Now, just because these are out of print, it doesn't mean they become secondary in your selection list. On the contrary, these often become prized collectibles precisely because they are out of print! And that says a lot about their quality!

Like these 2 Bibles in the photo, both are more than 30 years old! Yet they "out-performed" most of today's premium editions! And the Apple Red Cameo is fast becoming my favourite Bible.

I understand it is the ULTIMATE dream for Bible lovers to stumble upon a cache of vintage Cambridge Bibles lying somewhere in some long forgotten basement... :)

For the rest of the world, Ebay could be your ONLY source. And as a general rule, prices is subject to fluctuate greatly pending on some obvious variables, such as, time of the year, the person bidding, or (the worst) if Mr Bertrand reports any rare offers...

Before you start to despair too much on the limited availability of these vintage gems, praise the LORD, there is ANOTHER option - a BETTER option IMHO! Allow me to recommend R.L. Allan & Son Publisher, the world best Bible publisher(?)

* Cambridge Turquoise at bottom, Allan Long Primer on top.

Oxford, the OTHER "oldest" Bible publisher, has some fabulous KJV options available. Unfortunately, or fortunately, they are no longer directly available under Oxford. But they are still available under RL Allan & Son Publisher. And THAT is the "fortunate part" as any Allan Bible owners can attest.

For instance, you can have an Allan Long Primer, the closest alternative to a Cambridge Turquoise/Presentation. Better and "cheaper" too.

Why I prefer Long Primer:

- Superb workmanship.
- Superior binding. The ultra luxurious Highland Goatskin option is simply the bestest leather :)
- Better overall print quality. "Ghosting" are comparable perhaps with Turquoise having a slight advantage.
- Superb RL Allan customer service.


* Turquoise on the left, and Long Primer the right.

...unless you simply must have the largest font possible...Or you don't like you Bible too liquid-limp...



* Cameo at bottom in Red, Allan Clarendon in Black & Brown.

Or should you not be able to get any Cambridge Cameo, Allan's superb selection of Oxford Brevier Clarendon & Blackface are worthy alternatives, if not better.

Here, personally, I have a HARDER time to declare a clear winner. The Cambridge Cameo in WaterBuffalo Calfskin is...stunningly beautiful and superb in every way. But if I must make a decision, I will still go for Allan's.

Why?

- Superb workmanship.
- Allan's "Open flat/Stay flat" feature is simply without comparison.
- The gorgeous Highland Goatskin option.
- Oxford's Cyclopedic Concordance is way more informative. (Btw, not all Allan's Clarendon come with Cyclopedic Concordance.)
- Wide range of options, and stock is readily available.
- Nothing beats the personal service of RL Allan.


* Both vintage Cambridge Turquoise (left) & Cameo (right) have the least "ghosting".

...UNLESS the opaqueness of the paper is of SUPREME importance...then I must say the Cameo has the advantage......Or those gorgeous Calfskin...


* Turquoise left, Concord right.

New or Vintage, Cambridge or RL Allan,  you will find your ultimate KJV Bible if you:  take the time do your homework, don't hurry, read Mark's blog (Be warned - DO NOT proceed should you only want to buy 1 or 2 good Bibles for the rest of your life,) check out the Publishers' website, ask plenty of questions...

Now, should KJV not be your cup of tea, both Cambridge & RL Allan also offer premium quality Bibles for other translations too.

Last but not least, after buying, READ your Bible :)


There are other quality options out there of course. But it is my wish here to highlight just some of Cambridge's & RL Allan's.

Praise the LORD for all these options.

Loving KJV

This year I am using The Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan for my daily Bible reading in the morning. Each reading is divided into 4 small sections - 2 from NT & 2 from OT - and it takes about 30 mins to finish. Very easy pace. In fact, the plan only gives u 25 readings per month, so u have the balance "free" day of the month to either catch up or do some other useful stuff - like Scripture memorization!


I have also chosen KJV as the main Bible version for my daily reading. Not as easy to read as the other more modern versions but the extra effort is definitely well worth my time. After 8 months of "intensive" KJV reading, I find myself falling deeply in love with it. Best yet, now the effort starts to "pay off" since the other books I am reading this year - books by Jonathan Edwards, John Owen & John Bunyan - are written in KJVish english too! Praise ye the LORD!

And I thank God too for a new vintage Cambridge Turquoise bound in Saddle Brown French Morocco leather. It has got the largest font by far. Much bigger than my Allan/Oxford Long Primer. So that definitely helps with my sleepy eyes in the morning.

Chicken Or Egg?

There was a time in my life when I sincerely believed that mankind did evolved from monkey. Better yet, I had a theory that UFOs were basically future mankind coming back in a cool spacecraft thru a time machine to visit their ancient ancestors :)

There was a time when I pondered, discussed & debated with my buddies on the mystery of this cosmos in a myriad of ways. From the ultra-brain-teaser on how does the time-continuum theory work in Back To The Future movie...to...the millennium-old question: "Chicken first or Egg first?"

Those days were quite cool albeit a bit naive & silly but it was tons of fun ;)

As the world celebrated Darwin's 200th birthday a couple of days ago, and heaping high praises unto his most famous treatise - The Origin of Species, I had this funny thought - I should have written down my UFO theory and become famous too la...

Anyway, should u be a Christian, a self-professing believer of Jesus Christ, what are ur thoughts on Darwin's theory of evolution? Did mankind evolve from monkey...or from the pre-historic rodent-like mammals if u go back a few more million years...or from the amoeba swimming in lava soup if u go back even further...???

What would ur answer be? Well, if u are like me who believes the Holy Bible is the inerrant, infallible Word of God, then the answer is simple. God Almighty is our Creator creating the cosmos as per Genesis chapter 1 - literally. Yes, literally.

And the "Chicken or Egg" mystery??? The answer can be found in Genesis 1:24-25....it was chicken first :)

Preview: Cambridge Cameo Apple RED

Thanks to Huey, the Cambridge Cameo Apple Red arrived this week.


This vintage Cambridge Cameo KJV is bound with Water Buffalo Calfskin and leather lined inside. Compared to my other Cambridge Cameo in Burgundy, though both use Water Buffalo Calfskin, yet both are quite different.

Hopefully will get to show more pix soon. Might be doing it together with another Vintage Cambridge Turquoise which has just cleared custom from NYC thanks to uncle Pete! :)

RL Allan NIV C1 Brown

I have been thinking about the Chocolate Brown Highland Goatskin when the option first appeared towards end of last year. And to my delight, my bro-in-law decided to pre-order the NIV C1 Brown all the way back in Oct or Nov (before the price increase).


But due to the many holidays in between Dec & Jan, the Bible only arrived just a couple of days ago. And as I was reading comments that started to appear in Mark's blog about how beautiful the Chocolate Brown Highland goatskin is...I was the more eager to take a look at his new Bible the soonest!


Well, indeed it is GORGEOUS! The leather binding is extremely luxurious to the touch. The grain pattern of this Bible is particularly beautiful.



"Standard" features executed to perfection: Semi-yapp binding... 2 silk ribbon markers... matching color leather lined...


The art-gilt matches very well with the Brown goatskin, making the whole Bible "richer" looking.


I believe the gilt-line feature on the new ESV BR will add even more "richness"...Can u imagine it?


RL Allan has this caption on their website - probably the finest Bibles in the world - I couldn't agree more!

However, there got to be some tiny flaws right? Well, there is one - the "ghosting" is quite bad :(


Last pix to show the different browns...and to show that NIVC1 is "huge" with its bigger than 9"x6" dimension.